“Blayze.”
Her name flowed right out of his mouth and it did even more crazy things to her. She looked over at him, uncertain what to say.
“Please,” he continued. “I don’t mind. Besides, it’s not safe for you to be out alone this time of the night. Even in our little town of Keebler Hills.”
She attempted step down from the bar stool then reached out to steady herself. Yep, she’d had a little too much to drink. “Okay, if you insist.”
Colton placed his hand against her lower back and guided her towards the door. Anyone watching would’ve thought they were together considering how close they were.
“Stay right here and I’ll pull my truck up to the front,” he instructed as he pulled his key fob out of his front pocket.
“I’ve not hadthatmuch,” she admitted laughingly even though her head did feel a little fuzzy. She slipped her shoes off and began to follow him to the parking lot, but not before stubbing her toe on the sidewalk. “Ouch.”
Colton reached for her arm. “Blayze Jenson, what am I going to do with you?”
She knew that he didn’t mean anything by it. He was merely making a statement because of her clumsiness. The ice was still very thin between them. Very fragile and chipped. And that’s the way it needed to stay. She’d never let her guard down where Colton was concerned…ever. She’d learned that the hard way!
He helped her climb into a full-size, fancy pick-up truck then made sure she had her seatbelt properly fastened before closing the door. She snickered thinking what he had just done.Because the Colton Burns she used to know would’ve told her she had to ride in the back. Better yet, he probably would’ve suggested she walk.
The ride to the hotel was mostly in silence. He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel while he waited for the light to change at the entrance to the hotel. Instead of dropping her off in the parking lot, he pulled underneath the covered entrance and turned off his truck.
Blayze dug around in her purse for the room key, then wished him a safe ride home as she opened the door to climb out. “Thanks for dropping me off tonight. It was really sweet of you.”
“Not a problem, Blayze. Your car should be fine back at the restaurant. Lots of patrons leave their vehicles overnight, so the owners won’t mind.”
She felt bad not being able to drive herself to the hotel, but she’d done the responsible thing by getting a ride. Better to be safe than sorry.
“Thanks again for the lift. And can you believe we didn’t kill each other?” They both laughed at her comment. Who would’ve thought with their past, the two of them could’ve ridden in a vehicle together.
“Blayze,” Colton hesitated. “That was in the past.”
“You’re right,” she admitted. “The past.”
But the past wasn’t so long ago that the hurt had disappeared altogether. Colton had said some pretty nasty things to her, things she would probably never forget.
He got out of his truck then quickly made his way around to open her door. “Would you like me to walk you to your room?”
“I can make it just fine from here but thank you.” Too much had happened already, and this was where she was going to draw the line.
Rather than push the issue, Colton reached over gave her a hug. “Goodnight, Blayze. I really enjoyed tonight.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled without meeting his gaze. “I did, too. Goodnight.”
Chapter Five
The next morning, Blayze woke with a pounding headache. As she sat in the lobby eating her yogurt and a couple pieces of toast, courtesy of the hotel’s continental breakfast, she replayed the events of last night in her head. Surely, it’d all been a dream.
But when she stepped outside underneath the breezeway for some fresh air, it was plain to see that her car wasn’t anywhere in the parking lot. Which meant that yes, she’d spent the evening talking with Colton Burns, and yes, she’d allowed him to drop her off at the hotel because she hadn’t wanted to risk driving after having a few drinks.
She shook her head and laughed—the world must seriously be coming to an end.
She didn’t want to jinx anything but coming home this time felt, for lack of a better word, different.
She assumed he was single since he wasn’t wearing a ring, but if there was a significant other, then shame on him. She hadn’t divulged much about her personal life, either, so not a big deal. Right?
Truthfully, she’d actually kind of enjoyed the time she’d spent with him. Too bad she wouldn’t be seeing him again any time soon. Even though he had hinted about getting together before she headed back home.
With a full day of events planned, she couldn’t sit around pondering thewhysandhowsof last night. No one had gotten their feelings hurt…her. No one had said anything that was inappropriate…him.
