Listen to Your Heart (7 page)

“Sounds good to me.”

Morgan spoke up. “Hello you guys. I’m
here too, or do you want me to get lost?”

“Don’t be silly.” A slight blush crept
up Dale’s neck. “Let’s go. By the way, do I need to pick up that package from
the hotel or can we get by with just using your key tonight?”

“Just one key is fine for tonight. The
housekeeper mentioned that she’d like you to report in around eight in the
morning, so we can go in together.” Morgan made it as far as the door without
looking over at Rob. “It’s been a long day for me, too.”

They stepped outside and she took a deep
breath of fresh air. Fine snowflakes swirled in the air as they stood in front
of the ski shop and watched Chance close up. “He’s nice, isn’t he?” Morgan
asked quietly.

“He’s too nice.” Dale’s voice was tinged
with longing. “That’s what worries me.”

Morgan hoped it wasn’t happening again.
Dale always found an excuse to push back against the men who interested her.
Granted, none of the men from her past relationships had been anywhere near as
nice as Chance, so they’d been no loss. But she knew the signs; her friend was
already donning her armour, and there was nothing she could do to influence the
outcome.

“Okay, ladies.” Chance ushered out the
last staff member, turned on the night lights and alarm, and locked the door.
“I’ll give you that ride now.” He glanced quickly at Morgan, then turned his
attention to Dale. Snow caught in his eyelashes as he smiled down at her and a
stab of jealousy caught Morgan by surprise. She didn’t think a man had ever
looked at her like that.

“Come on.” Chance motioned for her to
catch up and they trudged three abreast through the freshly fallen snow. “It’s
been a long day for both of you.”

Morgan made her way to the Lodge
entrance as soon as they were parked. Dale and Chance followed more slowly,
seemingly unaware of her presence. It was the first time she’d been alone since
hearing the disappointing news this morning and tears threatened as the reality
of her situation sunk in. She wasn’t sure if she’d have come here if the
training opportunity hadn’t existed, but it was too late now. If she quit and
went back to Banff, Zimmerli at Whistler would be left short-staffed, and an
abrupt departure wouldn’t look good on her resumé. She clenched her teeth and
headed for the elevator; Dale and Chance could follow when they were ready.

* * *

“Thank you for having dinner with me
tonight.” Chance opened the door to the Lodge and followed her into the lobby
area.

Dale was about to tell him that it
wasn’t exactly a date but something held her back. Maybe it was the tone of his
voice, or the hopeful look in his eyes, but she swallowed the harsh rejoinder.
His presence had a calming influence on her and that fact pleased her almost as
much as it frightened her.

“It was nice,” she said finally. “And in
case I forgot to say this earlier, thank you for picking me up this afternoon.”
She took a few steps toward the elevator and then came back. “Would you like to
go skiing some time?” The transparent joy on his face clutched at her heart.
“Together?”

“Yes,” he said simply. “I’d like that
very much.” He moved toward her and for a moment she thought he was going to
kiss her.

Please don’t
, said the voice
in her head.
I want you to kiss me, but it’s too soon
.

He seemed to read her thoughts and
stopped inches away. “We could set a time now, but I’m thinking you’ll want to
check your schedule first.”

“Good idea,” she said, wondering if he
could see the pulse pounding in her throat. “I’ll have a better idea after
tomorrow.”

“Uh huh.” He was looking at her as if
she was a winning lottery ticket.

The elevator pinged. “I’ll see you
tomorrow then.” She stepped inside, pressed the number for her floor and leaned
against the wall. What was she doing? She’d just gone against every instinct
she possessed and asked a man for a date!

A slow smile crept over her face as she pictured
the look on his face. Whistler was definitely looking good.

* * *

The elevator door closed and Chance did
his version of a happy dance, then looked around guiltily. He’d been so wrapped
up in Dale that he hadn’t checked to see if anyone was in the lobby. But he was
alone, and he wasn’t ready to go to his room quite yet. He crossed the open
space in front of the television and went to the bookshelf. The book she’d been
reading this afternoon was hard cover, and he spotted it without any trouble.
It was a book on the West Coast Trail. Judging by her fitness, she was probably
a hiker. The book fell open to several pages of colour photographs and he could
see why she’d been smiling as she read it. The scenery was spectacular. Pictures
of moss-draped trees contrasted sharply with vistas of broad, empty beaches.
There weren’t even any footprints on the sand, just bleached logs and random
piles of kelp. Shots of bears, eagles, orcas and humpback whales drew his
attention and he read the photo captions, thinking that one day he’d like to
travel with her to the remote west coast of Vancouver Island. From Whistler
they could be there in a day if they left early.

“Take it easy, Larson,” he chided
himself. “You’ve only known her for a few hours.”

So why did it feel so right? He closed
the book, returned it to its spot and nodded to himself. Some things were meant
to be, and this was one of them. He could be patient.

Adrian was already at the concierge desk
when Morgan arrived for work the next morning. He was assisting a young couple
but looked up and then quickly turned his attention back to the guests.

She was scheduled to work most of the
morning shift alone; Adrian was to be on hand for a few hours over the noon
hour and for her afternoon break. Hopefully he would open up about what had
upset him yesterday, but she wasn’t counting on it.

“Excuse me!” She’d been assigning rooms
for the afternoon check-ins and looked up to see a strikingly beautiful woman
on the other side of the desk, long fingernails tapping impatiently. “I’m Mrs.
Glasser in Suite 326. Where is the closest hairdresser?”

Morgan glanced across at Adrian, but he
was on the telephone and the couple he was helping looked as though they were
settled in for a while. “I know of two in the Village.” She gave the woman the
locations. “Would you like me to call for you?”

“They aren’t far, are they?” She started
to pull on her gloves.

“No, Mrs. Glasser. They’re both within a
few hundred feet.”

The woman gave her a scathing look.
“Then I’ll walk, and take my chances.” She strode away without a word.

Morgan watched her leave, and then
checked the hotel records. Mr. Glasser hadn’t arrived as scheduled last night;
evidently he would check in within the next day or two. CEO of a large software
development company, he was an important customer of Zimco hotels.

The rest of the morning passed quickly
with checkouts and general enquiries. Adrian glanced her way several times but
he stayed busy the entire morning and was only able to break away a few minutes
before Morgan’s scheduled lunch break.

“Sorry,” he said, scanning the check-ins
and room assignments. “It got crazy for a while there, but thankfully Mr.
Drescher is back now.” He was avoiding looking at her and she was surprised at
how much that hurt.

She spoke lightly. “You looked like you
were handling things pretty well on your own.”

His hand stilled over the keyboard.
“Just lucky, I guess.” He shot a quick look at the concierge desk. “Klaus’ wife
wasn’t feeling well last night and he took her into Vancouver to a specialist.
I hope it’s nothing serious. That’s the thing about Zimco; they never expect
the employees to put work before family.” He returned his attention to the
computer. “I’ll cover for you if you want to have your lunch break now.”

“Okay.” If she’d thought he was going to
open up, she was disappointed. She reached for her purse.

“Morgan?” He was frowning, but at least
he was looking at her. “I’m sorry about last night.” He took off his glasses
and rubbed at his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept well. “I must have
looked like a real wimp running out like that.” He put his glasses back on.
“It’s just that...”

The door leading to the hall opened and
the hotel manager appeared with a piece of paper in his hand. “I’d like to
check the room assignment for the Graham party,” he said without preamble.

“Yes, Sir.” Adrian called up the
reservation on the computer, then spoke softly to Morgan. “See you when you get
back from lunch.”

* * *

Morgan did a quick scan of the
restaurant as she entered, hoping that Rob had decided to eat somewhere else. Her
prayers were answered, and she greeted the lift personnel at the table as she
sank gratefully onto the bench behind the table. Dale joined her a few minutes
later, her skirt and blouse crisp and unwrinkled. Morgan never understood how
she did it.

“So, what do you think?”

Dale shrugged. “So far it’s about as I
expected. They have duvets, but then you already know that.” She lowered her
voice. “I hate changing duvet covers, but I must say that all their linens are
top of the line.” She glanced at the menu and ordered a bowl of soup. She
rarely had large meals while she was working.

“There’s a woman in 326-28 who’s a real
piece of work.”

Morgan nodded. “Mrs. Glasser. Yes, I met
her about half an hour ago.”

Dale’s lips tightened into a thin line;
a sure sign she was annoyed. “There’s a nanny in the party and she treats her
like dirt.” She accepted her coffee and lifted it to her lips to blow on it.
“And she doesn’t treat her own son much better. He’s a darling little thing.
Around six, I’d say. His name is Brandon.” She sighed and set the cup down. “I
know the rules; don’t get involved, but I don’t think the nanny takes very good
care of him. He was wandering around the halls before I came down. I had to
take him back and he wasn’t pleased.” She grinned at the recollection, then
sobered. “He said the nanny watches television all the time and that nobody
ever plays with him. Poor kid. Makes you wonder why some of these people bother
to bring their children if they don’t want to spend time with them.”

“Spend time with who?” Chance pulled up
a chair.

Morgan shook her head. “You didn’t hear
that. We were talking about a guest. Definitely a no-no.”

“Okay.” He gave her a brisk nod then
turned to Dale. “How was your morning?” He’d driven them to work earlier.

“So far so good. Quite a few of the
seasonal employees have worked here before, so that makes it easier.” She
looked up as her soup was delivered. “How about you?”

“Good. We got a new shipment, so I’ve
been busy with that.”

Morgan wondered if they knew how
comfortable they looked, chatting about their work day. It was as if they’d
known each other forever and once again she felt a pang of envy at their
growing closeness.

She ate quickly and stood up. “Don’t
mind me. We’re short one person in the front office today, so I’m going to get
back there.” The words sounded false, even to her. She gave them a fleeting
smile. “See you guys later.”

Dale frowned as she watched her head
back to the lobby. For the first time in her adult life, she found herself torn
between her feelings for a man and her friendship with Morgan.

Chance seemed to sense her distress.
“Sorry. I guess we kind of left her out of our conversation.” He lifted his
coffee cup, and then put it down again. “The last thing I want to do is come
between you and Morgan.”

“Don’t worry. You couldn’t do that.” The
words sounded harsh and she smiled at him to soften their effect. “You know
what I mean.”

“I think I do, yes. I had a buddy in
high school and when he suddenly started to hang out with a girl I didn’t know
what to do with myself for a while.”

She pushed away her empty soup bowl.
“What happened?”

“He married her a few years later and I
was his best man.” He smiled at the memory. “We’re still friends.”

Dale gazed into her coffee cup. “Morgan
and I have been friends for a long time.” She nodded to herself. “I’m sure it
hasn’t always been easy, having me for a friend, but she’s nothing if not
loyal.” She gave a deep sigh. “Did you have a normal upbringing?”

Chance shrugged. “If you call growing up
with two older sisters normal, then yes. They taught me just how strong a woman
can be.”

Her eyes flashed. “Are you being
condescending?”

They glared at each other for a moment
and then his demeanor softened. “You know I’m not being condescending.” The
dimple appeared in his cheek. “Did we just have our first fight?”

She looked away. He was getting to know
her too well already. “No,” she said, finally making eye contact. “But I’d
better get back to work.”

He moved his chair so she could get out.
She moved past him and he touched her lightly on the arm. “See you later. Maybe
we can talk about going skiing.”