Free Goodbye Gifts: (The Steamy Version) (A 'HOT' Castle Mountain Lodge Romance Book 5) by Elena Aitken Page B

phone and pushed the button for Trent.
    Three rings and the call went to voicemail.
    “Trent. It’s me. I forgot to ask you last night about the contract.” Dylan could have kicked himself after he stormed out of the restaurant and hadn’t even checked with Trent on the status of the most important business deal they’d ever had pending. Carmen was becoming too much of a distraction. This was why he didn’t get involved with relationships. They caused nothing but trouble.
    Dylan shook his head and focused on the task at hand.
    “I need to know where we stand with the Braxtons,” he said into the phone. “It’s crucial that we have an answer and the funds by tomorrow at the latest. Call me back right away.”
    He hung up the phone and pushed up from his chair, choosing instead to pace in front of the window, not like it was going to help.
    If they didn’t get the investment dollars, the entire project would be compromised and Dylan would need to do some quick maneuvering to keep it from going under altogether.
    Suddenly, the room was too warm. He unbuttoned the top button on his shirt and looked at his watch. It was only eleven o'clock, but he'd had enough. He couldn’t stand around and worry. It wouldn’t do any good and until he heard back from Trent, there really was no point in carrying on with anything else. He couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that he had something else he was supposed to do, but he couldn’t focus on a damn thing anyway. He closed up his laptop and stuffed his things into his case. He was done.
    He knew he could probably find Trent in his office, and that probably should have been where he was headed, but he couldn’t think straight and there was only one person responsible for that. And only one person who would be able to cure it.
    Dylan took a chance and headed for the lobby, since that's where Carmen seemed to spend most of her time, even when she wasn't working.
    Sure enough, just as he'd guessed, he spotted her dark hair bent over the reservation desk. She wasn't wearing her uniform, which he took as a good sign. Maybe he could convince her to take off for the afternoon.
    "Hi."
    She jerked her head up, but he was rewarded by the smile he loved so much when she realized it was him.
    "Hi," she said. “I’m glad to see you.”
    His heart sped up a little. Maybe he wasn’t the only one whose thoughts were completely occupied by the other.
    “Really?”
    “Yes, I wanted to apologize for last night,” she said. “I shouldn’t have taken off like that. I just…well, I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t worry about it.” He leaned on the desk and resisted the urge to reach out and touch her face. “Maybe you can make it up to me?”
    She smiled, but gave him a questioning look. “Shouldn’t you be working?"
    "Probably." He shrugged. "But I don't have any meetings today and I was sitting in one of those boardrooms in the back getting a few things done, but I kept getting distracted."
    "Oh, yeah?" She tilted her head and her hair fell like a wave over her shoulder. "By what?"
    Dylan propped an elbow on the desk, and looked into her eyes. "It's such a beautiful day, and all I could think about was spending it outside with you.”
    She didn't immediately object, which Dylan took to be a good sign. In fact, there was a glint in her eye and she said, "Did you really?"
    Encouraged, he leaned in. "I did. In fact, that's all I've been able to think about for the last few hours. And I believe you told me there was a lot to do up here in the mountains. How about you show me what Castle Mountain Lodge has to offer?"
    She didn’t say anything right away and Dylan noticed the hesitation that clouded her eyes. She looked down and tapped her pen on her desk. After what seemed like a very long time, she looked up and said, "As a matter of fact, it would be a perfect day to visit Crown Lake. They'll be putting the boats away for the season soon, but it would be lovely out there today."
    "Boats? Let's