A Very Important Guest by Mary Whitney

Author:Mary Whitney [Whitney, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Amazon: B009H68DRK
Published: 2012-09-24T21:00:00+00:00

* * *

When she pulled up to a side street of the hotel, she saw Will across the way, posted at the hotel front doors and looking around. She hoped he’d recognize the car so that she didn’t have to get out. Though the bellhops and valets were her buddies, she didn’t want them seeing her drive off with a guest. Luckily, her car was distinct enough she assumed Will might remember it from the night before. In only a few seconds, he spotted her and walked over.

She rolled down her window. “Hey.”

He grinned. “I couldn’t miss the car.”

As he walked around to the passenger side, she smiled when she saw his more casual dress for the evening. “Welcome,” she said when he finally sat down on the aged leather interior.

“Thanks for picking me up.” He looked about the car’s interior. “What year is this?”

“1985.”

“Wow. It’s an antique.” He pointed to the Mercedes symbol. “Thirty years old, and it still has that German car smell.”

“It was my stepfather’s. He kept it in perfect condition.” She started the car and began to pull out of the parking space. “When my Honda got totaled by a drunk, I took this car.”

“Did your stepfather get another Mercedes?”

Taking her eyes off the road, she glanced at him and shook her head. “He’d died a few months earlier. The car was just sitting there.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

His serious expression felt like proof he already knew that part of her story. “Thanks,” she said, her voice small. She stole another quick look at him before turning her attention back to the road. The distraction of driving would make the conversation easier. “He had congestive heart failure. It was a slow decline.”

“That’s rough. Were you close?”

“Not particularly. Chuck was a big officer in the Navy. He was always kind to me, but we never really connected. When he and my mom met, he’d just become a widower. He was over twenty years older than my mom with two grown sons. He adored her, but I don’t think he knew what to do with me. I was just a little girl.” She looked at Will for a few seconds and saw he was listening intently. “Don’t get me wrong. He was a good man. I liked him, and my mom loved him.”

“But your mom’s sick now?” he ventured.

She kept her attention fixed on the car in front of her. “Yeah. We can talk about it later.”

“Okay,” he said softly. His curiosity must’ve gotten the best of him because he asked, “And where is your father?”

“He lives in San Diego. We’re close, but I don’t get to see him that often.”

“When did your parents divorce?”

“I was two. He was a Navy SEAL when he was younger and always off on some crazy mission.”

“Wow. That’s impressive.”

“Yeah, but my mom couldn’t handle the secrecy and long absences. It was hard for her, being alone all the time with a baby. Not long after they divorced, Chuck walked into her life to take care of her—and me, I guess.

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