by Gina Wilkins
She glanced toward the doorway. “I’m sure Fiona’s still sulking in there because you didn’t bring Ninja.”
“Maybe an extra treat will help her get over it.”
Smiling, she nodded. “Maybe.”
“I’ll give her an extra ear rub before I go.”
She eyed his expression. “You’re in a good mood this evening.”
How could he not be, after such great lovemaking...such great sex, he corrected himself immediately. “Yeah, I guess. It was a long week, lots of annoyances. Feels good to get away from the inn again for a couple hours.”
She frowned a little as she reached up to stroke his face in a soothing gesture. “You do look a little tired. Maybe you need a vacation.”
He grimaced. “Now you sound like my sister.”
“Which one?”
“Bonnie. She’s been nagging me to take a vacation.”
Alexis shifted onto her side, bunched her pillow beneath her cheek and studied his face. “Aren’t you interested in getting away for a few days? You said yourself it feels good to leave the inn occasionally. Considering you basically live at your office, no one could blame you.”
“Where would I go?” he asked with a shrug.
“Don’t you have family you’d like to visit? Or someplace you’ve always wanted to see?”
“I see family every day,” he said in amusement. “And I can’t think of any place I’m dying to see at the moment.”
“You could visit your dad,” she suggested, suddenly sounding a bit tentative. “Have you ever been to New Zealand?”
He felt his eyebrows drawing down into a scowl and deliberately smoothed them. “Just saw my dad in December. That’ll hold us for a year or so.”
She backed off quickly from that topic, obviously sensing it led down a path he didn’t want to take. “So, did you ever have a yen to visit the Pacific Northwest? Seattle, maybe?”
He was momentarily taken aback by that question. He happened to know Alexis would be in Seattle for a seminar the week after next. Surely she wasn’t suggesting he accompany her?
“You know I’m going out for a seminar the last week of March,” she said as if echoing his thoughts. “I just thought maybe you could fly out to join me for a couple days? The seminar is only a day and a half—Wednesday and part of Thursday—but I’d already decided to stay through the weekend, so I booked my room through Sunday.”
She named the hotel, adding that it was on the waterfront, in a tourist-heavy part of town. “I’ll have quite a bit of free time and I’ve never visited there before, and it would be fun to have someone to go sightseeing with, though I’ve heard this is hardly the optimum time of year to vacation there. Event planners have to schedule our conferences in off-season, and it was the West Coast’s turn to host.”
Out of all that babbled explanation, he focused on only one point. “You want us to go away together?”
She waved a hand dismissively, her tone studiously casual. “No need to make any announcements about it, you know. It was so nice when we slipped off for our hike the other day. I just thought it might be fun to spend a couple days in a city where there’s almost zero chance anyone would recognize us and make a big deal of it. You’d get a short vacation, I’d combine work with play, then we’d return home and dive back into our separate busy seasons. Considering my upcoming schedule and probably yours, too, we’ll be lucky to have a free evening to see each other until winter.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. He really had gotten spoiled by seeing her fairly often, by both of them having free evenings to spend together. With the busiest season of the year coming up for her, especially, he had no doubt that would change soon. While his workday started early and usually ended by the time darkness fell, Alexis would have events or appointments nearly every evening, especially weekends. She’d mentioned that she would be working several out-of-town events in coming months, even after the seminar.
She seemed to look forward to that impending crazy, hectic time, which he supposed boded well for her clients and her bottom line, but rather pushed him to the sidelines. As it should be, of course. Her career should definitely take priority over a loosely defined affair, no matter how great the sex.
She smiled and shook her head. “It was just an impulsive suggestion. Maybe you can take a couple days to go on a hike or mountain-bike ride, set up camp and drink beer with a couple of your guy friends. That’s my brother’s idea of a good time.”
He’d never met her younger brother, nor any other members of her family. “I’ve spent a few great weekends camping and drinking beer with pals myself. Not a bad way to wind down.”
“Bonnie told me she and Paul enjoy horseback riding on their days off. Mountain trail rides at his friend’s stables. Sounds like fun. Kinley mentioned that she and Dan like visiting museums and galleries and sampling new restaurants for Dan to review in the magazine he writes for.”
“Kinley got that from our dad. He’s what they call a foodie. Every time he visited us when we were kids, he took us out to restaurants that served foods we didn’t normally eat—and at least one annual trip to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dad has a rather disturbing obsession with Dolly Parton,” he added drily.
“Hey, Dolly’s a brilliant songwriter.”
He groaned. “You have no idea how many lectures I’ve heard on that subject.”
“‘Coat of Many Colors,’ ‘Jolene,’ ‘9 to 5,’ ‘Hard Candy Christmas’...”
With a low growl, he pulled the pillow from beneath his elbow and made a show of threatening to put it over her face. She batted it away, laughing, and he told her he had better ways of silencing her—which he then proceeded to demonstrate, changing her laughter to moans of pleasure.
It was late by the time he finally donned his jacket and prepared to leave. He gave one last pat to Fiona, who wound around his ankles once, then sat on a rug to groom herself. Though he was probably just projecting emotions onto the cat, he couldn’t help thinking she was still annoyed he hadn’t brought her dog buddy tonight. Alexis laughed when he suggested the possibility. “She’ll get over it. And maybe next time you can bring Ninja.”
He wasn’t sure when that next time might be, considering everything, but at least she didn’t seem to be annoyed that he’d patently avoided her suggestion that he join her in Seattle. Maybe it really had been just an impulsive idea, and she hadn’t particularly cared one way or another if he accepted. She’d have a good time with him or without him.
“I’ll think about what you said, okay?” he said gruffly. “The Seattle thing, I mean.”
Her eyebrows rose, almost as if she’d already forgotten the conversation. “Yeah, sure. The invitation stands, if you’re interested.”
He kissed her good-night, then took his leave. He made the drive home with a frown knotting his eyebrows. The strength of his temptation to book an immediate flight to Seattle worried him a little. Okay, it sounded great to spend a few days in a new city with a beautiful, sexy companion. But what bothered him was that he suspected he wouldn’t have been nearly as tempted if anyone other than Alexis had issued the invitation. And he was pretty sure he was going to miss her while she was gone.
Which meant, he decided, that he should definitely decline her offer. Maybe he’d been spending a little too much time with Alexis lately. He didn’t want to get into the habit of expecting her to be there whenever he wanted her company. As he’d learned all too painfully in the past, depending on anyone other than his immediate family to always be there for him—even if, unlike Alexis, they promised to do so—all too often led to heartache. He’d had enough of that pain. He wasn’t risking it again.
* * *
Most winter and early-spring weddings at Bride Mountain Inn were held indoors. The pretty front parlor, where his sisters had married, was perfect f
or smaller, more intimate affairs, and the big dining room, with its beautiful woodwork and antique chandelier and many windows to make the most of the views, served for larger events.
Afternoons could be cold and wet on Bride Mountain from December through mid-April, so brides who wanted to wed outdoors during that season took their chances with the weather, but still some chose to do so. Alexis had overseen a couple of Christmas-season outdoor weddings that had made the most of beautiful decorations and portable outdoor heaters. She’d even provided rented blankets for guests at one of the events, and the weather had cooperated by staying clear, though cold. Even during the nicest springs, summers and falls, it was necessary to have backup plans for unexpected bad weather. Still, it was always nerve-racking preparing for off-season outdoors events, as with the upcoming Kempshall wedding scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
Josie Kempshall had attended high school with Alexis, and had been one of the first to sign with her when Alexis took over Blue Ridge Celebrations. Josie had been newly engaged at the time, and it had taken several months for her and her fiancé to choose a date and venue, but she’d been adamant that she wanted Alexis on board no matter what the final plans would turn out to be. Despite Alexis’s suggestions that she might want to consider alternative ideas, Josie had ultimately set her heart on an outdoor afternoon wedding in March, the month in which she and her fiancé had first met. Plan B was to hold the ceremony in the dining room, and the guest list had been winnowed accordingly, but the bride had made it clear that her first choice was the garden, bare branches and all. Alexis had obsessively monitored weather reports, and was heartened to see that there was little chance of precipitation that weekend, with the temperature hovering in the mid-sixties for the afternoon.
“Let’s hope the weather forecasters are right this time,” Kinley said during a final organizational meeting with Alexis and Bonnie prior to the event. Kinley held up crossed fingers as she spoke. “So far, so good for a nice weekend.”
“If only the rain holds off until the start of next week, as predicted, everything will work out fine,” Alexis agreed.
Pragmatic Bonnie shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve frantically decorated the dining room at the last minute, if necessary. Probably won’t be the last time if we have to do it this weekend. The wedding will be beautiful, no matter what.”
Alexis nodded. At least the theme Josie had chosen for her wedding was fairly easy to coordinate. She wanted the event to celebrate the start of spring, using the colors of the daffodil as her inspiration—the rich green of leaves and the crisp white, bold yellow and bright orange of petals and coronas reflected in clothing and decorations. Redbuds, dogwoods and silver bell trees were just coming into bloom on the grounds and surrounding mountainside. Pots of daffodils and white and yellow tulips would be generously arranged to make up for the sparse color in the not-yet-in-bloom flower gardens. A few outdoor heaters would be strategically arranged near the rows of folding seats—just in case.
In lieu of a sit-down meal, Josie had opted for hors d’oeuvres and desserts at a reception on the grounds following the ceremony. She didn’t want a tent, but instead a casual arrangement of tables on the side lawn. The reception theme was a spring picnic—more daffodils and tulips arranged in canning jars and metal pitchers, gingham checks and polka dots on ribbons and linens, a bluegrass band playing from a wooden farm wagon as their stage.
Logan was not at all happy about the wagon. With the grounds still soft from spring rains and the grass still replenishing itself from snow cover, he worried about wheel tracks and ruts in the meticulously leveled side lawn. Though he hadn’t spoken with the client, he’d grumbled plenty to Alexis and Kinley. Kinley had reminded him that since they’d reopened the inn they’d hosted weddings with oversize tents, complete with chandeliers and dance floors, an assortment of charity functions including a couple of carnivals, two Easter egg hunts, and a sweet sixteen party that had included a rock band and more balloons than they’d find at a traveling circus. The lawn had survived all that, despite his complaints each time. Alexis noted that Kinley carefully avoided mentioning the unfortunate sandbox incident.
Though Logan wasn’t appeased by the litany of challenges his landscaping had endured, he stopped fussing and went back to work while Bonnie excused herself to head inside to see to their guests. Once again, Alexis was fairly confident Kinley and Bonnie had no clue that she and Logan had seen each other outside of their semi-regular work confrontations. Either Logan really was capable of switching his emotions on and off like a lightbulb, completely compartmentalizing his work and private lives, or he was an actor worthy of awards. She’d worked with performers on Broadway who hadn’t been as convincing.
She had set her leather bag on the low rock retaining wall at the foot of the steps up to the side lawn while she and the Carmichael siblings discussed the reception. She turned to retrieve it, only to be startled to find it gone. Even as she wondered for a moment if she really had left it there, she caught a streak of black and brown out of the corner of her eye. She spun in that direction just as Kinley called out, “Ninja! Bring that back right this minute. Logan!”
The dog danced just out of arm’s reach, holding the tote bag in his mouth, his amber-brown eyes seeming to twinkle with good-natured mischief. Shaking her head in amusement, Alexis knelt and held out one hand. “Bring me the bag, please, Ninja.”
She would have almost sworn that the sound he made was a satisfied chuckle as he approached her and dropped the tote in front of her. Other than a little doggy spit, she saw no marks on it. “Thank you,” she said, and he chuffed and wagged his tail.
“Silly dog.” She rubbed his ears, then laughed softly when he crowded closer to her, nuzzling her face and making his goofy rumble-purr.
“Wow, he likes you,” Kinley commented with a shake of her head.
“I’ve met him here before,” Alexis replied lightly. “And dogs know an animal lover when they see one.”
“Sorry.” Logan stepped up to take a firm hold of his dog’s collar. “He ran past me when I opened the back gate to my yard to get something out of the toolshed. He doesn’t usually do that.”
He met Alexis’s eyes briefly, and she got the unspoken message that he thought Ninja had rushed out because he’d known she was there. She smiled and gave Ninja one last pat, though she was probably rewarding him for naughty behavior, then straightened and smoothed her clothes absently with one hand. “No problem. He was just being mischievous.”
“That dog,” Kinley said with a frown, “is the bane of my existence. I can’t tell you how many times he’s stolen something from me or Bonnie and hidden it under a rosebush or behind a bench or in Logan’s yard. Oddly enough, he rarely steals from the guests, but our stuff is fair game to him. Taking your bag is somewhat out of character for him.”
Alexis shrugged good-naturedly. “You were standing here when he snatched my bag, so he was probably toying with you.”
Logan shook his head. “Now you sound like my sisters, ascribing human emotions to a dog. Kinley thinks he deliberately tries to drive her crazy, and Bonnie keeps talking about his ‘quirky sense of humor.’ He’s a smart dog, sure, but I doubt his actions are quite that calculated.”
Looking at the broad grin on Ninja’s broad, brown-and-black face, Alexis wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t bother to argue.
“Oh, what a beautiful dog!” Josie Kempshall hurried down the steps from the deck, followed more slowly by her fiancé, Ted Beecher. “He’s part rottie, isn’t he? I had a rottie when I was growing up, and I adored him.”
Though Alexis suspected Logan was in a hurry to return Ninja to his yard and get back to work, he lingered long enough to let the bride-to-be fawn over the dog, who happily allowed himself to be hugged and admired. After a moment, Josie straightened and dusted off her hands. “Sorry, but I just love dogs,” she said with a la
ugh and a toss of her long blond hair. “Especially rottweilers.”
“Ninja is my brother’s dog,” Kinley explained. “He’s not usually out without a leash, so he won’t disrupt your wedding Saturday afternoon.”
Josie grinned and waved a hand to indicate her lack of concern. “He’d be welcome, as far as I’m concerned.”
Ted chuckled. “Josie’s still hoping the ghost bride shows up as a guest. Having a dog crash the party wouldn’t even make her blink.”
Alexis saw Kinley’s smile waver at the reference to the inn’s resident legend. Logan made a sound that might have been a swallowed groan. The Carmichael siblings had never been enthused about exploiting the tale of the ghost bride for their business.
Alexis knew the tragic story, of course, as did most people from around these parts. It was said that long before an inn was built on this mountain, a young bride had died here the night before her wedding to her one true love, after overcoming many challenges to be with him. Ever since, she had haunted these grounds, revealing herself only occasionally—and only to couples who were destined to love each other until death. Bonnie had confided to Alexis once that her great-uncle Leo and his dear Helen had seen the bride on the night they became engaged. Logan and Kinley had never believed the story, but she always had, she’d added with a misty smile.
Logan didn’t like talking about the ghost. He’d told Alexis once that the whole thing was just a sentimental old story no rational person could possibly believe, but he tried to be polite when guests of the inn referred to the legend. She knew how difficult that must be for him, when she was sure he’d rather have scoffed openly.
“If you’ll excuse me,” he said, “I need to take the dog to my place, then get back to work.”
Alexis told herself it was okay to watch him walk away because the others were, too. But maybe they were paying a little more attention to the dog gamboling happily at his side than to the sexy way Logan moved.