"Would you like to lie down for a while?" Rachel asked.
"No, I'll be fine. Let me quickly freshen up and then I'll be ready for the new arrivals. You both have plenty to do if you're setting off first thing tomorrow."
The shower felt wonderful, and if Laura hadn't been in such a hurry, she could have stayed under the spray for hours. Coming out of the bathroom, she moved around her room with comfortable familiarity, humming as she tugged a white sundress from her luggage and scraped her hair back into its usual tight ponytail.
Rachel and Paulo were waiting for her up at reception, but a car pulled up before they could go through the schedule.
"You didn't put your foot down hard enough, Laura." Paulo winked at her, then boomed "Welcome to the Quinta Maria!" at the middle-aged couple getting out of their car, his smile broad as he strolled over to them.
Laura recognised the panic on Rachel's face. "Just leave me to it," she said. "You and Paulo go finish packing."
Rachel's relief was evident. "Alright. Come up to the house when you've finished here and we'll go through everything over dinner."
"Mr. and Mrs. Hurst are in room two," Paulo called from the doorway. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Of course!" Laura said with mock exasperation. "Now shoo, both of you!"
Helping the waiting guests with their luggage despite Mr. Hurst's protests, she led them down the path to the long, low buildings that housed the rooms. The surrounding gardens were as beautiful as ever, and the Hursts were effusive in their praise as she showed them around.
Two more couples arrived soon after and had much the same reaction, filling Laura with pride. Few people came to the hotel without being absolutely delighted at what they found.
Hearing another car pull up, she left them to settle in and eagerly marched up the path to greet the next arrivals. But all sense of relaxed efficiency deserted her as Daniel Stone climbed from his car.
Chapter Two
Laura's mind raced as her footsteps slowed. What on earth was he doing here? The unlikely hope he might be passing by—perhaps he'd called in for directions to somewhere else?—was immediately scotched as he lifted his luggage from the car. Reminded of their encounters at the airport, she could have squirmed with embarrassment at how out of character she'd acted, making mistakes and being so snappy about them.
Well, he wouldn't see her like that again. If Daniel Stone was a guest here—and it seemed there was no escaping from it—then she must make him welcome. For goodness' sake, she was used to dealing with awkward situations every day at school!
He turned at the sound of her footsteps. Forcing a calmness into her voice that didn't extend to her stomach, she stepped forward and held out her hand.
"Mr. Stone? Welcome to the Quinta Maria."
Closing the car, he straightened up to his full six-foot-something and reached out to shake hands. For one brief, glorious moment, Laura thought he might not recognise her now that she was spruced up a little, but any hope of that disappeared as his eyes narrowed in sudden recognition and his hand dropped to his side as though it had been burned.
"It seems you have the advantage over me, knowing my name," he said. "Since you're determined to turn up like a bad penny wherever I go, perhaps you could enlighten me with yours?"
Incensed, Laura bit back a response. They were no longer on neutral ground, and as his host, she could hardly give him a piece of her mind.
"I'm Laura Matheson," she replied as evenly as she could. "If you'll excuse me, I'll get your key and then I'll show you around."
Disappearing into reception before he could find further fault with her, she crossed to the desk and raked her tired eyes over the reservations spreadsheet with a growing sense of disbelief. Not only was Daniel Stone booked in for a full fortnight, but he'd been allocated the room next to hers. Even Paulo and Rachel were unknowingly conspiring against her!
"You're in room eleven," she announced, sensing his presence in the doorway. "Your other party checked in earlier. Will you require a second key?"
"My other party?"
Something in his tone made her glance up. She recognised the travel weariness in his stance, but his face showed only bewilderment.
"Yes." She squinted at the computer screen again. "Miss Hartman."
His eyes froze to a dangerous dark blue. "Natalie Hartman?"
"That's right," she confirmed, double-checking the name. "Is there a problem?"
"What time did she check in?" His mouth was a hard, thin line.
She frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't know."
"You don't know?" There was incredulity in his voice, along with displeasure and a hint at incompetence on her part.
Laura didn't like it, nor was she going to take it. "I don't know because I wasn't here in reception when she checked in. As you're aware, I only arrived here a short while ago myself. I …" She stopped. There was no need for her to explain herself. Frankly, she couldn't understand why he didn't just go and talk to his companion. After all, they were sharing a double room.
"Are you sure she booked into my room, not one of her own?" he asked, his tone of voice suggesting he was already pessimistic over the likely answer.
She stared at him. "Of course. We don't make mistakes like that here."
"I should hope not. In that case, perhaps you wouldn't mind looking into how Miss Hartman's name was added to the booking?" When she only stared at him in surprise, he raised an eyebrow. "Indulge me."
Laura worked hard to suppress her irritation. With Paulo and Rachel setting off first thing in the morning, she needed to sort out any loose ends with them over dinner. The other guests had been a doddle to meet and greet, but Daniel Stone … typical that the last one of the day had to be a
