Trapped Under Ice (11 page)
“Oh, man!” She glanced over at the seat beside her where a half-eaten bag of popcorn sat.
“What, Mom?”
“Valet parking!” Beth shoved the popcorn bag at Cassie. “Hide this!”
Cassie and Jessica passed it around like a hot potato for a minute, squealing in alarm and laughing at the same time. They fumbled the bag and spilled some kernels before they hurriedly stowed it under a seat.
Beth thrust the sheet of directions in the mini-trashcan between the front seats, keeping her eyes on the attendant as he passed in front of the car. At the last minute, she spotted a soda can in the cup holder and launched it over the seat. Cassie, though surprised, caught it, dropping the can to the floor and kicking it under the seat in front of her in one smooth move. Beth scrambled to grab mittens and a scarf off the passenger seat just as the man reached her door, and attempted to open it for her.
“Oh!” She looked up at him with a smile while searching the door handle for the unlock button. “Sorry,” she said through the glass. Her fingers finally located the button and it popped up, startling her with its loudness. The attendant swept the door open, and she brushed at the flecks of popcorn on her black coat, straightening her shoulders and trying to appear somewhat sophisticated. “Hello!”
The man tipped his hat with a smile, flashing brilliantly white teeth as he stood back for her to pass. Beth got out of the car. Hearing a shout, she glanced up. Chad was hustling down the staircase on the right, dressed only in a Blackhawks jersey and jeans, despite the threat of snow in the air and broadcasted warnings throughout most of Illinois. Her smile grew wider. He slipped on the slick stairs but grabbed the railing to right himself as he came around the corner toward her.
Catching the move, the attendant warned, “Careful, sir.”
Chad reached their side. “Uhh…yeah. Thanks, James,” he said under his breath, though smiling at Beth. “I was trying to play it cool in front of the ladies. Thanks for blowing my cover.”
The attendant laughed.
“Hey!” Chad said softly, bending down to kiss her cheek. “How was your trip?”
“Good. Good.” Beth smiled, but then turned to watch as James reached inside of her car and removed the keys, which she had left in the ignition. He strode purposefully to the rear of the car as the girls tumbled out on opposite sides.
“Hey, Cassie!”
Cassie gave a short wave. “Hey, Chad.”
He turned toward the passenger side of the car. “And you must be Jessica.” He extended his hand and she placed her colorful, mittened hand in his.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Evans.”
He pumped it. “Hey now, it’s Chad, okay?”
The teen smiled brightly. “Sure.”
He started. “James, what are you doing?” He moved toward the trunk.
The attendant answered, without looking up, as Chad came around the corner. “Getting the luggage, sir.”
“I can handle the luggage.” He looked into the trunk, glanced at the three small bags on the ground, and then back into the trunk. “This is all?”
“Yes,” Beth replied with a smile.
He checked the bags again, and peered back into the trunk, as if confused.
“We’re only here for one night,” she reminded him.
“I know. It just seems like there should be more.” When Beth just stared, he added, “I mean…three women…”
She frowned and placed her hands on hips.
James bent in and said in a low voice, loud enough for all to hear, “If I were you, sir, I’d just pick up the luggage and go.”
“Good idea!” Chad bent and slung two of the bags over one shoulder and extended the handle on the third to pull it behind him.
“Sure you don’t need any help?”
“I can handle it, James. Get lost! You’re not getting any more tips.”
Beth laughed. Was he trying to impress her with his show of chivalry? Despite his words, she saw Chad slip a bill into the attendant’s hand before shutting the trunk. He moved forward, the two duffle bags hanging at his side bumping together and bouncing against his hip. He smiled brightly, his eyes on hers.
He was halfway up the side of the car when James called out, “It would be easier to hold the lady’s hand, sir, if you were less encumbered.”
He stopped, as if considering. The attendant swooped in, plucking one of the bags from his shoulder and grabbing the handle of the suitcase. Then, he gave Chad a little push in Beth’s direction.
She grabbed his now free hand. Chad smiled. “Anyone ever tell you you’re brilliant, James?”
“Yes, sir.” James handed the keys off to another attendant who had arrived on the scene and proceeded around the car. “Have you ladies ever been to the St. Ives-Augusta before?”
“No. Does it show?” Cassie joked.
Beth tuned out their conversation, slipping her hand out of Chad’s and through his arm so that she could draw closer. “Are you trying to impress me?”
He kept looking ahead, but she saw the corner of his lip rise. “Depends.” He turned his head to look at her. “Is it working?”
She laughed and gave his arm a squeeze, surprised by how good it felt to be with him again.
“Hey, hey! How are
ya, Gorgeous?” Roger called out when they entered the lobby. He got up from the couch, where he was sitting in front of a roaring fire with his arm around Michelle. Keith and Pete sat on the couch opposite, leaning forward as if they had just been engaged in a story.
“Oh, did I tell you that they would be here, too?” Chad asked dryly.
Roger took Beth by the shoulders, hip-checking Chad out of the way to give her a kiss on the cheek. “And, Cassie. How are ya, hon?”
“Good. And how are you?”
“Pretty good. You know. Slumming it here at the St. Ives.”
“Yeah.” Cassie laughed.
Roger turned to Jessica. “And who is this lovely, young lady?”
Jessica blushed.
“This is my friend, Jessica Matthews.”
He shook her hand gallantly. “Nice to meet you, Jessica.” He held his arms out wide. “Welcome.”
“Are you done?” Chad asked.
He nodded. “Pretty much.”
“I’m going to get these guys settled in. If that’s all right with you?”
“Fine,” Roger said with largess, returning to the group on the couches. They waved and said hello, but didn’t get up.
“He’s such a ham,” Chad mumbled, rolling his eyes.
They followed James down a long carpeted hallway to the end where a large window revealed that the dreaded snow had begun to fall.
“It’s started,” James commented before turning to open the door. Everyone stood and watched silently as the flakes floated down.
The doors to the room were set at an angle to the hall. There were paned glass French doors with shades on the other side, which were closed. James unlocked them and let them fall open into the room, standing back so that the others could enter. Beth and Chad walked in with the girls on their tails.
“Wow!” Cassie exclaimed.
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice,” Chad conceded.
A wide, high-ceilinged room spread out before them. To the right, three large plush couches formed a u-shaped conversation area in front of a massive fireplace. To the left, light shone in through French doors and the semicircular windows above them. The off-white blinds on the doors seemed to let the light in, while still blocking intruding eyes from the terrace beyond. A large dining table dominated that side of the room, a state-of-the-art, full-sized kitchen to the left of it. Chad gestured to a hallway off the living room.
“The bedrooms are down there. You girls can have the two on the end or share one, if you’d prefer.”
“First dibs!” Cassie called and the two tore off in that direction.
As their laughter faded, it became oddly quiet. Chad cleared his throat. “And your room is also this way.”
He escorted Beth to the first door, opening it on a large bedroom with a king-sized bed, which was recessed into the wall a bit and on a raised platform. The lighting and the décor screamed classy. He set her suitcase on a luggage stand and it was immediately dwarfed by the massive room. She took a few steps tentatively forward.
“The bathroom is over here.” He crossed to the far corner of the room and reached in to switch on a light. She walked slowly in his direction and peered in without venturing further. On the right, a small waterfall poured from the wall into an enormous sunken tub. Thick towels hung from rings, and flowering plants were nestled in alcoves around the tub. The rest of the room was as spacious as Cassie’s bedroom at home.
Beth felt Chad looking at her, and she lifted her head to find his eyes locked on her with a burning strength that almost took her breath away. She stepped back, reaching around to grab the doorframe to steady herself. He inhaled shallowly, licking his lips but remaining silent. She was intensely aware that this was the first time that the two of them had been alone together since she left his bed in St. Louis. She glanced away, feeling awkward.
“I’ll let you get unpacked or freshen up or whatever, and wait for you outside,” he said, and was gone before she could comment.
Beth stood frozen in the doorway for several seconds, thinking about the look on his face. Finally, she forced herself to move, crossing slowly to the bed. She stepped up on the platform and ran a hand along the russet and chocolate colored silky comforter. Spinning, she sat down as if testing the mattress, bouncing a few times with her hands on the edge. She fell back, staring at the ceiling. What was she doing here? She didn’t belong in a place like this, with someone like him. She closed her eyes, concentrating on just breathing in and out. After a time, she slowly turned her head to the side and opened her eyes, almost imagining him there beside her. So strong was the feeling, she reached out, again passing her hand over the place where he belonged, warming the surface with his heat. She squeezed her eyes shut. This was going to be so hard.
***
Chad crossed to the couch and plopped down. His hands slid up his face as he bent over, the fingers threading into his hair, palms on his temples. What the hell was he doing? All morning he had been second-guessing himself, nervous to the extreme, tapping on stuff constantly like he was the drummer instead of Keith. His insides felt tighter than they had before his first big stadium concert. Why had he invited her there, a woman he barely knew? And better yet, why had she agreed to come? He had pretty much convinced himself that it was a mistake when her car pulled in.
When his eyes first landed on her as she got out of the car, his heart had literally leapt in his chest. A shot of pure joy unlike any he had felt before spurted through him. It was like that burst of adrenaline that had filled him at that same first big concert about halfway through his first set, when he realized that this was where he belonged, this was what he was made for.
He slid down, laying his head on the back of the couch and staring at the ceiling, hands falling to his sides. In her bedroom, he had been filled with a need for her so consuming he had to leave or he would have peeled her clothes off there and then. He didn’t even need to make love to her, just feel her beside him, her skin against his, so comforting. He laughed. This was just beyond him.
Hearing her door open, he sprang up to a seated position, deciding at the last minute to stretch his arms along the back of the couch in what he hoped looked like a relaxed position.
He turned, trying to keep his voice calm and even. “Hey! You all settled in?”
“Pretty much.” She came around the couch, but hung back, her hands behind her. She looked as uncomfortable as he felt.
He patted the seat beside him. “Come here.” He wanted to comfort her about as much as he wanted her comfort. She strolled over and sat down. He turned toward her a little. He gestured with his head. “The girls are playing ping-pong in the game room.”
“Game room?” She turned and noticed for the first time a recessed bar to the left of the door they had entered through. To the right of that was a carpeted stairway leading down. From the opening a distinct sound rose. A ping-pong ball was being paddled and bouncing across a table rhythmically.
“Uh-huh. There’s a ping-pong table, a pool table, darts, and a hot tub. They wanted to go into the hot tub, but I said they’d have to ask you. I thought you might want to catch something to eat first.”
She smiled, seeming to loosen up a fraction. “I am starved!”
He put his palms on his knees and got ready to stand. “Let’s eat then.”
She put a hand on his arm to stop him from rising.
“Why did you switch hotels?
He wasn’t ready for this. “Huh?”
“Why did you switch hotels? When you first called we were staying at a low-budget place. Why did you switch?”
He wasn’t about to tell her the real reason. “This place is a little…quieter. Not as many people in and out. I didn’t want to be interrupted by fans. I wanted you all to myself.” He reached over to play with her hair. It was true. He hadn’t wanted a lot of commotion with fans. Their time together was short; he wanted to make the most of it. But that wasn’t the only reason.