“Good idea.Why don’t you order me a margarita?This should only take a minute.”
Ray nodded and walked away.
“Amy, dear.”Carrie’s mother smiled warmly at Amy’s approach.“I expected my daughter to be here.”
So did Amy.“She should be down in a sec.I know she had some last-minute details to go over.”
“Yes.Details.”The woman shook her head.“I swear that girl is so hard-headed it’s no wonder—”
Extending his hand, the clerk gave Mr.Clarke a small cardboard envelope.“Here are two key cards for your room—”
“Room?” Carrie’s mom interrupted.“We have a suite.”
The man turned to his computer.“Just give me a moment to check.”Hunching closer, his brows buckled as he squinted at the screen.“May I see your identification again please?”
Amy crossed her fingers at her sides and prayed the hotel hadn’t botched the Clarkes’ reservation.Carrie was already walking on thin ice with her parents, after changing all their intended wedding plans.And, while Mrs.Clarke was a nice lady most of the time, she was getting a bit persnickety about having been overruled.
“Okay.”The man nodded.“My apologies.Just one more second to confirm.Yes.All done.”He retrieved the earlier keys and quickly issued new ones.“Now we have it straight.You are in the Iliani Suite on the tenth floor.And again my apologies.”
“We should have done this at home.The Fairmont has wonderful banquet facilities.All the family could have attended—”
“Christine,… we’re not going there again.”Carrie’s dad set his hand on the small of his wife’s back and nudged her toward the elevators.“Let’s go lie down for a bit and wait for Carrie to call.”
“Oh.”Mrs.Clarke pulled out her phone.“Good idea.I’ll call her again.”
“No.”Mr.Clarke gently put his hand on his wife’s phone.“We’ll wait for her to call us.Let’s go.I need to put my feet up.”
“Oh, right.Of course.”She turned her head and looked at Amy over her shoulder.“Nice to see you again, dear.”
Amy waved at the woman.“Nice to see you too.”She didn’t want to imagine what her own mother would be like when it came time to put together Amy’s wedding.Not that she had plans to get married anytime soon.Her gaze drifted to where Ray stood at the bar, his towel slung over his shoulder.The man really was impressive without a shirt.
When Ray had said he was between jobs, she hadn’t thought much of it.She knew a lot of people, especially some of her friends with popular degrees, who had a hard time finding a good job.But Ray had gone on to explain that he’d left several jobs by choice because of… what?Boredom?It had taken all her social decorum to hide her disappointment and chatter on about her plans, as though talking about the weather.
The man pushed buttons she hadn’t known she had.From her first glance there’d been a jolt of electricity between them.Maybe not love at first sight butsomething.And when she’d watched him, fully clothed, soaking wet, breathing life into the drowning boy, a heartstring had snapped.
What business was it of hers that he was unemployed?Didn’t have a plan?So what if he was one of those dreamers who was never happy with their lot in life?This was just a vacation.A single weekend.None of this mattered.
Right.And the moon was made of green cheese.It mattered to her.She might wish it didn’t, but it did.No matter how much she wanted to organize and compartmentalize everything happening between her and Ray, as though she were rearranging her bedroom closet, it wasn’t going to happen.
She walked toward the bar, her heart fluttering in her chest.Maybe it didn’t have to be so complicated.Maybe, like when she had dived after Ray in the water, she should just brush away her concerns and jump in.
“Hi.”She sidled up to him.“Where do you want to sit?”
Ray slowly scanned her face, as if he were trying to memorize every detail, then took a twenty-dollar bill from his pocket and slapped it on the bar.“On second thought I’m wiped.”He pushed to his feet, his drink untouched.“I should head back to my room.Have a nice time tonight.”
