Sweet Home Alaska Read Online Free

holdup is,” Kayla said before she disappeared around the corner.
    Kayla emerged from the office a few moments later and directed Lauren inside. Trey sat behind a large cherry wood desk. Behind him, a floor-to-ceiling window sported a beautiful view of the Kenai River, but all Lauren could see was the beauty of Trey Briggs.
    He removed his glasses and stood up. The guy had an unpretentious, down-to-earth presence about him. Unconsciously, Lauren reached up to her throat, as if feeling for her quickening pulse.
    With only the desk between them, Trey stepped to the side of the room and pulled out a chair for her. Now that he was only inches away, the earthy scent of him enveloped her.
    “Thank you for agreeing to see me,” Lauren said, ignoring her dry mouth and heart palpitations. She noticed a curio cabinet in the corner containing Star Wars figurines. A small sign of the boy she used to know. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
    He arched a brow and squared his shoulders before he sat behind his desk again. “You’re welcome.”
    His blue eyes and discerning manner kept distracting her. In a perfect world, she’d begin with small talk about the weather or the gorgeous view he had from his office, or maybe even the new Star Wars movie, but she needed to forget all that and appeal to the business owner. So she decided to get straight to the point. “The hotel you bought, restored, and are re-opening has a hard time being filled to capacity in the winter.”
    His body language was easily readable now. He thought she wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.
    He straightened in his chair, then pressed his lips together. “I’m aware of that. It’s more important than ever to make sure it’s full every day in the summer months. That’s why I’m pushing to have it open in two weeks.”
    “But did you know it’s rumored to be haunted?”
    He rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a forced smile. “I’m aware the hotel comes with an urban legend, yes.”
    His easy acceptance of the hotel’s haunting surprised her. She should have known he would have heard the story. They both grew up in the same small town after all. “So you know the story about the little boy?”
    He leaned back in his chair, then rubbed his chin with his thumb. “Yes, it’s rumored that a young couple was staying on the third floor when their son disappeared.” His glittering blue eyes gazed at her with such intense scrutiny that her pulse pounded in her ears. “For years afterward, the hotel staff claimed to get calls from room 313, even when no one was staying in that room. They claim a child would say, ‘where’s my mommy?’ on the line before hanging up. It was actually never proven that the couple arrived with a child. There are varying accounts.” He leaned in closer. “What does this have to do with the re-opening of the hotel?”
    She reminded herself to appeal to the business owner in him. There was no other way. “I did a search online. There are several hotels throughout the world that claim they are haunted. You’d think this would be a deterrent for customers, but in reality it’s a huge draw. And while Alaska has no problems filling hotel rooms in the summer, wintertime is another matter.”
    “You aren’t telling me anything I don’t already know,” Trey said.
    “It’s June now. You have no worries for filling your hotel to capacity, but for your grand re-opening, why not plant the seed and capitalize on the potential paranormal aspects of the hotel?” She pulled out her file. “Now, if you were opening in the fall, I’d definitely say let’s cater to the otherworldly.” She flipped open a page of the three-ring binder. She ran her finger down the list. “We’d make Zombie Gut Punch, Blood Salsa with olives that look like eyeballs, a Jack-o-Lantern cheese ball, Mummy cake. I have a list of drinks they could make at the bar, starting with Vampire cocktails, Bones of the Dead Margaritas, Spider Web