Page 15 of Luke

"I'm ready," he said, interrupting her rambling thoughts. "Are we walking, driving, or riding?"

"Riding, but not one of the horses." She pointed to the nearby golf cart. "That will get us everywhere we want to go."

"Everywhere?" he challenged. "I've found that the places most worth seeing are usually hard to get to."

"Well, we're not climbing any mountains today."

"Too bad. That would probably seal the deal for you."

She waved him toward the golf cart. She was willing to do a lot to hang on to her job, but climbing a mountain wasn't one of them, especially not the way Luke liked to climb, attacking sheer rock cliffs with picks and rope and reckless determination.

She slid behind the wheel of the cart as Luke got into the passenger side. They were a lot closer than she wanted to be. She was suddenly very aware of everything about him: the soapy scent of his skin and the power of his thighs that were so close to hers. She could almost feel the weight of his body on hers, his thighs against her leg, pinning her to the mattress as he made love to her.

Butterflies danced through her stomach, and she drew in a quick breath of mountain air. It was a mistake asking Luke to stay but what choice did she have? She just had to hope she could keep her distance, get his agreement and send him out of town before she could want him again.

Their overwhelming passion for each other had once consumed her, and getting over Luke had been the hardest thing she'd ever done. She couldn't imagine having to go through that a second time.

"How many horses do you have?" Luke asked.

She was surprised that he was interested enough to ask a question. She'd thought this outing would be one long sales pitch for her. "We have eight. Tom Gordon runs the stables. He's been at the resort for almost two decades."

"The white-haired guy?"

She nodded. "That's him."

"I think he gave me a lesson when I was seven."

"You've been here before?" she asked in surprise.

She knew that Colin and his wife had first met at the resort, but Colin hadn't mentioned any trips to the lodge with his family. He'd told her he'd bought the property in honor of his wife when it had gone up for sale two years ago, but once he had the deed in his hands, he couldn't bring himself to go there. It was just too painful.

"A family trip," Luke replied. "It was about five months before my mom died. Dad never brought us back after that."

"It was probably too difficult for him. This place was special because it's where your father met your mother."

"I guess, but he didn't really take us anywhere after she died, and I don't think that's because every spot held painful sentiment."

Hearing the bitterness in his voice, she realized that talking about his father was probably not the way to get Luke on her side. She needed to get him to look at the resort as a good financial investment, not that he cared about that kind of stuff. But he did care about nature and about people living life to the fullest. That's the angle she needed to work. Make him see that the resort provided an opportunity for visitors to have experiences they might not get anywhere else.

The resort was situated near one of the most spectacular parks in the world. Yosemite was a big draw, and their location was even better because they were just outside the park but still close enough to take advantage of all that it had to offer.

She drove under a canopy of trees and then pointed to a nearby meadow where an archery range had been set up. "Archery has been super popular this summer—both kids and adults. There's no one here today, but on the weekends it's hopping."

"I can't imagine anything more boring," he drawled.

It wasn't her thing, either, but she'd seen a lot of her customers enjoy it. "We have other activities, too. This resort has so much potential, Luke. The previous owners were elderly and running out of money before they finally had to sell to your father, so things got run-down. But we've been making great strides toward bringing everything back to life." She shot him a quick look, but his expression was unreadable, so she continued the tour around the property.

She pointed out the riding trails, the fishing pond, the rock wall for kids, and the acres of open land around the property. She wound her way up one of the nearby foothills, stopping at an overlook to show him the mountains and the river beyond. Then she got out of the cart and walked over to a bench that overlooked a canyon.

Luke followed, his gaze sweeping the view.

"Not bad, huh?" she challenged, certain that there was a part of Luke that would respond to this magnificent vista.

"Not bad," he admitted, digging his hands into his pockets.

"That's El Capitan over there." She pointed to one of Yosemite's most notable mountain peaks.

He nodded. "I've been up there."

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