The Christmas Inn (6 page)

Luke groaned inwardly. He couldn’t have Marnie involved in
anything having to do with the guests until her husband arrived. He had a lot
riding on the next few days.

He glanced at his watch. He’d agreed to meet her at the bar and
he was already late. “I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“I invited her to dinner.”

“You did what?”

“You were the one who encouraged me to have her as my guest for
dinner, remember?”

“True. And maybe that’s the answer…until the husband shows up.
I’ll see you when you get here.”

Luke got up from his desk, leaving behind his operating-cost
projections for the first quarter of next year, and adjusted his tie. When he
entered the bar, Marnie was sitting by herself, reading the drink menu, her slim
legs creating a smooth, enticing line from the hem of her short skirt to…bright
yellow three-inch high heels. Who wore yellow shoes with a black dress? Who
looked
that
good in yellow shoes and a black
dress?

Jack was polishing glasses, his gaze locked on Marnie. A quick
survey of the room showed him that all the men were watching her. The success or
failure of the Christmas Getaway event appeared to rest on one sexy woman who
didn’t seem to notice any of the attention directed at her.

Steeling himself for any questions she might have around his
earlier behavior and her earlier argument over why she needed a husband here
with her, he strode toward the bar. She caught sight of him, a smile lighting
her face and warmth shining in her clear gray-green eyes. All he could think
about was how attractive she was, how the dress fit her body like a glove.

A beautiful, sexy woman was waiting for him—Luke Harrison. It
had been three years since anyone had waited for him. He sucked in a breath as
he struggled to remember why he’d been so annoyed with her. “Sorry I’m late,” he
mumbled as he slid onto the bar stool beside her.

“That’s okay. I’m glad you’re here.” She took a sip of her
wine.

“Why? Did something happen?” he asked, hoping she’d give him
her side of the story around the Parkers.

“No. It’s nothing. I’m just not used to being stared at.” She
gave him an apologetic smile as her fingers pleated the napkin under her
half-finished glass of wine.

With this beautiful woman’s eyes focused solely on him, he
couldn’t think of an intelligent word to say. And if that wasn’t enough, he
suddenly felt awkward, out of his depth. “Why don’t we go to my office before we
go to dinner? I need to talk to you about something.”

She wrinkled her perfectly smooth brow. “If you’d like.” She
slid off the stool and waved to Jack who waved back, and then winked at Luke.
“But if your concern is over my room, I’m quite happy with it, and I’m really
looking forward to having a spa treatment tomorrow.”

His thoughts rattling around his mind like marbles in a tin
can, he followed her from the bar, mesmerized by her walk, and the curl of hair
snaking down the nape of her long neck.

You need to get out more, date a few
women.

When they reached his office, he closed the door and moved
quickly to sit behind his desk. He needed to be behind his desk, otherwise he’d
be tempted to touch her, and touching her was out of the question.

“Ah, we have a problem,” he said, forcing himself to get
straight to the point.

“A problem? With what?” she asked, looking completely perplexed
and totally endearing.

For a few minutes he considered backing out of his decision to
find out what was going on with this woman and her reservation. But tomorrow was
the first day of an event that was critical to the success of the inn’s winter
season, a season he’d spent thousands of dollars of his advertising budget on,
and he couldn’t let it be jeopardized.

His conversation with Jack made it even more urgent that he
find out what was going on with her. “You’re aware that this Christmas Getaway
event is starting tomorrow, and those couples signed up because they want to
have a stress-free Christmas vacation, right?”

“Yes, you explained all that.”

“Your reservation is for two people.” He cleared his throat to
ease his nervousness. “Will your husband be joining you tomorrow?”

“My husband?” she asked, her expression one of complete
disbelief.

“Your reservation is made out in the name of Mr. and Mrs. Scott
McLaughlan.”

She choked. “What?”

Why the surprise? Had she planned all along to come without her
husband and now she’d been found out? Was she meeting one of the other guests?
Surely not Brad Parker. He and his wife seemed so happy when he met them at the
reception desk earlier. But if there was something going on between Brad and
Marnie, it might explain why she insisted on staying here.

He pulled the reservation from the pile of papers on the corner
of his desk. “See, there it is.” He pointed to the names on the reservation.
“We’ve been heavily promoting this package. Your husband would have been
informed when making the booking that it was a couples event.”

She read it slowly, her lips pursed into a stubborn arch. “You
wouldn’t have accepted the reservation unless I was coming here with…my
husband.”

“Not for the next few days. The package officially starts
tomorrow, the 22nd, and runs until the 26th of December. We have a dinner party
as the final event.”

“So, what do you want me to do?” she asked.

She hadn’t made any comment about her husband’s name being on
the reservation, and she hadn’t offered any explanation for his absence. “It
would be helpful to know when your husband is going to join you.”

She started to speak, then lowered her head and peered at her
hands resting in her lap. “I don’t know.”

“Is he delayed?”

“He’s… I’m calling him this evening....”

He rubbed his face, a deep sigh escaping his lips. “In the
meantime, we have to come to some sort of…arrangement.”

“An arrangement.” Her voice dropped twenty degrees, but two
bright red spots appeared on her cheeks.

What in the hell was he doing? What arrangement would work that
wouldn’t get him into more trouble? “Please try to understand my predicament. If
you’re to stay here alone until your husband arrives you’ll have to keep a low
profile. It might work best for you to be my…assistant.”

An assistant? Any other brilliant
ideas?

She gave him an incredulous look. “You need a date that bad?
None of the local girls want to go out with you?”

“No, I don’t need a date. You’re just too…too much of a
distraction. The men here are supposed to be concentrating on their wives.”

“And if they don’t, it’s
my
fault?”
she said, her voice rising.

“No, it’s just that…” He managed to come up with a smile. “I’m
just digging the hole deeper, aren’t I?”

* * *

A
S
ANGRY
AND
EMBARRASSED
as she was by the predicament Scott had
put her in, she found Luke’s earnest tone reassuring. He wasn’t trying to offend
her; he just wasn’t good at dealing with this sort of situation. He was
obviously not good at talking to women, which made him more appealing in a
way.

So, why don’t you tell him Scott’s not
your husband, that he’s your brother? If you’re going to do it, now would be
the time.

But if she told Luke the truth, how did she explain her
brother’s strange behavior? And what sort of person had a brother that would
claim his sister was his wife? And what would Luke think of her when he learned
the truth?

She could suggest that the inn must have made a mistake, but
she knew they hadn’t. Scott would have been told about the event, and in his
single-minded way, he got around it by putting his name on the reservation,
without thinking that there might be repercussions for her.

She could have said that Scott was going to come with his wife,
and couldn’t at the last minute, but that wouldn’t work because Scott had been
told that it was a special Christmas package for couples. So for Scott to send
her alone made even less sense. So what sort of explanation could she offer to
Luke that would explain her presence here this week of all weeks?

No, offering up another lie was out of the question. She hadn’t
told Luke the truth originally and now the opportunity to do so was rapidly
slipping away.

Face it. You’re stalling for time. As
angry as you are at Scott, you don’t want to leave, and the reason is
sitting across from you.

“You’re digging a huge hole, but it’s not necessarily your
fault,” she said, barely able to contain her embarrassment. Scott hadn’t said
one word about the couples program when he’d given her the confirmation number,
and he’d left her to face this man knowing she was supposed to have a
husband.

“If we could come up with some sort of explanation for you
being here alone… I mean, did you come to think…or to resolve some issue?”

His expression was a mix of uncertainty and determination, and
she felt sorry for him. After all, despite his poor handling of the situation,
he was trying to run a business, and she wasn’t being much help.

She cleared her throat and tried for an encouraging smile.
She’d deal with her sneaky, underhanded brother tonight. “I had planned to have
a nice break for a few days.” That was the truth, and another reason she planned
to do something really nasty to Scott when she got home. “But I didn’t realize
that my being here would cause such a problem for you. I’m really sorry for
causing so much trouble.”

Luke fidgeted for a few seconds, breathing life into her
fantasy that if she could stay for a couple of days, and if she could somehow
get out of the lie Scott had told, she might have a chance to get to know Luke.
“I gather the inn will be busy for the next few days, and I used to run a beauty
shop and spa. If I could help you out somehow, make up for any difficulties I
may have caused,” she said, seeing his expression turn hopeful.

“It would certainly be much easier for everyone if you were
inconspicuous…that’s why I suggested you be my assistant.”

“What will the other members of your staff say about this?”

“Nothing. To be honest with you, we all want the Christmas
Getaway event to be a success.”

“I’m really that much of a concern?” she asked in
disbelief.

He nodded sheepishly. “A lone single woman during this sort of
event can’t help but stand out.” He shrugged. “This must sound silly to you, but
appearances count when it comes to creating a romantic experience such as the
one we have planned for this week.”

The heated exchange between herself and Brad came back to her,
and she suddenly had a flash of realization. “The bartender called you, didn’t
he? To report on me?”

He nodded. “Jack has a lot going on this week, as well. His
wife is expecting their first child and she’s due any day. But I’ve gotten way
off topic.”

So Jack told on her. If she had simply walked away from Brad,
surely Luke wouldn’t be so anxious to keep her hidden. “That’s okay, and a new
baby is always exciting,” she said.

“Would you be willing to pretend to be my assistant until your
husband arrives? During our Christmas Getaway event, many of the staff will work
longer hours than usual. With you here, I’ll be able to offer them at least a
few hours off, which means you’ll be too busy to attract any of the guests’
attention.” He gave her the cutest look, nearly making her forget that she was
here under false pretenses.

She had no idea why he was so anxious for her to stay, but
clearly he was, and she wanted to stay, especially with the added bonus of
working with him. Whatever else she did, she’d make sure she didn’t go anywhere
near Brad or his wife, which would ease Luke’s concerns.

By helping out around the inn, she could also do her
questionnaire work without being noticed. “Let me sleep on it, and I’ll give you
my answer tomorrow. How’s that?”

“Great. In the meantime, what about dinner? The getaway event
doesn’t officially start until tomorrow.”

Dinner was out of the question tonight. She was only hungry for
the chance to ream Scott out. Food could wait. Besides, if she got really
hungry, she had trail mix in her backpack. “If you don’t mind, I’m a little
tired. I think I’ll just go to my room.”

She’d been so determined not to feel anything while Luke
talked, not the surprise, the hurt or the embarrassment, brought on by the
actions of her brother. And to add insult to injury, there had been the run-in
with Brad. She swallowed hard and clenched her hands to steady herself.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. You don’t have to eat
with me if you’d rather eat in your room. Why don’t I get the chef to send up
some dinner?” Luke said.

Why not? She’d probably be ravenous when she got done yelling
at Scott. “That would be wonderful.”

“Despite what I’ve said here this evening, I would’ve been more
than pleased to have dinner with you.” His smile touched her heart, making her
wish that she could tell him the truth about her, about why she was there in his
beautiful inn.

“Thank you.” Before she succumbed to his brilliant smile and
the promise of what the evening might have offered her—if not for her brother’s
behavior—she got up and left the office, not stopping until she was in her room
with the door locked behind her.

* * *

F
INALLY
FREE
TO
EXPRESS
her frustration, Marnie
pounded her fists into the bed, and felt the hot sting of tears. To think that
her brother had done this to her, embarrassed her this way, was too much for her
to handle. Scott had to have known what was going on at the inn, and he’d let
her come up here anyway to deal with the consequences.