Page 35 of Two Hearts' Ploy

“Eve called and gave me the gist of it all,” he answered, smiling. “But since that’s business, we can talk about that tomorrow.”

She laughed. “Okay. Tell me more about this place. How often do they use that stage over there?”

“There’s live entertainment Thursday through Sunday,” he answered. “We have some pretty decent performers living in the area.”

“I’ll say,” she admitted. “Marielle McKinnon, Emily Richardson, not to mention Eve. That’s part of the reason I’m here.”

“Each of them has performed on that stage sometime or another,” he admitted.

They sat for another fifteen minutes, discussing the local performers and those Jeff thought had great potential.

Until Wren glanced at her watch. “I suppose we’d better get going. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since I’ve been on the road. Hopefully, the coffee won’t keep me awake.”

Jeff hated to part ways.

But he’d have her alone soon enough.

Damn it. He was definitely getting involved again, even though he’d told himself not to.

The tension between them had been electric throughout the night, and when Jeff got the impression that Wren wouldn’t mind, he almost kissed her in the parking lot after he’d escorted her to the SUV.

But after pulling out the cooler that contained his groceries from the back seat, he gave her a quick smile instead. “I’ll see you in the morning. Alright?”

She gave him a rueful smile, her eyes momentarily lingering on his lips.

And then she winked. “Alright. Goodnight.”

He was laughing as she closed the driver’s seat door. Revving up the engine, she backed up the SUV and drove away.

What a day, Jeff thought, stepping into his truck after loading the cooler in the back seat.

He was surprised to realize that the night had been pretty much perfect too. Jeff couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such a relaxing yet stimulating date with a woman. There hadn’t been one single lapse in their conversation throughout the entire night.

And yes, it had definitely been adate,whether he – or she – liked the idea or not.

Chapter Nineteen

Wren had been sure to text Jake after running into Jeff to tell him they were eating at the Crystal Rock Tap before she’d be driving back to the Inn.

But when she returned, she found Jake waiting for her in the lobby.

“Hi, Wren. I’ve got some news. I wondered if you’d mind coming with me to my office for a few minutes?” Jake asked, with what she considered a deadpan look on his face.

She sighed. Wren had a feeling that what he had to tell her was most likely going to be troubling.

“Of course not,” she answered, resting the cooler she’d brought inside with her on the floor. “I’ve got some groceries I should probably unload in my room first.”

“I’ll have someone drop them off for you inside your suite.”

“That would work. Tell them to just leave the groceries on the counter. I can put everything away once we’re through.”

“Kasey?” Jake called out to the woman at the desk. “When Ben gets back, could you have him carry this cooler and the groceries upstairs to the Hummingbird Suite, and have him leave everything on the kitchen counter?”

“Sure, Jake,” she answered.

Jake turned back to Wren. “Ben’s my son, in case you run into him. And you can trust him. He’s been the one keeping an eye on your security by the way, in case there’s trouble.”

“Is something wrong?” she asked, noticing that he definitely appeared concerned.

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