Swallowing hard, I glanced at Kellan. “You’re a lucky man. Keep me posted on how he is.”
Shockingly, I meant every word.
Kellan walked me out. As soon as I’d pulled out of the drive, Kellan and his family followed in the small SUV.
I let out a long breath and reached for my pocket. I’d finished off my purloined scones before I reached Crescent Cove’s town limits.
Snow dripped from every bough and eave and glistened in the now full sun. Townspeople bustled up the tidily shoveled sidewalks with their hands full of shopping bags or tugging on leashes that led to an assortment of dogs, both small and large. I’d figured this was the type of place where teacup poodles reigned, but there were just as many German Shepherds and Labradors.
It was a home, not merely a postcard, and though some people rushed, no one scowled. The weather wasn’t ideal and no one seemed to notice.
Where the hell was I? Had I been dropped onto another planet?
People seemed so oddly happy here. Perhaps that was why the townspeople’s reproductive organs operated at peak efficiency.
That was as good an explanation as any other.
I parked near the bed and breakfast and climbed out of the car to empty crumbs from my pocket. There weren’t many. Maggie’s scones were like gold.
I was still licking my fingertips when I stepped inside and found Sage helping a couple of guests. I figured I could sneak up the stairs undetected, but no such luck.
“There you are!” Sage smiled brightly. “And here I thought you were still holed up in your room.”
“No indeed, in and out for business.”
Sage smiled knowingly. “As we realized when Lucy knocked for housekeeping. A lovely young lady told her to come back later.”
My ears and neck were heating up, but they weren’t flushed. That would be ridiculous. I was a grown man. If I wanted to entertain female company in my suite, I was damn well entitled.
Before I could come back with some snark, Sage continued.
“Ivy is a beauty, isn’t she? Bright and sweet too. If you had to choose a welcoming committee to Crescent Cove, you couldn’t find anyone finer. Have a wonderful time.” Sage winked at me and turned to the couple that had just shuffled up to the desk.
“It’s lunchtime,” I sputtered.
“So? Any time is a good time for amore. Am I right or am I right?” Sage asked the couple.
I didn’t stick around for their response.
It was only as I climbed the stairs that hope surged inside me. My step quickened. If Ivy had still been in the room when housekeeping arrived, might she still be there?
I stopped outside my door and knocked, just to be polite. “Ivy? It’s me.”
No reply.
I opened the door to the suite and let out a long breath at the destruction around me. Nothing too horrifying, but there was little doubt a female was still in residence.
Thank God.
A noise came from the bathroom and I cocked my head. She was singing. I couldn’t help a grin. Her voice was pleasing, as appealing as the rest of her. Even if she wasn’t exactly nailing the lyrics of the song she’d decided to attempt.
I moved to the doorway and came to a halt. She was in the tub, surrounded by fragrant bubbles. Her hair was up but some spilled free to her shoulders. Barely contained fire. Her eyes were closed and her breasts bobbed and swayed as she danced in place, her tight pink nipples popping through the froth to torment me.
My throat went dry, my pulse sped up, and my jeans suddenly got a size smaller.
Christ, she was going to kill me.
Did the morning-after—okay, afternoon-after—count as an extension of a one-nighter?