“And I’m going to change lots of things,” he said, discovering yet another reason why the woman might dislike him.
“This is going to be a very good thing, Emmaline,” Gilbert told her. “In many ways. I promise you it will. You’ll see.”
“Ryan will help you. He’s an expert at explaining things,” Chris said, resting his cheek against Holly’s hair. “And then he’s good at making things go the way he wants them to go.”
Dead silence met this statement. Had love completely blinded and addled Chris? Ryan had to think so. If anything, Emmaline looked even more upset.
“You, more than anyone, know that the Texas Lights has been losing money, honey,” Gilbert said. “We have to do something, and I think this renovation is just the ticket.”
Emmaline nodded slowly. Obviously she and her uncle had discussed this before. “I know. Closing the hotel last week so we could do this renovation was necessary, but I just don’t want her character to be destroyed in the process. She’s a truly lovely hotel. She’s special,” Emmaline said, and this time she gave Ryan a defiant glance. Obviously she didn’t trust him one inch.
He felt a niggling sense of disappointment. It wasn’t that every woman in the world fell in love with him. It was just that very few disliked him on sight. The fact that Emma appeared to have done so rankled. That they had touched somewhat intimately, and now she wanted nothing to do with him brought forth some primitive male instinct to battle to win her. He ordered himself to ignore that warrior reflex, to remember that he was a man who could only hurt a woman like this if he allowed himself to pursue her for a while, but it wasn’t easy.
She was biting her lip, her small white teeth pressing against the pink flesh. He suppressed the urge to reach out and touch the softness of her mouth.
“We’ll have to talk,” he said, working hard to keep the dare out of his voice.
Gilbert smiled at that. “Yes, you two do that. Emmaline, you need to tell Ryan about anything that’s bothering you.”
Ryan fought to keep from thinking of her lips. If he had to discuss everything about Emmaline Carstairs that was bothering him, the aftermath of that accidental kiss would come first and the hotel would rank a distant second.
Which was totally wrong. He had come here only to work, but the fact that Emmaline was his guide was getting in the way.
“I’ll look forward to dinner then,” Ryan told her.
“I will, too,” she said politely, but there was a hint of fire in her eyes, and Ryan would swear what she was looking forward to was skewering him with a dinner fork.
Well, at least this job wasn’t going to be dull….
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
