When she’d asked Shane how fast he could come and get her, it had kind of been metaphorically speaking, although she wasn’t kidding about being beyond hungry. When he’d told her he could be at the resort to pick her up in half an hour, she’d had to eat her words and scramble her butt out of the bathtub, but not before she gave herself a good scrub down with her favorite shower gel and shaved her legs with careful (albeit quick) precision.
A review of what was left of her clean clothes told her she’d better figure out a way to hit a Laundromat, because all she had left was a pair of black yoga pants and a matching fitted turtleneck. Thank God her mother had drilled it into her to bring extra underwear on a trip, “just in case,” although the unmentionables in question were the one dreaded thong that Bellamy owned. Sometimes necessity, or in this case, yoga pants, dictated the use of such torture devices, and in order to banish weird panty lines, she’d just have to take one for the team. Not that anyone would be looking at her butt, per se. It was really just a general rule.
Dear God, if you’re up there and you’re listening, could you please let Shane Griffin want to look at my butt? I’d really appreciate it.
She made her way down to the lobby exactly thirty minutes after she’d gotten off the phone with Shane and was surprised to see him in the archway of the main entrance. The scattering of stubble that had graced his jaw earlier was now gone, and the rhythm of his stride as he walked over to her suggested casual purpose. It was probably a bad sign to start the evening so hot and bothered, but unless a cold front came whipping through the lobby right then and there, Bellamy would have to chill out on her own.
“Hey! Wow, you weren’t kidding about the thirty minutes, huh?” She clasped her hands together in front of her, not quite sure what to do with them.
“I don’t kid when it comes to women who say they’re starving. You look great.” Shane leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, just as easy as could be, and the simple gesture sent her nerves packing. This wasn’t some awkward date with forced conversation or false pretenses. It was just her and Shane, going out for burgers.
And it felt good.
“Thanks. This is my burger-getting outfit. Glad you like it.” Bellamy gave a little twirl before putting on her coat.
Shane laughed. “Well, I hope your friends don’t mind too much that I’m stealing you away for the evening. I promise to have you back by midnight.”
They walked out to the main entrance of the resort, and Bellamy steeled herself as they got to the front door and Shane pushed it open for her.
“Oh, they left to go back to the city about four hours ago.” She jumped when the cold air slammed into her like a brick wall, wrapping her arms around her body in an instinctive maneuver. “God, do you ever get used to that?”
“In a weird way, yeah. Your friends left?” Shane put his arm around her shoulder and they walked in sync through the parking lot, his hip at her side and her imagination going full throttle.
“Oh, ah, yeah. They both had to get back to work. I decided to stay and wait for my car.”
“Hmm. That might be just as well, because I didn’t really have any intention of getting you back early tonight.”
She laughed. “At least you’re honest about your bad intentions.”
He fixed her with a look that arrowed right into her chest in a white-hot streak before responding. “They might be good intentions, depending on how you look at it.”
They arrived at his truck all too soon, in Bellamy’s opinion, and he let her go to open her door so she could climb in. She was met by the faded scent of cedar and pine, and it made her wonder if everything he touched was left smelling all wonderful and Shane-like.
He popped the driver’s side door open and started the truck, which warmed up quickly since he’d just been in it. “So, you’re staying at the resort by yourself?”
“Yup. I don’t have a job, so staying in that suite was out of the question if I couldn’t split it with Jenna and Holly. But I talked to the maanger and he got me an extended stay rate since I’ll be here for more than a week. Plus, the weekday rates go down pretty significantly anyhow, so I decided to stay rather than go home and come back.”
Shane winced as he pulled away from the front gate of the resort. “I feel really bad about your transmission being stuck in Ohio. I put in a call to the distributor after you left today and told them I needed it ASAP. The guy said if we’re really lucky, it’ll get here Thursday, but I wouldn’t bet on that.” He kept his eyes on the road, but his remorse was clear even in the orange glow of the dashboard lights.
“It’s not your fault it snowed, Shane. In fact, it might be a good thing. Sticking around gives me some time to figure out what I’m going to do and explore all of my options. If I job search in the city, I’m afraid I’ll be guilted into something because it’s in front of me rather than picking it because I want it, you know?”
Shane creased his brow, but kept his gaze on the windshield. “Do you always have a plan?”
Bellamy’s brows lifted. “Well, yeah. I started by ruling out the definite no’s, namely staying unemployed and going back to work for Attila the Boss. I bit the bullet and called the head of HR at the bank after I got back today, but it turned out okay. Apparently, my ex-boss has quite the track record.”
“Well, that’s not really shocking. What, did she get caught eating her young in the break room or something?”
Bellamy was in danger of her laugh turning into the embarrassing snort that popped out only for the really good stuff. “No, but let’s just say I’m not the first employee to have issues with her ‘questionable management skills.’” She hooked air quotes around the words and sighed. “In the end, it wasn’t just her that made me miserable there, so I politely declined HR’s offer to move to another team. At least I know my résumé isn’t trashed over the whole thing, though.” Having the reassurance of a good reference despite her showdown with Bosszilla really had gone a long way toward easing her mind.
“Okay, so what’s next, then, if you’re not going to stay there?” Shane’s eyes flicked over her for a second before returning to the road.
Bellamy ran her teeth over her bottom lip in thought. “I’m not sure. My strengths are definitely in management and analysis, but the idea of sitting in another cubicle with my eyes glued to my laptop all day makes my skin crawl. I guess I could do something more hands-on, or even go work for my parents, but I’d have to see what’s out there to get a better idea of what I’m qualified for.”
Shane pulled into a familiar parking lot and scratched his head. “Jeez, this place is packed.” He scanned the snow-packed gravel. “I don’t see a parking spot anywhere.”
She squinted at the brightly lit side of the building, and wait... “Not to ask a stupid question, but why are we at the Double Shot?”
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t tell you? Lou works the grill out here. The burgers are incredible.” He muttered an indiscriminate curse under his breath as they circled the lot again, coming up on a group of people rushing toward the building.
“Excuse me,” Shane called, rolling down his window and catching the attention of someone so bundled up, Bellamy couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. “Do you know what’s with the crowd?”