Tempting Bride - Chapter 11 Assessing

HANNAH

STANDING TO ONE side in the lobby, Hannah watched as the last family staying at The Majestic Dunes drove away. This time of year was bittersweet for her. Come tomorrow, the staff would begin the process of winterizing the resort. By the time all was said and done, the little village it was located in would look like a ghost town.

Sometimes, she wished she could ghost the resort. Disappear not just for the winter, but for all seasons and travel the world, meet new people and maybe even fall in love. Except her own mother had done just that, eventually leaving Hannah to be raised by her grandparents.

Later, her mother had been killed in a car wreck, hit by a drunk driver, on her way back to Queen Island.

Hannah was determined to not only pay her grandparents back for the sacrifices they’d made while raising her, but also make them proud as well by sticking around to help take care of them. It was why she’d chosen to work her way up to manager of maid services and attend a local college, while occasionally dating guys who never intended to leave Queen Island.

Except that left her with very few choices in careers, a mountain of student loan debt, and an unfulfilled yearning to travel the world. Not to mention, it had been ages since she’d last had a date. Last had the touch of a man … she smiled wryly, if she could call her ex-boyfriend a man. More like a typical guy who lived for fishing and surfing.

They had parted on amicable terms a couple of years back, and she hadn’t had the time to meet someone new. While there were opportunities at the resort to date, she knew to never mix business with pleasure.

With a sigh, she headed to her office to finish up reports, so she could leave for the day. She pushed the employees only door open and almost ran into Jill, the assistant manager of maid services.

“Sorry!” With a smile, she attempted to go around Jill, but the other woman moved to block her. “This time, you go left and I’ll go right.”

“Hannah, there’s someone in your office. I told him he was trespassing, but he refused to leave.”

Great. They’d had a few guests over the years think that they were the exception to the employees only sign by barging into the resort manager’s office. Now it was her turn. “I’ll take care of it.”

“One more thing?” Jill said as she moved out of the way. “Can you find out if he’s single?”

Hannah laughed, rolling her eyes. “Sure.”

When she arrived at her office a couple of seconds later, the door was open and someone sat at her desk. Her chair faced the wall that was covered in pictures of her family and the resort.

What the?

The chair spun slowly around, revealing a devastatingly handsome man with dark green eyes. She suddenly felt the urge to smack him.

Andrew Montgomery. Billionaire asshole and breaker of young girls’ hearts.

Rudely, she stared at her unwelcome guest. At his sensual mouth, the way he sat so confidently in her chair and radiated sexual charm.

His forest-green gaze was intent. Assessing. He made her hyper-aware of how she looked. How a loose strand of hair sliding across her cheek made her shiver. How her uniform felt suddenly tight across her breasts.

Hannah blinked. She wasn’t the type to fall for men like him, and certainly not the type to lust over a guy in a suit. No matter how well it fit him, no matter how well it was cut to show his lean body to perfection.

Dear Lord in Heaven, she had to stop.

And he needed to get out.

“You’re not going to speak to the guy who saved your life?”

“Hello.” She shoved the door to her office open wider. “Goodbye.”

“I’m not leaving,” he said in a low drawl that had her heart pounding against her chest. His gaze roamed her face, her clothes … her body. A warm flush covered her neck, spreading upward and she hated every second of it. “I need a favor.”

“Go buy one.”

“It needs to come from you,” he insisted.

The only thing he had coming from her was a throat punch, but since that would land her in jail, she opted for southern deception instead. “Can you give me five minutes? I’ll be right back.”

He smirked, making her grind her teeth. “I’ll be here.”

Spinning on her heel, she grabbed her purse from the corner and left the resort completely.