Page 40 of Luke

"You've never been on a hike?" Luke challenged.

"I've been busy, and I'm not on vacation."

"Still, you'd be able to give a better testimonial if you experienced the actual hike. Brad says it's easy."

"It is," Brad reassured her.

She looked into both men's faces and saw matching smiles of determination. Brad probably sensed he wasn't getting Luke without her. And Luke was making it clear that if she wanted him to stick around, she was going to have to spend more time with him.

"I guess I could go," she said slowly. "Tina is working today, and most of our arrivals won't be coming in until four."

"Perfect," Luke said.

She thought it was anything but perfect. The horseback ride had been fun. She'd enjoyed it more than she wanted to admit. But that was part of the problem. Spending more time with Luke was not going to make their inevitable good-bye easier to stomach.

Her gaze moved to the door as Kaitlyn entered the dining room with her headphones on. Even though she didn't trust the Harrison boys, their parents were going on the hike, and it would be nice to get Kaitlyn away from the property. She waved her niece over. Kaitlyn gave her the usual irritated look, but walked over to them.

"We're going on a hike to Wolmer Falls," she told her. "Brad, Luke, and the Harrisons and their kids. I'm going to go as well. Why don't you come along?"

Kaitlyn immediately shook her head. "No way."

"It will be fun. It's an easy hike."

"I don't want to go, and you can't make me," Kaitlyn proclaimed. With that, she turned away and ran out of the room.

"I guess Kaitlyn's not going," she muttered. "I thought the other kids might have been an enticement for her, but I guess not."

"She'll do it when she's ready," Luke said, sympathy in his eyes.

She shrugged. "We'll see."

"I'll meet you both out front at eleven," Brad told them. "Have a good breakfast. Fuel up for the hike."

"We will." As she sat down across from the most attractive man she'd ever been with, she had a feeling she was going to need more than fuel to get her through the rest of the day. And what about tomorrow and the next day? She wanted Luke to keep the resort so she could hold on to her job, but how was she going to handle him being her boss and nothing more?

Not that she wanted something more…oh, who was she kidding…of course, she wanted more. She hadn't stopped thinking about his kiss all night. But that was the problem. He'd always been dangerous to her life plans, her goals. He could derail her life with so little effort.

Luke gave her an odd look as their eyes met. "What?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I have no words."

For some reason, he seemed to understand her cryptic statement.

"Some days you don’t need words, at least not important words," he said. "Let's make that day today."

"Deal."

True to their bargain, they discussed nothing of importance over omelets, hash browns, and turkey bacon. She introduced Luke to some of the staff members who wandered into the dining room, noting how friendly and welcoming he was with each and every one of them. Luke had always had the ability to fit in anywhere. He was genuinely interested in getting to know people, and they responded to him in kind.

When he got into a lengthy conversation with John, one of Brad's rock-climbing guides, she excused herself and went into the kitchen to speak to Shari.

"I hear you're finally going hiking," Shari said as she took a sheet of cookies out of the oven. "And that Luke was the deciding vote."

"Trying to keep the boss happy," she replied. "I was hoping Kaitlyn would go, but she said no."

"Yes. Brad said she shot down the idea very quickly."

"I hate to leave her here on her own."

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