“Doesn’t everyone?”
“Okay, fair.”
Gracie reentered the room with a flourish, a silver key dangling from a chain wrapped around her fingers. “Okay, key acquired.”
She rummaged through one of the desk drawers. “I’ll just get you a map, and you can be on your way.”
Evan looked at Lennox, who looked back with a similar expression ofoh, no. The cause of his unease was coming into focus with terrible clarity.
Lennox approached the desk, his face twisted into a tight smile Evan recognized as him trying to remain polite while very much wanting to throw a tantrum. The guy would be aterriblepoker player.
“Um, Gracie?”
Gracie looked up from her search, and her smile faded immediately. “What’s wrong?”
Lennox cleared his throat and folded his hands on top of the desk. If he thought that made him look less uptight, Evan had news for him.
“It’s just… I can’t help but notice you’ve only referred to one room and cart.”
She gave her keyboard a few rapid taps and frowned at thefreshly awakened screen. “The villas typically have only one vehicle. Did you request a second?”
“Um, no. That’s not the problem.”
“I don’t?—”
“Do you have a reservation under the last name ‘Lennox?’” Evan interjected. He’d be waiting until the expiration of the sun for them to finish dancing toward the damn point.
Gracie bit her lip. “Are they part of your group? I can’t really give out guest information.”
“It actually might not be under that name,” Lennox muttered to his sneakers.
So Lennoxdidhave a story. Evan filed that information away for later and flashed Gracie his most honest and unassuming smile. “I’m not looking for details. Just a yes or no, if you can provide that.”
He watched the battle of hospitality propriety play out behind her oversized tortoiseshell glasses. Had he lost his touch? Was Gracie on Team Schoolmarm?
Her eyes darted from side to side before the click of her mouse brought up the full guest list, and Evan breathed a relieved sigh. His irresistible ginger charm still had it.
“So, there was actually a little snafu with the registrations for this week, but we sorted it out.”
“Marta mentioned an issue, but I don’t think?—”
Turning her monitor, Gracie pointed to Evan’s reservation, where it clearly listedMisters Evan and Heath Westinunder the guest names.
Lennox’s face turned a splotchy combination of ashen and puce, and Evan reluctantly handed the winner’s trophy to Gracie, because it was a thing of beauty he surely couldn’t replicate.
“We’d somehow put Heath under another reservation, which was canceled, so we’d missed it until Juan radioed from the airport.”
Lennox gave up all pretense of calm at that news. “Canceled? When?”
“Oh, um, just yesterday. We can’t accommodate solo travelers, so the booking guest canceled the entire reservation.”
Lennox unleashed a whispered tirade at the news, while Evan focused on the second half of the news. “No solo travelers?”
Gracie looked at him as though he’d sprouted a second head. “Correct. That’s what makes us special. There are hundreds of resorts that cater to singles and families. We offer couples complete solitude. A true escape from reality.”
An escape was what he’d been looking for, and he agreed that reality had certainly taken an unexpected turn since he’d arrived.
“So say someone made a reservation, but then the full party isn’t able to attend?”
