This is Effortless (Checkmate Duet 4)

“This is so charming,” Courtney says, glancing around the room once I unlock it. “It’s like walking through a time capsule.” Which is something we could really use right now.

“Yeah, back to the floral and wallpaper ages.” I chuckle, pulling our suitcases inside.

“It’s perfect. Just what we need,” she states, and her shoulders visibly relax.

After setting our suitcases aside, I grab her hand and sit us down on the bed. A loud creak echoes throughout the room as soon as we do.

“Oh my God.” She laughs, bouncing her hips against the mattress again. “I’m guessing it gets pretty loud around here at night.”

I smirk, agreeing with her. “Or perhaps they hope it discourages couples instead.”

“Then why even have a bed and breakfast? What do you think people come to these things for in the first place?”

“Yeah, you’re right. They probably aren’t coming here to read the Bible and sleep.”

“Although, sleep sounds pretty good right now.” She lays her head on my shoulder, and I wrap my arm around her. We need to talk before we get back home, but after everything she’s been through the last twelve hours, she should get some good rest.

“Let’s take a nap and then we can get some food. What do you think?” I ask.

“That sounds perfect.” She yawns and then chuckles. “My body agrees, apparently.”

“Good.” I place a kiss on her forehead. “Let’s see how much noise this bed can make.”

She hits a palm against my chest, pretending to be offended. “Drew!”

“What?” I laugh. “I wasn’t implying that. You’re the one with your mind in the gutter. I was saying how much noise it makes just getting into the bed.”

She looks up at me and rolls her eyes. “Right. Sure you were.”

I flash a sly smile at her. I love that she knows me so well. Maybe too well.

It’s nearly eight o’clock when I wake up, realizing we’ve overslept our nap and are bordering on sleeping through the night hours. I don’t want to wake her, so as carefully and quietly as possible, I slide my arm out from under her and cover her back up. The bed creaks just as I push off and I freeze on my feet, hoping it doesn’t startle her.

I look over my shoulder and see her eyes are still shut and she’s breathing softly. I slide my pants back on and stuff my feet into my shoes. The closest place to grab food is a good fifteen minutes away, so hopefully she stays asleep until I get back.

Kissing the top of her forehead, I tighten the covers up around her and tiptoe out of the room. Once I make it to the rental car, I look around the parking lot, checking for any suspicious vehicles. Nothing looks out of place so I unlock the car and hop in. I head back on the interstate and find a roadside diner. I place a to-go order and head back to the B&B. Courtney hasn’t called, which means she’s still sleeping peacefully.

Once I arrive back, I grab our food and head back to our room. I listen for any movement, but it’s just as quiet as it was when I left. Knowing I’ll have to wake her up to eat, I mentally prepare myself for what we need to talk about. Neither of us can remember what happened once we got to our room, but she needs to know about Mia so she can piece it together in her mind and we can file the restraining order with details of exactly what happened to the both of us.

Quietly, I open the door and see all the lights are on. I know for a fact I didn’t leave them on, which means Courtney is awake. I expected a call from her, but perhaps she just woke up as I was getting back.

“Court?” I say softly, shutting the door behind me, not wanting to startle her. I check the bed and see that the covers are ripped off where she was sleeping. “Court? Where are you?”

I start to panic as I think of where she could be. There’s no way she’d leave the room without me, especially at night, yet she hadn’t called when she woke up either.

“Baby?” I say a little louder. I step inside farther and start searching. Behind the bathroom door, in the bathtub, and behind the curtains. What the fuck?

I’m about to call her cell when I hear a noise come from the closet. I rush over and whip the door open and Courtney swings, barely missing my face with the back of a lamp. Determination was in her eyes, and I honestly feel sorry for anyone who would have gotten the tail end of that. Any professional baseball player would’ve been proud because she put all her weight into it.