The women were beaming, looking like they might eat them both up, they were that adorable. He managed not to roll his eyes.
“That is the cutest story I ever heard,” Bev said, actually looking a little misty-eyed. “So why did you two decide to come down here?”
The questions weren’t even posed to him anymore, not that he’d know how to respond. It was her lie, not his.
Payton didn’t hesitate a beat. “Cruz has some family down here and we thought, why not make a trip of it? Surprise them. Then our flight almost crashed near Laredo and with spring break upon us, the only way we could get out to Mexico was by car. And Cruz was such a sweetie, assuring me that driving here, just the two of us, would be a wonderful adventure we could tell our kids about in the years to come. Believe me. It has been that. And this latest detour will certainly be something to remember.”
This time the gazes returned to him. He shrugged his shoulders, resigned to their new facade of soon to be newlyweds. Fortunately, no one minded his stoic silence and the next few minutes passed as the women regaled them with stories of their own nuptials.
Glancing around the bus, he was certain none of the occupants—save for him and Payton—were under age fifty. All of them seemed to be part of a couple. The men, like him, sat mostly silent as the women shared, looking like they’d heard the stories many times before.
A few minutes later, they reached the little town of Tequila, which wasn’t the quiet, peaceful town he’d been hoping for. Instead, it was teeming with tourists in jeans and shorts walking in the same direction they were headed. He prayed there was a garage still open and he could persevere in getting the car fixed that evening.
“It should be somewhere down this way, if I remember right,” Lenny said. Sure enough, a moment later, several stacked tires near the front of a garage told them they’d arrived. In the lingering late afternoon sunlight, the facade looked muted, almost vintage. And open, if the sign in the window was any indication.
Lenny parked the bus in front and turned around to address Cruz. “Why don’t you go see what they can do for you? With the festival, they might be closing shop early. We’ll stick around. Your fiancée’s welcome to wait here.”
“I’ll just be a moment,” he said to Payton, who nodded and waved him off as a couple of the older ladies continued to bend her ear, already enchanted with their new guest. Something he could relate to.
Ten minutes later, Cruz was back on the bus. Payton’s smile looked a little more strained. “He’s going to tow it now. He won’t know more until it’s back. But…” He took a seat next to her, watching her eyes widen in uncertainty. She wasn’t going to like this. “…By the time he gets it back here and can take a look, even assuming it is an easy fix, it’s going to be pushing sunset. And this next stretch of road? We’re going to want all the light we can get. It’s pretty dangerous.”
“You’re saying we’re not going to make it into Puerto Vallarta tonight, aren’t you?” Her voice was remarkably calm, but he could see by the way her hands squeezed tight together she was stressed.
“Yeah. I’m afraid so. Which means, we’re going to need to find somewhere to stay for the night.” He chose not to add that the prospects weren’t very promising based on their timing in the middle of the festivities.
“I think we have just the place for you, if you’re interested,” Lenny said after conferring with his wife for a minute. “Glen and Mags had to bow out of the tour at the last minute on account of Mags breaking her hip. But their room is already paid for and there’s no sense in letting it go to waste. Especially since we’re likely the reason for your current predicament.”
Actually, Cruz would say there was no doubt they had caused it, but there was no reason to belabor the point. He looked to Payton, who was already tilting her head to him as if to say Why not?
“Please say you’ll accept,” Bev said, giving them a toothy grin. “We’d love to have you. And you can join us later on when we tour the distillery and have dinner down in their underground taverns. They’re spectacular, so romantic. We’ve had the reservation for months.”
“We’d love to,” Payton said, her eyes shining with excitement now. She turned to him. “Right, honey?”
“Besides, you can look at it as a little pre-marital celebration,” Bev threw in, likely hoping to clinch the deal. “You can be the guests of honor as we all drink to your upcoming wedding.”
Oh yeah. And then there was that.
It was close to an hour and a half before Cruz made it to the hotel, having gone out with the mechanic to get the car and to wait for his diagnosis. He had to give it to their new Texan friends; they had great taste in hotels. The bright and airy hotel felt authentic and unique and was definitely well tended. Even the hotel clerks were bright and friendly, though maybe a tad too excited to see him.
“Gracias,” Cruz told them and palmed the key they placed on the counter.
As if she was close to bursting, the young female clerk added with a sly smile, “We hope you and the lovely senorita enjoy your stay.”
He paused. He knew that Lenny had mentioned one hotel room, but he’d been almost certain that Payton would have found a way of using those feminine charms to secure an extra room. He decided to be certain. “So…is the senorita still in the room?”
“Si, senor. She only returned half an hour ago.”
Returned from where? He supposed he should just feel relieved she was back at the hotel, safe and sound, since who knew what kind of trouble that woman could get into alone.
But he felt anything but.
Probably because he was too stressed wondering how the hell he was going to share a room with Payton Vaughn and not do anything he’d regret.
Thanking the two again, he went down the hall in the direction they’d pointed and climbed the three flights of stairs. How was he going to explain this one to Dick Eastman?
He slid the key in and turned the knob, deciding he should probably knock and give her a quick head’s up before just stepping in unannounced.
“Cruz? I’ll be out in a minute,” she called from the bathroom.
“All right,” he said and shut the door, taking in the room that was as unique and interesting as the hotel. Dark terra cotta tiles polished to a near shine covered the floor, only broken up by a couple of bright rugs. The bed—a queen—was covered with a dark red and white paisley cover. Paintings in vibrant colors interspersed with masks covered the walls, giving the whole thing an eclectic feeling. And from where he was standing, he could even see beyond the window and the door that led to a small balcony to the town square below them. Nice.
If only he could stop staring at that damn bed.
“I thought for sure that you’d have finagled us into two separate rooms somehow.” He dropped his laptop bag on a chair in the corner and pulled out the cord and computer, searching the room for somewhere to charge it.
“I tried. But after Bev made a big deal with the front desk about our predicament and pending nuptials, it didn’t seem like the right time to say we wanted separate rooms.” She paused and he heard some clatter. “Tell me about the car. Can they fix it?”
“Yeah.” He thought about the extra incentive he offered the guy to guarantee it would be ready to go bright and early. It had better be ready—and possibly have a new paint job and stereo for what it cost him. “We’ll be out of here by seven tomorrow morning, at the latest.”