“My goal doesn’t involve much sightseeing or whale watching. I have different entertainment in mind. But fewer crowds sound good. How about February fourteenth?”
“Very romantic. And your departure date?”
“Hard to predict. I’m not sure when I’ll be…done.”
Palm to forehead, she practiced patience. “You know, for a man who runs a hotel conglomerate, you act as if you’ve never reserved a room before.”
“You don’t know who I am,” he pointed out, arching a brow and shooting her a half smile. “I’m a faceless caller trying to plan a romantic getaway.”
“Well, sir, we need to input a departure date to check availability.” She brought her hand back to the keyboard. “I suggest booking for five days. If you wish to extend your reservation at any point during your visit, simply check with the reception desk and they can advise you of your options.”
“If that’s the best you can do.” His sigh had her lips quirking.
“I’m glad someone’s having fun with this overview.” But she was, too. He played with her, and she appreciated it, possibly more at this moment because he’d sensed her mopey mood and cared enough to charm her out of it. In her experience, she catered to the mood of the man in her life, not vice versa. She’d gravitated to serious guys, because she’d mistaken serious for sincere. Lesson learned. Tight-assed didn’t mean trustworthy. Next time, she’d pay more attention to those dynamics.
Whoa. Kinda soon to be thinking about next time.
Hell, yes. And she had plenty to concentrate on in the here and now. She added the reservation end date to the calendar and hit enter. The range of available rooms appeared on screen. She clicked on the villa and prepared to fill in the additional fields. “How many guests?”
“Just two. Adults,” he volunteered. “Go ahead and use my name.”
She typed his name into the primary guest field, and clicked on the name match found in the system. His credit card information auto-populated the appropriate fields. “Would you like to use the credit card already on file to secure the reservation?”
“Hmm. What if I prefer not to put this stay on a charge card?”
She dropped her customer service voice, and explained, “We require a credit card for every reservation, so we’re protected against no-shows and last minute cancelations.”
“St. Sebastian has the same policy, but, you know, not everyone who books a vacation at a singles resort is single. What happens when the guest doesn’t want to leave a paper trail?”
“That issue isn’t limited to singles resorts. We ran into the situation plenty at Las Ventanas.” She wrinkled her nose, but slipped back into customer-service mode. “Your card incurs no charges until your stay is complete. We can accept cash or an alternate credit card at our reception desk.”
“Perfect. I knew I could rely on your discretion.”
“I’m not here to judge,” she said under her breath, and tapped the additional keys to complete the reservation. Once complete, she turned to him. “Your confirmation code is C-H-E-A-T-I-N-G-B-A-S-T-A-R-D. I hope you enjoy your stay at Tradewinds, Maui.”
His low laugh drew a smile from her, and the earlier warning replayed in her mind—the one about them enjoying this more than they should.
“No judgments, huh?”
“Obviously I would never say such a thing to an actual guest, but, no, helping someone plan an illicit affair never sits well with me.” She shrugged and turned back to the screen. “I think if you make a promise to someone, you ought to honor that promise, or at least be up-front and tell them you can’t. Don’t go behind the person’s back.”
Nice girl rule number one. Do you plan to recite the whole list for him? “I suppose I sound naive.”
“No.”
She glanced over, surprised to find no hint of amusement in his expression.
“As it happens, I agree.”
He said the words casually, but something intense lurked in his eyes and she got a little lost in them. Had her office always been this small and quiet? “You do?”
“I don’t make a promise unless I intend to keep it.”
“Hence, you don’t make promises?” All the air seemed to have been sucked out of the room. She inhaled until her lungs hurt.
“Hence, I haven’t—”
Her cell phone rang.