“I don’t deny it. The woman gave me her room key. I had to pretend I didn’t know what she meant by that and tell her I would return it to the front desk for her.” He handed Riley’s phone back. “I imagine her online review of me won’t be quite as glowing as Mrs. Nickle’s.”
Riley reread the review, this time thinking of Mrs. Nickle writing it. And okay, now that Riley knew that Lucas had fixed her heater, that part sounded more maintenancey and not so suggestive. But still. “The woman is in her sixties. Why did she even mention that you’re young, handsome, and single? That’s creepy.”
He shrugged. “We talked while I fixed her heater, and she thought it was a shame I was single. Maybe the review is her way of trying to help with that situation.”
Riley put her phone down on the desk. “For a writer, you’d think she’d be clearer about what she’s reviewing.”
Lucas slid his hands in his pockets and watched her, waiting.
She shifted uncomfortably. “If you expect me to comment on your earlier teamwork speech, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to it.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” He hadn’t moved and was still considering her with his blue-eyed gaze. “I’m waiting,” he said with pointed smugness, “for an apology. I know I’ll never get one for the conclusions you jumped to with Winter, so I need a doubly good apology now about Ms. Livingston.”
There was no avoiding it. He wasn’t going to leave until she apologized. She let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry I accused you of going to Ms. Livingston’s room, when in fact, your handsome, charming, single self was only fixing Mrs. Nickle’s room temperature. I’m sure when she said you were good with your hands, she only meant your skill with a screwdriver. That said, you realize that half the women who read her review are going to think the same thing I did, so it wasn’t really such a leap on my part to?—”
“That stopped being an apology,” he interrupted. “I didn’t ask for your justifications.”
She raised her hands and let them fall. “Fine. I’m sorry.”
“And you’re going to trust me from now on?” he asked, leading her.
“I’ll trust you just as much as I did before.”
He lifted a finger for emphasis. “That’s the root of the problem.”
“Yeah, it is.”
His eyes narrowed. “As the manager, I can have someone come in and make the employees do those team-building exercises that foster trust. I’m going to look into that.”
“I knew all of the power would quickly go to your head.”
“Definitely scheduling that,” he said and tromped back to the office.
CHAPTER 15
Aweek before the wedding, Olivia returned to Lark Springs and stopped by the apartment. Instead of driving her beat-up Corolla, she rode into town in a shiny new Range Rover. Instead of the old jeans and T-shirts she used to wear around the apartment, her clothes looked like they’d been bought at some expensive department store.
Riley squealed like a third grader and threw her arms around her. Annieahhedandawedover her, especially admiring Olivia’s engagement ring. The thing was huge, sparkling atop Olivia’s finger.
“Beautiful,” Annie said.
“Gorgeous,” Riley agreed. “Plus, it’s big enough that in a fight, it could be used as a weapon, like brass knuckles.”
Olivia laughed. “Who do you think I’ll be fighting?”
“Probably just the Carson groupies who’ll go ballistic when they find out he’s off the market.”
“Good point,” Olivia said and laughed again.
Annie gave the ring one last wistful look. “I knew I should’ve gone for the jocks in high school.”
Riley snorted. “You did go for the jocks in high school.”
“But apparently not the right ones.” Annie flopped down on the couch dramatically. “None of them went on to play in the NFL.” She put her hands together in supplication and looked at Olivia. “Please tell me you found some dreamy guy on Carson’s team to be my date.”
Olivia joined her on the couch, beaming. “I did.” She drew out the moment for suspense. “Emmett Navarone.”
He was a wide receiver. Tall, dark, and alpha.