“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I’m working up the courage to ask why you’re not furious with me.”
As they stopped at a red light, Graham gazed down at her, his tone softening. “Because you were scared, Zoey. I’m not going to hold that against you. Accidents happen.”
The light switched to green, but his eyes swept her features. Biting her lower lip, Zoey stared back, wondering just what she was doing.
A car blared its horn right behind them, jerking her back to reality. Graham glanced in the rearview mirror, frowning. “Damn tourists.”
The moment broken, he pressed on the gas, deliberately driving slower than necessary to aggravate the person behind him.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely. See that little orange sticker in the top corner of their windshield? It means they’re in a rental car. There’s tons of similar things planted all over town so we know who to avoid.”
“And who to mess with?”
A smug expression was his answer. They turned a corner, driving past the Tourist Trap. “See how I don’t have a sign? No one should have known about my place. It was supposed to be locals only. When your town is overrun by tourists, sometimes you just want to get away from them.”
“And yet you keep getting stuck in close quarters with me.”
Graham shook his head. “Who visits Alaska and doesn’t rent a car? We’re not exactly known for how little this state is.”
“Lana said she had a car we could share.” Scrubbing at her forehead with the back of her hand, Zoey refused to look at him. “I’m not stupid, you know. I just thought…”
“She would be a reliable traveling companion?” Graham didn’t seem convinced. “L’s sweet, and she’s got a big heart, but she’s the walking epitome of good intentions, questionable follow-through.”
“Lana isn’t usually this distracted. She’s got an event she’s planning,” Zoey said in her defense.
Graham snorted, unconvinced.
“After today, I’ll probably rent my own car. I didn’t budget for it, but…” She drifted off, unwilling to add that relying on strangers for kindness wasn’t a great transportation plan.
They pulled up to the resort, but Graham set the truck in park a few truck lengths away from the valet station. Turning in his seat, he rested his elbow on the seat back between them.
“That’s twice you’ve let me give you a lift, Zoey. If I didn’t know better, I might think you were sweet on me.”
His waggling eyebrows were so comical, Zoey couldn’t help her small laugh. “Oh, trust me. That’s not anywhere close to what’s happening right now.”
Sighing playfully, Graham rifled through the center console of his truck and pulled out a faded receipt.
“If you decide to get yourself a rental, call this place. They’re local, not all the way back in Anchorage, and my cousin Collin owns the place.” Graham wrote a name on the back of the receipt, handing it to her. “Ask for his wife, Leah. Tell her I sent you, or Collin will add the tourist reverse discount.”
Smiling in gratitude, Zoey stuffed the receipt in her pocket. “Thanks.”
“Hey, Zoey.”
“Yeah?”
“Next time you want me all to yourself, just ask. No need for the violence.”
Stepping out of the truck, Zoey couldn’t help but joke. “Yep, lesson learned.”
He waited until she almost closed the door, then called out, “Hey, Zoey? Zooo-ey.”
“Yes?”
“You really should call me. L’s got my number.”
Zoey shook her head. “I would, but I’m a tourist. Oil and water, local boy. Besides, the melting ice puddle on your pants isn’t the greatest turn-on.”
“I knew I liked you.” He winked at her. “Later, gorgeous.”
As Graham drove away, Zoey sighed. He was all kinds of bad ideas wrapped in far too pretty of a package. Thank goodness her phone didn’t work up here.
Graham Barnett was the kind of call that should never happen.
Chapter 5
Sleep didn’t come easy.
Graham could have blamed it on physical discomfort, but the truth was Zoey’s sweet smile as he dropped her off at the resort wouldn’t leave his thoughts. Interspersed with that pleasant memory was her fingertips gripping the edge of the seat in his truck as if trying not to show him how upset she was after their little trip to lockup together.
And when he closed his eyes, Graham kept seeing her startled—then horrified—expression as she stepped out of the woods right next to him.
Knowing he’d frightened her, even accidentally, stuck in his craw far more than it should.
He’d meant it when he’d told Zoey she should call him, but his instincts told him she wouldn’t. And why should she? So far, her experiences involving him were less than desirable. Graham shouldn’t care. He didn’t care. Tourists rotated in and out of town like luggage on an airport carousel. Except…well…he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
By the time the morning alarm beeped on the nightstand next to Graham’s bed, he’d been up for hours. Normally, he would have used the time to go outside and work. Today, he sat on his porch, idly scratching floppy ears as he watched the ever-present sun rise higher above the mountaintops, brightening pale gray skies to cheerful blues.
“Well, buddy, what do you think? Should I let it go? Move on with my life?”
A lazy tail thump indicated Jake’s agreement.
“Or…”
Placing a paw over his nose, Jake whined. Graham patted the border collie on the head.
“You know me so well. Yeah, you’re probably right, but I’m going to do it anyway.”
Not generally driven by impulse, Graham still found himself heading up a mountain, parking illegally in the staff parking lot, and walking down a familiar hallway in a familiar hotel, hoping he didn’t remember her room number wrong. The clientele in this place rarely appreciated an early morning wake-up call from strangers.
Pausing to reflect on whether this was a terrible idea that might result in further bodily harm, Graham considered his options. Then he rapped on the door with a singsong in his voice. “Good morning! Housekeeping.”
Waiting until the count of three, Graham knocked again, louder this time. “Is there a Zoey in the building? Rise and shine, darlin’.”