Page 8 of #Resort Love (Lakeview Harbor #1)

Chapter Three

This version of Harlow had “pain in the ass” written all over her.

He hadn’t noticed her following him at first, but that last mile—when there was literally nothing out here except the entrance to the resort—had him feeling mildly paranoid.

And clearly with good reason.

His grandparents warned him about the vultures. He just didn’t expect anyone to ambush him quite this soon.

Or quite so brazenly.

Or for it to be his Harlow.

Pfft…what a crock that was, huh? His? Nuh-uh. She probably knew who he was all along and orchestrated that whole thing Friday night. Now he felt like a total fool and hated it.

Sighing wearily, he parked his truck as close to his cabin as he could get and laughed mirthlessly as he watched her pull up right beside him.

Five minutes. That was all he was going to give her, and he was tempted to cut her off at four just because she had essentially stalked him.

Okay, maybe that was a little dramatic, but she had picked the wrong day to show up.

The cable and Wi-Fi weren’t going to be hooked up for another three days, it was going to cost a fortune because he was essentially going to get it all set up now for the entire resort, and the bed in the hotel was so damn uncomfortable that his back and neck were killing him.

Plus, every night when he closed his eyes, he would picture her naked in bed beside him.

Dammit.

And on top of that, it rained last night and the path to the cabin was a muddy mess, meaning it was going to be a bitch carrying all the boxes with his personal stuff.

Basically, he was in a pissy mood and wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

The knock on the truck window startled him, and he realized he’d been lost in thought.

When he turned his head, she smiled at him—a bright, dazzling smile that in normal circumstances he could appreciate, but right now, he had zero tolerance for.

Hell, at any other time he’d appreciate the dark silky hair, the glossy pink lips, the snug fit of her black pencil skirt and white blouse, the heels… all of it.

And if he didn’t know exactly who she was, he’d have them halfway to the cabin already so he could strip her out of all of it and do all the things he did to her Friday night.

But now that was never going to happen. It couldn’t.

Remember, Harlow St. James is not to be trusted! Love, Grandma

“Let’s get this over with,” he murmured, shoving the door open.

She took a step back before boldly giving him another bright smile. “I guess now would be a good time to formally introduce ourselves. I’m Harlow St. James and I’m a real estate agent. I’ve had the honor of talking to Dale and Peggy—who, I’m guessing, are your grandparents—and…”

“And did they tell you they want to sell the resort?” he interrupted.

“Um…excuse me?”

“My grandparents. Did they ask you to come out here because they were interested in selling the resort?”

“Per our last conversation, they had not,” she admitted.

“However, it’s been over six months since the last guest departed and I figured they’d had the time to think about it.

I have multiple offers from interested parties regarding the property.

Actually, I have a file back at my office with all of the offers in them.

I’d love to share them with you over dinner. ”

He had to hand it to her; she was persistent.

“We’re not selling.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Walker shrugged.

“Is your family against being wealthy beyond your wildest dreams? Do you have an aversion to financial security?”

Honestly, he had no idea what to say to that, so he let her keep talking.

“If you’ll just give me the chance, I can show you how beneficial it would be to sell the resort. And not just for you and your family, but for the entire town!”

“What the hell does the town have to do with it?”

Those glossy pink lips pursed as she shook her head.

“This resort has been a huge tourist attraction for a very long time. The town had grown accustomed to the income they all gained during the peak season. And really, the clientele—the guests who came here for vacation—were exactly the demographics our local businesses catered to. When your grandparents stopped doing any real upkeep and attendance dropped, it wasn’t just Lakeview Harbor Resort that felt the pinch, Walker. Surely you can understand that.”

Unfortunately, he could.

He just hadn’t thought about it until now.

“Businesses are closing,” she went on earnestly. “Just today, the diner—the one that had been here for over forty years—closed its doors! Do you have any idea how devastating that is?”

“There are other places in town to eat,” he reasoned. “And not every business failure is because the resort closed, okay? Be reasonable. There are plenty of factors that go into a business closing, so don’t try to put all of that on my grandparents.”

A quick glance at his watch told him her time was up. Without a word, he walked around to the back of his truck and opened the hatch.

“Um…Walker? I think if you’d just take a little time to drive around town and talk to some of the business owners and then go over some of the very impressive offers I’ve had from a variety of investors and developers, you’d see how much sense it makes to sell.”

“Your five minutes are up, Ms. St. James,” he murmured, reaching for the box that held his new luxury memory foam mattress. It easily weighed over a hundred pounds, but he hefted it onto his shoulder and began to walk toward his cabin. Hopefully she’d take the hint and leave.

Only…this clearly wasn’t his day because he heard her heels tapping on the pavement as she tried to keep up.

“Okay, I get that you said I only had five minutes,” she began breathlessly, “but I really think we’ve only scratched the surface!”

Walker didn’t even slow down. “There is no surface to be scratched. My answer is no. My grandparents’ answer was no. There’s nothing left to discuss.”

More clicking of heels on pavement. “Just…please! You’re obviously staying here for a reason. I can save you time! If you’re here to do an evaluation of the property, I’ve done all of that already! I can help! I’m willing to share all my information with you!”

She’d already done an evaluation? How the hell did she manage that?

He stepped off the paved path and onto the gravel one that led to his cabin. Surely she was going to give up now. There was no way she could navigate the uneven ground in those shoes. It would be ridiculous.

“This is prime real estate!” she went on before muttering something under her breath.

“Don’t care,” he said over his shoulder. “Go home, Ms. St. James. We’re not doing business.”

“How can you pass up fifty million dollars?”

Okay, that got his attention. He came to a stop and was about to turn when Harlow plowed into him.

“Oof!” was all he heard before she let out a small shriek.

Tossing the box down, he turned just as she fell on her ass into a puddle on the edge of the path.

Great.

She might be an unwelcome pest who was now definitely trespassing, but his mother raised him with manners.

She was sprawled out with mud pretty much all over her, and he was fairly certain she was doing her best not to curse or cry.

As much as he was enjoying the poetic justice of the situation, he couldn’t just leave her there.

No matter how much she deserved it.

After all, if she’d left when he told her to, this wouldn’t have happened.

Holding out his hand to her, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay!” she cried, even as she put her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet.

He held his other hand out to keep her body from propelling into his.

“The heel broke off of my shoe, my clothes are ruined, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to have bruises all over my body.

Dammit!” Yanking her hand from his, she kicked off her other shoe and picked it up before shaking it at him. “This is all your fault!”

He was fairly certain his eyes were bugging out. “ My fault? I told you to leave numerous times! The only one at fault here is you! So why don’t you take your broken shoes and your unwanted offers and get the hell out of here? You’re wasting both of our time now.”

With that, he picked his box back up—thankful it landed on the gravel and not in a puddle—and finished his way to the cabin. When he climbed the front steps, he could see Harlow standing where he left her.

“Not my problem,” he mumbled. “She can hobble back to the parking lot for all I care. I’ve got work to do.”

He cut open the box and the plastic wrapping on the mattress and let it unfold and do its thing. After gathering the trash, he stepped back outside to grab the next box of supplies and found Harlow still standing there.

As he walked past her, he grinned. “There’s rain in the forecast again for tonight. You might want to reconsider trying to make whatever point it is you’re trying to make.”

He’d gone no more than a few steps when she shouted, “You’re not even going to offer me a towel? Or…or…anything?”

It was a fair question.

And again…manners.

Turning, he let out a long breath. “Follow me.”

While it might have been easier to go to his cabin, there weren’t any towels or anything useful in there yet to help her. He’d cleaned the place yesterday and bought all new stuff. Which was what he was trying to unload and set up, and would have by now, if she had just left when he told her to.

Behind him, Walker could hear her cursing under her breath, and it made him want to laugh. Clearly Harlow St. James was stubborn in every possible way.

Remember, Harlow St. James is not to be trusted! Love, Grandma

Yeah, he was going to have to keep reminding himself of his grandmother’s warning, otherwise he’d weaken and end up feeling sorry for her.

“Where are we going?” she demanded. “And if you’re just leading me back to my car, then you are literally the worst person ever!”