The Lure of Love by Mona Ingram

“Brooke
Stephens, I’m putting you on notice. I won’t rest until you tell me you love
me.”
    He kissed her
again. She didn’t tell him that it was too late; he’d already captured her
heart.
    * * *
    Leeza took
one last look around the kitchen. It wasn’t her job to do the evening clean-up
but she was a stickler for cleanliness and when she became chef, she had
adopted the habit of doing a final evening check. The equipment was clean and
ready for breakfast. At least Marta would be back tomorrow. The breakfast cook
was unflappable; a valuable trait at any time of the day, but especially at
breakfast.
    She pushed
through the doors and walked into the dining room. Had it been just this
morning that she’d sat there with Matt, listening to his story? It seemed like
such a long time ago, and yet she remembered every word, every inflection of
his voice.
    Her cell
phone sounded, cutting off her reverie. She looked at the call display and her
heart started to pound. She tried a couple of quick, calming breaths but it
didn’t work. She answered breathlessly. “Hello?”
    “Leeza.” Just
that single word made her weak with desire. How did he manage to do that? “Where
are you?”
    “I’m in the
Lodge. Where are you?”
    “Have you
finished for the day?”
    What was he
up to? “Yes, but you didn’t answer my question. Where are you?”
    “Go out the
front door.”
    Something
propelled her feet out the door.
    “Go down the
stairs and turn left. Go back toward your cottage.”
    “But where
are you?” He was toying with her and she couldn’t decide whether to be angry or
delighted. Playfulness wasn’t one of her traits, but with Matt, she could learn
to like it.
    “I’m watching
one of the most spectacular sights on the planet.” He was silent for a moment.
“Kind of reminds me of you.” He disconnected.
    She followed
the landscaping lights that dotted the path to the cottages. She, Jamie and
Brooke each had a cottage to themselves; it was a generous side benefit of
working at the Lodge.
    Where was he?
She pulled up even with her cottage and watched for movement in the darkness.
To her right was the road leading out of the resort and beyond that, the new
baseball diamond. Instinct told her he wasn’t there.
    She went
forward another few feet. The level area where they’d built the baseball
diamond extended to this side of the road, but she could see nothing there.
    “Okay, that’s
enough,” she called into the darkness, trying to sound serious. “You’re
starting to try my patience.” Her eyes were adjusted to the dark now. She was
turning to go and search the area around her cottage when a light caught her
eye. It was at ground level, waving back and forth.
    “Matt?” She
walked toward the light. “What in the world…” She stopped. It was the light
from his cell phone and he was lying flat on his back on the ground.
    “Come join
me.” He patted the space beside him and she realized that he’d spread out some
sleeping bags. This was the last thing she’d expected.
    “Are you
drunk?” She sat down beside him. He didn’t seem drunk.
    “Nope.” He
was looking at the sky. “At least not with alcohol. Come on, lie down.”
    She did as he
asked and was immediately rewarded with the sight of several meteors streaking
across the sky.
    “Wow. That’s
beautiful.” She watched as a single meteor followed. “What is it?”
    “It’s the
Perseid meteor shower. Happens every year at this time.” He turned to her and
there was something about him that hadn’t been there this morning. His face
looked softer, happy almost. He’d been appealing this morning, but this new
Matt was someone against whom she had no defenses. She smiled at him in the
darkness, and then went back to watching.
    “This is the
best I’ve ever seen it,” he said, his tone almost reverent. “In the city, the
ambient light gets in the way.” He waved an arm in an arc across the sky.
“Nothing here to interfere with the