Chapter 4

“Jimmy?”he asks.

With a guilty start,I look up to meet his steady gaze.His faint smile makes me blush—God,don’t let him know what I’m thinking.Don’t let him suspect…

“Are you okay?”

“Just tired.”I rub my eyes for emphasis.Fed up with the phone’s incessant ringing,I pick up the receiver,hit the Holdbutton again,and hang it back up without a word to the customer on the other end.Don’t they know I’m busy here?“This thing’s in Charlotte?You ever been there before?”

“Once,”he says.I’d love to know why—does he have family in the area?Or maybe an old beau?Or was it a wild weekend of debauchery during his college years?Before I can ask,he adds,“I can drive,if you want.”

I shrug,sure.I don’t know what to say to him,what he wants to hear.

He stares at me,stares throughme,and lowers his voice when he asks,“Are you sure you don’t mind sharing a room?Because we can stay at another hotel—”