Discovering Duncan by Mary Anne Wilson

Author:Mary Anne Wilson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Lauren fell into a restless sleep, troubled by dreams that made no sense. Duncan, herself, the snow, skiing—and lots of heat. A heat that seemed to filter into her soul and leave her breathless. She woke slowly and reluctantly, aware of sunlight coming in through the dormer window, warmth in the air and her head hurting so badly that it felt ready to explode.

She was hungover. Damn it. She squinted at the clock, relieved to see that she had plenty of time to get up and get to work at Rusty’s for the afternoon shift. It was Sunday and they always had a big middle-of-the-day rush, according to Rusty. So she had time to try to get the fuzz out of her head and figure out how she could ever face Duncan again. She got out of bed, careful not to jar her head, grabbed fresh clothes and toiletries and headed downstairs to the bathroom.

She moved slowly down the stairs, and as she reached the second-floor hallway, the door to her old room opened and out stepped the middle-aged man she’d seen in the lobby yesterday. He had an improbable tan, and was wearing very high-end skiing clothes that looked as if they’d never seen a slope in their life. He was short, maybe five-seven or so, and the minute he saw Lauren, he smiled at her.

The smile wasn’t pleasant. It was more predatory. Normally she would have been offended. But she looked and felt horrible, and would have laughed if she hadn’t known her head would explode if she tried. “Well, well, well,” he said, elongating each word, then reaching to close his door without taking his eyes off her. “Good morning, beautiful.”

He was blind, too, she thought. “Good morning,” she said and quickly went into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

She heard voices out in the hallway. She couldn’t tell what was being said and she didn’t care. All she cared about was drinking some water and taking a hot shower. After drinking four full glasses of water, she turned on the shower. Stripping off her robe, she stepped under the warm spray and just stood there.

By the time she stepped out and dried off, she felt a bit more human, but no more ready to face Duncan. Her head still ached, but she could move without too much pain. One look at herself in the mirror over the pedestal sink and she knew that she was never going to drink Pudge’s punch again…or any punch unless she knew what was in it. She quickly dried her hair, fluffing it around her face, then got dressed in fresh clothes—jeans and a deep-green cable-knit sweater.

Lauren gathered up her things and hurried back up to her room. Once she’d put on her jacket and snow boots, she grabbed her running shoes to put on at work.

As she made her way to the lobby, Lauren saw Annie handing out her muffins.

Dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, Annie was smiling at the guests.

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