“I’m not sure, Ethan. Besides you’ll have lots of other people here to play with at Christmas.”
“But, Daddy! I want her to play with me when Santa brings my train,” Ethan howled.
“Is Santa bringing you a train?” Marnie asked.
“Yes! Daddy promised me.”
“Marnie has to be home for Christmas at her house.” Faced with the fact that she could leave whenever she wanted, he was more aware than ever of how much he would miss her. How much he needed her in his life.
“We wrote a letter to Santa, and asked for Thomas the Tank Engine train,” Luke said to Marnie, meeting her questioning look.
“Yeah! Thomas!” Ethan squealed as he got off the chair and ran to the window. “Is Santa coming in the sky? Can I see him?”
“Not yet, buddy. But soon.” This would be Ethan’s fifth Christmas, and although Luke loved seeing his son’s happiness over the season, Christmas still held a sense of loss for him. Would having Marnie here change that? he wondered.
Yet he did have family here at the inn. And he was now the godfather of a beautiful, much-anticipated little boy.
“Christmas here must be so special,” Marnie said, her voice trailing off as her eyes met his.
Physical desire engulfed him, and a deeper, more immediate need held him captive. In that instant he realized that if she was willing to stay, he wanted her there with him. For better or worse, no matter what life held for him over the next few months, he wanted Marnie here with him.
He wanted another chance at happiness. “Would you like to stay for Christmas?”
She remained perfectly still. “I…I’m not sure.”
“Is there anything I can say or do to convince you to stay here with us? I realize you have a family back in Boston, and they’ll be expecting you. But if there’s any chance you’d consider it…” He shrugged, his dismal attempt to say what was on his mind and in his heart falling flat as a pancake.
She squinted at him. “Would I be expected to do anything?”
Luke glanced from Jack and Lindsay, who both smiled and shrugged, then back at Marnie. “No, definitely not. You would have absolutely nothing to do. Unless you wanted to do something, that is, like snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing, or downhill skiing at one of the downhill skiing resorts nearby, or playing with Ethan.... I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”
“You are.” A huge grin lit her face. “But you’re in luck. I’ve never had a responsibility-free Christmas since I was a kid.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Then, as far as I can tell, you deserve a Christmas here at the inn.”
His words were met by clapping from Lindsay and Jack, which made Marnie giggle, and happiness flooded over him. Yep, he was happy and he intended to stay that way.
* * *
MARNIE’S FEET BARELY touched the stairs as she all but floated up to her room. She felt absolutely wonderful, delighted and happy, the excitement of Luke’s invitation hovering in her mind. An invitation that had made it impossible for her to concentrate. She changed into her best pair of jeans, in honor of a day that suddenly held such promise.
During lunch, the plows had done their job, and everything was back to normal. All she had to do was decide if she would stay another night here tonight—Christmas Eve. If she was staying, she had to explain her change of plans to her parents. It wouldn’t be easy, but somehow she had to find a way. She was as much a fixture at her parents’ house during the holiday season as the eight-foot tree in the living room.
She sighed. She didn’t mean to be ungrateful. But this chance to be with Luke was important to her, and yet she still felt a responsibility to her family around their Christmas celebration.
And what if Luke had made the offer as a thank-you for babysitting? Maybe he was simply being nice? She shook her head at the thought. She was picturing the way he’d looked at her when he’d asked her to stay when her cell phone rang.
Shane?
“Hi, how are you?” she asked.
“When are you coming home?” he said, not responding to her question.
“We’ve had a storm up here, and they’re just getting the roads cleared today, so I’m not a hundred percent sure when I’ll be back in Boston.”
“I got your fax, but I need to talk to you about the business.”
“Shane, it’s no longer my business—”
“I know,” he said. “But, you see…a bit of a problem has developed since you left.”
She really didn’t want to hear about his problems with Gina, but he was still her friend, and she cared about him. “What’s going on?”
“We’ve… A few employees have quit.”
So Julie was right. “Quit? Why?”
“Between you and me, I think it’s because Gina’s being a little…bossy. She doesn’t mean to be. It’s just that she’s new at the job, and she does things a little differently from you. I tried to convince them to give her a chance.”
“Did you talk to Julie about this? She’s really good at dealing with people.”
“I did. She’s been great.” His long sigh filled the line. “I had no idea how much Julie knows about this business.... Guess I hadn’t given it much thought before because you were here.”
“You’re really lucky to have Julie there, and she really wants you to succeed.”
“Yeah, she told me that, but she says it’s for me to decide how to manage the place.”
The silence on the line was punctuated by the sound of Shane tapping his pen on a desk, clear evidence of his anxiety. “Marnie, I realize we spent hours working out the agreement between us, but I assumed that Gina would be good at managing the place, the way you were, and I’d be able to concentrate on styling. I was wondering if we might rewrite the agreement to have you stay on and manage the salon.”
God himself couldn’t work with Gina, and everyone in the salon had come to that conclusion about three weeks after she’d arrived. And sure, she’d like to help Shane. They’d been good partners, but now he had another partner. And with his new partner came a new set of problems.
She and Shane were friends. He’d help her out if she needed him, but she couldn’t get caught between Gina and him, no matter how much she cared about Shane. No, she couldn’t go back there regardless of what he offered. It was over for her. A few days ago, she couldn’t have said those words with such certainty. But today…she had plans for a different life.
“Shane, I’m flattered that you’d want me to come back—”
“I take it you don’t want the job,” he interrupted, sounding defeated.
“Shane, if I were you, I’d run this whole management thing past Julie.”
“Meaning?”
“She’s very bright, and she really cares about you and your success.”
“You don’t think she’d leave me, do you?”
“I can’t speak for Julie, but why don’t you talk to her, get her input?”
“Now that you say that, Julie has been so great these last few days. She’s been such a good friend through all this—the whole changeover with Gina and everything. I had no idea that Julie and I have so much in common. Did you know that we both like country music?”
So they’d been talking—that was a really good sign. Dare she hope that there was still time for Shane to come to his senses and see how Julie trumped Gina in every category that mattered? “There are a whole lot of really nice things you don’t know about Julie.”
“She’s pretty special.”
“Maybe it’s time you really paid attention to her. She’s one smart lady.”
“I couldn’t agree more, but let’s get back to you. Is there anything I can say to change your mind?”
“No, sorry. But it has nothing to do with you or the salon. It has to do with me. I’m thinking I’d like to manage another kind of business.”
“Have you been looking?”
“No. I’ve been having a break, and I di
scovered something. I don’t want the life I have in Boston anymore.”
“You’re kidding! What will your family say?”
“I haven’t told them, but I will, as soon as I know for sure what I’m going to do.”
“So you’re about to break away from the family. I’m so proud of you.”
“Yeah, I love my family, but they need to let me be for a while.”
After a moment’s pause, he said, “Love ya, gal. You know that. I wish you’d come back here with me, but you deserve to find your place in this world.”
Tears blurred her vision. In all the time that she and Shane had discussed business, argued and sometimes fought, there had always been room for honesty between them. Maybe she should have told him what a pain Gina was to work with, but would he have listened? She didn’t think so. “I’ll come see you right after Christmas. I promise.”
“Can’t wait. We’ll do dinner, maybe a movie, like old times.”
Had Shane begun to see Gina for who she really was? And if he had, would it change anything? No. She and Shane were friends, but only friends, not business partners. And that wouldn’t change. “Like old times. And Shane, have a great Christmas.”
“You, too.”
“I plan to.”
She hung up the phone, and pushed the questionnaires aside to make room for her to stretch out on the bed and consider what she’d said to her ex-partner. She’d told Shane the truth. Her plans no longer included being involved in the hairdressing business, not his or anyone else’s. All she wanted now was to spend time with Luke, get to know him better and see if they had a future together. And his invitation to spend Christmas with him was a great way to start. Wow! She still couldn’t believe that he’d asked her....
She’d stay for Christmas, offer him any help she could to get his whole operation running even better than before, and she would come clean about the survey and about Advantage’s plans to sell the inn. He deserved to be prepared, and he might find someone to finance an offer to buy the inn if he had the opportunity. She was still thinking about how she’d tell him, what she’d say and how she’d say it when someone knocked on the door.
She opened the door to Luke, who was standing there, smiling that smile of his that did it for her. “Hi, come on in,” she said, happy to see him, to smell his cologne and, most of all, to see that he had come alone.
This was a day for celebration, and never more than this instant. Was he about to share his plan for how they’d celebrate Christmas?
“I came to ask if you could help out at the reception desk for a couple of hours.”
Not exactly what she’d wanted to hear, but then again, he could have called, and instead he came all the way up the stairs to ask her in person....
Oh, how she’d love to wrap all her limbs around this man and let him carry her to her bed—but there would be lots of time for that later. She’d see to it. “Absolutely. Just give me a minute.” She ducked into the bathroom, pulled a comb through her short hair, touched up her lipstick and checked her appearance in the mirror. She opened the door, ready to walk as seductively as her jeans would allow, right to the spot where he stood, and breathe in his sexy cologne before she headed down to reception.
“What’s this?” he asked, anger simmering behind his words.
She stopped, blinked and stared at the papers he held in his hands. Survey forms. Oh. No. This was it. No turning back. No way out now. “They’re questionnaires.”
“Who asked you to fill them out?” His voice was eerily quiet.
“Scott. It’s a contract he has with Advantage Corporation.”
“You’re working for the owners. You went behind my back and collected this information without telling me. Your brother’s marketing research company is being paid—and so are you—paid to spy on me.”
“No! I never meant to spy on you. I was only doing a favor for Scott. I didn’t want to do it. I told Scott that, but he needed me. It was all last-minute, and he really needed me,” she repeated.
“And you never stopped to think that I might lose my job here as a result of this, have to give up my friends and move my son from the only home he’s ever known?”
She shook her head, gasped for air, tears spilling over her cheeks. “I never meant to hurt you, or Ethan or anyone else. I didn’t know you when I came here, but if I had I never would have taken this job, I swear. You have to understand that. I would never do something to hurt you. I—”
“Have the results gone to the owners?”
“No. Scott’s been on my case to send them to him, but with the storm and all that’s been happening, I haven’t had a chance to send him anything—”
“I can’t believe you’d do this to me. I don’t see any reason why you should remain here any longer. And you don’t have to worry about your bill. Your brother left his credit card number when he made the reservation.”
“Don’t! You need to listen to me. Luke, I didn’t do this to damage your career. I could have sent those results, but I didn’t.”
“You will, but that’s not really the point. The point is you deceived me. I trusted you with my work. I allowed you access to my office, and all the confidential information in there. I even trusted you with my friends and my son.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Why would you do this to me? To Ethan?” The hurt in his eyes pierced her.
She’d made a terrible mistake and now there was no way out. “Luke, please let me explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain.” With that, he walked out of the room and slammed the door.
The door rattled in its frame, the sound shattering Marnie’s hope. She’d never felt so awful in her entire life—so scared, so afraid that she had lost everything she’d ever dreamed of. She’d let her need to please her brothers and her family, to return their kindness, and to prove herself worthy of their respect, keep her from telling Luke the truth.
She stared at the door, at the room, at the window framing the mountains outside and knew without hesitation that this was where she wanted to be; here, with Luke and Ethan. She’d finally found what she wanted, and in one swift act of cowardice, she’d let it go.
But there was still a chance, wasn’t there? If she explained why she did what she did? If she could make him see that she cared for him, more than she’d ever cared for any man in her life…
She yanked open the door, and took the stairs two at a time, nearly knocking over another guest as she raced to Luke’s office, determined that he should hear her side of it before he kicked her out—or before her courage deserted her.
When she burst into his office, he was sitting behind his desk, his head in his hands. When he glanced up at her, his eyes were hard. “What do you want?” he asked, his voice devoid of all feeling.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BETRAYAL BURNED THROUGH Luke as he stared up at Marnie—the woman he’d allowed to get so close enough to him, to who he was and what he cared about that she’d made a fool of him. And he had been a fool. A fool to believe what she offered—her sweet, sexy presence in his life, her companionship and helpfulness. All of it a sham while she spied on him. But worse of all, he’d let himself believe that there was someone out there for him who cared about him, and in whom he could trust.
She closed the door softly behind her. “Luke, I came to apologize.”
“Apology not accepted.” The boulder trapped in his chest barely allowed him to get the words out.
She stood at the door, her hands clasped in front of her. “When I came here, I was doing a job for my brother. I owed him a great deal because of my accident. My whole family has always seen me as needing protection. They mean well, but it has made my life difficult at times, especially when I’ve felt inadequate around them. I was determined to prove that I could do the survey work to please my brother Scott. And I admit, in the beginning I didn’t give any thought to who might be hurt by how I answered the questionnaires, or what sort of purpose the answers might be used for.”
“I hadn’t expected to care about anyone here. Then I met you and Ethan. I was here for James’s birth, and you needed me—”
He heard her sudden intake of breath, but he couldn’t look at her and feel something he knew to be false. He had already spent the past three Christmases mourning the loss of Anna; he refused to let himself feel any more loss…any more pain.
“And so now you’re saying you care.” He gripped the desk to keep from lashing out at her.
“Yes, I do. Very much.”
He heard the quiet sincerity in her voice, and wished the circumstances were different between them. “So, if you cared, why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?”
“At first it was because my brother said he really needed Advantage as a client, and I felt I had to help him.”
“At first? And now?”
“I was going to leave here the day the storm started. I was going to go home and tell Scott to find someone else to do the survey. But when the storm came, and I couldn’t leave, and then I spent time with Ethan, and got to see the new baby, I started to feel part of something so special. Like I was accepted here, not as someone’s daughter, not as someone’s sister. As me. Everyone was so good to me. I was going to tell you about the survey and maybe we could use what I found to improve your operations. I wasn’t going to send it to Scott.”
“Why?”
“Because I care. Because I know what this place means to you. And now it’s special to me, too. The Mirabel Inn is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. I never suspected that coming here would be the happiest time of my life....” Her words faded to a whisper.
He looked up, his eyes meeting hers, the worry and sadness he saw there tearing at him. He was mad as hell at her, but would he have done things any differently? Like her, he would’ve tried to do his job, as she had done. And hadn’t he asked her to stay even when he knew Scott had lied about the husband and wife thing? So why did he blame her? He didn’t want Advantage to get a report about his management skills, and she said she hadn’t sent it. Besides, what did it matter what the owners found out? If Angus McAndrew and his team intended to sell The Mirabel Inn, the new owners would have their own plans for it, which may or may not include him.
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