Love Walks In(11)

Tim looked at him curiously but nodded. “Understood.”

There was no doubt in Hugh’s mind Tim wanted to know what was going on. Hell, so did he. Why had he lied for a complete stranger? Why did he get involved? “Let me know if there’s any further issues, Tim.”

“Yes, sir,” he said pleasantly and turned to take care of his task.

For a minute, Hugh stood rooted to the spot, torn about what to do. There was work to do, meetings to prepare for—it’s what he had scheduled for the evening. He was already behind thanks to this current drama, and it seemed as if he was going to remain so.

Looking toward his office door, he sighed. “Okay, Miss Aubrey Burke, let’s find out what’s really going on.”





Chapter 2


Aubrey silently shut the office door and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. On shaky legs, she walked back over to the sofa and sat down. This was so not the way she had imagined things going. Not in any way, shape, or form.

A quick glance at her watch showed it was nearly seven. In a few minutes she was supposed to be getting married. Married. Just the word was enough to make her stomach clench. What the hell had she been thinking? Paul Hollingsworth was not the man she pictured living happily ever after with.

And that explained the runaway bride stint she was currently living out.

When she’d opened the door and seen him in the lobby, she’d panicked. And when she’d looked out a few minutes later and seen…hell, what was his name? All he’d said was that he owned the resort. He’d never given her his name.

Well damn.

Anyway, when she’d looked out the door and seen Mister Resort Owner talking to Paul, Aubrey had a strong urge to flee out the window and into the night. But somehow she had stood her ground and watched as whatever Paul was hearing made him more and more furious. It wasn’t until he’d walked away that Aubrey had closed the door.

Now what? What was she supposed to do now? It was too late to get a flight and she’d have to find a place to stay for the night. Preferably someplace far from here where she wouldn’t run into Paul.

It wasn’t that Paul was a mean person, but he did have a tendency to talk over her and make her feel small and more than a little incompetent. That’s how she’d ended up here. It had been Paul’s idea for them to get married. They’d been in San Francisco on business when Paul had brought up the idea. Aubrey still couldn’t believe she’d let him talk her into it, but here they were.

They’d never really dated and if she were completely honest, she didn’t particularly like him. But…like most of the people in her life, Paul had played on her one insecurity and used it to his advantage. He was business partners with her father—a man who barely acknowledged her anymore—and Paul had convinced her this would be a way to get back in her father’s good graces.

It wasn’t until she had mistakenly overheard the two on the phone that she realized it didn’t matter if she was in her father’s good graces or not. There was no way she could possibly go through with the ceremony. Paul’s smarmy, condescending tone as he’d talked about finally getting Aubrey to fall in line had really sealed the deal.

So while he talked and thought she was taking a nap, Aubrey had packed her suitcase and thrown it out the second-story window. Once it was on the ground, she was ready to crawl out after it when she’d spotted Mister Resort Owner picking it up and carrying it away! In her entire life, Aubrey had never been a tomboy or one who climbed trees, and yet she had shimmied out the window and down the side of the building as if she had been doing it for years. She’d followed the man all the way to the main building and then had to find a way in without drawing attention to herself. The fewer people who saw her leaving, the better.

Clearly that didn’t go as planned.

Now she was stuck in this office, trying to figure out where to go from here.

No doubt Paul was furious. And probably on the phone with her father right now telling him what she’d done. It couldn’t be helped. Aubrey hated it, but right now, it was the least of her worries.

The door to the office opened and Mister Resort Owner walked in. He closed the door and offered her a small smile. She studied him. He was tall—easily over six feet—and reminded her a little bit of Thor…or Chris Hemsworth. He was definitely movie star material, and for a minute she wished they had met under different circumstances. Right now she was certain he was anxious to get rid of her, probably still a little annoyed at finding her in his office in the first place.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly as he came to stand in front of her.