186
Before he left the dining room he put together a quick sandwich at the breakfast bar and grabbed a banana. Then he walked outside to the parking lot. He pulled out his cell and called Mike, the landlord of his apartment complex and left him a message filling him in on the recent changes. He asked the landlord to change the locks and said he’d see him when he got back.
Then Kyle wandered over to the bikes and caught smiles from the guides.
“Kyle! What happened?” Vivian asked, seeing the food in his hands.
“I spoke with Gwen and officially broke up with her. I didn’t feel like sticking around to finish breakfast,” he explained.
She gave him a wide smile. “Good for you!”
He shrugged with a smile then found a bench in the sun and quickly ate his breakfast.
As he finished he saw the rest of the group walking out of the building and was truly relieved to see Gwen wasn’t with them.
Fiona stopped before him and handed him his helmet. He saw his gloves were inside. “Thanks!”
“You handled that with far less drama than I could have,” the platinum blonde said with a smile.
Dita walked over to smile at Kyle. “You broke up with her?”
He nodded and Fiona grinned wolfishly. “He turned her down far more gently than I would have!”
Helen walked up to Kyle and kissed his uninjured cheek. “You handled yourself very well in a difficult situation.”
“Far better than she deserved,” Skye growled as she walked up next to her mum.
“How about we just enjoy our last full day of riding?” Kyle asked giving the ladies a raised eyebrow.
“That reminds me, did you get an upgraded room in the next chateau?” Skye asked with an impish smile.
Kyle closed his eyes and sighed as he remembered. He had. “Right. The Empress Suite,” he moaned aloud.
“Ooo! It’s got a lovely name!” Helen sighed.
His mind was still unsettled from his confrontation with Gwen so there was no way he could choose. Seeing his dilemma, Carl came to his rescue. “Why don’t you just pick a number between one and one hundred, tell it to Dita who’s driving today so she can’t be swayed to tell any of us, and after the ride we’ll try to guess it. Closest guess wins!”
Kyle grinned at the man and nodded. He whispered a number into Dita’s ear and she smiled happily.
“See you at the chateau!” she said, smiling at the others as she walked off towards the van.
They got on their bikes and headed down the lane to the main road. They followed that for a while then pulled off onto a quieter less traveled road.
The route was mostly through the rolling hills of the countryside and they were able to relax and enjoy themselves. It was their last full day ride as tomorrow’s ride would only be for a few hours in the morning. Then they’d be driven to the train station at their final destination.
They stopped for lunch next to a vineyard and sampled the wine. They allowed Kimberly only one glass and she still managed to become giggly by the time they finished the meal. Kyle rode with her for a while to keep an eye on her but she seemed fine.
“Silly Kyle, one glass of wine isn’t enough to make me drunk!” she grinned at him.
“Well, you were really… spirited at lunch.”NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
“I was just happy! Very, very happy! I haven’t felt this good in a long time. The only thing that’s making me sad is knowing the trip is coming to an end,” she sighed.
“I know, I’m sorry it’s coming to an end as well. It’s been a really great tour. I’m so glad I met everyone!” he said with a smile.
They rode on in companionable silence and stopped at a particularly picturesque lookout where Kyle brought out is cell to capture some shots. The rest of their party caught up and Kyle got some great group photos. Then they shared their contact details. Helen got him to promise to visit after he spent some time in California.
For the rest of the ride they stayed together, talking and laughing as they went, and their pace was relaxed as no one wanted it to end. Too soon they were rolling into the long laneway leading up to the beautiful chateau. The gardens surrounding the building were gorgeous and they smiled in appreciation.
They met Dita in the parking lot next to the main building and everyone gathered around.
“Are you ready to guess the number?” she asked with a grin and they cheered.
Dita pointed to each person, except Kyle, and they spoke their guess aloud. Once she’d heard from everyone she paused dramatically, enjoying their anticipation.
“The number Kyle told me was 77 so Kimberly’s guess of 75 was closest!” Dita cheered.
The petite redhead squealed with joy and jumped to give Dita a hug. The rest clapped as Kimberly turned and got a hug from Kyle.
Jules stepped forward to address the group. “This is your last stay and dinner at their three star Michelin restaurant is included. Wine is not but they have an exquisite selection to pair up with the meals so please indulge.” They grinned at the man as it felt like they’d been indulging all week.
They made their way inside and Kyle was once more first at the reception desk. “Hello! Kyle MacDenny checking in.”
“Yes! We have you in the Empress Suite,” the woman behind the desk said with a smile.
“Actually, there’s been a switch. I’ll be tradin-” he began but stopped when he felt a small hand tugging at his cycling jersey. He looked behind him and Kimberly was clinging to the fabric. “What’s wrong?” he asked quietly. Her normally pale skin was glowing pink from a blush and she was having trouble looking at him. “Kimberly?”
“Could- could we share?” she squeaked.
He looked at her in surprise then over her head at Carl who gaped at him then looked at his wife who was trying to hide her smile.
“Why don’t we have dinner and drinks and see how we’re feeling after that?” Kyle said gently to her and her eyes darted up to his. She relaxed seeing he wasn’t rejecting her and nodded faintly. “For now let’s switch rooms. We can… move a bag later should we decide to.”
Her smile came back as her eyes twinkled with mischief. He got another nod from her.
Kyle turned back to the clerk. “Yes, the Empress Suite. Could we swap the luggage between the suite and the room assigned to Kimberly Wallis?”
“Of course!” the woman said with a smile. She gestured for a bellhop to step closer for the instructions.