Page 15 of Two Hearts' Ploy

Motioning to his bike, she couldn’t resist asking, “What was so funny before, when I was talking about the dangers of riding that thing?”

She could see him smile widely as he slipped onto the seat, revving up the engine.

“Nothing, really,” he finally answered. “But you sounded exactly like my mother.”

She blinked when Jake started laughing as the stranger drove away.

“Come with me, Ms. Matthews,” Jake said softly. “We’ve been waiting for you to arrive. Your manager gave us a call yesterday, along with my daughter Eve, who you’re apparently acquainted with, so we’ve even set up some extra security for you. Just in case. Nothing noticeable, mind you.”

“I appreciate that,” she replied as they headed inside the lobby. “I hope I don’t have too much trouble with being recognized. I went into the antique mall this morning when I arrived in town, and I was never more surprised when the person who waited on me knew who I was. I was even wearing this stupid wig.”

Jake laughed. “If it’s any consolation, I wouldn’t have recognized you if I hadn’t been looking for you. Maybe you should do what my wife Danielle used to do and have our stylist here at the salon give you a new look.”

“That’s actually something I hadn’t considered,” she answered, becoming thoughtful. “I’d have plenty of time to switch back to the old look before my tour if I decided it wasn’t for me.”

“Let’s get you checked in, and then I can drive you back to your SUV so we can grab all your luggage from inside before the tow truck arrives. I’ll give them a call right now, so you’ll have your vehicle back later today. I’m not sure when you wanted todrive over to the studio, but what I’d like to do is add a tracker in case trouble arises. I know you’ve probably got a GPS that we could access, but this will make it easier on me and my security team.”

“Do you really think it’s necessary?” she asked, suddenly feeling panicked.

“I think that it’s better not to take any chances. If you feel like it’s an invasion of your privacy, we won’t do it. But as a former FBI special agent, I can’t help worrying that this situation might escalate. I was able to talk to a contact of mine in California. In fact, at one time, I was based out there in San Francisco. They found evidence of tampering with the wiring at that sound studio where you were supposed to record your album, so the cause of the fire has definitely been ruled as arson.”

She grimaced, giving him a side glance. “FBI?” He did look rather menacing right now although he obviously didn’t expose the dark side of himself to friends, family and guests of the Inn unless there was trouble.

She heaved a sigh. “Then I guess I’d better do what you say, Mr. Loughlin. You know best.”

He smiled disarmingly. “The name is Jake. And try not to worry. We’ll do our best to make sure you enjoy your time here in Crystal Rock. In fact, we’re trying to find you another place to stay since we have firm reservations in another week for the suite you’ll be staying in.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” she answered, as they stopped off at the desk.

Jake pulled out his phone, making a quick call to what must have been the local garage.

“Janice?” Jake asked after disconnecting his call made to a guy named Tom. “Could you make sure that this overnight bag is taken upstairs to suite number six immediately? Our guest has aflat, so I’m going to drive her back to her car to grab the rest of her luggage before Tom arrives to tow it back to the garage.”

“I’d be happy to do it myself before my break,” Janice answered, handing over a key card to Wren. If she knew who Wren was, she sure didn’t show it.

“Thank you,” Wren answered, smiling back at Janice when she reached for her bag.

“Come with me,” Jake said, motioning with his hand. “Danny and I live next door, so I normally walk to work.”

As they walked through the lobby, obviously heading toward the lakefront of the Inn, Wren took a moment to be impressed. “I didn’t expect this place to be so picturesque with as huge as it is.”

“When I had the plans made up to quadruple the size of the place, I tried to keep the integrity of the original Inn intact. We restored the original woodwork and used as many salvaged materials as we were able to locate from old homes and businesses – not just from Wisconsin, but wherever we could find them across the country.”

“The old and new is beautifully integrated,” she observed.

“Thank you,” he replied. “I sense you’re a fellow lover of antiques.”

“Definitely,” she answered, breathing in the air along the path of the shady garden they were walking through to reach the home on the lakefront next door. There was even a waterfall spilling into the lake far below. “This is amazing. I’d love to have something like this at my home in Los Angeles. There’s way too much concrete on my property there.”

“It’s all Danielle’s doing,” he admitted, pointing at the massive gazebo that was built into the edge of the cliff atop the lake, a long bridge leading to and fro. “We host music concerts every Sunday on the gazebo for local talent.”

“That sounds great,” she replied. “I’ll have to make sure I attend on a Sunday while I’m here.”

He motioned at a large SUV when they reached the end of the path, unlocking the door, and soon, they were on their way back to her vehicle.

Chapter Six

She looked like the kind of woman that belonged behind the wheel of a convertible, and not an SUV, Jeff decided as he drove away from the Inn, peeking back at her in his rearview mirror.

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