to me I might recall speaking to someone with a foreign accent. I remember because the connection wasn’t very good.”
“Really? You remember him?”
“If I took his reservation, the money will be in the computer.”
Her mother was right. She was wasting her time searching through all of those papers. She could pop on the computer and confirm Alex’s deposit had been made. She pushed a button to start the computer.
“I’ll leave you alone to figure things out.” Her mother made a beeline for the door.
Reese logged into the resort’s financial account. There was indeed a deposit—a huge deposit. Surely she’d misread the amount. Even after she blinked and refocused, the same enormous dollar figure remained. Her heart picked up its pace as excitement coursed through her veins. There was more than enough cash here to rent out the entire mansion for a month.
She then checked the inn’s online reservation system. There was no mention of Mr. DeLuca. How was that possible?
After some quick sleuthing, she determined that her mother had bypassed the online reservation system and taken his information over the phone manually. Oh, what a mess! She’d have to sit her mother down and have a firm talk about procedures so they could avoid these issues in the future.
Still, this influx of cash was just what they needed to pay the upcoming tax bill, not to mention the bank loan. Calm down. You’re getting ahead of yourself.
It wasn’t like she could accept his money. She didn’t have one single room to offer him. All she could do was offer Mr. Sexy Accent a full refund and hope he’d go away quietly.
But nothing about the man said he’d easily back off from what he wanted. Everything from the man’s every-strand-in-its-place dark hair to his tailored white shirt that covered an obviously buff chest and down to his polished dress shoes said he was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted and the way he wanted it.
Nonetheless, she didn’t have the ability to accommodate him, much less the obviously large party that he planned to host. With a weary sigh, she grabbed the checkbook to write out the refund. The pen hovered over the check and her grip tightened as she thought of turning away all of that money.
She wrote out his name and the amount. Life wasn’t fair. In the past year or so, with the economic downturn, she’d had a hard time attracting people to The Willows and now she was having to turn away this obviously affluent guest because of a clerical error.
She really did feel bad for him. Then a thought occurred to her. The least she should do was help this man locate some other reasonable accommodations.
Armed with the check and her address book, she returned to the foyer. Upon finding her mother and Mr. DeLuca conversing in lowered voices, she paused by the staircase. Neither of them seemed to notice her presence. What in the world was her mother saying that was so engrossing? The man rocked back on his heels and laughed. The sound was deep and rich.
When she stepped off the carpeted runner and onto the dark, polished wood floor, her boots made a sound. Both her mother and Mr. DeLuca turned her way. Reese’s hold on the sizable check tightened. It was best to get this over with quickly.
The man caught her gaze with his deep blue eyes. She was struck by their vibrant color, but beyond that they told her nothing of the man’s thoughts. Talk about a poker face. What sort of things did this international hunk keep hidden from the rest of the world? And what twist of fate had brought him to her doorstep?
The rise of his brows had her averting her gaze, but not before her pulse spiked, causing her heart to flutter. Why was she so intrigued by this stranger? So what if he came from another land and had the sexiest way of rolling his Rs? He was still just a guy and she wouldn’t let herself want something that she knew could never be. Her attention needed to remain on the mansion and keeping it afloat.
“Ah, there’s my daughter.” Her mother leaned toward Mr. DeLuca as though they were old friends. “I’m sure she’ll have cleared everything up for you. It was nice to meet you. I hope we can talk again.” Her mother’s eyes twinkled as a mischievous grin played across her lips.
Once they were alone, Reese pulled her shoulders back. “Mr. DeLuca, I’ve verified your reservation and I must apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. My mother made a mistake when she gave you the reservation. She didn’t realize that we already had a prior commitment.”
The man remained silent, not appearing the least bit interested in helping her out of this awkward situation. She held out the hefty check, but he didn’t make any attempt to accept it.
“This is the full amount you paid. I double-checked.” When he still didn’t move, she added, “The check will cover your full deposit.”
“I don’t want it.”
“What? Of course you do. That’s a lot of money.”
Tired of playing word games, she stepped up to him and stuffed the check in his hand. For the second time in less than an hour, his touch caused a jolt of awareness to shock her nerve endings.
Her gaze lifted and she noticed his eyes were bloodshot, as though he’d been up all night. Then she noticed the lines bracketing his eyes and the dark shadow of beard trailing down his squared jaw. She was tempted to reach up and run her fingertips over the stubble.
She clamped her hands together. “If you’d like, I have the phone numbers of other facilities around the city that might be able to accommodate your party—”
“That won’t be necessary,” he said firmly. “I am staying here as arranged.”
“But—”
“There are no more buts. I am staying.” He pressed the check back into her hand. “And don’t tell me again that there is no room. Your mother informed me otherwise.”
“She did what?”
He sent her a knowing smile. “She told me there’s a bedroom available. It’s in some private apartment until one of the guest rooms opens up.”
What in the world had gotten into her mother? Sure, she used to be impulsive back before the disaster with Reese’s father, but since then she’d been so reserved, so quiet. Now she was getting active in the inn, which was great, but why in the world was she handing out her daughter’s bedroom to this total stranger?
Reese shook her head, trying to dispel the image of this tall, dark, smooth-talking stranger in her bed. “She shouldn’t have done that, not without talking to me.”
His voice softened. “She seemed certain you wouldn’t mind. After all, it’s only until the other guests check out.”
“But that’s days away. They aren’t leaving until Monday.” And the apartment was so small that they’d be bumping into each other, day and...night. She swallowed hard.
At that moment, approaching footsteps sounded on the stairs. Relieved at the interruption, Reese turned away. Sandy, in her blue-and-white maid’s uniform, descended the steps with her dark brown ponytail swinging back and forth. The young woman’s eyes lit up when they landed on their latest guest. It would appear that being left in the lurch by
