Once she reached her room, she slid
the key card in. Green light. She
twisted the handle and pushed. The door didn’t budge. She
tried again. Same
thing. She hated key cards. Why couldn’t they just use
regular old brass keys?

She
tried a third time and this time she twisted the handle
harder and shoved the
door more firmly. And was rewarded. Lights were on in the
room and the place
was already toasty warm as if the welcoming mat had been
set out for her. Perfect. She walked into the room and
glanced at the two queen-sized beds, the chartreuse
covers
pulled back from the
pillow of one, a chocolate wrapped in gold foil sitting
on
the center of it.
She smiled and pulled off her parka, peeled off her
boots,
and reached for the
phone to call room service when she saw a leather bucket
filled with ice. Wow,
they sure knew how to coddle their guests.

That’s
when she heard the bathroom door open. She whipped around
and faced a naked man
towel drying his hair. Or at least until he saw her.

His
mouth gaped. Hers matched his expression, and he quickly
wrapped the towel
around his waist. “I didn’t think room service would come
this soon.” He
glanced down at her sock-covered feet, her boots lying
beside them.

“I’m
not…I’m…they gave me a key to your room by accident.”
Faith
tried not to look
at the man’s physique—too much—but ripped abs, arms
muscled
just enough that
could give a woman a good hug, and toned legs that looked
like they could run a
marathon, were just too appealing.

And
his eyes—blue like the ocean, dark, hiding a wealth of
secrets, that held her
gaze with way too much interest as if she was the
specialty
of the house and
just what he’d ordered on the menu. A light blond stubble
covered his square
jaw, making him appear a bit roguish and intriguing.

He
folded his arms across his broad chest. A light
smattering
of blond hair
trailed down to the towel slung low on his hips. Her gaze
dropped lower. He
cleared his throat to get her attention, making her skin
heat in a flush of
awareness, but he wasn’t moving out of her path. The one
she needed to take to
get to the door. Although for now she wished it was her
room, and he was part of the amenities.

He
inclined his head a little, a hint of a smile on his
lips,
his eyes sparkling
with mischief. “Then I guess I’d better get dressed
before—”

A
knock rapped on the door.

“Too
late.” His deeply-amused baritone voice sounded like he
was
enjoying this a
little too much as he turned, took a couple of steps, and
opened the door.

Great. Faith hurried to pull on one
boot, when the aroma of steak wafted into the room as a
man
brought in a tray.
Faith’s stomach growled. The room service guy glanced at
her, green eyes
smiling. She could just imagine what he was thinking what
with the room’s
occupant wearing a towel, and her pulling her boots on.
The toweled guy signed the bill, and the lodge
employee grinned, dimples appearing on his ruddy
cheeks. “Thanks so much, sir.
If you need anything else, just ring.” He glanced at
Faith,
smiled even more as
if to say she could visit him next if she had a mind to,
then left the room.
“Enough for two of us, if you want to split a medium-rare
steak, baked potato, and salad,” the sandy-haired hunk
said.

“Thanks so
much for the offer, but I’m returning to the front desk
to
get the right room
key. Have a nice night.” She brushed past the mostly
naked
man, smiled when he
smiled, then hurried out of the room.

“The night
could have been better,” he murmured.©

Terry Spear, 2009