hotel seems awfully crowded.”
“Probably a convention,” he said absent-mindedly, still picturing three of her.
“Don’t worry. I called and confirmed our reservations yesterday.”
When their turn came, Tabitha greeted the young man with a smile and gave their names.
“Welcome, Miss Tyler.” The clerk, who’d maintained his cheerfulness despite the swarm of incoming guests, typed on his keypad, then gave her a white-toothed smile. “We assumed, since you’re traveling together, you would prefer connecting rooms.”
Chapter Two
Alex stared at the man, not believing what he’d heard. Their rooms were going to be connected by a door? That simply wouldn’t do.
Beside him he heard Miss Tyler calmly say, “Is that all you have to offer?”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m afraid we’re totally booked,” the clerk returned. “But you’ll have easy access to your client this way. You know, we went to a lot of trouble to save these two rooms for you.”
“Very well,” the woman agreed.
Agreed? Was she kidding him?
Alex grabbed her sleeve. Through clenched teeth he whispered, “I won’t stand for this! I want a room alone.”
“But there are no other accommodations, Dr. Myerson. It’s all right. I won’t be barging in on you. All you have to do is close the door to my room and lock it.”
She signed the charge card receipt and received the two keycards the clerk handed her. In turn, she handed one of them to Alex. Then she gave the bellhop a tip and her room number. “Ready to go up?”
“Yeah.” He glowered at her as he spoke.
Keeping a smile on her face, she moved to the elevators as if everything was hunky-dory. Which only irritated him more.
“This isn’t going to work,” he muttered under his breath in the elevator.
“It will be fine, Dr. Myerson,” she insisted, whispering also.
The elderly woman in front of them turned to face them. “Young man, if you’re having second thoughts, you shouldn’t go in that room with her. After all, you’re a married man, aren’t you?”
Suddenly Miss Tyler wasn’t as calm as she had been. Her voice held an icy tone that frosted the elevator car. “We don’t need your advice, ma’am.”
“When he’s already doubting the wisdom of spending the night with you, I should think you’d be too proud to go ahead with your plans.”
Luckily the elevator stopped then on their floor. Without even a glance to the older woman, Miss Tyler took Alex by the arm and started out.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Alex wrenched his arm from her hold. “I don’t like to be touched!”
She stared at him, opening her mouth as if she was going to say something impetuously. Then she closed it and went down the corridor to their rooms. When he joined her, she said coolly, “I’ll keep that in mind, Dr. Myerson.”
She slipped the keycard in the lock and opened his door, standing back for him to precede her into the room. The suite had a small living room with floor-to-ceiling windows that presented a glorious view of Fisherman’s Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge.
“Oh, my! I’ve always heard about the beauty of San Francisco, but this is even more beautiful than I imagined.”
She swung around, a broad smile on her face, as if she expected him to join her at the window.
He ignored her. He wasn’t going to talk about the view, or how much she reminded him of Jenny. Until he was alone, he couldn’t regain his composure.
After a sigh, she walked over to the door and opened it to another door. “Here’s the connecting door, Dr. Myerson.” She checked her watch. “You have two and a half hours before you have to appear for the interview. When you’re ready for a snack, knock and let me know.”
After he nodded, she walked out to the hall, closing the door behind her.
A pristine king-size bed, drew him and he flopped down on his back. Damn! One day on tour and the woman was driving him crazy!
Not that he was attracted to her. Of course not! But sometimes she reminded him of Jenny. Those feelings were painful. When she’d touched him, he’d wanted to shake off her hold at once. There was some kind of odd chemistry between them, he had to admit. One he intended to avoid from now on.
A knock on the door grabbed his attention. He was relieved to realize it was the hall door. He opened it and found the bellhop there with the luggage.
“Come in,” he said, swinging the door wide. Then he knocked on the connecting door. When Miss Tyler opened the door, he nodded in the direction of the bellhop, who entered her room.
Alex closed the door and lay back down on the bed, but he had to get up only a couple of minutes later when someone knocked on the connecting door. He assumed the bellhop had forgotten something. When he swung the door open, he found Tabitha Tyler standing there.
“Yes?”
“If you won’t need me for an hour, I’m going up to the gym to work out. It relieves my tension.”
If she’d had any tension, she’d hidden it, except for her reaction to the busybody in the elevator. But her solution to relieving taut muscles appealed to him. Since Mona had put him on a fitness regimen, he’d learned the value of exercise. “Mind if I go up with you? I’d like to work out, too.”
Though she looked surprised, she nodded. “Of course. I’ll be ready in about ten minutes. Just knock on the door when you’re ready.”
He nodded and shut the door again. Then he hurriedly opened his bag to take out some workout clothes. He’d be able to handle the interview better after working out.
When he knocked on the door and she opened it, he realized his mistake. Tabitha Tyler in workout clothes was quite different from the sleek young woman in a designer suit. That suit had hinted at curves in all the right places. Her leotard and tights left nothing to the imagination.
He wasn’t sure exercise would reduce his tension if Tabitha Tyler was in his line of vision.
Tabitha had taken one of her videos with her to the gym. After a quick warm-up, she put her tape in the video player and began her exercise program for aerobic training. Before she knew it, she’d drawn three or four other women who were following the video. When she finished the forty-five-minute tape, the ladies asked where they could get a copy.
Tabitha gave them the Web site where they could order the tape. Then she looked for her charge. Earlier he’d been working out on some of the machines, but now she spotted him jogging on the indoor track.
“Dr. Myerson?” she called and jogged onto the track to catch up with him.
