Page 16 of #Resort Love (Lakeview Harbor #1)

If I take off my blazer, maybe he’ll slide one of those magnificent hands up my arm…

Inwardly, Harlow groaned because she rarely drank more than one glass of wine, and she had a feeling maybe she was a bit tipsy. Not much, but…it wouldn’t take a lot for her to admit some of these naughty thoughts out loud, and she could not let that happen. Although…

It wasn’t like she ever had to see Walker again.

Now that she knew there was no chance of her making any kind of deal on the property, there wouldn’t be any reason for her to go back out there.

And if what he said earlier was true, he was going to be beyond busy once work started on the resort.

So what if…maybe, just maybe…she didn’t watch what she said?

What if she went with raw honesty and saw where it went?

Was one more night really going to hurt them?

“You’ve gotten quiet, Harlow,” he said softly. “Everything okay?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’m fine. Just a little lost in thought.”

“Care to share what you’re thinking?”

The giggle was out before she could stop it.

Composing herself, she decided to ease into the conversation. “I was thinking that I had a really pleasant time tonight. You know, after we went back inside.”

He nodded. “Me too. The food was amazing. I’m glad we made the drive out here.”

“Agreed. That was the best meal I’ve had in a long time. Thank you for inviting me.”

The look he gave her was a little wicked.

Or maybe it was the dim lighting. She couldn’t be sure.

“It was my pleasure,” he said in that low timbre voice. “Thank you for accepting the invitation and for giving me a second chance.”

“Well…it would have been awkward to have to stand out on the sidewalk for an hour while a perfectly good meal was going to waste.”

“So it wasn’t really about me,” he reasoned. “It was about the food.”

She pretended to think about it. “Hmm…maybe at first, but then you proved to be just as enjoyable as the meal.”

He looked at her again; one dark brow arched enticingly. “Enjoyable, huh? I’m not sure anyone’s ever described me that way.”

“It’s true,” she said firmly. “Great conversation, never a lull, you picked a great bottle of wine and an amazing restaurant. All in all, very enjoyable.”

And that’s not including how enjoyable he was last Friday night…

“I’m glad you think so. I had a great time tonight too.” He paused for a moment. “Very enjoyable.”

“Mmm…” she hummed. “No one’s ever said that about me either. I think I like it.”

This time when Walker looked at her, his expression was a bit more somber. “You only had the two glasses of wine, right?”

“That’s it. And I know you did as well, but you stopped drinking over an hour ago and had coffee.” She smiled sweetly. “Are we comparing notes on how much liquid we each consumed, or were you going somewhere with that question?”

“Harlow St. James, conversations with you are never boring; that’s for sure.”

“Do you want them to be? We can talk about the weather. I can tell you all the town gossip—although there’s not much to tell lately. After Eileen Jacobs took off with Tommy Wilson, things just haven’t been the same.”

“And why is that?”

“Oh, it was a big drama for a while. Eileen had been dating Brian Arruby for years. But Brian’s an accountant and not very exciting, and even though they seemed happy, we all found out that Eileen had been having a secret torrid love affair with Tommy Wilson!

And Tommy was with the local police department, so it was an enormous scandal. ”

“What happened?”

“Poor Brian came home from work one day and Eileen had left him one of those Dear John letters and then rode out of town on the back of Tommy’s Harley! I’m telling you; it was all anyone could talk about for weeks!”

“Um…”

“I’m sure you’re used to much more sophisticated behavior—and drama—where you live. Especially around your snooty resorts.” She paused. “Wait…where exactly do you live? If you manage all those resorts, do you have one city that’s sort of your home base?”

“I have a place in Galveston, but when I knew I was coming here, I broke the lease. It seemed pointless to keep paying rent on an apartment I wasn’t going to be at.

It would essentially be just paying for a closet or a storage unit.

But I have it in my contract that I have a suite at each resort location.

They’re already furnished, and I keep a small selection of clothes and personal items in each of them.

It’s not ideal, but it works. When all the work is done here, I won’t have to rush to find a new place to live. I can take my time and decide.”

“Is that how you want to keep living? Just bouncing around from one resort to another?”

“It’s been working so far, but I know there’s going to come a point when it will get old.

I enjoy traveling, but it might be nice to stay in one place for more than a month at a time.

It was something I was worried about when I decided to take on this project; would I be able to handle staying here for six months? ”

“If you had to pick a place to settle down, where would it be?”

“Good question, and honestly, I’m not sure. I love my job, and I love all the cities I work in. They each have a little something special about them that I’d miss.”

“You’re lucky, Walker. I would love to be able to travel the way you do. I’ve never been far from Harbortown. It was one of the reasons I was so consumed with trying to sell the resort. The commission would have allowed me to get out of here and see all the places I’ve always wanted to see.”

Harlow nearly jumped out of her skin when he took her hand in his, resting them on the console between them. “If you could get on a plane right now, where would you go?”

“Oh, that’s easy. I’d go to Nashville.”

He smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Tell me why.”

“I love country music. Well, I love all music, but I particularly love country music. I’d love to see the Grand Ole Opry. And after that, I’d go to Myrtle Beach. I don’t know why, but I’ve always wanted to go there.”

“Both good choices. Where’s your next stop?”

“This is silly, Walker. And it makes me sad because…” She shrugged. “It’s never going to happen.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. There’s no other property available that would give me the financial freedom.”

“I’m really sorry,” he murmured.

“You don’t have to apologize. I should have listened and stopped being so damn pushy.”

They drove in companionable silence for several long minutes.

Harlow asked him about the cities he lived in, and he told her stories about some of his favorite places and the most popular attractions that were nearby.

He spoke so matter-of-factly about it, and she figured it was because they weren’t a big deal to him.

This was his life, and he didn’t know it any other way.

It wasn’t his fault that her father was a convicted criminal, and her mother was the town drunk.

Yeah, Walker’s life was a damn fairytale compared to hers.

Just another reason she should hate him, but…she didn’t.

When they pulled through the front gates of the resort, she sighed. The night was over, and she was a little sorry to see it end. Walker parked the Yukon next to her car before getting out and opening the door for her. With her hand in his, she climbed down and ended up standing very close to him.

Almost…inappropriately close.

But did she move? No.

Did he move? No.

So…what were they doing?

Swallowing hard, she looked up at him. “Thank you for a wonderful dinner. Even with all the…you know…drama, I still had a nice evening.”

“I did too. I wasn’t looking forward to eating alone, so thanks for taking pity on me and joining me.”

Unable to help herself, she smiled. “Yeah, it was a real hardship hanging out with an attractive man while eating steak and lobster.”

He smiled down at her, and she desperately wished he’d say something that would give her a clue about how he felt. Was he sad the night was over? Was he thinking about the last time they were this close and where it had led?

And did she want to wait and find out, or did she want to take matters into her own hands?

“So, uh…you’ve moved into the cabin, huh?”

Lame, Harlow. And super obvious what you’re angling for…

“I have,” he said, as his thumb gently caressed her wrist. “I had to furnish it myself because everything had been donated. Plus, I hired someone to come in and clean it. Would you like to see it?”

She pretended to think about it before shrugging. “Sure. Why not? It’s still kind of early.”

There were solar lights along the gravel path, but Walker continued to hold her hand.

“There’s another cluster of cabins over on the other side with a paved path, but we want to work on them first because they’re closest to the lodge.

This cluster I’m staying in was the one that was always reserved for my family.

It just felt natural to choose them. Plus, they’re the closest to the parking lot, so it was easier to move stuff into the cabin. ”

“Did you choose the one you always stayed in?”

He shook his head. “It was one of the larger ones and it was in the roughest shape. Since it’s only me, I don’t need a lot of space. Plus, I wanted something I could move into without requiring major repairs.”

“That makes sense. What about your friends? Will they have to do work on the ones they’re all going to stay in or are they going to fix up rooms in the lodge?”

“They’re going to stay in the cabins too.

This way, everyone has privacy. There are a dozen of them over here and I inspected them all and there are enough that don’t need structural work so they should be okay.

I told them they might have to purchase a few things to make them habitable—and I’m having a cleaning crew come in before they all arrive—but maybe I’ll just order the basics so they can move right in. ”