Page 13 of In Spades

“Just Will, remember?”

“Of course,” she said, smiling. A light blush spread across her cheeks like spilled watercolors. “Will.”

I picked up the mug of coffee I had been nursing all morning and took a sip. “I’m actually glad to see you this morning.”

“Oh?” Kristin slipped into the bathroom, making quick work of the towel situation.

I waited until she grabbed the tray of complimentary soaps and coffee before pointing to the minibar. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

She craned her head around the corner and glanced at the full-size coffee maker that had mysteriously replaced the standard single-serve machine. Smiling, she slipped back into the bathroom and rearranged the mini toiletries on the vanity.

Kristin had the most innocent look on her face as she hummed something noncommittal. “Must be your lucky day,” she said.

I couldn’t fight the smile that worked its way across my face. “I think a sneaky housekeeper may have had a little something to do with it.”

Kristin pulled a stack of coffee filters and a bag of coffee grounds off her cart. The grounds were from the cafe down the block. She casually arranged the items next to the coffee maker as if she did for every room.

She turned and looked me dead in the eye. “Hmm, interesting theory.” Her deadpan was excellent. She could fool a polygraph with ease.

My eyes narrowed in on her. The little minx was trying her hardest to keep that stone-cold mask on, but I saw right through it. “So, tell me this: what if I mentioned that yesterday I tried to be a gentleman and help a damsel in distress, and I left without asking for her number? Would her number just happen to show up like a certain coffee maker?”

That made her giggle. Kristin turned her back to me as she started stripping the sheets off the bed. “If you’re implying that I had anything to do with the fulfillment of your caffeine-related needs?—”

“Are you gonna deny it to my face?”

She laughed as she scooped up the bedding and dropped it in the housekeeping cart. “You saw me leave yesterday. It couldn’t have possibly been me.”

“Your minions, then. Perhaps some sneaky elves.”

Her face turned serious, and she nodded like we were discussing nuclear codes and state secrets. “I’ve heard that elves work in mysterious ways. Maybe if you had mentioned how you take your coffee, there would have been creamer in the mini-fridge.”

“Creamer, but no phone numbers, huh?”

Kristin grabbed a stack of neatly folded sheets off the cart and walked back into the room. “Housekeeping elves tend to be very private. They rarely dabble in the distribution of contact information.”

I leaned back in the desk chair and kicked my ankle up to rest on top of my knee. “How’s the car?”

She plastered on a fake smile. “It’ll be fine. I have a friend that’s great with cars. He always gets it running again.”

“That wouldn’t happen to be the friend who duct taped part of your engine back together, would it?”

Kristin laughed. “That patch job was all me and YouTube.”

I chewed on my lip. “Is it the same friend who picked you up yesterday?”

“Who? Chase?” Kristin shook her head. “No, he just lent me his truck.” She snapped the flat sheet in the air, unfurling it and letting it float down until it landed smack dab in the center of the king-sized mattress. She made quick work of tucking it around the fitted sheet, creating perfect corners and creases that could have been angles in a geometry textbook.

“How nice of him,” I mumbled, watching as she fluffed the pillows and smoothed the comforter with her hand. The linens were so tight and crisp you could bounce a quarter off the top.

Every movement, every touch was intentional. She took great care in making sure the rooms were perfect. As good as it would have felt, I knew she wasn’t giving me special treatment. Kristin was simply a woman who took pride in a job well done.

“How long have you worked here?” I asked. “I mean, it took you two minutes to make a king bed. You didn’t even have to flop on top of it like a starfish to get the sheet across.”

Kristin laughed. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“Let me guess, you know how to fold a fitted sheet, too.”

“Like a pro,” she said with a wink.

---