Page 84 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

Curious, he headed over and opened the door. Instead of a recording studio like he expected, he found a luxury spa. Wandering through it, he found massage tables and a river rock waterfall. Another room held an indoor pool tiled in various shades of blue.

When he opened yet another door, he was hit by the humidity from a bubbling Jacuzzi set into the stone floor. The domed skylight and full-size potted plants brought the outdoors into this magnificent space. A plaque on a towel rack explained the history of the hot springs. Damn, this place was outrageous.

He made a mental note to include a spa day for the guests. As he shut the door behind him, he heard a muffled shout. It sounded like banging. He stood still, listening. It wasn’t coming from inside, so he walked around the building to find a shed, and that was when the pounding grew louder.

“Hey! Anyone out there? Can someone help me? Goddammit!”

A tree had fallen, blocking the door. “I’m here.”

“Oh, thank God. I don’t know what happened. I heard this big crack, and when I tried to get out, the door wouldn’t budge.”

“Yeah, a tree fell.”

“Atree?”

“Yep.” He took a moment to assess the situation. It was too thick for him to drag away, but between him and Ginty, they might be able to do it. “Let me run to the house and see if I can get some help.”

“No, no. There’s an axe in here. If I drop it out the window, do you think you can cut it enough to get the door open?”

“It’s a whole-ass tree.” And she was damn lucky it fell where it did instead of a few feet to the left. “It’ll be a lot faster if I get help.”

“I know. I just don’t want any drama. If you go around back and look up, you’ll see a tiny window.”

“On my way.” He headed off, and just as he got there, he saw the axe drop to the ground. “Got it.”

“Thank you. I’m really sorry about this.”

“No problem.” Grabbing it, he hurried back to the front, braced the tree with his booted foot, and started hacking away. Splinters of fresh wood flew out. “You okay? How long have you been in there?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t bring my phone. Not that long. I was just checking to see if we have the bows and arrows and all the other stuff.”

“Did you find them?”

“Oh, yeah. This place is fully stocked. The last owner just walked away.”

“Does that mean you’re the current owner?” he asked, whacking the limb with the blade.

“Yes, sorry. I’m Lorelei. You don’t sound like Ginty.”

A buzz of excitement kicked up in his chest. “Nope. It’s Booker Hayes. Ginty’s agent.”

“Again with the agent thing. You know he views you as a good friend, right?”

He ignored that one. It wasn’t the time to explain the relationship between agents and clients. “You okay in there? Need some water?”

“I need to get out. And I’m so sorry for turning you into a lumberjack. It’s just that they’ve had enough trauma. The last thing I want is for everyone to come running over, freaking out that the hostess got trapped in a shed.”

“You might be overthinking this. It’s just another story to laugh about.”

“Oh, trust me. I overthink everything. You’re going to love working with me this week.”

Probably a good time to let her know the plan. “I’m only here for three days, but what do you think about hosting these guys for a little longer? If it’s too much?—”

“It’s not. And I want to. Noa’s my closest friend in the world, and I want to give her the best wedding I can. Besides, have you seen this place? It was made for events like this.”

“I have seen it. I’m jealous.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing.”

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