Trevor (A MacLaughlin Family Novella) (3 page)

“Sorry I talked your ear off,” she offered as they walked to the shuttle stop. Trevor was towing both suitcases behind him, one in either hand.

He flashed her an encouraging smile. “No need to apologize. I enjoyed hearing about your adventures in animal science.” He chuckled. “I forgot how much there was to learn about sponges.”

A giggle slipped from her lips. “Professor Kerrigan really did like sponges.”

<><><>

Trevor checked both their suitcases and led the way to their gate. The line through security went quickly. They were in the first group and boarded within ten minutes. It was a smaller plane, maybe only about fifty passengers.

They filed on slowly. He led the way, checking several times over his shoulder to make sure she was still there. She’d been rather quiet since they’d gotten into the terminal. He’d enjoyed her stories about classes and professors. Her college experience sounded like it had been much more fun than his. But how exciting could you make business finance? He shook his head and grinned.

“Are we here?” Her voice stopped him. He looked back a row and then up at the label.

“Yep, this is us.” He stared down at the row of three seats and groaned. He’d been hoping to be on the double side.

“I have the middle seat,” she informed him. “You go in first. You have the window.”

“Lorelei, take my chair. I’ll sit in the middle.”

“Really?” The excitement in her eyes was adorable. She cast a worried glance at the passengers still filing onto the plane. “You can scootch over toward me if you need to. I’m a lot smaller than you.” She slithered into their row and settled into the furthest chair. Then arranged her purse behind her feet on the floor.

Trevor bit back a grin.
Scootching
wasn’t quite what he had in mind, but at least she was open to him invading her personal space. That was progress for sure, after his idiot handshake this morning.

He just wasn’t good with women. Never had been. He’d dated a few girls in high school, but nothing serious. In college he was too busy for more than drinks out and a couple of movie dates. The one woman he’d dated longer than a few months got the job offer of a lifetime and moved to New York last year. That relationship ended quickly. Long distance was for the birds.

Lorelei was it for him. His mind wouldn’t let him settle for any substitute, even if it meant being a lifelong bachelor. He slid into the center chair and leaned on her armrest, inhaling the fresh lavender scent wafting from her curls.

“You smell so good,” he whispered. The words slipped out before he could stop them. Her head whipped around and her beautiful brown-eyed gaze locked with his. Their faces were mere inches from each other. Her lips parted and she took in a small gasp of air.
You can’t kiss her! Not now!

A shove from behind knocked his forehead into her face.
Shit!

“Ow,” she whined, leaning back and rubbing her bruised nose.

Trevor turned, ready to chew out the passenger who shoved him into her face. But it was just a worn-out old middle-aged man. The guy met his gaze and glanced away embarrassed. “Sorry.”

Trevor nodded and then turned back to Lorelei. “Are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” She flashed him a quick smile. “Thank you for not beating him up.”

“I wasn’t go—” He stopped when one of her eyebrows rose questioningly.
What an imp!
She was knocking him off his game. What little he had, anyway.

“You know, I’m confused, Trevor MacLaughlin. I can’t tell if you are coming or going. You stared hungrily at me with those gorgeous blue eyes earlier this morning, then try to get rid of me. Then you give me another I-want-to-eat-you-for-dinner glances at my house,
in my bedroom,
as if I were the last woman alive on the planet. Now you think I smell nice. What’s next? Are you going to change your mind and start ignoring me again? Leave me locked in the hotel room by myself answering phone calls all day.”

Her arms crossed and her brow scrunched.

He wasn’t getting away from this one.

“I should have told Lizzy no when she called and begged me to come fill in for Karen.”

She did what!
He kept his voice even and low. “Why would Lizzy beg you to work in our office over Christmas?”

She frowned. It didn’t matter if he knew anymore. “We’ve had one awkward moment after another. So there you have it. The set-up was a bust.”

“Hey!”
Set-up? Lizzy had purposefully sent Lorelei!

“Tell me it isn’t true.”

He couldn’t. He’d been a mess since she walked into MacLaughlin Corp. that morning.

“I didn’t think so.” She turned away and stared out the window. Clouds were rushing past. He hadn’t even paid attention that the plane had taken off. “It’s ok. I was a willing participant in the plot,” she whispered, her voice trembling just a little. “Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be, no matter how hard you wish for them.”

He stared at the magazines tucked in the pocket of the seat in front of him. What was he supposed to do with that? How was he supposed to explain that he’d ignored her and avoided her all this time out of respect for his sister when it was his damn sister who was now trying to set them up?
It would have been really nice to have been in on it for this one Lizzy. Now I just look like a jackass.

4

“Where are we going?” Lorelei handed off her bag to Trevor and waited holding a big umbrella over both of them while he loaded it into their rental vehicle. Rain poured around them and the bottom of her jeans and her tennis shoes were already soaked through.

He closed the back of the small crossover, and then walked around and opened the front passenger door for her to get in. Then he hurried back to his door.

“Honeywell, it’s a little town about two hours north of Crescent City,” he answered after climbing into the driver’s seat. “They had a mudslide and it damaged several buildings belonging to Rivner Logging Inc.”

“It’s still raining. Don’t they want to wait until this blows over?”

“They can’t wait. They need the building operational and the equipment protected.” The vehicle pulled forward and thankfully Trevor drove carefully through the deluge of rain.

He was quiet and she let him be. They hadn’t talked much after she spilled the beans on the plane. It had been a stupid idea in the first place. Why had she agreed with Lizzy?
If he was the least bit interested, the man would have spoken up by now…right?
She should just forget about creating chemistry with Trevor and move on.

<><><>

The vehicle jolted and shook. Lorelei opened her eyes and glanced around. Trevor was pulling to a stop in front of a small motel.

“Did I fall asleep?” She glanced over at him.

A smile tugged the corners of his lips upward and his dimples showed. “You were out like a light after ten minutes.”

“Sorry. I didn’t think I was that tired.”

“It’s alright. You missed a few trees, but otherwise it was uneventful. I was on the phone half the time with the client, so it was good you drifted off.”

She’d drifted off all right. Her dreamland happened to be in his arms, naked in a bed. That moment on the plane, right before knocking heads, had given her just an inkling of hope. Maybe the damn man just didn’t know how to communicate. Maybe there was something going on she didn’t know about. Whatever it was. She was getting to the bottom of it, because the only thing she could seem to think about was Trevor without any clothing on.

“At least the rain let up some.” Weather was safe. She could talk about the weather without giving him a clue to the naughty gutter her brain had found to occupy.

She opened the vehicle door and stepped out into a fine mist. No need for an umbrella, but her hair would be a mess later regardless.

Trevor grabbed the bags and she followed him into the small entryway of the hotel, her eyes trained in on his fantastic ass.

“Good afternoon, sir. Can I help you?” A pleasant male voice spoke from the other side of the counter. She peeled her focus from Trevor’s butt, and glanced up at the counter. The clerk stepped into view a moment later. His nametag read –
Jack
.

“I have reservations for two rooms under the name MacLaughlin,” Trevor stated quietly.

The clerk’s face darkened. “Sir, I only have one room for you. I’m very sorry for the inconvenience,” he apologized. “The mudslide took out several homes this morning and we had to make room for the families.”

“I understand, but…”

Lorelei stepped up beside Trevor. He looked down at her, his eyes conveying his apology. “It’s alright. We can share the room. Don’t worry about it.” Her insides were screaming for her to worry about it.
He’s going figure out that I’m into him. It’s going to be so awkward and uncomfortable. How do I get myself into situations like this?

He nodded and turned back to the clerk, holding out one hand for the key. With his other arm he gave her a quick squeeze around the shoulders, sending tingles of excitement traipsing up and down her body. Heat radiated from her core and she shifted from one foot to the other, trying to alleviate the throb in her sex. It also took every scrap of her willpower not to rub up and down his body like a cat in heat.

What was wrong with her? Sure, she hadn’t slept with a guy in ages, but she shouldn’t be this bad off.

“Ready?”

She snapped out of her daze and nodded quickly. God, was she ready. He just didn’t know.

He grabbed the handles of both bags and beckoned her toward the elevator. They rode in silence.
Does he know? I’m a terrible liar. How am I going to fake disinterest for a week?
She glanced over and he smiled. Not an I-want-to-strip-you smile, just a nice friendly grin.
I wonder if he’ll take his shirt off in front of me.

She covered her face and turned away from him, biting back a giggle. Which turned into a strange sounding snort.

“Are you okay?”

She turned back to face him and gave him a half smile. “Yeah, fine. Just a weird hiccup.” Her eyes were watering from holding back the laugh.

“Sure?” His eyebrows were raises suspiciously.

“Yep. Peachy.”

Thankfully, he didn’t press the matter. The elevator rang and the doors opened on the forth floor, the top floor of this small hotel.
Saved by the bell.
She hurried off and then stopped, realizing she didn’t know what the room number was.

“To the right. Room 411.”

She swung to her right and fell into step beside him. His sandalwood scent filled her lungs and she sighed inwardly. A week alone with the man she’d been hooked on for a decade and who wasn’t interested in her.
Masochist much?

<><><>

The room was small, a three-drawer dresser with a TV on top, a desk and chair, one sitting chair, and a bed.
No couch!
She glanced at the queen size bed to her right. There was not enough space to sleep without touching.

Alarm bells sounded in her head. She was going to embarrass herself. It was a given. She slept all over her bed at home. Most mornings she woke up to find her covers all over the floor.

He parked their luggage by the wall and looked at his watch. “I’ve got to go run and meet the client, but I’ll be back in a few hours with dinner. Did you need me to stop and get you anything?”

“No, I’m good.”

He met her gaze and nodded.

“What do I do?”

“Just relax, watch some TV, read a book. I’ll have lists for you to call on tomorrow after I get a good look at the damage.”

“Oh, okay.”

He stared at her a minute, like he was trying to decide if he wanted to hug her goodbye or just wave.
Cute
. At least she wasn’t the only one a little confused. He finally unfroze and pulled his cell from his side pocket.

“Can you put your number in? I don’t have it yet,” he said, holding it out.

She put in her number and handed it back. “Text me so I have yours.”

“Just did.”

Her phone beeped in her purse.

“Cool, see you in a bit.”

He nodded and slipped out the door.

<><><>

Trevor opened the hotel room door at 9:05pm. The meeting with the client had taken longer than he expected. The flooding had taken down a wall, collapsed a roof, and ruined several large machines. The owner was paying upfront for a quick salvage, but it would be tomorrow morning before he could have a crew mobilized and here.

As late as it was, he’d managed to find a little place still open and got them both a home-style burger and fries. Hopefully she would forgive him for being so late.

The site that greeted him was adorable and frightening at the same time. Her luggage was open on the floor and appeared to have been dug through, as if whatever she’d wanted was at the very bottom. A pair of pink satin and lace panties lay draped over the edge and a matching pink and black bra lay just inside the suitcase on top of a pile of shoes. The thought of seeing her in those made blood rush to his dick. Papers and books were scattered across the bed along with a tablet computer wrapped in a bright yellow cover.

He set the bag of food down on the dresser next to the TV and picked up one of the books off the bed –
Ancient Gods and Goddesses
. He flipped through a few pages. Next to it he picked up an inside out black, over-sized sweatshirt. He turned it the right way and chuckled. On the front it read –
Men say a women’s place is in the kitchen. Just remember, that’s where all the knives are.
This girl was something else.

The door of the bathroom clicked open. Lorelei walked out half wrapped in a towel, wet hair glistening, looking like one of the goddesses from her book.
I’ve truly died and gone to heaven.

“Holy mother of popcorn balls! Trevor!” She screeched and ducked back into the bathroom, but not before giving him a nice peek at her bare ass. “You could at least make a little noise when you come in,” she spat out through the barely cracked door.