Page 1 of Wild Card

Chapter One

Rush

We don’t get many new faces around here in summer, let alone in the dead of winter. Especially not beautiful lone female travelers. Her long brown hair sways as her gaze darts around.

Tossing the dish rag over my shoulder, I make my way out of the bar and into the reception area of the bed-and-breakfast. Goose bumps break out down my arms as I pass. It’s noticeably colder over here, likely from the door being opened for her to come inside. Ignoring that, I pass through to get to the reception desk.

“Can I help you?” I ask, eyeing the woman head to toe. She’s swallowed by her winter coat, but she’s beautiful. That’s undeniable. Her hazel eyes are glassy, likely from the cold, which also explains the pink in her cheeks. There’s a softness to her face that makes her seem on the younger side.

“I have a reservation.” She tugs off her gloves, and I notice the bags at her feet.

Well, a reservation would make sense, since this is a bed-and-breakfast, but I own this place and check the schedule every morning. There were no reservations listed for today, but there’s no use in alarming her when it’s something I can easily fix.

“Let’s check you in, then.” I stride over to the computer. “Can I have the name the reservation is scheduled under?”

“Lennox Summers.” She moves to unzip her puffy jacket, and I search her name, nodding when I see what happened.

“Okay, would you like the good news or the bad news?” I ask, pulling up the room list.

She frowns, dropping her coat over her forearm. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Nah, it’s no big deal.” I grin. “You did set a reservation, but for next year. You’ll just need to contact the third-party booking system that you used and cancel it. If you had booked directly through the bed-and-breakfast, I could’ve pulled your reservation forward, but when you book through a third party, it’s locked in.”

“Great,” she says, rubbing her forehead. “Do you have a room available?”

I laugh.

This place is dead in the offseason.

If we didn’t have a solid year-round population that comes in for the restaurant and bar, I’d close up during winter. But, combined with the locals, we get just enough business from people looking for rooms to justify keeping the whole place open.

“Yeah, and I can even give you an upgrade for no charge.” I flash her a smile that I hope helps set her at ease.

She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “Thank you, but you don’t have to feel obligated to do that. I’m so sorry. I don’t know how I messed that up so badly. Here, let me grab my ID and credit card.”

“No worries. We’ll get you all settled in.”

She’s kinda short, so I stretch over the counter to grab her cards.

My nostrils flare as I catch her orange, creamy scent.

She’s an omega, and she smells delectable.

Holy shit.

“Wait, are you looking for The Omega Exchange?” I’m sure my eyes are wide as they meet hers. “Because that’s on the other side of the island.”

“N-No,” she stutters, shaking her head. “Not yet. They said they’re at winter capacity, but they’ll hopefully have a spot for me in a week or two.”

“And it’s just you?” I grimace when I realize how creepy that sounds. “Shit, I didn’t mean it like it probably came out. I thought they took all omegas who needed?—”

“They offered to send me to another location, but according to my blood work, I’ve got some time before my heat will hit.” She shrugs. “So, I figured I’d hang out here. That way, I’m close by when a spot becomes available.”

“That makes sense,” I say, checking her ID.

Damn, she is young.

It says she’s twenty-one, but she’s got a baby face or something.

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