One Night

Chapter 1, One Night

Chapter 1

Kate Sikes's short-lived online dating venture started with a MacBook Pro, a pair of killer heels, and a trip to the salon. How it ended was deadly.

For nearly her entire young adult life—she was now at the ripe old age of twenty-two—Kate had continually dated the wrong guys, losers looking to freeload off her success. She'd remained hopeful even though each guy she fell for lacked ambition. When she met the last guy, Todd, she'd been convinced her luck had changed, as he was an up and coming stockbroker whose one and only fault was that he lived with his mother. However, she soon discovered that Todd had anxiety issues and preferred to consult his mother before making any plans. So Kate, in one of her smarter decisions, had said goodbye.

Kate Sikes was the assistant front desk manager at the Hotel Monaco. She was smart, attractive, a hard worker, and on track for manager. She lacked nothing in her career. She was ambitious, a self-starter, and had the ability to think outside the box—at least according to her last evaluation. Kate decided that whatever kept attracting her to the same passive-aggressive, noncommittal losers was about to change. That big old "S" for "stupid" tattooed to her forehead was going to be erased. She was turning over a new leaf, reevaluating herself, and determined to find a suitable match.

So she signed up for one of the premier dating sites, submitted her credit card information, and completed her profile—all accurate, except for her weight. Although she was curvy, not overweight, she decided it was best to keep that last detail to herself. Then she started shopping through profiles. It was like being in a candy story, looking for a match among all those drop-dead gorgeous guys. She waited for a response from all the matches flooding her inbox, weeding out the ones that sounded too good to be true, and voila. It was like hitting the lottery of man-candy heaven.

But not only did she soon discover this wasn't as easy as it had sounded in the dating site's ads, she also found that most men were as noncommittal as the losers she'd been dating—until match number twenty-five: Ryder Connelly, five foot ten, athletic, dark haired, with a smile to die for. He was a dentist who worked out regularly and wanted to meet her. Oh my God! Kate was both excited and a basket of nerves as she finished her shift at the four-star resort. She'd watched the clock all afternoon, knowing she had to be out the door as soon as her shift ended. That left her three hours until she needed to be at the restaurant to meet Ryder and kick off a night of many firsts.

"Taking off for the night, Keith," she told her boss, tapping the frame of the door to the back office.

A short, compact middle-aged man typing away on the computer glanced up. "Have a good night, Kate," he said, leaning back in his ergonomic chair. The hinges squeaked. He twirled a pen between his fingers as he glanced up to her. "Listen, did you handle that room service complaint?"

"I did. Comped them a free dinner in the dining room. The wife was happy. I don't think anything will make the husband happy, though. He was more interested in rehashing how the kitchen put onions on his burger even though he's deathly allergic to them. The wife did tell me he's not really allergic to the onions, he just hates them. At least Jerome is the head waiter tonight. He'll make sure they're given the best. If not..." She waved her hand and stopped talking as Keith shot her an unreadable glance, the same one he always did when he was about to cut her down for something. She hated when he did that, making her feel inadequate.

"I'll follow up, make sure it's handled. Just don't be too liberal with all the freebies you're handing out."

She wanted to roll her eyes. What did Keith expect? He wanted the guests happy but implied that the front desk, at times, should work with nothing. She was about to ask what he would have done to appease the disgruntled couple—who were two of the most frequent reviewers on Trip Advisor—but then decided it was best to drop it before he could question her about something else she'd handled or, worse, suddenly rope her into picking up another shift. Keith was famous for that. So she slipped out the door, telling herself to let it go.