Chapter 2

The woman at the front desk at the retreat center sure as hell looked like Makenna Shelton. She was older and far more voluptuous, but it had been seven years.

Was it possible?

"Do you know the woman who works the front desk at the retreat center?" I asked Nate as we sat at the bar in the town's only watering hole, the Thirsty Lizard.

Nate shrugged. "A woman named Alyssa owns the place, and I know she hired someone named Sierra. Blonde, twenty-something…"

"That's her."

"What about her?"

"Nothing." I shook my head. "She just looked like someone I used to know, that's all."

As our conversation turned to business, discussing the logistics of the big event, I couldn't shake thoughts of this Sierra woman. She wasn't wearing a wedding ring, so there was a chance she was available. And she seemed interested—unless I had imagined that she was making eyes at me. Would it be wrong to sleep with a woman because she reminded me of my brief summer romance seven years ago?

As I parked my motorbike and headed into the retreat center, I told myself she'd probably gone home for the night. I didn't want to get my hopes up, only to be disappointed.

Much to my surprise, though, she still stood exactly where she'd been when I waved goodbye to her on my way out the door. She had a big smile on her face.

"How'd your dinner go?"

I continued straight toward the counter. Normally, I'd walk past the reception desk with a wave and head straight to my room, but I was drawn to this woman like a moth to a flame.

"We went to the Thirsty Lizard," I said.

She nodded, crossing her arms over that generous chest of hers. "Popular place with locals."

"Not your favorite, though?"

"Nope," she said. "The Mexican place is my favorite."

"Maybe I'll have to treat you to dinner before I leave town."

Was I flirting? It'd been a while since I worked out that muscle. Maybe it wouldn't be so wrong to sleep with a woman who reminded me of Makenna. I'd never slept with her. She was an eighteen-year-old virgin, and I was a twenty-eight-year-old bachelor. We'd kissed and held hands, but I'd been a total gentleman.

And then I'd spent the next seven years wondering what it would have been like to go further with her. Maybe all the way.

"Are you asking me on a date?"

She tilted her head to the side, a smile on her face. That was a good sign, right?

"I guess I am," I said. "In fact, what time do you get off work tonight?"

She frowned, little creases appearing between those perfect eyebrows of hers. Everything about her was perfect. In fact, if I'd never met Makenna, I'd still find this woman irresistible. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"Didn't you just eat dinner?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I'm heading out back to hang on the patio a little while," I said. "I thought I'd grab a drink from the bar, just enjoy the view instead of sitting around in my room."

I'd planned to do absolutely none of that, but now it seemed like a good idea. Why hang out in my room when I could enjoy some more of that fresh night air? And if Sierra couldn't join me, at least I could stop by and talk to her a little more before going to bed.

"I'm off at nine," she said. "So, if you can hang out for another twenty minutes or so, I'll come out."

I smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

Again, I had to rip my gaze off her as I stepped away and headed down the hallway, following the signs. I passed the banquet room and spa before reaching the restaurant that overlooked the pool area.

The bartender put my scotch and soda in a plastic cup after I told him I was heading out to sit by the pool. Then, drink in hand, I settled onto one of the Adirondack chairs next to a tiki torch. I sighed as I enjoyed the sound of the waterfall cascading over a group of large rocks next to the pool.

All that was left to do was wait.

My mind automatically drifted to a night seven years ago—the night I'd gone out to sit on my back porch and saw an eighteen-year-old walking a little white puppy on a leash. I couldn't help but smile as I remembered the way Makenna Shelton had worked her way into my heart. As it turned out, she was still there.