When she pulled the door open, her stomach and heart lurched in sync. Like they were fist bumping at the sight of the good-looking guy from the trip over. No amount of seasickness could have blocked out the zip of energy she’d felt when their eyes connected on the boat. Or when his hands gripped her hips. His eyes made her think of dark chocolate, decadent and tempting. They were gorgeous. Intense. It was almost enough to warm up some of the chill. Almost.
“Hi,” she said, breathily. Was that a puff of air?
“Hi.”
Oh wow. Okay. This staring contest couldn’t keep happening. She’d had hours to realize that Emmett was an ass. A completely selfish, narcissistic ass. But that didn’t mean she could jump into some vacation fling. For one thing, that would require removing some blankets. Unless they were incredibly inventive.It would warm you up.She wasn’t really into sex for staving off hypothermia though. Not that he was offering. Didn’t matter. She didn’t do flings. Did she? City Presley might not, but maybe Country Presley did. Maybe her brain was frozen.
She should probably try moving her mouth. Make sure it still worked. “Listen.” What was she even going to say?
His dark brows bounced up. He was, in fact, listening. Closely. Like he cared about what she might say. How had she missed the fact that Emmett never looked at her that way.
In her job, the direct route was typically the best. “You are an extremely good-looking man, and I am positive I will regret not acting on this… heat between us. Trust me, I’m an icicle under all these blankets, so I could really use some heat.” She leaned on the doorframe, her body heavy.
His gaze widened. He put a fist to his mouth, coughed, then lowered it. “Excuse me?”
She was muddling this all up. She was a modern woman. She could be up-front. If she couldn’t, she wouldn’t have even made assistant concierge. Besides, being part iceberg made her numb to embarrassment.
Gripping the bedding between her breasts, she looked him up and down before settling on those sexy eyes again.
“Maybe I’ll feel differently in a day or two and we can have dinner or something, but it’s been a bad day. A really bad day.” And while he looked like he’d know exactly how to fix it, she was not letting go of the blankets.
He inhaled deeply, let it out. She watched the rise and fall of his Henley-covered chest. It was defined even through the shirt. Wow. Okay. Maybe she should pull herself together. The best way to get over someone was said to be get—
“I’m here to fix your thermostat. I’m Beckett Keller. My family owns the lodge.”
Presley nearly choked on the air as she stepped back. It was looking like embarrassment might heat her up faster than anything else. And no, she was clearly not immune, because holy icicles, she could feel her face turning redder than Ronald McDonald’s nose.
She couldn’t force words out. She tried but nothing would come. Backing up, she pointed to the thermostat as she shuffled, hit the bed with her calves and then just plopped down on it.
He gave a tight smile and a quick nod, coming in and going to the wall where the digital thermostat was located.
Presley felt like she was back on the boat, being tossed around in the waves. Her stomach was revolting against her decision to speak out loud. She really had a gift for misreading situations.
Beckettworked for the lodge. His family owned it. He wasn’t a guest like her. She’d just thrown herself at one of the owners. Or rather, informed him she wasn’t going to throw herself at him. Yet. There was low, and then there was slither-on-the-ground, roll-in-the-dirt low. There was literally nothing else, short of the curtains, to burrow under.
She must have groaned louder than she thought.
Beckett turned sharply, looked at her. “You okay?”
Fan-freaking-tastic.She nodded, stared at the carpet, willing him to fix the thermostat and leave.Fix it and leave. Fix it and leave.
His dusty work boots padded into her view. She felt his gaze and wrestled with the desire to look into it.
“Your name is Presley?” His voice had a hint of kindness and a bucket full of salve.
Deep breath. Tipping her head back, she looked up, found him staring down. “Yes.”
“You won’t be able to stay here tonight. I don’t know what’s wrong with it, but it’s more than I can fix.”
She continued to stare at him, fixated on his lips. Not just because they were full and looked soft. They were telling her something she could understand. In this particular moment, everything felt like more than she could fix.
At this, he bent his knees, crouched in front of her. “Presley, I don’t mean to pry, but are you okay? You seem like you’re in shock.”
Considering this, she flattened her lips and nodded. “That’s a good word for it. ‘Shock.’ Or I’m just frozen.” What he had said registered, and she sat up straighter. “Wait. Where will I go? Is there another room? Do I have to get back on the boat to get to a hotel?” She really didn’t want to go back on that boat right now. Maybe in a couple of days. Or never.
The smile he gave her calmed the waves wanting to rise in her chest. “Can you give me two minutes? I’m going to sort that out right now.”
Presley shrugged, gave him a wry smile. “I’m not going anywhere. My feet are frostbitten.”
