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When they got in the taxi, after tipping Oscar, she instructed the driver on their destination. Then she turned to Alex.
“I thought we’d check into the hotel and have an hour or two to relax before we go to the interview. After that, you have the signing. We won’t get dinner until late, so I’ll order a snack for you. If you want to look at the room-service menu, you can tell me what you’d like.”
He nodded. He knew Mona had said she’d make his life easy, but somehow it bothered him that this woman was so in control over him.
Once they arrived in downtown San Francisco they entered a beautiful hotel, whose reception area looked out at an incredible garden. Miss Tyler came to a halt, gasping at the riotous color of the flowers. “How lovely!”
“Yes,” he said without thinking, “Jenny would’ve loved it.” Realizing what he said, he stepped back and frowned at his companion. “I mean, yes, it’s beautiful.”
She gave him a sympathetic smile and continued on her way to the reception desk.
It didn’t take much perception to notice all the men staring at his guide. Tabitha Tyler certainly took the attention in stride.
“Doesn’t it bother you that all the men are staring at you?” he demanded.
“No, I’m quite used to it.”
She must’ve seen the withdrawal from such arrogance in his eyes.
Laughing, she said, “Because I’m one of three. My sisters and I are triplets, Dr. Myerson. People have been staring at us since we were born.”
“Triplets? Do they look just like you?” he asked in astonishment. He couldn’t imagine three of Tabitha Tyler.
“Yes, except that we each wear our hair differently. Mine’s the longest.” She found the shortest line for registration and stood patiently waiting. “The 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.
“Yes?” he said, not stopping.
“I’ve finished working out. Are you ready to go back to the room?”
“No, I’ll be up in a minute.”
“What kind of snack would you like? I’ll order it before I get in the shower.”
“Surprise me,” he said abruptly.
She stopped jogging and stepped off the track, her hands on her hips. “Okay!” she muttered. The man was determined to be difficult. Fine, she’d please herself.
Once she’d reached her room, she checked the menu. They had a sampler tray of various hors d’oeuvres. Surely something on the tray would tempt Dr. Myerson, assuming he ever allowed anything to tempt him!
They promised delivery in fifteen to twenty minutes, so she hurried into the bathroom for a quick shower. With time to spare she was dressed in a blouse and tailored slacks, her hair already dried and curled with a curling iron. She’d learned to dress quickly when she was in college and constantly overslept.
The waiter delivered the sampler tray and several sodas. As soon as he’d left the room, she knocked on the connecting door. There was no answer.
“Great!” She didn’t know if he was there and in the shower, hadn’t come back yet or wouldn’t answer because he wanted to be left alone.
She walked over to the windows to stare at the city and bay. It was impressive.
Surprisingly, there was a knock on the connecting door. She spun around and hurried to it.
“Dr. Myerson, come in. Our snack is here.”
He too was already dressed, in a dark suit with a blue shirt. “I was dressing when you knocked on the door. Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said.
There was no smile, but at least he had developed some good manners. “No problem. I ordered a sampler tray to be sure I found something you’d like.”
“Thank you.” He helped himself to a drink and poured a diet soda for her.
She thanked him and sat on the sofa opposite his matching chair. They ate in complete silence. Finally, when Tabitha could stand it no longer, she asked, “Are you nervous about the interview, Dr. Myerson?”
“No.”
“Have you been to San Francisco before?”
“Yes.”
Tabitha sighed. Talk about hard work!
“When were you here?” she persisted, hoping to find some topic to talk about.
“I was here four years ago on my honeymoon.” This time his voice was steely, daring her to continue.
“I see. I didn’t realize how difficult this trip would be for you. We’ll need to leave in about half an hour. If you’ll excuse me, I need to do a little work before we go.”
She stood and moved to the table where she took out her files and thought about calling Mona. This tour was a disaster before his first interview!
Alex knew he’d been difficult. After she moved to the table, he stood and walked to the window, his hands in his pockets.
He needed to get himself under control. His behavior wasn’t going to bring Jenny back. Had he really thought if he didn’t share her death with anyone, it would be easier? If that was true, then he was worse than his patients.
If he kept his cool and did good interviews, more people might buy his book and understand about Jenny. He wanted people to know his wife, to appreciate the kind of person she was.
He didn’t want them to know how devastated he was.
After a quick glance at Miss Tyler, he went to his room. He needed to make sure his mind was organized.
And he needed to stop making Miss Tyler the enemy.
She’d done as Mona promised, made his trip more comfortable. And he hadn’t been very appreciative. For Jenny’s sake, he owed her an apology. But it was difficult. She was extremely attractive and he felt some kind of reaction when they touched. And when he watched her exercising.
So he didn’t want to touch her. But he could be more cooperative. He could use good manners, at least…couldn’t he?
Alex sat on the edge of his bed. He’d hidden away from the world since Jenny died. The only contact he’d had was with his publisher and then Mona, and a few patients he still had.
It wasn’t healthy. He knew that, but he’d shoved aside what he’d learned in his studies, as if none of it applied to him. But he’d been wrong.
One day spent in the real world was an awakening he didn’t welcome. But if he continued on the tour, he had no choice.
He had to come to terms with the reality that Jenny would never come back.
With her makeup applied and her jacket on, Tabitha drew a deep breath, prepared to face the dragon in the next room. Every time he spoke, she saw an imaginary flame come out of his mouth, warning her not to approach him. If he continued to behave in such a manner, she didn’t think his interviews would go well.
When she knocked on the door, Dr. Myerson opened it at once.
“We need to leave now to be sure we get there a little early.” She smiled, even though she expected no smile in return. Turning on her heel, she led the way to the door.
When they reached the elevator, she kept her distance, remembering his remark that he didn’t like to be touched. It still amazed her that he could’ve written that inspired book. She intended to reread it after the tour.
When they got in the taxi, she looked at her notes once more. “The interviewer is Helen Wilson, a life-styles reporter. I’ll give her the questions we worked on and talk to her about the limitations you want her to follow.”
“Thank you. I want to apologize for my behavior, Tabitha. And I hope you’ll call me Alex. It’s…unfriendly to remain so formal.”
