The Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs, Alaska #1)(6)
“Yes or no, darlin’. If you’re going Growly, you’re going all in. If you have doubts, step away from the bear.”
When she lifted her chin and pushed her glasses higher on her nose with the tip of her pinkie, Graham couldn’t help the wide grin stretching across his face. Damn, she was cute.
“I’m in.”
*
What had she just gotten herself into? She didn’t even drink.
Those same words had been replaying in Zoey Caldwell’s head ever since she’d gotten off the plane in Anchorage. She wasn’t a risk taker, far from it, but she’d dreamed of coming to Alaska her whole life. Zoey had scrimped and saved every spare penny she could scrape together for years. When she had finally saved up enough and Lana mentioned her plans for her next trip to Moose Springs, offering to share a room as she always did, Zoey couldn’t pass up the chance at her dream vacation.
A trip to Alaska wasn’t just the top item on Zoey’s bucket list. Alaska was the whole bucket and the water inside it.
Never had Zoey been so excited, so overwhelmed, and so ready to sleep off the jet lag her nine-hour flight had given her. But Lana insisted on them coming to the rustic little hamburger and hot dog joint, claiming this a rite of passage. The Tourist Trap was charming in the same way the guy at the grill was charming. A little rough around the edges, but amusing. There weren’t any menus, only a whiteboard sign with a Magic Marker. It read Menu: Same crap we always have. Specials: Whatever you jerks didn’t eat yesterday.
Zoey liked it here already.
Swirling her glass idly, Zoey decided the gorgeous cook should have at least added salt to her yellow water and made it room temperature.
If one was going to be a smart-ass, it was important to go all in.
Graham was disturbingly attractive. Too attractive. Grab your moose pee and run back to the hotel on the mountain type of attractive. In Zoey’s world, that level of attractiveness was almost off-putting. Medium attractive was more her type. Safer. Calmer. Less…whatever was happening over there behind that grill.
If the Tourist Trap wanted to make money, they needed cooks who were remotely approachable. Not tall, muscled, scruffy-faced men in blue jeans and snug white Tshirts with warm eyes.
He caught her looking at him and winked.
Graham gave exceptionably good wink.
“Oh, you’re a bad, bad idea.” Zoey groaned, shaking her head. “Nope, not doing that.”
“Not doing what, love?” Lana dropped down in the seat next to Zoey, drumming her fingernails on the tabletop. “Who are we not doing?”
“No one.” The clack of rattling ice cubes against metal pulled her attention. Yep. Sexy T-shirt man was shaking something in a makeshift cocktail shaker fashioned from a YETI tumbler. Strong fingers held the shaker closed with a single hand, biceps flexing as he absently shook the YETI and scooted fresh-seared burgers to the far side of the flat top grill.
Competent and gorgeous just didn’t seem fair.
Lana followed Zoey’s eyes. “Oh, trust me. He’s not for sale. That boy is locals only. But he can shake a cocktail, can’t he?”
Blushing, Zoey took refuge behind her book.
In the land of the midnight sun, June was technically the month with the most hours of sunlight. And since she’d arrived on the summer solstice—the longest day of the year—it was no wonder this day seemed like it had lasted forever. The first flight from Chicago to Seattle had been a series of children kicking her seat back, strangers trying to talk to her despite her earphones, and rushing through the airport terminal because someone—who would remain unnamed—hadn’t given herself enough layover time between flights. Added to her natural reluctance of flying, Zoey nearly clawed her way out of the plane from Seattle to Anchorage, the final leg of her trip.
One look at the mountains rising in the skyline surrounding Anchorage, and Zoey knew getting here had been worth every second.
To her pleasure, Lana had hired someone to pick her up from the airport instead of Zoey having to take a shuttle. Lana accompanied the chauffeur, so Zoey had her friend to talk to on the long drive to Moose Springs. The winding scenic road had been stunning, even with her growing headache and jet lag. The deep green and blue mountains with their snowy peaks rising above the hotel and the quaint Alaskan town with its small lake cradled in the foothills below were incredible. Then they’d pulled into the hotel and Zoey’s jaw had dropped.
Moose Springs Resort was, to put it simply, absolutely fabulous.
Somehow the rustic luxury of the world-class lodge was even better than what Lana and a hundred internet image searches promised. Lana had invited her to come along every time before, but as with all of Lana’s adventures around the world, Zoey had been forced to say no. Just because Lana wanted to fly off to Europe on any given weekday didn’t mean Zoey could afford to take off work to go too. Her friend might be a trust fund baby with more than enough cash to spend on them both, but Zoey refused to let Lana foot the bill of their friendship. Besides, she had a waitressing job she couldn’t risk losing.
Finally being able to say yes to a trip with her friend was just as fabulous as the resort itself.
“There’s just no one interesting here yet.” With a dramatic sigh, Lana’s eyes swept the room. “It gets better around here closer to the Fourth of July… Oh! I see a familiar face. Come with me, and I’ll introduce you.”