“Amen,” the general said.
For the first time in a long time, Hunter was actually looking forward to being with Molly. Even knowing that they weren’t in it for the long haul didn’t dim his sudden enthusiasm for their overnight trip to Atlantic City.
MOLLY HAD NEVER been to Atlantic City and she was excited by the idea. Small suitcase in hand, she met Hunter at the car. “I’m ready and on time.”
“I can see that. I also saw Jessie run by me in a bright yellow sweater earlier.” His eyes lit with approval.
“I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and pretend she really didn’t mean to blackmail me,” Molly said, laughing. “She’s warming toward me. I couldn’t see any point in saying no.”
He took her suitcase from her and walked around to the trunk. “But you gave her a lecture about not walking in without knocking, snooping and blackmail first?”
“You know it.”
“Keys?”
She pulled her key ring from her bag, then hit a button on the remote and the trunk popped open wide. Hunter tossed her suitcase in, followed by his duffel and slammed the trunk closed.
“I’ll drive.” He held out his hand.
Normally Molly preferred to drive and would have loved to navigate their way to the Jersey shore, but the medication she’d taken for her headache last night still weighed her down. Her muscles ached and she knew she’d be fighting to stay awake during the trip.
With a shrug, she tossed Hunter the keys.
He caught them midair. “Thanks.” He sounded surprised.
“Why so shocked?”
They settled into the car before he finally answered. “Your grandmother mentioned your need to be in control. She said you’d never let me drive.”
“And you believed her?”
He turned the key and started the ignition. “Let’s just say, knowing you the way I do, I had no reason to doubt her. But I figured I’d give it a shot.”
“I don’t mind you being in control, at least for a little while. Besides, it’s a new car and it has GPS.” She pointed to the map on the dashboard. “In case you get lost.”
Hunter rolled his eyes. “I think I can handle it. It’s a straightforward ride.” He swung an arm over the back of her seat and backed out of the driveway.
Molly fell asleep almost before they left the neighborhood. She woke up after an hour and a half, when Hunter pulled in to a rest stop to buy coffee. She used the restroom, bought a snack, ate and fell back to sleep again, only to wake as they pulled up to a large, grandiose hotel.
A valet immediately opened her door. “Are you staying overnight or just for the day?”
Molly opened her mouth, then closed it again. She didn’t know if this was the place where they were chasing down leads or the place where they’d stay. The decision to come here, once made, hadn’t been discussed in detail.
“We’re checking in,” Hunter said as he came around to her side. He accepted the ticket stub from the valet and she followed him inside to the front desk.
“This isn’t Paul’s motel, is it?” she asked.
“Nope. This is our hotel, at least for the night. I thought since we’re here, we might as well enjoy the trip.” They stepped up to the long front desk and Hunter smoothly handed the man behind the counter his license and credit card.
The young man, dressed in a white, starched collared shirt, smiled at them. “Welcome, Mr. Hunter.” He began to type into his computer. “That’ll be one deluxe, no-smoking suite, correct?”
“Um…” Molly interrupted without saying anything intelligible.
“Excuse us for a quick second.” Hunter grasped her elbow and led her a few steps away from the other man. “Problem?”
“Well, I have no problem sharing a room as I’m sure you know…”
He grinned, a sexy, seductive, I-can’t-wait-to-get-you-in-bed grin. “But?”
“I can’t afford a suite. I’m not exactly working full-time these days. I’m not sure I can even afford half the price of a suite here. And I know you can’t write this off as a business expense because my father’s never going to be able to foot the bill for this place, either.” She bit the inside of her cheek, embarrassed to be discussing her finances or lack of them.
He stared at her for so long she squirmed and shifted from foot to foot. “Did I ask you to pay for it? Give me a break, Molly. I have some class. I brought you here, it’s my treat.”
Her eyes opened wide. She hadn’t thought they were coming down here for anything more than business, and they’d stay in a cheap hotel or motel, not one of the nicest places in Atlantic City. “I can’t ask you to do that!”
“You didn’t ask. I offered. I wanted to surprise you with a night away from the problems at home. So far the surprise isn’t going very well,” he said, obviously upset with her arguing. “Can we just start over, check in and have you not second-guess me every step of the way?”
“Okay,” she said, truly touched by his offer.
He reached out and caressed her cheek, his gentle touch in stark contrast to the frustration in his voice. “Let me do this for you.”
She nodded. “If you’d warned me ahead of time, I wouldn’t-”
He shushed her by placing his finger over her moving lips. “No more arguing, remember?”
She merely nodded.
“Good.” He clasped her hand firmly in his and stepped back to the desk. “We’re set now. The deluxe suite will be fine.”
Ten minutes later, they had finished the check-in process, but the suite wouldn’t be ready for another hour or so. “How about we head over to the motel and do some digging about Paul?”
“That would be great.”
“Just one thing,” he said. “Once we finish, we put it behind us until we get home tomorrow. We take the rest of today and tonight as ours.” He studied her intensely, waiting for an answer.
Molly realized he’d put thought and effort into their trip, much more than she realized. Sometime during the last twenty-four hours, he’d forgiven her for lying to him.
“Nobody will ever accuse you of being a stupid man. You have this all figured out, don’t you?”
“I gave it my best shot.”
Pleasure at his foresight washed over her and she smiled. “I like how you think.”
He nodded. “Good. Then let’s go see what we can dig up at the Seaside Inn so we can have more time for us.”
Us. Molly did like the sound of that coming from his handsome lips.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE SEASIDE INN WAS a far cry from the hotel casino Hunter had chosen for them. Molly followed him into the seedy motel. The air smelled like must and mold and the place hadn’t been updated or painted in years.
She felt a keen sense of disappointment in Paul Markham, something that seemed to grow with each new thing they learned about the man. Victim or not, he hadn’t been the person her father and Sonya had thought they’d known.
“I’m looking for Ted Frye,” Hunter said to the female behind the desk.
“I’m Mary Frye, Ted’s sister. He’s off today. Can I help you?” the bleached blonde asked as she turned around to face them.
The young woman, who had to be in her midtwenties, took one look at Hunter and her eyes opened wide in distinct approval. Her hand flew to her long hair, which hung down her back in true beach style.
“As a matter of fact, you can. My sister and I are looking for information on this man.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the photo of Paul that Sonya had given them.
Molly bristled at Hunter calling her his sister and would have said something, but he grasped her wrist and yanked her closer to his side. A clear warning to shut up and let him do the talking if she’d ever known one.