Bachelor CEO by Michele Dunaway

Author:Michele Dunaway
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2009-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

THEIR DINNER DESTINATION, Marstall’s Lodge Resort, could only be reached by boat. Housed on the twenty-seven acre island in the center of Lone Pine Lake, Marstall’s Lodge was a former lumber baron’s palatial summer home now open to visitors.

“This place is as old as me,” Leroy announced. He’d braved the resort’s ferry and walked up the ramp to the main building. “Of course, they’ve updated it.”

“But they preserved it well,” Leroy’s brother, Harvey, said. He reached out a hand to assist his wife. “I helped them get it on the national historic registry. I’m their lawyer.”

“You lived here?” Miranda asked. She’d thought they lived in Florida.

“For a while. Outside Bloomington, Minnesota. I met Laverne one summer after Leroy found this place, and that was the end of Chenille for me.”

“We retired to Naples,” Laverne explained. “My father was in charge of the construction crew that rehabbed Lone Pine Lodge. It was in pretty bad shape when Leroy bought it.”

“We fixed it up right,” Leroy said.

The brick walkway brought them to the main doors of Marstall’s Lodge, and they climbed the steps to the stone patio.

Like Lone Pine, the place was made entirely of wood. The logs had been left exposed, including the beams that spanned the peaked ceiling. Light fell from wooden chandeliers that didn’t have a hint of crystal. Mounted deer heads lined the walls and the furniture was rustic. The massive stone fireplace reminded Miranda of Lone Pine’s, only bigger.

She looked down at her sundress, and mentally sighed. Most people were in casual shirts and pants.

The bell she’d seen earlier, hanging in its wooden tower, sounded, and soon every table in the massive room had filled with guests. The McDaniels’ round table for five was comfortable, but Miranda sat next to Chase, whose leg kept brushing against hers. And when she passed him the butter tray their fingers touched, sending a shiver down her spine.

“So, Miranda, tell me a little about yourself,” Laverne said. Grateful for the diversion, she told them the edited and condensed version of her history she’d long ago perfected.

“I think it’s wonderful that this is your dream job,” Laverne stated.

“I agree,” Harvey said. “So, Chase, we hear you’re taking a vacation. Where are you headed?”

“Think I’ll go west. Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, one of those.”

“All good choices. You can do some fly-fishing,” Harvey said.

“Probably won’t catch anything,” Leroy teased.

“I might,” Chase replied. “Maybe our curse is only for Minnesota lakes.”

“Nope. I never catch fish anywhere,” Leroy said.

Everyone laughed, and Miranda marveled at the easy way the family got along. She knew Chase was bitter, but he never let it show. She awarded him some brownie points for that. Living at her aunt’s had always been tense. Miranda doubted she would handle the family interference as well as he had.

“I can’t eat another thing,” she protested when the dessert tray came by.

“Take a walk after dinner to work off the calories. You have to take her to the gazebo, Chase,” Laverne suggested.

“I doubt Miranda wants a stroll.

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