by Parker, Ali
“This is going to be amazing,” Khloe cooed. “It’s our one last hurrah before we have to go out and be adults. We’re going to party like we’re twenty-one!”
Julia, always quick to be accurate, rolled her eyes. “We’re twenty-four. Twenty-one wasn’t that long ago.”
I groaned. “It feels like twenty years ago, with our class load the last two years.”
“True,” Julia agreed.
The elevator stopped, and we were taken down a hall with plush beige carpet that was remarkably clean. The bellhop stopped in front of a door. I quickly used my key to open it. He gestured for the three of us to go in. We all squealed when we saw the amazing room. I barely remembered to give him a tip before he left us because I was taking in the sight of our shared suite.
“I feel like a movie star,” I exclaimed, taking in the living room area that overlooked the gorgeous lake below.
“Look at the pool!” Julia squealed.
We all rushed to the windows overlooking the crystal-clear pool with lounge chairs surrounding it. The southern edge of Lake Tahoe was just beyond. I shook my head with wonderment. Every extra hour I had put in serving coffee was officially worth it.
“I cannot wait to get a drink and chill by that pool,” I said reverently.
“Come on, ladies,” Khloe said. “Ditch those bags and let’s get this celebration started!”
Five minutes later, after some quick touch-ups to our makeup, we were headed downstairs to the restaurant and lounge in the hotel. The place had great reviews and was voted the best hotel in South Lake Tahoe last year.
The hotel had been offering a hell of a deal at the end of last summer. Khloe had come up with the idea for all of us to enjoy a vacation once we successfully graduated with our masters. We had done it, and now we were ready to reward ourselves for all the hard work we had put in over the years.
“Three please,” Khloe told the young woman standing at a tall podium just outside the restaurant.
“Right this way.” She smiled and led us to a table in the center of a busy lounge area.
We ordered cocktails and cobb salads and settled in. I sipped on the Blue Hawaiian, my eyes scanning the room. They landed on something so utterly beautiful, I gasped aloud.
“What’s wrong?” Khloe asked, her head twisting around to look behind me.
“Don’t look,” I hissed.
It was too late. Julia’s blonde hair was spinning out as she turned her head so fast, I worried it would twist right off. They both turned around to look back at me, grinning like fools.
“He’s hot,” Julia commented.
I scowled at her. “Why don’t you shout it?”
My eyes drifted back to the man who’d caught my attention. He was gorgeous. He put Brad Pitt, Ryan Reynolds, and every other hot celebrity out there to shame. He was the total package. Tall, dark, and handsome had to have been created just for him. I couldn’t stop looking at him. He was talking with another man, also handsome, but not his kind of handsome.
The man I had eyes for had a mega-watt smile that tickled me to the very tips of my toes. He was wearing a suit, but I could see the thickness of his arms and legs and knew he was in excellent shape. I wanted to see his eyes, just a glimpse. Of course, if I saw his eyes, he would see me staring, and that wouldn’t do.
And then he did. Shit. How embarrassing.
I quickly looked away, but not before I got a chance to look into the stunning baby blues. I could have melted in my seat.
The dark brows, combined with the enviable long dark eyelashes, made the blue of his eyes stand out even more. The color reminded me of the blue cobalt bottles I worked with in the lab. They were that blue.
“He’s coming,” I hissed beneath my breath.
“Who’s coming?” Julia asked.
“Him,” I whispered, glancing up to see if he’d changed course.
He hadn’t. He was weaving around tables and shaking hands with guests as he made his way toward our table. I noticed he had a slight limp but didn’t get the chance to think much more about it. He stopped behind Julia and Khloe, a hand on the backs of each of their chairs and his eyes on me.
I was melting. I was absolutely melting into a mushy pile of goo under the gaze of the prettiest eyes I had ever seen. He smiled, and the perfectly straight white teeth practically blinded me, looking whiter against his tanned skin.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” he said in a voice as smooth as honey.
Yep. Died. Melted and died.
I couldn’t speak. I could only stare. I felt so ridiculous, but my brain and mouth had a total disconnect, and words failed me.
“Hi,” Julia said in her typical upbeat voice. She really worked the blonde thing and was almost always perky.
“Hello,” he said, his eyes still on mine.
“Hi,” I said, managing to form the word and push it out on a breath.
“I’m Trent Gilroy. I own the hotel. How’s everything so far?” He finally looked away from me and cast his gaze upon Khloe.
Everyone loved to look at Khloe. She was a beautiful woman—like supermodel gorgeous—but she was humble. We’d been roommates for years. I loved her like a sister and wasn’t jealous of her beauty at all. Well, not all the time. I was jealous in an envious, admiring kind of way.
I watched Trent look at her and felt the familiar disappointment. It was hard hanging out with two of the most beautiful women on campus.
“We’ve only just got here, but it’s been great thus far,” Julia said. “We plan on enjoying every minute of our stay.”
“We’ve got towels, chairs, and umbrellas for you to borrow if you want to spend some time on the beach,” he said in a friendly tone. “We’ve also got bottled water for you to grab.”
“Thank you, we’ll definitely be taking advantage of that,” Khloe replied.
“How long are you ladies staying with us?” he asked, looking at me.
“A week, not nearly long enough,” Khloe answered when I had suddenly gone mute and couldn’t form words.
He nodded, still looking at me with such intensity I actually squirmed in my seat. “Make the most of your time. Are you here on vacation?”
“Kind of,” Julia said with a laugh. “We’re celebrating our freedom from school.”
“School?” he asked, his demeanor changing.
“College,” I quickly clarified.
He smiled and nodded. “I see. Well, congratulations, and if you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to any one of our staff. We want our guests to be happy and will make sure all your needs are met.”
The way he said it while looking at me made me blush. “Thank you,” I said, trying to sound totally cool and nonchalant but having a feeling I was failing miserably.
He nodded and walked away, moving to another table and going through the same spiel. I stared at his backside, appreciating the way his tailored pants showed off his fine physique. Okay, his fine ass. He had a fine ass, what was visible of it under the suit jacket. I sighed, taking a sip of my drink and turning to face Julia and Khloe. They were both staring at me and grinning.
“What?” I asked.
“Someone has a crush,” Julia said in a sing-song voice.
I offered a dainty shrug. “He’s gorgeous. Don’t tell me you didn’t see how good looking he was.”
Khloe was still smiling. “Oh, we saw all right.”
“He was making some serious eyes at you,” Julia teased.
I rolled my eyes. “As if. He was probably wondering what the plump girl was doing hanging out with the two models.”
“You’re not plump,” Julia said. “You know you’re beautiful. Sofia Vergara could be your sister.”
Khloe slapped her arm. “More like Sophia Loren.”
“Yes!” Julia exclaimed. “Maybe you’re distant relatives.”
They were always trying to make me feel better about myself. I appreciated it and loved them for it, but it was hard to be a size-eight girl in a
size-four world. “Thanks.”
“I think if all the men in Tahoe look like him, I’m moving here,” Julia announced.
“I’ll come with,” Khloe said wistfully. “We can all be roommates and chase around the hot guys all day.”
I pointed my finger at Khloe. “You’re going to be in LA where all the beautiful people live.”
“And me?” Julia asked.
I shrugged. “You’ll see lots of beautiful men, but I’m just not sure you’re on the right team for them.” I winked.
She giggled. “That is so cliché. Not everyone is gay in San Francisco.”
“But you have better odds of falling in love with a very handsome man who wants nothing to do with what you’re packing,” I teased.
We all burst into laughter. I was going to miss them, but I knew there would be lots of texting and skyping. We would never be more than a phone call away.
“Let’s finish eating,” Julia said. “I want to get my bikini on and lounge by that pool.”
I smiled, dreading the wearing of the bikini but looking forward to some serious relaxing next to the pool with a cold drink in my hand. I had been dreaming of this vacation for months. It was the only thing that had gotten me through finals week.
I kept telling myself it would all be worth it, and I would be sitting on a sunny beach, and the stressful weeks would all be a distant memory.
It was the first day of the rest of my life.
Chapter 3
Trent
I hadn’t been able to stop smiling since I’d first laid eyes on the beautiful young woman who’d been unable to stop staring at me. I had the same problem, except I had a little more self-awareness and realized I was openly staring at her, so I pulled my eyes away. Briefly, but away all the same.
She was stunning. There was something about her that drew me in. It was like a magnetic pull that I was helpless to ignore.
I found myself standing at her table, openly gazing at her before I remembered who I was and where I was. I couldn’t remember ever seeing a woman that I was that attracted to. Her friends were pretty in the traditional sense, but the woman who’d caught my eye was my kind of pretty.
She had a natural beauty to her that matched the natural curves. She was radiant and glowing, and I wished like hell I could have seen her standing up. I was imagining round hips to go with the round breasts. I imagined she’d have the classic hourglass figure that men drooled over back in the fifties.
“Have a great time at the beach,” I said, smiling to a young couple clearly on their honeymoon as they walked out of the restaurant.
I didn’t normally make it a habit of making the rounds in the dining room, randomly chatting to guests, but after I had talked to my mystery girl and her friends, I didn’t want it to look awkward. I had spent twenty minutes chatting with total strangers and telling guests to enjoy their stay like a well-trained concierge.
I walked along the cobblestone path that led to the management offices for what I was hoping would one day be my chain of hotels. I owned two so far and was in the process of procuring a third. I wanted to get my hands in all the pots, from the very elite to the more affordable, family-friendly hotels.
It was a warm day, making the tie around my neck feel about three times tighter than it had been when I’d put it on that morning. I couldn’t wait to get to my office and loosen the damn thing.
“Good afternoon.” I nodded at Ashley, the assistant who worked for me and Richie.
“You look miserable,” she commented.
“I am. Do I have any meetings in the next hour?”
“Nope, take it off,” she said with a wink, knowing me very well.
I reached up and yanked the tie loose, breathing out a huge sigh of relief. “God, that feels so much better.”
“Why don’t you dress casual?” she asked. “No one expects you to wear a suit all the time. Richie doesn’t.”
“I know, which is why I have to. He’s the casual one, running around in shorts and polos, looking like he just stepped off a yacht, and I’m stuck wearing this damn thing.”
“You’re the boss; you decide what you wear,” she said, zero sympathy in her voice.
“I know, I know,” I muttered and headed into my office, already breathing better.
I stripped off my suit jacket, hung it on the hook by the door, and cranked the AC down a couple degrees. I was hot, and it had nothing to do with the sun outside. The woman was still front and center in my mind. Before I could even sit down, Richie pushed the door open and flopped a stack of files on my desk.
I looked at his casual attire and wanted to hate him for his easy way of just being the consummate cool guy. “What’s all that?” I asked.
“Paperwork, invoices, and so on,” he said, walking to my mini-fridge and grabbing a bottle of water.
“Help yourself,” I said dryly.
“I did,” he retorted, coming back to take a seat in one of the comfortable tub-style chairs I had in the office. It was as if he was just seeing me and looked shocked. “You’re not wearing your jacket?”
“I’m hot.”
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked. “Are you sick? Don’t breathe on me. I am not about to get sick at the kickoff to summer.”
“I’m not sick.”
“Then, what?” he asked, scrutinizing my face. “You have a weird look, like—well, I don’t know. Something is off, though.”
I broke into a wide smile. “I just met my future wife.”
He blinked, rose to his feet, and leaned in close, his hand moving toward my face.
I batted it away. “What are you doing?”
“I think you have a fever.”
“I don’t have a fever,” I said, taking my seat and spreading my arms out to hang over the armrests. The cool air from the vent above washed over me.
“You met your future wife?” he questioned.
I nodded. “At least, what I picture my wife to be.”
He groaned. “A reincarnation of Sophia Loren?”
“Sophia Loren isn’t dead.”
“Oh, well, you know what I mean,” he said, waving a hand.
I thought about the woman who had captivated me earlier. “Yes and no. She had the full curves, but she also had a very girl-next-door thing going. She was perfect. Didn’t talk much, but perfect.”
“Only you could look at a woman and think wife material,” he said with disgust.
“You’re the one who reminded me of my age,” I said. “I look at a woman, and I think long term, not a quick roll in the sack.”
He grinned. “That’s because you’re doing it wrong.”
I sighed, shaking my head. “Are you here to work or lecture me about my dating habits?”
“You don’t date. I can’t lecture you about something you don’t do.”
“Let me rephrase that. Are you here to work or complain about my life choices?”
He flashed me another one of his somewhat infamous grins. “Both. I’m good like that. I can do two things at one time. Just ask—”
I held up my hand, stopping the boasting about his bedroom habits before he could get started. “Linens. Are they ordered?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Are we set for the happy hour tomorrow?”
He nodded again. “Yes. We have extra servers on hand and a shitload of champagne. I hope this extra expense is worth it. You’ll see the invoice for the champagne in that stack. I suggest you be sitting down when you look at it.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You have to spend money to make money. I want people to feel like they are getting luxury treatment. I want them to feel like their hard-earned money is appreciated and we’re not only a reasonably priced hotel, but we also have all the little extras that the five-star places offer.”
He didn’t look convinced. “We’re not exactly running a dive here. We’re right up there with the five-star places.”
“Yes, but we’re not there. My goal is to be at t
he top. I want people waiting to get into this place. I want them settling for the others. Right now, we’re probably second or third best. I want that top spot.”
He nodded. “Noted. We’ll get there. We’re making huge strides.”
“Couldn’t have done any of this without you,” I said sincerely. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. This is a win for both of us. I get to put that business degree to good use and make some serious money doing it.” He laughed.
We talked a little more, cementing the plans for the meet and greet tomorrow and making sure we were ready for anything. There was always some emergency that arose. We planned and strategized and planned some more, but experience had taught me that nothing ever went according to plan.
It was the adapt, improvise, and overcome training that had kept my head above water during some of those freak situations, like the toilets overflowing last year. That had been nothing short of a disaster. I shuddered, thinking back on the situation.
Richie left me alone to take care of some work stuff while I focused on the acquisition I was hoping to make. My small enterprise ran fairly smoothly, but I had to pay attention to every detail. The devil was in the details. That was my motto. I always studied and analyzed a situation, contract, proposal—anything and everything—looking for the tiniest detail that could rise up and become a huge issue.
“I’m going to make my way over to the restaurant and check with the chef to make sure he has everything,” I said, stopping at Ashley’s desk.
She smiled. “Okay. I’ll see you Monday.”
Talking to the chef was a good excuse to stop in the restaurant. I was hoping to see my mystery woman from earlier. I had been trying like hell to get her out of my mind, but there was no stopping the visions of her from popping into my head.
I wanted to know more about her, like her name for starters. I wanted to have a real conversation with her and see if her personality matched what I pegged her for.
I made my way through the dining room, scanning the faces of the happy people eating and drinking and enjoying themselves, but I didn’t see her. I was a little disappointed, but they had said they would be staying for a week. I was confident I would see her again.