“Well, I’ll go easy on you! It’s Georgia Moran calling. I’d like to pay for our summer stay, please. We always stay for a week in August, in the Lakeview Cottage.”
“Can I put you on hold to check the availability for the Lakeview Cottage in August?” I asked, looking at Noah for approval. He nodded, his smile putting me at ease and making me feel like I wasn’t completely screwing things up.
“You sure can, Nellie,” Georgia Moran said. I pressed the hold button and opened the booking software.
“Georgia Moran and her family come out every year and have for about twenty years now,” Noah explained as I clicked over to bookings for the month of August. “They prefer to stay in the Lakeview Cottage, and each year before they leave, they pay a deposit to book it for the following year.”
Noah leaned closer to the screen and pointed where Georgia Moran’s information was already listed in pink. His rugged scent of mint, pine, and outdoors invaded my senses, making my mouth water. That was one thing I remembered about our shared night together, how good he smelled—and the taste of him.
“Okay, so. I go back on the line and tell her she’s booked for the week of August eighteenth?” My brain felt muddled from his proximity, and I tried not to swoon when his minty breath fanned across my cheek.
“And doublecheck her credit card information,” Noah nodded, straightening with an encouraging smile.
I did as he requested, somehow managing to pay enough attention to get through the call without any mishaps. Noah moved to sit at the other computer, watching me while I wrapped up the call with Georgia Moran.
“Good job,” he praised me, and my thoughts instantly went back to that night, when he praised me for…other reasons. Noah hesitated and seemed to wince, as if realizing the innuendo behind what he’d said.
“Thanks,” I said, feeling my cheeks heating. I let my hair fall in front of my face to mask my reaction while I fumbled for my water bottle, suddenly parched. It was almost like by catching a whiff of him, I’d awakened memories of our night together. Which was inconvenient, especially considering he was now my boss as well as potentially the father of my unborn baby.
The web was getting even more tangled, and I didn’t know if I could do this. It was only my second official day on the job, and I was already having a visceral reaction to Noah.
A bell chimed from the laundry room, and a few moments later, Charlotte was stepping back into the office, her cheeks rosy from the cold.
“How’d it go with the Miltons?” Noah asked her.
“As expected, everything works perfectly fine. They don’t like to do things for themselves. I told them to call the office and speak to me if they had any more concerns, because our maintenance guys need to focus on keeping the roads and paths cleared and sanded.”
“And how’s Damien holding up?” Noah questioned, a smirk appearing on those kissable lips. Just lips, I corrected myself mentally. I couldn’t afford to think about Noah’s lips as kissable, even though I knew that they absolutely were.
“Much better now,” she assured him with a wink before going to the kitchen.
“Charlotte is engaged to Damien, and she’s pretty much the only one that can bring a smile to his grumpy face,” Noah informed me.
“Does the whole family work at the resort?” I asked, feeling a tug in my chest.
It really shouldn’t have been a surprise that Noah’s family worked at the family resort, but I guess my main concern had been about how complicated it’d be working with Noah. I didn’t even factor in his family’s presence. What would they think of my predicament? Sure, they might be a family-first kind of business that normally wouldn’t bat a lash at a knocked-up employee, but given the murky circumstances with Noah, this was an even bigger recipe for disaster.
“Pretty much, yes. My parents are retired, but they still help on occasion. Mostly they watch the twins so Damien and Charlotte can work, though.”
“Oh right, Damien has twins, too,” a sick sensation welled up, and I took another sip of water, hoping to wash away the nausea. “Do, uh. Twins run in your family?”
“On and off,” Noah chuckled with a shrug. “Tends to skip a couple generations. My great grandma was the twin sister of Tabitha’s great grandma. There were no twins until Damien and Tabitha both had theirs.”
I swallowed hard, battling the wave of nausea. Tabitha had twins, Damien had twins—what was the likelihood that I’d end up with twins, if Noah really was the father?
“You okay, Nell? You’re looking pale.” Noah said, concerned.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Probably need a snack or something, low blood sugar,” I stood up abruptly and made my escape into the kitchen. Charlotte was in there, fixing herself a cup of coffee.
“Hey, the kettle’s boiled if you’d like a tea,” Charlotte said.
“Thanks.” The decaffeinated green tea bags I’d brought would probably help with the nausea, but so would some distance from Noah.
I opened the refrigerator and grabbed my lunch bag, found the granola bar I’d stashed inside for a morning snack and took a bite while I grabbed a mug from the cupboard.
“Everything okay?” Charlotte asked as she leaned against the counter and sipped at her coffee.
“Yup, I need a snack and a tea,” I replied. Charlotte nodded like she didn’t quite believe me. The phone rang again, but before I could scurry off to answer it, Charlotte shook her head.
