She screamed and ran and slid a time or two, but as she rounded the building and spotted the stairs, all she could think about was getting inside. She’d bang the damn door down if she had to.
But hopefully she wouldn’t have to.
At the top of the stairs, she reached for the doorknob and turned.
It was locked.
And that was it. No matter how brave or badass she thought she was, she started to cry. Maisie shoved the door with her shoulder, but it didn’t budge.
Why would it, dummy? When in your life have you ever banged a door down? Oh, that’s right. Never.
Why couldn’t just one thing go her way? Just one? Why did it feel like the universe wanted her to marry a man who was disgusting and repulsive in every way? Why didn’t her family care about her enough to not force her into a marriage she didn’t want? When was something good going to happen for her?
The thunder got louder and louder, so much so that the stairs began to shake. She turned one more time and fought with the doorknob, willing it to unlock and let her in.
What came next happened so fast that she still wasn’t sure how it happened. One minute she was shaking the door, and the next, something literally pulled her off her feet. Screaming, she felt herself spinning around to a loud roar and then she suddenly found herself out of the rain. She landed with a powerful force onto whatever had been discarded onto the floor. It was too hard to be a sofa or even a cushion, but she was certainly on top of something, and it knocked the wind out of her.
Her entire body sort of sagged with relief at being out of the rain, and it took several moments for her to realize that everything hurt. She groaned, but her head almost felt too heavy to lift.
But when she heard something else—or someone else—groan, she immediately forced herself to push up and see where it was coming from.
“What the hell…?” a low, gruff voice murmured, and Maisie brushed her long, dark and wet hair away from her face and found herself staring down at a man.
At least she thought it was a man. He was wearing a hoodie that almost completely covered his face, but when she took a quick inventory of their bodies, she realized he was definitely a man.
And he was an incredibly big and strong one. Every inch of him felt hard and muscly.
“Um…” She went to move off of him, but his arm banded around her, keeping her close. She gasped softly and stared as he used his free hand to shove the hood off of his face.
And good Lord was he handsome, but not in a traditional way. He was rugged with a strong, stubbled jaw and piercing gray eyes that were staring so hard at her she couldn’t look away.
“Who the hell are you and why were you breaking into the lodge?” he quietly demanded.
Maisie squirmed against him, and he groaned again, causing her to wish a hole would simply open up in the floor and swallow her. She knew she was a big girl, but she didn’t need him making such a fuss about her being on top of him. After all, he was the one keeping her there.
“Can you just…I mean…can I please get up?” she asked weakly, still trying to get out of his grasp.
“Not until you tell me why you’re trespassing. You know breaking and entering is against the law, right?”
“Technically…” More squirming. “I didn’t have time to break or enter. You clearly did that. So…”
His hold got impossibly tighter, and she held her breath, fearful of what he was going to say or do. But then, to her surprise, he laughed.
Hard.
“Okay, so…uh…”
In the blink of an eye, he rolled them over and jumped to his feet before reaching down and yanking her up. Her body slammed into his again just before his arm banded around her to steady her.
Holy crap! He really is strong!
Blinking up at him, she had no idea what to do or say. Was he one of the owners? A contractor? He was drenched from the rain just like she was, but he was dressed like a man who worked with his hands.
“Let’s try this again,” he said, his voice a bit softer this time. “Who are you, and why were you trying to get into the lodge?”
This time she didn’t even try to put any space between them. Instead, she straightened her shoulders a bit and looked up to meet his gaze.
“I’m Maisie Quinn, and I had an appointment earlier to interview for the decorator position.” When he didn’t respond, she explained a bit further. “I was on my way here and saw a turtle stopped in the middle of the road. I almost hit him, but I slammed on the brakes and barely avoided him. I got out and picked him up and carried him over to the side of the road. But when I got back in the truck, it wouldn’t start.”
