Page 17 of Wild Promise

I still had weddings to coordinate, a catering disaster to solve, and a noon meeting with Eric Alexander about the Winter Festival promotion schedule. He’d already sent two follow-up emails since yesterday, each one polite yet urgent in that infuriating way only an Alexander could pull off.

If I could focus on my to-do list, everything else would be fine. I’d make damn sure of it.

Losing my composure at work, especially over a man, would not happen again.

The second I walked through the lobby doors, chaos slammed into me. Cassandra was once again alone at the front desk, but this time, the lobby was not a quiet oasis. The open space was buzzing with activity, and the poor girl looked ready to bolt.

“I was promised a view of the Bay,” a woman complained, her voice the loudest in the room. “All I can see are trees.”

I hadn’t even taken off my coat yet. Still, I couldn’t leave the new girl to drown.

“Excuse us a moment,” I said to the complainer before pulling Cassandra aside. “I’ll handle this one. You can help the next gentleman in line.”

“Oh my God, is that Cole Beckett?” she whispered, her eyes growing wide.

“I have no idea who that is.”

“He was in that Netflix series everyone was obsessed with last year.” She looked personally offended by my confusion. “And he’s even better looking in person.”

On reflex, I glanced over.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing an expensive coat and an expression like he knew every woman in the place was staring. Probably because they were. And right now, that included me.

Okay, so he was objectively attractive. In a traditional sort of way.

But he still wasn’t Zane.

Which was honestly becoming a problem.

“Well,” I said, trying to rein Cassandra in. “We do get famous people staying with us from time to time. Just remember to act professionally. Treat him as you would any other guest—be warm, friendly, and most of all, respectful.”

She nodded so aggressively any hope for professionalism was already gone.

Turning back to the upset guest, I slipped into customer-service mode while she repeated her complaint about her luxury cabin. She was being rude about it, but I could still empathize. Not because it was my job, but because something about the reservation had snagged my attention.

The booking had originally been for two guests. Now it was one.

And being alone sucked.

I handled the issue as quickly as possible, promised complimentary wine I was now deeply jealous of, and smoothed over another guest complaint before finally checking back on Cassandra.

She was one step away from climbing over the desk and proposing marriage to the actor. But at least the line was gone. And for now, she was staying put.

I finally shrugged out of my coat and headed toward the guest services office, exhaustion weighing down every step. It wasn’t even midmorning, and I already felt wrung out.

Maybe that’s why I was completely unprepared when I walked in on Becky rifling through my files. “What are you doing?”

She jumped, her panicked gaze colliding with mine before she smoothed her expression into one of exaggerated boredom. “I was looking for your list of catering companies.”

My stomach knotted. “What for?”

“I was trying to do you a favor.” She pursed her bright-red lips and stood taller to face me.

“A favor?”

“Yes, Melina. It’s a thing people do to help each other.” She crossed her arms. “The rep from Noma called and threatened to pull their sponsorship of the Winter Festival if you didn’t have the additional catering staff in place by tomorrow.”

The breath stalled in my lungs. “But that’s impossible.” Wasn’t it? “I just checked in with them a few days ago.”