Get a grip, Hailey. He’s not going to care what you’re wearing, or what you look like. The man’s coming here to see what you’ve done to highlight all the work that was done on the spa.
Just as she pressed her hand against her turbulent stomach, Candace Allen, her new assistant, came hurrying toward her.
“He’s here, Hailey,” Candace breathlessly announced. “Dillon Fortune!”
Okay, showtime! Hailey took in one last big breath to steady her nerves.
She turned toward her assistant and in that moment saw probably the handsomest man in her near recollection walking in her direction.
Instantly she felt those butterflies of hers revving up for one massive, uncoordinated takeoff.
Even at a distance, she could see that Dillon Fortune looked far more handsome in person than his photographs had made him out to be—and that had been pretty damn near perfect.
Okay, Hailey, you can do this. This is nothing more than a courtesy walk-through for the guy who made all this possible.
So why did part of her suddenly feel as if she were trying to make her way across hot coals?
As Dillon Fortune drew closer, she decided that her fresh wave of nerves had to be due to the look on the man’s lean, handsome face. The contractor looked distracted, as if he didn’t really want to be here.
Why? Was there something wrong?
Walking up to Dillon and meeting him part of the way, Hailey put out her hand and gave him her widest, most welcoming smile. “Mr. Fortune, I’m Hailey Miller, Paz Spa’s manager. I’ll be the one giving you a tour of this lovely facility this morning.”
Just for a moment, Dillon was caught off guard by the very attractive, animated woman standing before him. For such a petite woman, she had the largest, most expressive blue eyes he had ever seen. He found them almost hypnotic and just for a second, he forgot how much he didn’t want to be here.
But then it all came back to him. His intense homesickness, how all of this—the touring, the glad-handing—just felt like such a waste of precious time.
His precious time.
Still, he knew he couldn’t be rude. It wasn’t this woman’s fault that he was halfway across the country from where he wanted to be. And he could see that this perky manager was eager to show the place off to him. A place he felt it prudent not to point out that he was already familiar with, thanks to the fact that he had been the one who had drawn up the initial blueprints and then designed the spa’s look from top to bottom.
He offered the petite blonde what he hoped passed for a smile.
“I guess you were the one who wound up drawing the short straw,” Dillon told her. Belatedly, he remembered to shake the hand she was still holding out to him.
Hailey could only stare at the contractor. She had no idea what he was saying to her—or why. What short straw? “Excuse me, Mr. Fortune?”
Dillon didn’t think he had said anything particularly mysterious. “Well, you obviously have better things to do three days before the spa’s grand opening than dropping everything to give one of the people who renovated this place a tour of the exact same area.”
Put that way, she didn’t know if he resented having her show him around his own work, or if there was something else going on.
“Not really,” Hailey answered uncertainly. “We all thought that you might like to see how the ideas all came together to create this rather inviting haven. Everyone here is very eager to have the spa’s doors finally open so that our clients can come in and enjoy all the amenities that this place has to offer.” If nothing else, she thought, she could be a saleswoman with the best of them.
“As you can see,” Hailey continued, gesturing around the wide-open reception area, “this was all finished with reclaimed wood and other natural materials. It’s all extremely pleasing to the eye,” she pointed out with pride.
“Now if you’ll come this way,” Hailey urged as she began to lead the way farther into the spa, “I’ll show you some of the inner rooms that will be enjoyed by our clients.”
She opened a door that led into a room with a massage table. A mural of a peaceful forest scene on the far wall added to the feeling of tranquility. “We offer various kinds of massage therapy to help our clients relieve some of the stress they’ve built up during their week. As I’m sure you know, a tense body causes mental stress and may often be responsible for sleeplessness, gastrointestinal distress and headaches, to mention just a few things. The right sort of massage therapy will allow our clients to de-stress and rejuvenate.”
Hailey continued talking as she brought Dillon to another room painted in different colors. The main piece of equipment here was the same as in the first room. It all centered around a massage table, except here, there were two tables for the couples looking to reduce their stress levels together.
“I’m sure you’ll agree that in this fast-paced life we all lead, we could certainly use a little revitalization, not to mention a small precious island of time where we can step back from our incredibly busy lives and just take a deep breath and relax.
“And did you know that a good massage can also improve your circulation? That means no more cold hands and feet—if you have them, that is,” she quickly added in case he thought she was insinuating that this was his problem. “Think how good that would feel,” Hailey added with another bright smile. “Massage therapy can also help improve your flexibility, strengthen your muscles and reduce your pain levels by releasing endorphins.”
Her hand
