The Lure of Love (6 page)

He stood up
and gripped the chair for support. “I’m going to have a shower and get dressed.
If I come down to the dining room, would you at least have coffee with me?”

She really
shouldn’t. “Okay. Ask one of the servers to come and get me.”

Her gaze was
drawn to his lips when he smiled. Full and sensuous, they contrasted with the
sharp angles of his face. Leeza groaned silently to herself. She was in so much
trouble!

* * *

Leeza kept
finding excuses to check the buffet for the next hour and a half. Maybe he
wasn’t coming. She wondered how he’d respond if she knocked on his door. After
all, she worked for the hotel and he was sick and…who was she kidding? She
wanted to see him again, and the sooner the better.

She pushed a
surprised co-worker out of the way and started to load the dishwasher. It was
mindless work, and allowed her time to think.

It had been
two years since Jean Michel left abruptly after one of his famous tirades. It
was a wonder they’d been able to keep kitchen staff while he was chef. After
his departure Jamie had shown faith in her ability to take over, and had asked
the staff to support her. Within a month, the kitchen had been transformed into
a sane working environment. Leeza didn’t go along with the current notion that
all cooks were wild men. True, they were a special breed, but she wasn’t
prepared to put up with any nonsense in her kitchen, and the staff respected
her for that.

Although she
and Jean Michel had been romantically involved, it didn’t enter her head to
leave with him. The relationship had been a mistake from the start, and she
considered herself lucky to have escaped with her heart intact. But she’d shied
away from any entanglements since then. Until now, that is.

Who are
you kidding?
She asked herself.
You’ve only just met him.

But there was
something about Matt Weber. Something in his eyes when he looked at her that
made her come alive again. She had to find out what his story was…why he
wasn’t here with his wife…that is, if he was married. And yet he didn’t look
married.
Please!
She begged silently.
Please let me be right about
that one thing, at least.

“Leeza?”

She jumped,
startled, and sprayed water against the wall.

“Mr. Weber
asked me to tell you that he’s in the dining room.”

She took a
few steps toward the swinging door then stopped and looked down at her white
jacket. What did she have on underneath? Something black, no doubt. Whatever it
was, it would be better than wearing her work clothes. She ran back to her
miniscule office, tore off the jacket and searched through her drawers for the
small mirror she’d noticed a few months ago. It was nowhere to be found. This
wasn’t a date, but she wanted to look decent.

“Adrian, how
do I look?”

The cook gave
her a quick once-over and shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”

“Thanks a
lot!” She tried to see how she looked in the glass-fronted cooler but finally
gave up. She raked her fingers through her hair, took a deep breath and stepped
through the doors.

The dining
room was almost empty. He was sitting at a table by the window and rose when
she approached. Judging by the small plate pushed off to the side, he’d made an
attempt to eat some toast.

“Please,
don’t get up.” She was too late and found herself looking into eyes that were
remarkably clear. “You look good” she said, somewhat breathlessly.

He
acknowledged her greeting with a smile. “I’m feeling better.” He touched her
arm lightly and waited for her to sit before seating himself. “I’m glad you
could join me.” He wore a navy shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of
faded jeans. She touched the corner of her mouth in case she was drooling.

“What kind of
fishing will you be doing? Are you a fly fisherman? We’re famous for our fly
fishing in this area.” The words kept tumbling out; she couldn’t seem to stop.

He raised his
cup and took a deliberate sip before answering. “I’m not a fisherman. By rights
I shouldn’t even be here.”

She was
intrigued. “You don’t like fishing?”

He looked at
her for a long moment, as though deciding how much to tell her. “Not
particularly, but that isn’t what I meant.”

She waited
for him to continue.

“I won this
trip as a prize. Top salesman in my area or some such honour.” He gave a snort
of derision. “And then about a week after they’d announced the prize I had my
real estate license taken away.”

Leeza
couldn’t believe her ears. “You’re not kidding, are you.” It wasn’t a question.

“I wish I
was. No, they accused me of mortgage fraud.” His gaze drifted out over the
lake. “Whoever set me up did an excellent job. It’s incredibly involved.” He
turned to look at her and she saw pain behind his eyes. “I was too busy marketing
a new development in the Valley to keep an eye on the business end of things,
so in a way it was my own fault. Everything in the office goes out over my
signature and there were times I didn’t check what I was signing.”

“Do you know
who it was?” She watched his face change. “You do, don’t you?”

He nodded.
“My partner. And for good measure he took my wife as well.”

Someone
reached inside Leeza’s chest and squeezed her heart. So he was married. She
tilted up her chin, trying not to show how much the news had disappointed her.
“But they let you keep the prize?”

“There was
talk of awarding it to someone else, but in the end they decided it was a good
way to get rid of me for a while. My lawyer presented my side of the case to
the Board and they said they’d let me know in a week or ten days. After that I
couldn’t wait to get away.”

“So here you
are.” She touched his hand with her fingertips. Her nails were short and
serviceable, her fingers scarred from knife cuts over the years. How could she
have thought that he might be interested in someone like her? She pulled her
hand away. “So what are you going to do while you’re here?”

“I don’t
know.” He looked at her with those amazing brown eyes. “What do you recommend?”

She spread
her hands. “Everyone comes here to fish. There isn’t much else to do.”

He nodded. “I
brought my camera and I might try some photography. It would be nice to take pictures
of something besides real estate for a change.”

“There’s a
beautiful waterfall not too far away. I’ve heard some guests saying that first
thing in the morning is the time to get the best pictures. Something about the
light.”

“They’re
right. It’s all about the light.” He looked outside again. “I met Billy
yesterday. He seems like a nice enough guy. We might hang out together.”

“He’s been
here many times before. Maybe he can show you the waterfall.”

“Maybe.” He
watched a pair of ducks spill air from their wings and land just beyond the
docks. Then he turned to her, a frown on his face. “Do people always tell you
their secrets?”

She lifted
her shoulders. “Not really. Why do you ask?”

“Because
this…” he pointed back and forth between Leeza and himself. “Because this is
the first time I’ve spoken about what happened. “I didn’t mean to spill my guts
like that.”

“I’m
flattered, I guess. But I can’t imagine how it would feel to be accused of
something you didn’t do. I’d need to tell someone, too.”

“To quote my
nephew, ‘it sucks’.” He smiled.

Leeza looked
around for a server. He was preparing the tables for lunch and she motioned him
over. “Would you bring me a coffee please Karl?” She looked at Matt. “How about
you?”

“I’m having
tea, but I’d like some more hot water.” He leaned forward. “Tell me something about
yourself, Leeza. What brought you here?”

His request
made her uncomfortable but she tried not to show it. “I grew up in Ottawa and I
came here four years ago with a man who was my boyfriend at the time. He was
Chef here but he had a terrible temper and didn’t last long. After he left, Jamie
gave me the opportunity to take over the kitchen and I’ve been here ever
since.”

He looked up
as Karl brought the coffee and tea. “Thank you, Karl.” He watched as the young
man went back to setting the tables for lunch. “So you were trained as a chef
but accepted a lower position to be with this man?”

She looked at
him, startled. “I guess I did, yes.”

“Hmmm.” He
poured his tea. “My sister met her husband while they were both in medical
school. She quit to support him; not exactly the same situation, but similar.
When he left her, she went back to finish her training but she said it was much
harder to do the second time.” He sat for a moment, hands cradling the cup. “I
think marriages should start out equal and stay that way.”

“In a perfect
world, maybe. But in my experience, it doesn’t often happen. Especially when
children are involved.”

He exhaled
slowly and stared into the cup. “Cassandra and I don’t have any children. Just
as well, I suppose.”

Leeza wanted
to cheer, then her euphoria turned to guilt. The man’s life was falling apart
and all she could think was that he might be available after all. She’d do well
to stay far away from Matt Weber. She made a show of looking at her watch. “I
suppose I’d better get back to the kitchen.”

He looked at
his watch as well. “I guess I should get moving, too. I told Billy I’d look him
up this morning.”

“He was in
first thing this morning but I haven’t seen him since then.” Leeza rose and
looked pointedly at the plate which held the remains of the toast. “I hope you
can eat something soon.”

“Yes, Mom.”
He grinned at her, and then sobered almost instantly. “Thank you for the
company Leeza. I enjoyed talking to you.”

She was glad
he couldn’t see the way her heart was thudding in her chest. “Me too.” She
turned and fled into the kitchen before she made a fool of herself.

* * *

He watched
her as she almost tripped over one of the chairs in her haste to get back to
her kitchen. He didn’t know why he’d asked her to have coffee with him. It
wasn’t because he was lonely; he was enjoying being alone for the first time in
ages. No, it was something else. She fascinated him with her spiky black hair
and prickly attitude. So different from Cassandra. Tall, slender Cassandra with
the sleek blonde hair, the beautiful face and the treacherous heart.

Cassandra and
Matt Weber were an attractive couple. They both knew it and had used it to
their advantage in the competitive field of real estate. Their pictures were on
business cards, in print ads, and on the side of the moving van they offered to
their clients. Looking back now, he could see that Cassie had been drifting
away from him for some time, but he’d been so busy with the massive development
on the north side of the valley that he’d missed the signs.

His gaze went
back to the kitchen doors. Billy was a nice guy, but he’d rather go to the
waterfall with Leeza. He stood up abruptly before he did something foolish,
like ask her to go with him. His life was in a mess right now and he didn’t
need any extra entanglements, even though becoming entangled with Leeza would
be pure pleasure. His body stirred at the thought and he chuckled silently to
himself. Considering he’d been so sick just a few hours ago, he’d made a
remarkable recovery. But then he sensed that Leeza was a remarkable woman. He
left the lodge with a smile on his face.

Leeza watched
him through the narrow space between the doors. She didn’t care what the
kitchen staff thought, she was compelled to see what he did after she left.
There’d been a moment there when he looked toward the kitchen and she thought
he was going to come towards her but he hesitated, then turned and left the
dining room.

She went back
to her office and slipped on her white jacket. She was acting like a crazy
person, falling for a man she’d met a couple of hours ago. A
married
man
who’d been accused of fraud. She caught a faint reflection of herself in the
glass. What was she thinking? A shiver of anticipation crept down her spine.
She was thinking of chocolate brown eyes, elegant hands and sensuous lips. Lips
that she ached to kiss. Hands that she wanted to feel…

“Excuse me
Chef, but we seem to be out of tomatoes.”

She looked at
the new staff member, uncomprehending for a moment before reality kicked in. “We
have some but they’re in the other cooler.” She followed him into the kitchen.
“Come on, I’ll show you.”

Craig’s heart
lifted when he saw Jamie standing in the morning sun. She was talking to a man
in an old fedora. The hat had seen better days, but Craig suspected that he’d
never willingly part with it. Jamie spotted him and waved him over.

“Craig, I’d
like you to meet Floyd Ransome, our chief caretaker. Floyd, this is Craig
Hansen. You may have seen some of his work. He did that documentary on musk
oxen in the Arctic.”

“You a
photographer, then?”

Craig
smothered a smile. “I do some still photography, yes. But my main interest is
in shooting documentaries.” He gestured back toward the lake. “It takes me to
some interesting places.”

“Glad to have
you here.” The older man stuck out his hand. “Let me know if I can be of any
help.”

“I’ll do
that.” Craig wandered back toward the lake and Jamie caught up with him a
moment later.

“I need that
every once in a while” he said, almost to himself.

“Need what?”
She was pulling her hair back and putting it in some sort of elastic band. He
watched her with interest.

“Your hair
looked nice last night” he said, apropos of nothing. “I liked the way you
pulled it back with that big comb.” He watched a telltale blush crept into her
cheeks.

“Thank you.
But what do you mean, you need that?”