Designed for Love (6 page)

"Okay, listen, how about dinner? Say
sixish. I have a room reserved for you. The Days Inn on Route 41. Can you find
it?"

"I'm sure I can. If not I'll ask
someone for directions. Do you want to pick me up or meet me some place?"
I bit my tongue. Damn it, why had I asked that? I didn't want to him to come to
my hotel. Too late now.

"I'll pick you up. I'm at the same
hotel. See you later."

I clicked my phone closed and hurried
toward the aisle of rental cars. Aisle B – ah, there it is. I almost ran down
to the third slot and clicked the trunk open with the remote. I started to lift
my bag in and stopped dead in my tracks.

"Wendy, why'd you rush off that
way?" Bill's voice came from two aisles away.

Even the sound of his voice did something
to my insides. I set the bag in the trunk, not trusting myself to speak. I let
out a deep breath. This wasn't looking too good. I really thought I was rid of
him. He walked toward me. The grin on his face turned my stomach to mush. My
legs trembled when he came up next to me, and I grasped the door handle, if for
nothing more than support.

"Sorry, but I'm really tired. Can we
take a rain check on lunch? I just want to get settled into a hotel and call it
a day." Not that that was going to happen. I had to shop for clothes and meet
Nick later. I wished I could put off dinner with Nick until tomorrow. Besides,
we already wasted one day.

"You still have to eat. Come on,
I'll meet you at Hurricane Harry's say in..." he looked at his watch,
"about an hour?"

I sighed. What the heck. He was right, I
did have to eat and right now my stomach made no dark secret of it– it growled
loudly. "Okay, I'll get settled and meet you there. Where is it
anyway?"

"I should have asked where you were
staying first. It's in North Fort Myers just over the Edison Bridge
off Route 41. Is that a problem?"

I shook my head. "I'll find it. I
haven't decided where I'm staying. I'm sure someone will give me
directions." I opened the car door and slid inside. I wasn't about to tell
him where I was staying. Having Nick in the same hotel was enough of a problem.
I couldn't deal with both of them. I slammed my car door, buckled the seat belt
and pulled away.

                                                                         
*
* *
                                                  

Bill liked the way her skirt slid up,
exposing her long leg when she got into the car. He couldn't help but grin, she
was so sexy. She drove away, and he went back to his car. He hit the remote and
whistled. Somehow, some way he was going to break down that wall she built
around herself.

He had sensed her hesitation. He had to
put her at ease, make her quit thinking. How? Damn, he felt like such a jerk.
Why was it when he needed something clever to say his mind went blank? He had
wanted to take her hand but thought better of it. She'd only pull away. He
wondered if she'd show up for their lunch date.

He pulled out of the parking lot and
followed her to the exit. Yep, she was going to let her hair down and learn to
have fun if it killed him. Right now, he needed to find his hotel and freshen
up. He wished he had a clean shirt to change into. Maybe he'd stop and pick up
a few things before he went to his room. He rubbed his chin. A shave wouldn't
hurt either. He allowed two cars to get between him and Wendy. Couldn't have
her think he was following her.

Chapter Nine

I looked in my rearview mirror and saw
Bill get into the car that sat two spots away from mine. Just great. All these
coincidences were starting to bother me. I knew my sisters would say it was
fate. That Bill and I were destined to meet, but I didn't believe in that
stuff. No such thing as fate. The fact that all these things threw us together
was purely coincidental. Nothing else.

I noticed his car two cars behind mine.
Lord, I hoped he wasn't following me. I turned off and headed towards Route 41.
Good, the traffic light changed and he had to stop. Maybe, just maybe I could
lose him in traffic. I swore if he showed up at the same hotel as mine, I'd
die.

At the next exit was a shopping mall and
I pulled in. May as well pick up the clothes I needed now. A hot shower sounded
terrific. Didn't matter that the temperature was 80 degrees, after spending two
days in the same clothes I just wanted to get out of them and a hot shower
sounded heavenly. Besides, I could crank up the air conditioner.

I parked in front of a department store
and hurried inside. Darn it, I needed everything right down to my underwear.
May as well start there. I made my way to the lingerie department and picked up
several pair of panties and bras along with a couple night gowns. I had no idea
how long I'd be here or if my luggage would show up. Still, I refused to buy
that many clothes. If I had to, I'd shop again or do laundry. Nick promised I'd
be home for New Years, and I planned to do my darnedest to hold him to it.

Yeah, right, like I had the guts to do
that. After I picked out several blouses and two skirts, I realized I needed at
least one more pair of heels and maybe a pair of sandals. I pulled a pair of
white Capri pants off the rack and two pair of shorts. May as well be
comfortable too.

This shopping spree was going to set me
back a pretty penny. Not that I didn't need the clothes, I could always use
them this summer. My wardrobe was getting pretty shabby. I found a comfortable
pair of heels and two pair of sandals and bought them both. I didn't splurge on
clothes often and after the last two days, I deserved it.

I paid for my purchases and headed toward
my car. A familiar looking man came out the other door. I stopped and stared.
This couldn't be happening. Had he followed me after all? No way could this be
a coincidence.

Bill kept walking. Good, he hadn't
noticed me. I waited until he got into his car at the other end of the parking
lot. Once he drove away, I hurried to my own car and put my packages in the
trunk. Maybe he hadn't followed me– he certainly didn't appear to see me. His
car disappeared out of the lot onto the highway, and I breathed a sigh of
relief.

Okay, looked like he hadn't followed me.
I knew darn well if he had seen me he would have said something. He wasn't the
type to ignore me. Somehow I had evaded him. Now to find the hotel. I pulled
out of the parking lot and joined the flow of traffic.

I always loved Florida. The fresh smell, the palm trees.
Right now, even the traffic, which wasn't in short supply today, didn't bother
me like it usually did. I swore every time I came here it got worse. Not like I
was a seasoned traveler, I'd actually only been here three times over the
course of five years. But still, I loved it. Although, I much preferred driving
to flying.

My parents planned to retire here in a
few years. Get out of the cold winters, at least according to my mother. I just
hoped they didn't decide to live here all year. Six months was long enough in
my opinion. I doubted my mother would agree to live down here. Too attached to
her grandkids.

I remembered when they decided to take a
month's vacation– my mother couldn't wait to get home. Six months was probably
longer than she'd want to stay. I smiled, thinking about my mom with the kids.
Typical grandmother, always baking cookies and letting them stay overnight. Not
to mention spoiling them rotten, then sent them home to their parents. My
mother loved being a grandmother. Hell, she loved being a mother. No wonder she
couldn't understand why I don't want to get married.

It wasn't that I didn't want kids. I
loved kids. Even wanted them someday. I eased my car into another lane and
started to look for the motel. According to the salesgirl in the store I should
be coming up on it pretty soon. Ah, there it is. I flipped on the turn signal
and turned into the lot, parked my car in front of the lobby doorway and got
out. No more than I opened my car door and a familiar figure came out of the
office, stopped and stared at me.

How could this be happening? I didn't
believe in fate, kismet, or even luck– if you wanted to call it that. What were
the chances out of all the hotels in Florida
we'd be staying at the same one?

A silly grin spread across Bill's face
when he saw me. I wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

"Hey," Bill walked toward me.
"Are you staying here too?"

"No, I just thought I'd drop by to
say hello. Of course I'm staying here, why else would I be here." I knew
it sounded sarcastic, but I couldn't help it. I really thought I was rid of
him.

"Great, get settled and we'll go to
lunch."

I shook my head. He seemed oblivious to
my sarcasm. The guy needed to get hit by a lightning bolt to tell him I wasn't
interested.

Did he really not get it at the airport?
I rushed out of there to avoid him. Not that it helped, he found me anyway.
Looked like I was doomed. No way was I going to get out of lunch. I shrugged.
At least I'd have a free meal. What the heck, after what I just spent on
clothes, I deserved it. And it wasn't that I didn't enjoy his company. Problem
was I enjoyed it way too much.

"Fine, I'll meet you back here in,
say fifteen minutes."

"Works for me." Bill sauntered
off towards his car.

God, he looked sexy. His shirt almost
clung to his muscles. Shaking myself back to awareness, I went inside and
registered.

A few minutes later, I came out and
headed toward my room. I only hoped it was far away from Bill's. With a hundred
plus rooms, I couldn't believe we'd be too close together. I found my room,
parked in a space nearby, popped my trunk and grabbed the shopping bags and my
carryon. Fine looking luggage. I hoped no one saw me. Although what difference
it made was beyond me. So, I had shopping bags, so what? Other tourists
shopped. No one knew I didn't already have luggage in my room.

Once in my room, I started to hang up my
purchases. Darn, I wanted a shower before lunch. I picked up the phone and
called the front desk.

"Can you connect me to Bill
Johnson's room, please?"

"Sure, but you can dial that
yourself. He's in room 110." The operator said.

Before I had a chance to reply the
operator connected me. A voice that sent shivers up my spine answered.

"Bill, uh, it's me, Wendy."

"Hi, what's up? Don't tell me you're
canceling lunch."

"No, just want to delay it a bit. I
really want to take a shower. How about I meet you in an hour?"

"Sure, sounds great. See you
then." I hung up and started to undress.

* * *

Bill hung up the phone. A shower didn't
sound like a bad idea. He could use one too. He thought for sure she was
canceling lunch. That'd be just like something she'd pull. Nope, she wasn't
going to get away from him that easy. He couldn't believe his luck when he came
out of the lobby and saw her standing there. This fate thing just might be for
real.

Bill breathed a sigh of relief, took his
fresh clothes and headed for the shower. Somehow, he'd get her to have dinner
with him, or a walk on the beach. Bet she looked terrific in a bathing suit. If
she even owned one. Since their luggage was God only knew where, he'd doubt if
she had one with her. He laughed out loud. Even if she had her luggage, she
wouldn't have brought a bathing suit. She'd made it very clear, she wasn't here
to play. Still, a walk on the beach sounded relaxing. He'd figure a way to
convince her.

Chapter Ten

Refreshed from my shower, I decided to
let my hair dry naturally in curls and only blew dry the excess moisture out of
it. Thankfully, the hotel supplied a blow dryer. I hadn't thought of that at
the store. I made a mental note to pick up a flat iron. The curly look was okay
for casual but not business. I put on a pair of shorts and a lightweight
blouse, and slipped my feet into the sandals then looked in the mirror. Not
bad, if I did say so myself.

Okay, let's get this show on the road. My
stomach growled, reminding me how hungry I was. I picked up my purse, put the
hotel key inside and grabbed my car keys. One last look in the mirror, a quick,
finger comb through my hair and I left the room.

No sooner had I closed the door when a
movement next door caught my eye. I knew without looking it was Bill. How could
I not know? Even without looking at him goose bumps broke out on my arms, and
my stomach tightened in knots, the way it did every time I saw him. Could my
senses be so keyed into him? Apparently so, because when I turned to look– sure
enough he stood there grinning like a Cheshire cat. This was beginning to freak
me out.

"Well is this my lucky day or what?
What are the chances we'd have rooms next to each other? It's almost too good
to be true." Bill closed his door and came toward me. "Should I pinch
myself to see if I'm awake?" He stopped next to me.

"What's wrong? You don't look too
happy to see me. Now I can wine and dine you properly. Show you how to have
fun."