Chapter One
Iris Chadwick blew out a breath and pushed her heavy, blond hair back over her shoulder as she rapped on the door and called out, “Housekeeping.” She’d been raised scrubbing toilets someone could eat off—Grams’s words—and making beds any general would be proud of, Grams was the general, but she hoped at some point she’d graduate from maid service. She had a master’s in hospitality management, and she and her cousin Catalina were officially taking over the Mystical Lake Resort this year. Still, her too-feisty Grams was quick to remind her that owning and running the hotel meant filling in for any and every job when there was a need. Today, housekeeping was short-staffed, so here she was.
There was no response from within the suite and no “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door, so she felt safe to enter. She passed her all-access key card over the door and pushed down on the handle, swinging the door wide and tugging the housekeeping cart in behind her. The huge windows showcased the deep-blue lake, the lush greenery surrounding the lake, the cabins hiding in that greenery, and the towering mountain peaks beyond. Iris paused to savor the view. She’d grown up here and would never leave, and she would also never take her favorite view for granted.
Mystical Lake Resort towered over the very edge of the lake. Its castle-like structure boasted eighty-two suites, an award-winning spa, four restaurants, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and hot tubs, ice-skating in the winter, and miles of hiking and biking trails in the summer, as well as an outdoor adventure course and zip lines, kayaking, paddle-boarding, and fishing. The small town of Mystical Lake was only a mile around the lake to the east, and everything from ancient shacks to monstrous cabins stretched to the west and the south. It was a small valley, but there was enough open space to accommodate a large ranch to the east and south of the lake. This was heaven on earth, and Iris loved her self-imposed prison.
The bathroom door swung open, and Iris’s gaze was ripped from the view of mountains and the lake to a view that had her jaw dropping and her eyes widening. A man strode from the bathroom, dressed only in navy-blue slacks; he was in the process of sliding into a white button-down shirt when he saw her and froze. One beautifully formed arm was partially in the shirt, but the rest of his upper body was revealed, and oh my, what an upper body it was. His chest, abdomen, shoulders, and arms were rippled with smooth muscle and skin that made her mouth go dry.
She forced her gaze to his face, hoping she hadn’t been caught ogling him, and immediately wished she’d kept focusing on his bare chest. His face was equally perfect with a strong jaw, a straight nose, and nicely defined brows, but it was his piercing blue eyes that had her gasping for air. He was glaring at her as if she’d just kicked the flowers off his grandmother’s grave.
Then he moved. He reacted so quickly and smoothly she couldn’t so much as lift a hand to stop him. She only stared in awe, and in concern born of past experience, as his shirt flapped behind him and his athletic body shot across the space until he was towering over her. Her breath came in fast pants, and the delectable scent radiating from him did nothing to calm her nerves.
“What are you doing in here?” he asked in a husky voice that sounded cold and suspicious. “Who let you in? What is your purpose?”
Iris grabbed at the cart behind her for something to defend herself. She didn’t sense any evil intent, and she prided herself on reading people, but he was ticked that she’d invaded his room. A customer was always right, but he was in her personal space, and he was acting like she was attempting to steal secrets from the Pentagon. Her fingers wrapped around a handle, and she whipped the toilet scrubber up and held it in front of her. “Get back,” she demanded, as threatening and confident as she could muster while holding a white toilet brush. She could only pray he was a germaphobe. “I know how to use this.”
He blinked down at her, surprise and then amusement filling those blue eyes. He took a generous step back and held up both hands, reassuring her that her instincts were on target and he