He’d been abrupt, autocratic, and arrogant during his short trip. I noticed that more than his tousled brown hair, sharp jawline, and perfectly sculpted mouth. Personally, I preferred a soul and good manners with my good looks.

“He was brusque and bossy, so I didn’t really focus on what he looked like.”

“Bossy doesn’t have to be bad.” Charlie sighed dreamily. “The man is hot with a very large H. And rich⁠—”

“With an even larger R. I’ve got to run, Charlie.” I had better things to do than moon over a billionaire. Especially one who was giving me gray hairs.

“Bye.” The barista waved cheerily.

I hurried down the street. It was still early, and the boutiques and restaurants weren’t open yet. Even in summer, the businesses in Windward did a brisk trade. My aunt’s gift shop, The Nook, was one street over. She sold everything from locally-made candles and soaps, to artwork and jewelry made by local artisans.

I turned a corner, and my resort came into view. A little zing filled my chest like it did every time I set eyes on the place.

There was lots of natural stone, accented by dark wood and glass. The gabled roof continued along the long line of the building. I loved every inch of wood and stone. The resort logo—a stylized W made to look like snow-capped mountains—was engraved in brass by the large front doors. It always filled me with pride. The logo was also on the shiny Hotel Manager badge pinned to my shirt. I headed up the drive and jogged up the front steps.

“Good morning, Ms. Ashford.” A young valet smiled at me.

“Morning, Will.”

He held the door open for me, and I stepped inside.

The resort had a welcoming feel, but the view was the big winner here. The ceiling soared overhead, showing off wooden beams, but the gaze was immediately drawn straight to the huge, triangular bank of windows. Outside, the mountain was lush green.

Comfortable armchairs were grouped by the window, where guests could linger for a minute, or comfortably check in. My heels clicked on the wooden floor. We had a long reception desk covered in more stone, and fresh flowers in vases topped multiple surfaces. I stopped to rearrange some of them.

“Morning, Tessa.” One of the receptionists called out.

“Hi, Archie. Everything running smoothly?”

His head bobbed. “It was a quiet night, but we have a flurry of checkouts coming up. We had one man with chest pains. Dr. Ramirez came in to look at him. Apparently, it was indigestion.”

That beat out the other alternatives. I hated those rare occasions when we had to deal with a dead body. “Thanks.”

“Idiot shouldn’t have ordered the steak and baked potato for dinner.” Coral leaned on the receptionist desk.