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In her peripheral vision, Genevieve caught sight of Mr. King’s wide-open eyes and flushed cheeks. His mind was clearly flipping through the conversation, trying to analyze every detail. Great, this was going to be a fun afternoon. ‘I was jealous as hell’ was always a great conversation opener. What was wrong with her? Years with Jed, and she’d never once felt possessive when other women tried to pick him up right under her nose, but Mr. King, well, apparently, he was different.
The woman cleared her throat, irritation written across every angle of her foundation-coated face. “We only have single-king rooms available on the backside of our motel. Our double queens are up front by the pool in the family area.” She flashed Genevieve a competitive grin. “But we do have adjoining king rooms in the back if you’d like, miss.”
Oh, what a bitch. Not cool!
Mr. King placed a hand on her arm. “Gloria, I’m good with whatever you’d like to do. As long as you’re comfortable, I am too.”
Did men like this actually exist?
Genevieve jutted out her chin. “I never wanted my own room in the first place.” The front desk clerk rolled her eyes, and Genevieve shot daggers at her. “We’ll take a king room in the back. To be clear… One.”
“First floor, please,” Mr. King chimed in as if that would diffuse the situation. “We’ll pay cash.”
He squiggled a false name and address on the paper, paid, and grabbed the pouch holding their two keycards. Slugging all the bags, he still managed to wrap a hand under her arm and lead her outside. Without a word, he hurried her to the back of the motel, slid a keycard against their room door’s reader, and rushed them inside, tossing all the bags on the couch.
Genevieve glowered at him.
He blinked and brushed a hand across his jaw. “Sorry about manhandling you, but I had to get you out of there. I’m more than a little confused. We’re trying to fly under the radar here, not draw attention to ourselves. The front desk clerk wasn’t exactly being helpful, but still…” He drew in a deep breath. “I’ll admit I can’t reason through any of what happened back there. Are you upset with me? If so, I truly can’t figure out what I did wrong. I shouldn’t have thrown a fake name at you on the spot, I suppose.” Pacing, he continued, “I couldn’t use either Genevieve or Gigi since Jed Marshall’s network knows both of those. I guess I shouldn’t have used a name at all. Sorry about that.”
Genevieve huffed. “Sorry about that? Really?”
He pivoted toward her and shook his head. “Tell me what I’m supposed to say or rather what the heck I was supposed to do. I hate having you mad at me, but I’ve got to protect you, and I’m clueless about how the simple act of getting a motel room”—he pointed through the wall as if the lobby were right there—“turned into that.”
Gosh, Mr. King was so smokin’ hot, all flustered and upset with her while still trying to take the blame. It was time to say goodbye to Mr. King! He was officially hers, and the words about to come out of her mouth would seal the deal.
“Brendan—”
A shocked inhale hissed through his teeth.
“—you did nothing wrong. Irrational chaos happens when a woman likes you, and another woman is both checking out and flirting with what she considers to be her man.”
His jaw dropped open. A look of pure awe crossed his face before a sexy grin took hold.
Her breath caught. Keep it together, Gen. “Now, I’m going to take a shower and cool down before I say anything else. Best if I get my emotions in check, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know.” He chuckled, shaking his head while running a hand through his wavy locks. “I think you should keep talking. Your out-of-check emotions seem to be in my favor.”
She scoffed a light laugh. “Fine, then there’s one more thing we should clear up.”
He swallowed, nodding. “Okay?”
“I’ve never been the jealous type, but that seems to be different with you. So, in as few of words as possible, can you just tell me… Why the hell are you still single?”
His lips lifted higher, an even cockier grin lighting up his face. “Seems I’m not anymore.”
Damn, so friggin’ hot! “Brendan,” she warned.
He raked his eyes over her with heat. “Because I haven’t been interested in anyone lately…not until you.”
“What you see is what you get. I’m nothing special.”
He marched over to her. “Say that again. I dare you.”
“I’m nothing special,” she whispered, a smirk popping up in the corner of her mouth.
“Egging me on, huh?” He searched her eyes. “Want me to act on it?”
“Badly.”
