Get a Clue

snow, huh? Crazy stuff.'

Lariana shook her head and moved through the room, scooping up Breanne's wet sweater and jeans, holding them up with two fingers as if they were dirty instead of just wet. 'I'll get these washed.'

'Oh, no, that's not necessary,' Breanne said, feeling as if she should have cleaned up for the maid.

'It is part of your service.' Lariana's expression was perfectly even, and perfectly lofty. 'Where is your groom?'

'He's…' The hell with it. 'He dumped me.' She waited for some sign of superiority from Lariana.

But the maid dropped her icy expression immediately. 'Men are such scum,' she said with feeling. 'Bottom feeders. Kvery last one of them.'

'Not every last one,' Shelly said quietly. 'Some are good.'

'Take off the rose-colored glasses, Pollyanna,' Lariana said.

'So I'm hopeful-so what?' Shelly lifted her chin. 'She'll find another man. A better one.'

'No, thank you,' Breanne interjected. 'No more men.'

'Ever?' Lariana asked, intrigued.

'Ever.'

Lariana didn't look convinced. 'They are scum, but once in a while, they are good for a few things…'

Breanne picked up the vibrator, waggled it. 'Anything that this can't take care of?'

Shelly gasped, but Lariana burst out laughing. 'I have extra batteries, when you need.'

Shelly looked scandalized. And desperate to change the subject. 'I still can't believe Edward messed up and booked two of you for the same week.' She tossed a big log onto the fire. 'He never messes up.'

Lariana snorted her opinion of that, and when Shelly looked at her, more unspoken communication passed between them. 'I need to get back to the kitchen,' Shelly said.

'You do that.' Lariana moved to the fireplace. 'You can't just add a piece of hard wood, Shelly-it'll die. You have to put in some kindling, too.'

Shelly ignored her and joined Breanne by the couch. 'Don't let her intimidate you while I'm gone,' she whispered as they both watched Lariana handle the fire like a pro.

'She is pretty intimidating,' Breanne admitted.

'It's all an act. You should have seen her the last time Edward yelled at her. She cried.'

'Edward yells at you guys?'

Shelly laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. 'Just remember, she's human. I mean, she's sleeping with Patrick, for God's sake.'

'Patrick?'

'Our fix-it guy.'

'Does he clink spookily when he walks?'

Shelly grinned. 'Aye, mate, that he does,' she said in perfect imitation of Patrick's accent.

Breanne looked back at the cool, classy-looking Lariana poking at the fire and tried to picture her with the tall, skinny, almost gangly, redheaded Patrick. 'Are you sure?'

'Oh, yeah.'

Lariana rose, and with Breanne's clothes over her arm, moved toward the door, picking up the carry-on as well. 'Please follow me, Ms. Mooreland.'

'Breanne,' Breanne said, but Lariana was already gone.

Unless she wanted to say good-bye to her bag and everything in it, she didn't have much choice but to follow Lariana out into the pitch-black hallway. Ahead of her, the maid moved quickly and briskly, her heels tapping as she pulled a flashlight out of nowhere to light their way.

They came to a fork in the hallway.

'Down that way is the movie theater, with thousands of DVDs to pick from,' Lariana said, sounding like a tour guide. 'On the other side is the gym, complete with sauna and indoor pool, and if you want, Shelly is also an excellent masseuse.'

'I don't think I'll be staying long enough to enjoy those things,' Breanne said, not having missed Cooper's non- committance about leaving. If he didn't, she would.

'Are you going to let a bottom feeder ruin a perfectly good vacation?' Lariana asked coolly.

'It's not just that. I just… don't think I should have come.'

'Did this almost-groom of yours cover the costs of being here?'

'Yes.'

Lariana smiled coldly. 'Then you should enjoy it.'

They took the stairs, this time without the comfort of the light sconces casting a warm glow over the hardwood floor and interior walls. The flashlight lit the way but didn't do much for Breanne's mental health, as it created as many shadows as it chased away. At the top, Breanne was breathing erratically, and wasn't at all sure it was just the altitude bothering her.

Lariana opened the first door on the right. Her thin beam of light revealed an open-beamed ceiling and hardwood flooring with several throw rugs. There was a stone hearth, lit, crackling cozily. The four-poster, raw wood, tiered bed had a matching dresser and an oval mirror hung over it. Lariana moved to the dresser, on which was a tray with lit candles. She carried a few to the two wide-framed windowsills, the dark glass revealing nothing but black sky.

'There's a down comforter,' Lariana said, pointing to the fluffy cover folded at the foot of the bed. 'There's also an attached bathroom that's shared by the bedroom on the other sidc, but that bedroom is empty.'

They both looked at the closed door. Breanne was half hoping the maid would open it and check for the boogeyman, but she wasn't about to ask and apparently Lariana wasn't much of a mind reader. 'There aren't any baskets of accessories in there, are there?'

Lariana didn't blink. 'Did you want a basket of accessories?'

'No!' Breanne said, thinking about the pink vibrator she'd left downstairs. 'I'm good.'

'Well, then. I'm going to make sure our other guest is comfortable. Good night.'

Their other guest. One sexy, irritating Cooper Scott, who was right now all cozy in her honeymoon suite.

The moment Lariana cleared the doorway, Breanne locked the door. Then she stood there, looking around. Feeling alone. It occurred to her that if Edward hadn't screwed up, Cooper wouldn't even be here. She might be even more alone.

She was glad she wasn't, a fact she'd admit out loud only upon threat of death, and maybe not even then.

Braving the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and moisturized her face. A silly thing to do while in the haunted house of terrors, but the routine made her feel better.

Moving back into the bedroom, she glanced uneasily at the candles. There were five of them, three burning very low already. Would the other two last until daylight, and if not, what would she do?

One thing was certain, the next time she traveled, she was leaving the sexy nighties at home and packing a flashlight. And chocolate. And alcohol.

Lots of it.

Even though the room had indeed warmed up nicely, she climbed into the bed still fully decked out in Cooper's sweats. The bedding was lush, thick, and combined with the fire, she was cooking in less than two minutes. Swearing softly, she got out of the bed and went to her carry-on, pawing through it as if by some miracle she might find something else to wear. No such luck. She pulled out the siren-red teddy she'd gotten at her shower. See- through lace, high cut on the thighs, nearly nonexistent over the breasts, it hadn't been made for sleeping, that was for sure. It'd been made for her groom to say, 'Looks great, baby, now take it off.'

And just like that, self-pity welled up hard and fast, swelling her heart, filling her throat so that she could hardly draw a breath. She'd managed to keep it all at bay for hours and hours, but now there was nothing distracting her but her own pathetic thoughts.