Chapter 7 #2
“Nice to meet you, Steve.” I couldn’t help but notice that Steve was kind of cute. And wasn’t wearing flannel. And didn’t have a wild animal as a pet. And best of all, didn’t have R.G.F.
Resting Grumpy Face.
As I turned around on my stool to see if the valet had made any progress with my room key, a woman wearing a hastily pulled on business suit, who looked like she’d just woken up, attempted to sprint in high heels.
“Miss Li! I’m so sorry about the transportation mix-up.” As she got close, I saw she missed a button on her blouse, and one earring was missing. She covered her mouth in a failed attempt to hide a yawn. Only one of her eyes had eyeliner.
“I’m Maya Rodriguez, the resort manager.
” She reached over and picked another leaf out of my hair, then handed over my room key.
“I had your bag delivered to your suite after the staff scraped the mud off.” She glanced at the nearly empty drink in my hand.
“Can I get you another cocktail?” Her eyes wandered over my stained and rumpled outfit.
“Or arrange some dry cleaning? And maybe the earliest appointment at our in-house salon?”
“Yes to everything.” I tried to laugh, but it came out more like a wheeze.
Maya held up two fingers, and Steve mixed another pair of drinks. Once he handed them over, Maya guided me to a table in the corner, away from the other guests.
“I can’t apologize enough for the transportation mix-up,” said Maya, downing almost half her martini in one gulp. “We pride ourselves on five-star service, and I can assure you that what happened today was not up to our usual standards.”
“You don’t usually strand your guests at the airport?” I knew I was being a smart ass, but in my defense, it had been one hell of a day. “Sorry.”
“No, no, you’re right. Bob, our normal driver, had to leave when your flight was delayed, and, well, Noah was there visiting his sister anyway, so …”
I held up my hand to stop her. “It’s fine. Really.”
Maya downed the rest of her drink, then waved down Steve for another.
“So what does Noah do around here, anyway?” I casually glanced around the bar, feigning disinterest. “Hopefully nothing that involves people.”
Maya snickered as Steve brought her drink. “Noah’s not a resort employee.”
“He’s not?”
“It’s complicated.” She leaned in closer after Steve returned to the bar. “To be honest, we try to keep him away from the resort guests as much as possible.”
Thinking back on my very brief and very irritating encounter with Noah, he certainly didn’t seem like any resort employee I’d ever met.
He wasn’t wearing a uniform. He didn’t have a name tag.
Truth be told, I wasn’t entirely sure he had even showered that day.
Not that he smelled bad. The opposite, in fact.
He smelled of fresh air and pine trees, with undertones of something earthy and masculine.
“Are you okay?” I looked up to find Maya staring at me. “Sometimes the altitude makes people a little loopy when they first get here.”
I waved her off. “I’m fine.” But was I fine? For some strange reason, Noah’s scent was now stuck in my brain. And for some even stranger reason, I wanted to smell more of him. What was wrong with me?
Maya looked across the table, concern on her face. She reached out. I thought she was going to pat me on the shoulder to comfort me, but instead, she pulled another leaf out of my hair. “Looks like your room is ready.”
The bellhop waved from the lobby.
“Let’s get you up to your suite so you can rest,” Maya continued.
“We can start fresh in the morning. I’ll give you the grand tour, and you can post everything.
Show the entire world what Aster Park Mountain Resort and Spa is all about.
” Maya leaned in conspiratorially. She picked another leaf from my hair, then whispered, “How does Crab Benedict sound?”
“Crab Benedict sounds delightful,” I replied. Just the mention of food made my stomach growl like a mountain lion stalking an unsuspecting Californian.
“Our chef makes the hollandaise sauce from scratch. The eggs come from one of our chicken coops on the property, and the cayenne pepper comes straight from our greenhouse.”
“I don’t suppose I could get some room service sent up to my suite so I can have a snack after I shower? I haven’t had anything to eat since that spinach smoothie in Los Angeles.”
“Oh, I was wondering what that was.” Maya pointed to my teeth, where I scraped out another wad of vegetation.
A smile stretched over Maya’s face. “But the room service is already taken care of. And to make it up to you for what happened earlier today with Noah, I sent up a bottle of wine from our private cellar. You like Chardonnay?”
“I love Chardonnay.”
“I had a 2014 Peter Michael ‘La Carrière’ that’s a-maz-ing.”
“It sounds amazing.” Anything with alcohol sounded amazing.
As Maya escorted me toward the elevator, she stopped and pulled me aside. “Look, Samantha.”
“Call me Sam, please.”
“Sam, I was hoping we could keep what happened at the airport with Noah between the two of us, okay? No need to get Marcus and Victoria all worked up.”
“Sure,” I said. “No problem.”
“What happens in Colorado stays in Colorado?”
“What happens in Colorado stays in Colorado,” I agreed.