to replace her ruined dress. What caused her dramatic eruption? Maybe he should have had a card sent with the dress to explain the gift?
The toe of his shoe hit something, and he stumbled. Grant bent down to lift up the strappy high-heeled sandals he’d requested be included with the dress. Jami obviously hadn’t appreciated the footwear, either.
Bands of pressure built across his forehead, and a vein thumped in his neck. He’d tried to be helpful. Considerate. Nice.
Women. No wonder he remained a bachelor.
Holding the bent box, fancy dress, and discarded sandals, his gaze fell on the drawer holding Grandmother Margaret’s brooch. So much for magic charms. Cupid would find no love victims here.
Inside the inner bedroom of the suite, Jami stood with hands on hips glaring at the door. If she were a dragon, she’d be breathing fire. Taking several deep breaths, she tried to calm her surging adrenalin.
“Mom, are you okay?” Toby asked in a troubled voice.
“Fine. Peachy. Great,” Jami muttered. “I filled the tub for you. Please go take your bath now.”
“Sure, Mom.” Her son’s questioning brown eyes roamed over her face, and she could feel his alarm. “I’ll be real good. And I’ll wash up squeaky clean, I promise.”
Jami’s heart sunk. She had frightened her child. She cupped his hot, flushed face in her hands and said gently, “I love you, honey, and I’m not mad at you. Not at all.”
“You’re mad at Grant?”
“Yes.” She kept the tremble out of her voice.
“Why?” Toby bit his bottom lip and watching her with curiosity, and possibly a tiny bit of awe.
“Grown-up stuff.” She forced a smile. “Now leave the bathroom door open so I can hear you and check on you. Okay?”
“Okay.” Toby started for the bathroom, but paused to turn back to her. “Sometimes I get mad at Grant, too.”
“You do?” she softly prompted.
“Yeah. When he tries to kiss you and acts mushy about you.” Toby pulled a face, then marched into the bathroom, adding, “But most of the time I like him. He teaches me neat stuff. Stuff like kids’ dads teach them. You know?”
“I know.” She knew only too well.
A few minutes later, Jami could hardly see her son when she entered the bathroom, suds nearly bubbling over the tub. “How much bubblebath did you use?”
“Lots of squirts.” Toby blinked up at her, the frothy bubbles forming a Santa beard on his face.
“That’s way too much!”
“I didn’t know.” Toby sunk lower in the warm sudsy water with his hand-carved boat floating beside him. She shook her head—at least he’d be clean.
“Rinse off really good after you let the suds out. Okay?”
“Okay, Mom.”
Leaving the bathroom door open a crack, Jami crossed the room to the extension phone by their bed. She dialed Ty and Sierra’s number, practically holding her breath and counting each ring until it was answered.
“Hello,” piped a familiar, effervescent voice.
“Hi, Sierra.”
“Jami! I’m so glad you called. How’s the lodge? Don’t you just love the Rockies? Isn’t Grant gorgeous?”
“Sierra, we have to talk,” Jami interjected sternly.
“What’s wrong? Did you fall down a mountain? Did Toby fall down a mountain? Is everything all right?”
“No. Things are not all right,” Jami snapped, hoping her friend would give her a chance to participate in their conversation.
“You sound upset.”
“I am upset.” Jami took a deep breath before forging on. “This vacation isn’t working out. I think Toby and I should just head home.”
“What?” Sierra screeched, her high voice even higher. “Tonight is the candlelight dinner publicity shoot, isn’t it?”
“It’s supposed to be...”
“Supposed to be?” Sierra cried. “You can’t let me down now. We’re depending on you, and CupidKey is at your mercy. Please, Jami, please don’t ruin everything.”
“I’m sorry,” Jami sighed, holding the phone away from her ear as Sierra launched into more fervent pleading.
“You can’t back out now! We’ve already bought the ad space in several singles magazines, and Ty is updating our website. The campaign is set in motion. We’re just waiting for the rest of the Frost Lake photos from Mike.”
“Aren’t the ones he took earlier enough?”
“No. We need romantic scenes, like your dinner tonight, and the shoot of you and Grant on the lake tomorrow.”
“What shoot on the lake tomorrow?” Jami asked, her own distress escalating as she half-listened to Toby splashing and singing, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
“Oh,” Sierra’s voice sounded suspiciously regretful. “Did I forget to tell you about the lake session?”
“You certainly did.”
“Ty thought it’d be so romantic and beautiful to capture a love scene of you two on the lake.”