“It’s the women’s restroom.”
“If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you.”
Peyton shivered, then stilled in his hands. “You love me?”
Darius sighed but didn’t let her go. “Are you sure you have an advanced degree?”
“What?”
“Of course I love you.” Darius caressed her forearms, trailing his hands down the slim muscles. He felt her tremble beneath his touch. But she didn’t draw away. His pulse picked up speed. “I’ve loved you since the first day we met, when you frog-marched me out of your office.”
“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”
“No.” He stepped closer. “Do you think I give a dozen yellow roses to everyone who refuses to let me interview them?”
“I started to fall in love with you the day we were locked in the archives.” Peyton’s laughter was watery around the edges. “You claimed someone had locked us in deliberately. You sounded so paranoid.”
“But I was right.”
The sound of a toilet flushing interrupted them.
CeCe walked out of a stall and strode to a sink to wash her hands. “I was never here. You can spin this story any way you’d like.”
Darius watched her dry her hands before she approached them. He straightened his posture, ignoring the heat that climbed from his neck into his face. “I’m sorry for intruding on your privacy.”
“Don’t be. It was very entertaining.” CeCe paused beside them, smiling. “I’m happy for you both.” Then she was gone.
“I’m sorry.” Darius looked around as his surroundings registered with him. “I never thought I’d be in a bathroom the first time I declared my love.”
“That makes two of us.” Peyton threw her arms around his neck. Her honey-and-chocolate-cream features glowed. “In a bathroom or a five-star hotel, it doesn’t matter. Your words were all I could have wished for.”
“You’re all I’ve ever wanted and more than I’ve dreamed of.” Darius pulled her into his arms. This Tin Man had finally found his heart and he’d never let her go.
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CHAPTER 1
Audra Lane strode with manufactured confidence to the vacation rental cabins’ main desk and faced the man she thought was the registration clerk. She curled her bare toes against the warm polished wood flooring and took a deep breath.
“You’re probably wondering why I’m wearing this trash bag.”
“Yes.”
That was it. That single syllable delivered without inflection or emotion in a soft, bluesy baritone.
Audra’s swagger stalled. She tugged her right earlobe.
Maybe that was his way. His manner wasn’t unwelcoming. It was just spare. He’d been the same when she’d checked into the rental cabins in Where-the-Heck-Am-I, Ohio, less than an hour earlier.
In fact, the entire registration area was just as spartan as the clerk. Despite the large picture windows, the room seemed dark and cheerless in the middle of this bright summer morning. There weren’t chairs inviting guests to relax or corner tables with engaging information about the nearby town. It didn’t even offer a coffee station. Nothing about the room said, Welcome! We’re glad you’re here. There were only bare oak walls, bare oak floors, and a tight-lipped clerk.
What kind of vacation spot is this?
Audra pushed her questions about the room’s lack of ambience to the back of her mind and addressed her primary concern.
She wiped her sweaty palms on her black plastic makeshift minidress. “I’d left some of my toiletries in my rental car. I thought I could just step into the attached garage to get them, but the door shut behind me. Luckily, I found a box of trash bags on a shelf.”
She stopped. Her face flamed. If he hadn’t suspected before, he now knew beyond a doubt that she was butt naked under this bag.