Here Comes Trouble Page 0,82
another meeting, so I thought perhaps I would get you good and sweaty first so we both could use a good back scrub.”
“We’re limited to each other’s backs?”
“I see it more as a starting-off point.”
“Ah,” she said, then giggled when he tugged her under him and rolled his weight on top of her. She was happy. Deliriously so. In fact, she couldn’t remember ever feeling so lighthearted before. She’d never had this kind of spontaneous connection with anyone, and it felt pretty damn fantastic. Surely, given that they were being so open and honest about where they were in their respective lives, enjoying this—him—wasn’t foolish. She was well aware of the possible painful outcome, but the simple question of would she rather not have spent time with him at all was an easy one to answer. This time, she was putting her happiness first.
“So,” he said, returning to his devastatingly seductive exploration of her collarbone. “Who all has registered for rooms?”
He continued to work his way down, opening buttons as he went, making it rather challenging to keep track of the conversation. She listed a few names, paused to gasp as he nipped the skin below her belly button, then somehow managed to dredge up a few more. It was on the last name that Brett paused and looked up.
“Did you say Uri Maksimov?”
She blinked, realized his wonderful tongue was not going to go back to doing what it was doing along the open line of her pants zipper, and lifted her head up to look at him. “I’m pretty sure I have the name right.”
“That’s his name. When is he arriving, do you remember the date?”
“I’d have to double check to make sure, but I think he’s scheduled to arrive first.”
“Which is when, exactly?”
“Little over two weeks from now.”
Brett dipped his chin and Kirby was pretty sure she heard him swear under his breath. She pushed up on her elbows, then leaned her weight to one side so she could reach out and stroke the side of his face. She urged his gaze back to hers. “What’s up? Do you want me to call him back and tell him I made a mistake and the room is already booked? I’m pretty sure I can fill the opening. At least enough that it won’t matter.”
“No, don’t do that.”
She waited a few seconds, but when he didn’t chime in to explain his obvious distaste for the situation, she nudged. “Wanna tell me why we don’t like Uri Maksimov?”
He did glance up at her then, but his attempt at a smile fell far short of reaching his eyes. “Have I told you how much I like it that you’re on my team?”
“You do a very good job of showing it, yes,” she said, wiggling her hips a little.
He dropped his chin for just a second; then he looked back at her. “I’m sorry, I ruined the mood.”
She laughed. “I’m pretty sure if you just breathe on me, we’ll go right back to being there. Or I will.” Her expression sobered when he didn’t immediately come back with a cute remark. She stroked the side of his face and ran her fingers through the hair at his temple. “It’s really not an issue to reverse the booking. We overbooked all the time when I worked the reservation desk at the resort. I’m very good at managing the guests so they don’t feel managed.” She paused and then dryly added, “And you really don’t want to make any jokes about my guest relations skills at this particular moment.”
That got a small chuckle out of him. “I wouldn’t dare.”
“So, I take it that Mr. Maksimov isn’t exactly a welcome guy. Is he a player?”
“He works for the owner of one of the newer casinos. Kind of the liaison between the owner and the promoters. Only been open a couple of years now.”
“Did you give the rights to some part of the event to one of the casinos in Vegas?”
“Yes, but not his.”
“Ah. So, why is he coming? And how will it work, combining the resort holding the event, with a casino…what role exactly does the casino play?”
“The resort here gets the event booking and all that goes with it, including a nice increase in guests. But since we’re in Vermont, I need a team to be able to come in and actually produce the event who knows what they’re doing.”
“So, like a sponsor or something?”
“Not exactly, though we’ll have them, too. This is more like