Excerpt of Catch of the Day by Petie McCarty

Far better than Cody could have imagined, the room offered a four–poster bed, antique dressers and tables, and a floral print area rug in hues of green and rose. She declared the room to be perfect, which made Velma grin, and followed her back downstairs. A tall dark–haired man leaned on the counter and faced an exact replica of her hotel guide.

The woman glanced up. "There you are, Velma. I thought you were watching the desk."

"I was till I had to show this young lady a room."

The smiling twin froze.

"What's wrong, Sister?" Velma hurried to the counter with Cody on her heels.

"I sort of promised the last room to this man," Delma said.

Cody's heart sank. What else could go wrong? The man straightened and turned, and she faced her nemesis from the marina. Well, that answered her question. His emerald eyes snapped sparks at Cody, and the pair squared off in front of the counter for round two. So why did she feel such a jolt of excitement?

"You're too late this time," he growled.

"No, I'm not. I arrived here first."

His eyes glittered. "Did you give Velma a credit card?"

"Not yet."

"Then you're too late."

He was so close his low growl swathed Cody's cheek with warm air. The touch and sound stirred a shudder deep inside her –– a sensual shudder of all things. Yikes.

"Well, I would have," she sputtered, "but I had to see the room first." Her neck and cheeks flushed.

"I did insist," Velma added.

"Well, I gave her my credit card." He pointed at Delma. "And she took it, so you're too late."

The man was obnoxious. So why did his mere proximity send delicious shivers down Cody's spine to warm her from the inside out? She frowned. Snatch him bald –– that's what she should do.

"I did take the credit card," Delma said timidly.

Feeling the hotel room being yanked out from underneath her, Cody turned indignant. "I don't care. I arrived here first." She wheeled on Velma. "Tell him."

Velma had a hard time meeting the man's glittering green eyes, and Cody feared the worst. "Velma, you have to go with the first person here, and that's me."

She visibly wavered and allowed her gaze to dart between Cody, Grouchface, and her twin, who looked ready to burst into tears.

"It's not your fault, Sister. You didn't know we were upstairs." She patted Delma's hand. "I'll handle this."

Velma faced her potential guests and said, "We'll flip for it."

Delma smiled.

"What?" Cody cried.

"Fine by me," Grouchface snapped.

Velma reached in her apron pocket and pulled out a silver dollar. She smiled at Cody. "Since you were here first, you can call it, and you can have heads if you want. I always liked heads in a coin toss, and I always got lucky calling heads." Her eyes twinkled at Cody.

"Fine. Heads it is," Cody said.

The coin flipped high in the air. Velma deftly caught it in her right hand and smacked it on top of her left. "Heads it is," she proclaimed.

Cody blew out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, wait a minute," Grouchface complained.

"See for yourself." Velma angled her hand for him to snatch a glimpse and then chucked the coin back in her pocket.

Cody stared him right in the eye. "I win."

He eased closer –– almost nose to nose –– and she reconsidered her idea to gloat. The emerald eyes darkened and then turned almost black. She could hear and feel each breath he took, because she held hers. Waiting.

"Share it with me." His eyes never wavered. "I promise I won't touch you... if you don't want me to."

Cody heard Velma and Delma gasp in unison, and she stuttered, "N–no."

No sooner had the word left her mouth than she had the strangest urge to snatch it back and rethink the offer. His eyes glittered dangerously, and she wondered if he could read her mind. She tried to pull in a breath, but couldn't manage to get any air down her throat. She could only stare into those dark eyes –– and wonder.

He spun on his heel and stalked out the door, and Cody felt an inexplicable wave of disappointment. Her knees felt like water. She grabbed the counter to steady herself, and the twins beamed.

"That's the most excitement we've had in the lobby since New Year's 1985. Or was that '88? Do you remember, Sister, when that group of Shriners was stranded here on New Year's Eve?"

"I think it was '85," Delma said.

"No, that was the year it snowed."

"Ladies," Cody pleaded, "I want to get a room key before I have another chance to lose."

Velma chuckled. "Oh, you couldn't lose, dear. Not once you called heads."

"I couldn't?"

Velma shook her head. "On account of my lucky coin." She dug the silver dollar out and handed it over.

Cody turned the coin in her hand and laughed. Heads on both sides.

Velma took her arm. "Let's get your luggage and get you tucked into your room. We're going to love having you around here."