sides. “Point taken. Your forehead is bleeding.”
Bailey reached up to touch the scrape and winced. She’d forgotten about that already. “I hit my head when you surprised me. It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.”
Unfortunately, the “not nothing” wasn’t enough to distract her from taking inventory of the rest of him. He really was the whole package. A clean-cut, larger-than-life kind of package. Big and disconcertingly attractive. He loomed and towered like a Viking, but his white buttoned-down shirt was pristine, clearly custom made, which told her he pillaged from a corner office instead of a longship.
Everything about the ruggedly classy mountain made her heart race, even though he wasn’t in the same universe as her type. His body might hint at Hercules, but the rest of him screamed, “Gone fishing. On my yacht. Probably with a model.”
Men like him always made a beeline for the fancy resort in the canyon. Some never came into town or got anywhere near her quaintly broken-down, if centrally located, establishment. Was that it? Was he lost? “You haven’t told me who you are or why you’re here.”
“No, I haven’t.” His hand rose toward her forehead, but then he hesitated, scrubbing his fingers over the mouth he’d almost kissed her with instead. “You should put something on that soon. Who knows what’s been living up there with your spider?”
“That spider was only visiting, but I’ll get right on it.” Because she hadn’t been taking care of herself since she could walk, she thought sarcastically. She tugged her shirt down over her boxers, her professional courtesy smile wearing thin. “Right after you answer my question.”
“Business.” The tic in his jaw was barely noticeable, but she caught it. He didn’t want to tell her. Why?
She stared him down until he relented. “I came here about the inn’s recent acquisition.”
“About… Oh. That.” Well, that settled it. What she’d seen couldn’t be Dani’s spider. Her friend’s visitation had ended in a hot-and-heavy make out session with her roommate, Liam, that led to true love. This was more like Bailey’s luck. An almost, not quite, whole lot of nothing.
The spark that had flared to life the instant he touched her refused to die in the face of this new reality, but she was determined that it would. He wasn’t her knight or a Ewan substitute. He wasn’t her wish or a helpful handyman. He was the new owner’s flunky.
Was the flirting a test? She wouldn’t put it past him after the stories she’d heard. “I was told to expect someone this week, but I thought it would be during regular business hours.” Silly me. “Is there something wrong with the car rentals? The house?”
“I don’t think so.” He clearly didn’t approve of her defensive reaction. “Our flight was delayed, so I haven’t seen the place yet, but I’m told it’s all we asked for and more.”
“We aim to please. So—”
“Why don’t you have a security system in place?”
The inquisition had begun. “Because in all the time I’ve worked here, there’s never been a break-in. I have good neighbors.” And no money in the budget for an alarm.
“What neighbors?” He raised a brow. “Most of the buildings around you are businesses that close overnight.”
“Our prime location is a selling point for some guests, and Candle Joe lives above his shop. He’s right across the street if I need him.” Sure, he was seventy and half-blind, but he knew how to use a phone as well as anybody else.
“Do you need Candle Joe often?” Did he sound jealous? For a second, she swore he was growling.
“Not for security,” she informed him sweetly. “In case of emergency, I also have a bat named Slugger under my bed.”
His eyes widened. “You have a bat. That’s your answer. What about a night clerk?”
Was he kidding? “Maybe she’s on her lunch break with our on-call massage therapist. He works in the spa next to the indoor pool.”
“There’s no need for sarcasm, Ms. Wagner.” His jaw was so tight she was worried he might crack his pretty teeth. “I’m being serious.”
“I can see that, but I’m it, Boot Boy,” she said impatiently. “Once I close up for the night, it’s just me, myself and I. And Slugger. It’s been that way for over a decade and the guests and the good silver have always been perfectly safe. No one gets in without my knowing about it.”
“I did.”
“Are you a well-dressed burglar? Do you have a spare key?” Bailey almost growled herself when he shook his head with a superior