The Boy I Hate(50)

Bob shook his head, cutting him off. “I’m afraid so. I wish there was more I could do. But truth is, y’all are lucky I found one even that close.” He then looked at Samantha. “I can see you’re disappointed ma’am, and it hurts my heart. But there’s a great bed and breakfast just across the road. People come from all over to stay there. Tell them Bob sent you, and they’ll give you a discount on your stay”

Samantha smiled, then turned to Tristan. “Well, I guess that settles it then. We’re staying the night in Colton, Iowa.” She was trying to make the best of the situation, to lower the pressure she could see stiffening Tristan’s shoulders, but he wasn’t really paying attention. He was looking at his cell phone, deep in thought, and there was an odd expression on his face.

He finally excused himself, holding up one finger before walking out of the garage.

Samantha looked down to the ground, to the oil-stained floor, as a weird uncomfortable feeling grew in her stomach. She finally looked back up, thanked Bob for his recommendation of the B&B, then walked in the opposite direction from Tristan, wanting to give him privacy. She sat on the curb in front of the shop, kicked her legs out in front of her, and dug through her purse looking for her cell.

Three notifications waited on her phone. Two of which were from Steven. She punched in her pass code, and began playing the messages.

“Hey babe, I need to talk to you. Call me as soon as you can?”

“Samantha, I really have to talk to you. Call me when you get this, okay?”

Her brows furrowed, and she frowned. What did he need to talk to her about?

The last message was from Renee.

“Hey Sam! Are you and Tris killing each other, yet? This is taking forever, and I’m not even in the car! Call me when you can. Love you! Bye!”

Samantha closed her eyes, leaning back on the pavement to let the sun warm her face. “This is almost over. You’ll see Steven in a couple of days, and everything will go back to normal.”

She sat up again, straightening her back as she dialed Steven’s number. It went straight to voice mail, and she began to leave a message.

“Hey babe,” she began. “You’re probably working, but I wanted to call while I had reception.” She blew out a breath and looked back over her shoulder to the garage. “We ran into some car trouble, unfortunately. It seems we’ll be delayed about a day.” She paused for a moment, her eyes focused on nothingness. “Call me when you can.” She hung up the phone without even saying goodbye.

When she looked up, Tristan was standing above her. His sunglasses were covering his eyes, but the tension couldn’t be hidden from his face. “I guess we should go get some rooms?”

She pushed herself from the pavement, but Tristan grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her up the rest of the way. His grip was firm and strong, yet sent goose bumps to cover the length of her body in a second. “Everything okay?” she asked, searching his face for answers.

He nodded, but immediately looked away. “Yeah. You?” he asked, meeting her eyes once again.

“Yeah,” she whispered. He still looked upset, and all she wanted to do was yank the glasses off his nose and demand that he tell her what was wrong. Why he’d suddenly changed from the easy-going Tristan she’d always known him to be, to this. But in these few short days she’d become closer to him than she was comfortable with. Closer to him than was healthy. She needed to keep her distance, to keep her walls up and not let them fall. “I guess you’re right. We should go get some rooms.”

They both stepped off the curb separately, keeping distance between them as they walked toward the bed and breakfast.

True to the mechanic’s word, the bed and breakfast was stunning. Samantha was sure it had once been an old Victorian home. Brick walls, a castle-like roofline, and shutters on every window. But there was a large pool in the center of the courtyard that was modern and sleek, and looked exhilarating. Lush foliage surrounded the property, offering privacy, yet the building sat in the center of town, not even a half block away from the public.

They followed the intricate stone path past the magnolia tree scattered with huge white blossoms, then to the gold sign that took them to the front office.

A pretty blond woman waited at the counter and looked up as soon as they entered the building. “Welcome to the Gumtree Mansion. How can I help you today?”

Tristan took his wallet from his back pocket and braced his forearm on the counter. “Two rooms please,” he said, but his voice betrayed his exhaustion.

“Oh…” The woman’s brows furrowed and she began clicking at her computer. “Let me see…” She clicked a few more times, her frown growing deeper and more intense. “That’s what I thought.” She looked up, glancing from Tristan to Samantha. “I’m afraid I only have one room for tonight.”