Page 92 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

“How are we going to get her in there?” Cat wondered aloud as she steered the van around to the back of the motel.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jared reassured her as he pulled his sunglasses and baseball cap off the dashboard.

“I am worried.” Cat switched off the engine and turned to face him. “I’m too tired to try and find another motel.”

“Not to worry,” he repeated as he fussed over Lucy. “Voil?.”

With her poofy tail thumping against the back of the seat, Lucy tipped her head and gazed at Cat from beneath a hat brim and sunglasses as if pleased with her new attire. Cat glanced up at Jared and burst into laughter. Just the reaction he’d been hoping for.

“No one will ever suspect,” he assured her.

Together they crept through the back door of the motel as stealthily as thieves. As if sensing the precariousness of her situation, Lucy stuck close to Jared until they were safely inside the room.

“We made it,” Cat sighed in relief as she collapsed against their door.

“Of course,” Jared said and dropped her suitcase on one bed and his duffel bag on the other.

While the dog joyously tracked every scent in the small room, an awkward silence fell between her two companions. Jared glanced about the room. He’d crashed in a lot of motel rooms in his life, but this one seemed smaller than any he remembered.

“Are you hungry?” Cat asked.

Jared’s gaze snapped to hers. He was relieved to have the silence broken. “Actually, yes.”

“Do you want to finish the food in the cooler or should we order out?” she asked, brushing by him to get to her carryon.

“We passed a diner on the way in. Why don’t I walk down there and get us something to eat?” Jared offered, anxious to be away from the two beds and the enticing female he was stuck with.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t mind,” he insisted.

“Well, let me give you some money.”

“No,” he refused. “I can handle it. Is there anything special you want?”

“Whatever you have will be fine,” she said, taking Lucy’s water dish into the bathroom to fill it. She paused and gazed at the bathtub with undisguised longing. Jared saw the look and inwardly groaned.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, in what he hoped was a discouraging tone.

Cat watched the door close behind him. Jared seemed awfully tense. It was probably the long day on the road, but she wondered if it had anything to do with her. She supposed it could be the money. He hadn’t been pleased when she’d footed the bill for their lodgings. Maybe if he bought dinner, he’d feel better.

She knew about men and their pride. Her former fiancé, the big dumb jerk, had plenty of pride. He used to spend five hours every Saturday cleaning and waxing his BMW. He was so proud of that car. Cat wondered how many hours of her life she’d spent buffing hubcaps and polishing the dashboard. Ugh! Letting him be the center of her world had been so foolish. She would never make that mistake again.

She unzipped her suitcase and pulled out her night clothes. Considering the close sleeping quarters, she chose summer pajamas, consisting of a navy blue t-shirt and matching plaid shorts. Conservative, but cool.

Any romantic notions she might have about Jared were obviously not going to be returned. It appeared she was the only one who’d felt a spark of awareness at the rest stop. Since then Jared had shown about as much interest in her as a woman as her brother would. Possibly even less. She didn’t doubt for a second that sharing a room with him wouldn’t be any more dangerous than sharing one with Cameron. And she had to admit that having a companion, especially an imposing one like Jared, made her feel more at ease in .

“Everybody decent in here?” Jared called. He entered the room with one hand covering his eyes while the other clutched two large white bags and the room key.

“Lucy’s in her birthday suit, but otherwise I think you’re safe,” Cat answered as she grabbed the bags from him.

“Shucks,” he teased. Removing his hand from his eyes, he smiled at her. “I was hoping for better timing.”

“Yeah, right.” Cat shook her head at him and promptly dove into the bags of food. “What’s the menu?”

“We have lasagna, garlic bread and a tossed salad,” Jared answered as he helped her to unpack.

“Wonderful.” Cat took the seat opposite him at the small table in front of the room’s only window.