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“Only one night,” she mumbles, moving to the back of her little blue BMW and pulling a suitcase from the trunk. “What could happen in a night? It’s fine. I’m sure it’s fine.”
I push past her, pointedly ignoring the rest of her grumbling, and grab her suitcase. She huffs and grumbles some more, which I also ignore as I lead the way to my cabin.
“You know, I have hands. I can pull my own suitcase behind me.” I don’t need to turn around to see her face. The obstinance in her voice is crystal clear.
This time I don’t fight a grin that spreads across my face. “I’m well aware that you have hands, Violet.”
“You’re so annoying.”
“Noted. You don’t like a gentleman.”
“Is that what you’re calling this?”
“I’m giving you a place to sleep for the night, and I’m expertly maneuvering your suitcase along this walkway so you don’t have to drag it behind you. I’d say it’s very gentleman-like behavior.”
“Whatever you say, Donny.”
I swear my whole damn face twitches.
Did I say I liked her sassy personality? I take it all back.
Every single nice thing I ever said about her.
No one calls me Donny, not even my sister.
“I don’t know if you understood me earlier, but everyone calls me Fitz.”
“Oh, I’m aware.” She hums to herself and then adds. “But thanks for the reminder. Donny.”
I must be earning karma points because she miraculously remains silent for the rest of the trek to my cabin. Not even more grumbling.
“Wait.” Violet puts out a hand to stop me as I pull out my keys. “This is your cabin?”
“Yes?”
She nibbles on her bottom lip and makes a point of looking me up and down. “I thought it would be bigger.”
“I apologize if the size isn’t up to your standards.”
She laughs and then stops herself, grabbing the suitcase back from me and pulling it to her side.
With a sigh, I tuck my hands into my pockets and glance at the cabin. “My mother wanted to build some big fancy owners’ retreat, but I put my foot down. She had this whole Hollywood theme envisioned in honor of the dance movie they filmed here. I didn’t want to detract from the simple beauty of this place. People may come here to see some of the famous spots, but I still want it to be a place you can bring your family and relax.”
“Oh.” Her mouth remains open like she has more to say, but she quickly closes it and moves her gaze back to the front of the cabin. “It’s very cute.”
I’d love to say her underwhelming approval didn’t mean something to me, but dammit, it did. I want her to like my space and, more than that, I want her to see that I’m not such a pretentious dick. But before I can say anything—which would likely put my foot in my mouth—my phone rings.
My dad always said no good calls come after dark and in this case he’s right. There’s no reason Karla, my event coordinator, would call after hours unless there’s a problem.
After unlocking the door, I gesture for Violet to go inside. “Feel free to unpack what you need and order yourself some room service.”
As soon as she’s inside and out of earshot, I answer the phone. “Fitzroy.”
“I’m sorry to bother you so late, Fitz.” Her voice sounds muffled and a bit distant, like there’s something covering the receiver, and she has me on speaker.
She also doesn’t sound that sorry, which doesn’t surprise me at all. My mother hired Karla before I took over the resort. Since then, Karla has somehow decided that she’s indispensable. Clearly, she doesn’t know me that well. I don’t let sentimentality impede good business, not that Karla and I have ever been friendly. She’s more like an overbearing aunt, only I have to see her almost every day instead of just on holidays.
Maybe not for long, though. If this summer doesn’t go smoothly, she will no longer have a job here. I don’t care what my mother says.
