Page 12 of Spark
“Are you sure it wasn’t someone else on the hotel staff? Or maybe a nosy guest?” asked Sophie.
Rafael shifted uncomfortably on the banquette seat. “I, uh, went to look in the other part of the cooler and no one was there. It was totally empty.” He shook his head. “I gotta tell you, everyone hates working alone in that kitchen. Things move around, sometimes there’s whispering, but you can’t make out the words…yeah, it's creepy. Chef Langlais has started doubling up the cooks for prep—he says it’s because we’re slammed every night for dinner service—and we are, believe me—but I also think it’s because heknowsthat there’s something strange going on.”
He peered down at Sophie's phone. “Hey, my break’s over. I gotta get back to work,” he said in an apologetic tone. “Is there anything else you wanted to know?”
“Do you know anyone else who might be willing to talk to me about weird stuff that's happened to them?” she asked, then added, “Anonymously, of course.”
Rafael nodded. “My mom, Esperanza, is the Guest Services Manager here. She’s also Uncle Eddy’s younger sister, and probably the only one—other than Chef Langlais, I mean— who isn’t scared of my uncle. Anyhow, go see Esperanza, and ask her about Room 444. All of the housekeeping staff havestoriesabout that room.”
“Thank you so much for your time, Rafael,” Sophie said, as he pushed back his chair and rose smoothly to his feet.
"De nada." He waved and headed for the kitchen with feline grace.
Daniel had mentioned once, a few years ago, that the Ornelas family were a jaguar shifter clan. She wondered whether that's why they and the sabertooth shifters who lived on the nearby Cougar Lake Ranch got along so well, since they were all cat shifters.
She started to ask Chris, then censored herself. On second thought, it sounded like a really dumb question.
“Do you want me to introduce you to Esperanza?” Chris offered. “She comes across as a little intimidating, but she’s really sweet and she really looks out for everyone here.”
“Thanks, I’d appreciate that,” Sophie said.
Reminding herself not to read too much into Chris’s enthusiastic help, she reached for her phone and tucked it back into her purse.
She knew she tended to latch onto every crumb of attention he threw her way. He and Matt had always made her feel like someone special, instead of the plain, chubby,invisibleperson that she really was.
But, tellingly, neither of them had ever made any kind of move on her. Even when she had desperately wanted them to.
Chris led the way out of the restaurant and headed for the hotel’s registration counter, which was located on the other side of the huge lobby.
“You know, your email messages left out a lot of important info about your stay in Todos Santos,” he said, grinning at her.
“What do you want to know?” she asked, smiling back at him.
She realized her mistake when his grin widened, his green eyes gleaming with mischief.
“What was the nightlife like? Did you see any cool local bands while you were there? And were you dating anyone?”
Dating? Me? Are you kidding?Sophie bit back her instant reply.
She’d always been a shy book-nerd, but it had become worse when puberty hit and she realized that she was always going to be an ugly duckling instead of miraculously blossoming into a beautiful, bubbly, stylish swan like her mother.
Even going away to college hadn’t helped her overcome her paralyzing shyness and insecurity around attractive men. With one painful exception, the college guys had ignored her just as thoroughly as the boys at Bearpaw Ridge High.
After a harsh reminder that she just didn’t have whatever it was that madeothergirls attractive, Sophie had given up going to parties, which were always torture anyway. She couldn’t imagine anything less fun than walking into a room filled with strangers and having to pretend that she was enjoying herself. It was actually kind of a relief to give herself permission not to try anymore.
Instead, she'd immersed herself in her studies and work.
Now, as she waited on the results of her applications to medical school, she had wondered whether she would ever have any kind of normal dating life. She was painfully aware that the older she got, the further behind in life experiences she became.
“The nightlife was interesting,” she said, ignoring the second half of his question. “Going out to movies or nightclubs was always hit-or-miss due to all the power outages. But the cities and villages really came alive after dark. Even during weeknights there were all kinds of people—old, young, families with kids—sitting at cafes and outdoor restaurants or just walking around, and lots of free live concerts in the parks. Mostly acoustic and mostly folk music, but a few bands who also covered Latin and English hits.”
Chris wasn’t going to let her get away that easily, though. “And what about the guys? Did you meet anyone special? How was the dating scene?”
She stopped walking and thought fast.Should I be honest? Or play it cool?
She forced herself to smile, going for something mysterious and a little wicked, but afraid that she just looked kind of goofy. “Are you asking me to kiss and tell?” She clucked her tongue like one of the old ladies in the Todo Santean country villages. “So rude!”
“Rude?Me?” He came to a dead halt in the middle of the huge lobby, and crossed his arms. “C’mon, Sophie. I’m just trying to catch up after you abandoned me and Matt for a whole year. I mean, for all I know, you’ve got a boyfriend or fiancé or something stashed away somewhere.” He paused, and then delivered a low blow. “At least when we were all away at college and culinary academy, we’d see each other during the holidays and summer vacation.”
