A Fare To Remember_ Just Whistle_Driven - Vicki Lewis Thompson [8]
He’d thought that message had rolled right off his back, and yet the evidence said otherwise. When he hadn’t been able to reach her this morning he’d hopped a bus and dashed over to make sure she was okay. Then he’d raced to the hotel because a couple of fire trucks were sitting there. And he still hadn’t seen any smoke.
Hannah looked upset, though. Wending her way through the guests, she padded over to a fireman stationed by the front door and started an earnest conversation, waving her arms as she talked. Zach couldn’t help but notice how sexy she looked standing there in her bathrobe and bare feet, her hair catching the glow from the revolving lights on top of the fire engine.
Finally he decided to walk over and make his presence known. Everything she owned could be going up in flames right now. He pictured himself taking out his credit card, just like in the commercials, and buying her a new wardrobe while “My Girl” played in the background. It was a stupid idea, but it ran through his head, anyway.
As he walked toward her, she stuck her hands in the pockets of the bathrobe and gazed up at the fireman. “So I’m really, really sorry,” she said. “But the room smelled so stale and musty.”
“Next time, buy some Glade, lady.” The fireman turned away and clicked a button on the walkie-talkie clipped to his shoulder. “Sammy, check out Room 538. Seems one of the guests was burning sage as an air freshener. That could be the problem.”
Zach groaned. Far from being the victim, Hannah had been the perp.
At the sound, she turned and gasped. “Zach! Omigod, is it seven already?”
“Five after.” Zach tried not to stare at her cleavage, but the bathrobe had gaped open and he could see…a lot. He now knew that she was wearing a black lace bra with a front clasp, that she had no discernible tan line so she might have been out in the sun topless, and that she had a cute little mole on her left breast.
“I am so embarrassed. The room didn’t smell good, so I found a little shop that sells incense and stuff. Sage works great at home. I was afraid the smoke was a little too heavy, so I tried to get the window open but it was painted shut.” She gestured around her. “You see what happened.”
“I see.” He was seeing way too much for a first date, that was for sure, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the view.
“And you brought flowers.” The way she said it sounded as if he’d brought her the Hope diamond.
He’d forgotten he was clutching them. In the two-block dash to the hotel, he’d broken a couple of daisy stalks, and the blossoms hung their little heads. “Uh, yeah.” He plucked the blossoms off and stuck them in his pocket. “Here.”
“They’re beautiful.” She buried her nose in the bouquet and one of the naked stalks almost poked her in the eye.
“Hold on a minute.” He jerked the bouquet back.
She looked startled. “What’s the matter?”
“Stalks.” He pulled them out and handed it back to her. She was showing signs of being accident prone. In a place like New York, that wouldn’t be good.
“I don’t mind a few stalks.” She held the bouquet out and admired it. “I’ll bet you bought this from one of the sidewalk vendors.”
“I did, actually.”
“I love that. I’ve been in New York a mere twelve hours, and I’ve already eaten a soft pretzel, passed out five cans of tuna and received a bouquet from a sidewalk flower shop.” She threw both hands in the air like an Olympic athlete at a medal ceremony. “I’ve arrived!”
“I guess so.” Zach wasn’t used to dramatic displays in a crowd of people. He glanced around to see if anyone was staring. They were. “I’m glad you like the flowers.”
“I don’t like the flowers.”
“You don’t? I thought you just said—”
She laughed. “I love the flowers.”
“Oh.” Zach couldn’t remember the last time he’d been with someone who had this much energy, and according to Mario, she’d come in on the red-eye. “I guess you took a nap today,