Blush Duo - Marriage Under the Mistletoe & The Christmas Inn

by Helen Lacey

  “I painted a picture for you. In your office,” Ethan said, bristling with indignation.

  Mary came along behind him. “I was about to get Ethan his dinner before I put him to bed, but he wanted to see you first.”

  “Daddy, we’re having chicken fingers. You want some?” His bright smile returned, lighting the room.

  “No, partner, not tonight.” His gaze moved to Mary, who gave him a quizzical smile. He always ate with Ethan whenever he could, but tonight he was restless, edgy.

  “Why?” Ethan placed his hands on his father’s cheeks and pressed while he looked up into his eyes. “You like chicken fingers.”

  “I do, but not tonight,” he said, trying to smile around his pinched cheeks. Luke seldom was able to resist the pleading look in Ethan’s eyes. “Daddy’s got something he needs to do tonight.”

  “Are you going out in the snow? Can I come?” Ethan asked.

  “No, I’m not going out in the snow, and neither are you.”

  “All right,” Ethan said, his eyes downcast, his voice full of genuine sadness. He pushed away, his signal that he wanted Luke to put him down. “See you later.”

  “Enjoy your chicken fingers,” he called to Ethan as Mary took his hand and led him down the hall.

  Ethan made a growling sound and smiled at his father over his shoulder.

  He loved his son with every fiber of his being, a love that was as deep and powerful as it was unexplainable. He’d had no idea how much having a child could change his life until Ethan was born. He envied Jack and Lindsay. His friends had so much to look forward to with the impending arrival of their baby. He’d always planned to have a house full of children, and he certainly never planned to have Ethan grow up as an only child.

  Unable to shake the unsettling feeling that he should have asked Marnie to have dinner with him, he headed for the bar.

  * * *

  MARNIE LOCKED THE DOOR, and dragged out her laptop and paperwork, prepared to tackle Scott’s questionnaire once and for all. Pretty sad when a woman had to seek solace in a questionnaire, but that was how it worked in her world this snowy evening. She sure couldn’t appear at the bar and upset the boss, or the bartender. No, never that. And yes, she was feeling sorry for herself, but she’d earned the right to a little self-pity.

  She shuffled through the papers until she found the housekeeping one she’d started to fill out, and found a section on the air-conditioning unit. She put a call in to the desk to ask that someone come and check her air-conditioning unit. The questions on the form were directed mostly at how technician behaved, how long it took to answer the call, how long the technician spent in the room and what the result was as it pertained to the condition of the unit. Simple enough.

  She was still reading over the questions when the technician announced his arrival with a light tap on the door. He introduced himself as he entered the room. “I’m Kevin Bailey. I’m not sure what you need checked on your air-conditioning unit.” He nodded to the window and the snow fluttering over the glass.

  Idiot! “I meant to say the heater. It’s all part of the same unit, right?”

  “Yeah,” he said, glancing doubtfully at the unit under the window. “But according to my records here, the unit was checked two months ago. Did you have a specific problem?”

  What was she supposed to say to that? There was no problem. “I couldn’t seem to get the heat to turn on,” she lied. She hadn’t attempted to turn it any higher than the automatic setting, but come to think of it, the room did seem a little chilly.

  She climbed on the bed out of his way as he took the cover off the unit and peeked inside, flipping a switch and poking around.

  He opened his tool kit and withdrew a pair of pliers, then unhooked a wire out and examined it closely. “Hmm,” he said, sounding puzzled. “The wire is frayed.” He sat back on his heels and looked up at her. “It’s possible that because this room is to be renovated, a full check of the system wasn’t done, or someone was careless. Whatever the reason, you might have started a fire with this—” he held the wire up for her to see “—if you’d tried to turn the heat any higher.”

  “Really,” she said, imagining what could have happened if she’d been there that afternoon, felt chilly and tried to turn up the heat before taking a nap.

  “You can’t stay in this room tonight. I’ll have to shut the unit down until it’s fixed. I’ll speak to Luke about it, and I’m sure he’ll find you another room.”

  She’d have to report this. The instructions on the survey emphasized guest safety and this was a major deficiency on that front. Darn! Given how well the rest of the inn was cared for, she hadn’t expected to have something serious to report on his inn that could reflect badly on Luke’s management.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, worried for Luke and what this might mean for him when Advantage got the survey results.

  She closed the door behind Kevin and leaned against it for support. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t lie about what she’d discovered, but that didn’t stop her from wishing she could. A hotel manager had to put the safety of his guests first, the same as any other business that catered to the public. More than ever, she wanted to give up on the survey, and enjoy the rest of her stay here, and face her brother’s displeasure when she got back to Boston.

  She was still leaning on the door when someone knocked.

  Had they arranged for her to change rooms that quickly? “Who is it?” she asked.

  “It’s Luke.”

  Her heart jumping into her throat, she opened the door and stood back. “Did you come to show me to my new room?”

  He gave her a quick nod before glancing past her. “Kevin told me what he found, and I want to apologize. The unit was checked, but obviously not carefully enough. We’ve had some cancellations due to the storm. Mary will arrange to move you down to an empty room for tonight. If our guests are able to get here tomorrow, we’ll have to move you back up here. But in the meantime, they’ll fix your unit and you’ll get to experience the kind of luxury we’re known for around the area.”

  His apologetic smile warmed her body in all the right places. “That sounds perfect.”

  “And I also want to invite you to have a drink at the bar with me.”

  “A drink?” A drink would almost certainly lead to dinner, and who knew where else after that? And now that fate had granted her a fancy room with the implied promise of a big bed, she gave her fantasy life full reign. He would ply her with liquor; she’d eat her fill of beautifully prepared food, after which they’d make their way upstairs hand in hand....

  But before she went for a drink she needed a couple of minutes in the bathroom to get changed, apply a little makeup. She could be dressed in a matter of seconds. She glanced around and to her horror spotted the open laptop and the files containing the survey questionnaires scattered across the bed.

  He mustn’t see them. Wedging herself between Luke and the bed, she smiled brightly. “I would love to have a drink with you, but first I need to change my clothes and freshen up a bit.”

  “You don’t have to dress up for me.” There was that smile again.

  “But I’ve been out shopping and didn’t get a chance to change, and it would just feel better. You don’t mind, do you?”

  “No, of course not. Meet you in the bar when you’re ready,” he said, backing out the door, his eyes aimed at the piles of paperwork on her bed.

  When the door was safely
closed behind him, she gathered up the forms and her laptop and put them away in the bottom of her suitcase. There was no way she wanted him to discover what she hadn’t had the guts to tell him. Worse still, if he found out on his own…

  She couldn’t let herself think about all that right now. After all, she’d been invited for a drink, and she deserved to have a little fun in her life. Once dressed, she finished packing her things for the move downstairs and zippered her suitcase shut for good measure—just in case they decided to change her room for her while she was out.

  * * *

  DOWN IN THE BAR, LUKE settled on a stool and accepted the Scotch and soda Jack passed him. “You were right. She seemed very pleased that I asked her to have a drink.”

  “See? I told you. She was probably waiting for you to ask her.”

  Encouraged by Jack’s words, he grinned. “You think so?”

  “Absolutely. You should have asked her to have dinner with you when you met her at the door.”

  Was he that obvious? “So everyone knows I planned to ask her to dinner when I met her at the door.”

  “Why do you think the lobby was empty when you walked in with her?” Jack rolled his eyes.

  “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  “We’re just looking out for your happiness, since you seem determined to avoid it. Francine says that Marnie was asking about you when she was at the spa getting her massage.”

  “And about the operation of the spa, or so Francine told me. Francine says she likes her, finds her easy to talk to,” Luke offered, taking another sip of his drink, remembering that he was the one who asked for Marnie’s opinion of the spa’s operation.

  “Yes, everyone likes her around here.”

  “Especially Ethan.”

  Jack laughed. “If Ethan likes her, what more can you want?”

  “There’s still something about her that bothers me.”

  “Hot and bothered?” Jack asked, his voice edged with laughter.

  “I’m going to ignore that for the moment.”

  “I’ll let you off this once.” Jack assumed a serious expression. “Are you talking about what went on here in the bar last night?”

  “No. Well, maybe a part of it. But did you know that she was checking for dust in the library? And when I asked her about it she claimed it was simply a habit she’d picked up when she ran her salon.”

  “So, she likes to ask questions, and she checks for dust, so what? If you want my opinion, I think you’re simply afraid to go out with her. You’re making excuses, that’s all.”

  Luke rubbed his chin as he stared at his friend. “Me? Scared?” he bluffed.

  “Yes. You. Scared. When I saw her today on my way here she looked like one unhappy lady.”

  “And you think I’m to blame for that?”

  “Possibly. She’s a single woman sleeping alone at an inn hosting a couples getaway, and you’re the only unattached male here.”

  “So, I win by default?”

  “No! Look, get your head out of your business for once, and start paying attention to life. This woman is here. You’re here. And you could do a whole lot worse than a beautiful, unattached woman who could probably use a little cheering up.”

  “So, you’re saying we’re a couple of people desperate to spend the evening together?” Luke teased as he eyed his friend over the rim of the glass.

  “Cut it out, man! I’m only saying that it’s time you found a woman for yourself. No more eyeing mine,” he kidded, polishing a wineglass before hanging it on the rack.

  “How is my favorite woman doing, by the way? Any labor pains?”

  “No, but I’m not taking any chances. I’m picking her up on my break and bringing her up here to stay the night. The last thing either of us needs when this baby decides to arrive is for her to be at home and me to be here, and the road between us to be blocked with snow.”

  “Why don’t you go now before the weather gets any worse? I’ll take over the bar until you get back.”

  Jack gave him a questioning look. “Are you sure? Your hot date is due to arrive any minute.”

  “My hot date can have a drink with me regardless of which side of the bar I’m on. Besides, you forget I have privileges.”

  “Besides working eighteen hours a day? What other privileges would you want?”

  “I can have the chef send dinner over to my apartment after you get back.”

  “Wow! Are you serious?”

  The idea appeared out of nowhere, startling him. Since Anna had died, he’d never invited anyone other than staff into his apartment. “Certainly. Why not?”

  Jack whistled. “You… She must be special.”

  Was she special? Maybe… But whatever ended up happening with Marnie, he was willing to sit back and and let the evening unfold. “My apartment isn’t an ideal hangout for anyone over the age of four, and it’s not somewhere I’d normally take a date.” Remembering her enthusiasm for Ethan, he didn’t think Marnie would mind being around Ethan’s toys, books and videos. “An adult could sustain serious injuries climbing over Ethan’s stuff spread over every flat surface in the place,” he said, ruefully.

  “Hey, it’s a start. I’m proud of you, my friend—”

  Jack nodded toward the door. “You got company.”

  Luke turned, and felt all available blood rush south of his belt. Standing in the doorway was the most stunning woman he’d seen in a long while. Stunning and smiling at him. He stood, letting the napkin in his hand drop to the floor.

  She moved across the room, her stride, the provocative angle at which she held her head, and the shimmering blue of her top joining forces to suck the air from his lungs.

  “I didn’t keep you waiting too long, did I?” she asked, sliding up onto the bar stool next to him.

  He hadn’t a clue what time it was, and he sure as hell didn’t care. “No, not at all.” Unable to take his eyes off her, he clutched the edge of the bar and sat down, his head buzzing as her perfume wrapped around him. “You smell great,” he said.

  God! Is that the best you can come up with?

  “Sorry. I must sound like an idiot to you.” He fidgeted with his glass and watched her face for a reaction.

  She touched his arm. “I’m flattered that you like my perfume. Between you and me, I wasn’t sure when I bought it.... So expensive.”

  The skin beneath her fingers tingled, charging his senses. The space between them seemed to sparkle with excitement. He hadn’t felt like this for years. He quietly breathed in her scent as he grinned at her. “Worth every penny, if you ask me.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell the salesclerk at Macy’s,” she said, her eyes alight with humor as they searched his. Her very kissable lips were only inches from his…memories of their last kiss adding fuel to the fire in his belly.

  “Hello, there, Luke. Some storm we’re having. Where’s Jack?” Walter Pearson asked as he and his wife, Mae, approached the bar.

  Luke slid off his stool and glanced around. Jack had disappeared. “I’m taking Jack’s place here for a little while,” he said, going behind the bar. “He wanted to go home and get his wife, Lindsay. She’s days away from having their son, and he didn’t want to leave her alone, and I can’t really spare him here. So we compromised.”

  “She’s going to stay here tonight?” Walter asked.

  “We have five empty rooms due to cancellations, she and Jack will have one of those. I’m encouraging our staff to stay here
if they want to. It might mean putting up cots in the spa and the library, but whatever works. It’s one nasty night out there.”

  “No kidding! I was coming down the stairs and happened to look outside. All I could see was blowing snow, and the wind is something else. Does it snow like this often up here?”

  “Not for a long time. The past few years we’ve actually had some of the mildest winters on record for this region. Not good for the ski hills, but much easier for the locals to get around.”

  He was so relieved to be chatting with Walter Pearson, it was infinitely less embarrassing than gawking at Marnie. Marnie didn’t seem to be aware of how gorgeous she was, and he found that a very attractive quality. She had a whole lot of other great qualities, starting with how unassuming she was....

  I could really like this woman. Really. Like. Her.

  But he had paying customers who were eyeing him quietly as they approached the bar. He turned his attention to Walter’s wife. “What would you like to drink?”

  “I’ll have a glass of red wine, please,” Mae said.

  “And I’ll have a Scotch, neat.” Walter Pearson put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. The sweet retired couple had been coming to the inn for the past six years and always insisted on the same suite. Luke enjoyed their company, especially Walter’s stories about fishing salmon on the Miramichi River in Canada, told late in the evening after everyone but he and Jack had gone to bed.

  “Coming right up,” he said, taking down a bottle of Talisker Scotch and opening a bottle of Napa Valley Merlot. As he chatted with the Pearsons about the weather, he kept stealing glances at Marnie. He loved the way she slid forward on her stool and watched him tend bar, a smile on her lips.

  When Mr. and Mrs. Pearson were settled with their drinks at a table in the corner, he served the other waiting customers before returning his attention to Marnie. “And what will you have?”