A burst of conversation awakened Kim. She had fallen asleep in the deck chair next to Suzanne’s. The deck was now full of people with nametags hanging around their necks by lime green lanyards.
Travis squatted next to Suzanne, holding her hand. Jon lurked, brooding, behind him. Travis’s eyes sparked. “So, it’s opening night festivities in a couple of hours, Kim. I was just telling Suzanne that a few people weren’t able to attend at the last minute. We grabbed you a ticket. Isn’t that great?”
“Oh. Well, sure, but I…”
Jon perked up, looking glad she was trying to talk her way out of it.
Kim straightened in the chair. “Thanks, guys, but I’ve got an appointment with a good book.”
Suzanne laughed. “Come on, Kim. We’ll have more fun if you’re there. You said you brought your little black dress, just in case. So you can’t beg off for not having anything to wear.”
Kim sat up straighter, the better to hold a firm line. “I have the dress and heels, but not the energy. You’ll all have a good time, and I will get rested up for tomorrow’s sightseeing.” She shot a look to Suzanne that she hoped would be respected. Give me an easy out here, please.
Suzanne’s smile dimmed, registering the fact that Kim’s decision wouldn’t change. “Well, okay. We’ll miss you. I’ll be in my maternity not-so-little black dress, which isn’t as cute as its predecessor. But I’m good with that. I like looking pregnant.”
Travis leaned in and gave Suzanne a long, thorough kiss. “Pregnant and gorgeous.”
Jon looked away, and Kim felt her face heat. There wasn’t anything inappropriate about their behavior, yet the moment was intimate. When the kiss ended, she thanked them again for the invitation and excused herself, retreating to her beautiful, solitary hotel room.
****
Kim’s window was open so she could enjoy the soft evening breeze. She could hear the gathering sound and energy of the welcome night event. The conference goers and their husbands, wives, and/or whatevers seemed to be a merry bunch. Work hard, play hard, perhaps. Kim smiled, glad that her presence helped make the event possible for Suzanne.
On their way downstairs, her friends stopped by Kim’s room. Suzanne appeared refreshed after her nap. “We wish you could join us, Kim. The party would be more fun with you there. You light up a room, you know.”
Kim shook her head, the hair brushing her shoulders bared by a ratty tank top she wore with flannel PJ bottoms. She wished for the clasp she’d left on the bathroom sink. “Thanks for that, but I won’t be lighting up any rooms tonight. Instead of taking an extended nap as wiser women might have done, when I came upstairs I finished unpacking, read some, and did a bit of planning for our day tomorrow. Subject to your approval, of course. Tonight I’m staying in, and the two of you are going to have a fun evening being a couple. Forget I’m here, please. I’m not your guest, just a fellow traveler. I’m also not your mom, so I won’t be doing a curfew check.” She took Suzanne by the shoulders. “Go. Have fun. Hercule Poirot will provide me with all the excitement I need.
Suzanne and Travis started briefly before registering the name of Agatha Christie’s famous mystery novel detective.
Travis took his wife’s hand. “Understood, Kim. You and Hercule have a great evening.”
“Oh, we will. Never a dull moment with him.”
Before closing her door, she watched them go down the hall, hand in hand. Taking a deep breath, she was about to shut the door when the one across the hall opened. Jon stepped into the corridor, looking delicious in business-casual attire that didn’t look like it came out of a suitcase, hair slightly damp from his shower. Kim took a quick sniff of air. Yum. He smelled good too.
Watch it, Kim. Don’t fall for a handsome face again.
He hesitated when he saw her then closed the door behind him. “Well, this is a surprise. I heard voices out here but didn’t realize...” He stopped, a strange look coming over his face. “Are you entertaining this evening?”
“Enterta— Oh, that was just Suzanne and Travis being sweet and asking me again to come along to the welcome night.”
He nodded. “Travis said they hoped you would. I think they feel bad having fun and leaving you alone.”
Was there a note of agreement in his voice? “As I told them, I’m glad to have an early night. I’m surprised you and Travis feel like partying. You didn’t get any more sleep in the car than I did.”
He shrugged, and she noticed he looked anything but energetic. “We’re here for the continuing ed, but also for the networking. To skip any of it would be a mistake we might regret. A missed opportunity that won’t come around again.” He smiled tiredly, pulled his name badge out of a back pocket by its lanyard to reassure himself that he hadn’t forgotten it, then replaced it. “You just never know how or when your future might take a turn, so you have to be ready. Enjoy your early night, Kim.”
She closed the door softly, locked it, and settled into the comfy wing back chair by the window. She picked up her e-reader but didn’t turn it on. She looked out her window at the skyline and thought about Jon. How amazing. Tonight the two of them had actually had an enjoyable conversation, their first, and he’d even allowed her a peek into his world. Instead of coming across as self-assured to the point of being obnoxious, he was perhaps not so different from Kim. Just doing his best for his career and preparing for change in case it came along. And, she had to admit, doing his best for Travis and Suzanne.
But there was still Jon’s uncanny resemblance to her former boyfriend that colored every interaction she had with him. The moment she saw Jon at David and Emily’s wedding, her heart had stopped, thinking her ex was there for some reason. She never wanted to see that man again. Handsome, smart, and funny, he’d turned out to be absolutely spineless, deserting her when he she thought he was the one person she could count on.
Yet, now she’d been in Jon Whitfield’s presence during a road trip that had begun to seem endless, he seemed to the kind of man she could be interested in. Now that she knew him better, he didn’t seem to be much like Sean at all. He watched out for Suzanne, had been concerned about Travis’s reaction to being behind the wheel during the crunch on the Serendipity square. He paid attention to people in a way that not everyone did.
But Kim’s life and Jon’s were so different. She was happy working in a small town hospital, and getting to know the people in the community where she was trying to rebuild her life. Jon had a powerful position in a factory and was here to network with others, preparing to position himself for a move further up the proverbial ladder of success. He seemed to have little time for anything but work and an annual trip with his college buddies.
But when he smiled, he didn’t look much like Sean anymore.