by Kay Correll
“See, we learn things as we get older, don’t we? And we don’t settle for less than we need.” Tally was glad that Susan had sorted this out and her friend knew what she wanted and needed.
“Well, I don’t know where this is headed. Probably nowhere. But I’ll tell you one thing, I’m going to say yes if he asks me out again.”
“As you should.” Tally stood and walked to the door of the office. “It’s good to see you happy like this.”
“I am happy. My son is deliriously in love with his wife. I get to work with him at the inn—which is beginning to show a profit—kinda, anyway. And Adam is the first man who has caught my attention in a very long time… and he’s an excellent kisser.” Susan grinned. “Yes, I’d say that I’m happy. Life is just pretty great right now.”
Tally found herself humming as she walked back in the warm sunshine to Magic Cafe. The salty sea air blew across her skin and she smiled to herself. Nothing like seeing a good friend happy to plop a magnificent mood right down on her, too.
* * *
Adam sat at the small table in his room and wrote up papers for a fair deal for Susan and Jamie. Not as low as his boss wanted, but he thought the man would still be in agreement. For some reason his boss wanted this property.
He stood and gathered his papers into a leather folder and walked out of the room to go find Susan and Jamie and see if he could talk to them. He headed down the stairs to the lobby, noting the elevator was still not working.
He walked up to the reception desk and a smile spread across Susan’s face. She gave him the just-a-minute sign. He waited while Susan checked out a patron, coaxing an old printer to print a receipt.
Susan finished with the patron and turned to him. “Hi, can I help you with something?”
Her eyes sparkled, and the smile on her face blindsided him into numbness. He scrambled to put his thoughts together and get out his words.
Adam sucked in a deep breath. Now or never.
Just then the door opened and another person came into the lobby. He glanced over and froze. His boss stood in the open doorway.
He heard Susan gasp and turned to look at her. The color drained from her face and she grasped the edge of the reception desk. Adam looked at her, and concern swept through him. She looked like she was going to faint… or she’d seen a ghost.
His boss crossed the floor to the reception desk. “Susan.”
“Russell, what are you doing here?” Susan voice emitted a frosty tone that Adam had never heard when she spoke.
“Business.” His boss turned to him. “Did you get your job done?”
“Mr. Burns, I… um… I was just coming to talk to Susan.”
“Talk to me about what?” Susan’s eyes narrowed and a frown wrinkled her forehead. The color was rushing back to her face.
Just then Jamie came walking out of the office. He stopped and stared at Adam’s boss. Adam noticed the same look of surprise that Susan’s face had held. “What is he doing here?” Jamie walked up and stood protectively beside Susan.
“Well, Adam was to have dealt with all of this, but he didn’t. So I came to see about the holdup.”
“Adam is dealing with what, exactly?” Susan turned to search Adam’s face, and he felt the blush of embarrassment flush his cheeks.
“Adam was supposed to make a deal to buy the inn.”
“Buy the inn? We’re not selling the inn.” Jamie wrapped an arm around his mother’s shoulders. “And even if we were, we’d never sell it to you.” Jamie’s eyes blazed with anger.
Adam realized he’d stepped in a mess of trouble he’d never seen coming. His boss had left out one key piece of information. What was Mr. Burn’s relationship with Susan and Jamie?
Chapter 8
Susan fought to keep calm. The last person she’d ever expected to see standing in her inn was her ex-husband, Russell. Jamie radiated tension as he stood stalwartly by her side.
Susan swallowed, then glared at Russell. “Jamie is right. The inn isn’t for sale.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Everything is for sale for the right price. Besides I’ve seen the numbers. You’re barely making ends meet.”
“How would you know that?” Jamie’s eyes glinted in anger.
“I have ways.” Russell dismissed Jamie and turned to Susan. “I want this property. I have plans for it. I know you and Jamie don’t have a head for business, so it was an easy decision to pick this place. After all, you two were always going on and on about the charm of this island. I don’t see that, but I’m hoping the people who come to the resort that I’m going to build here will see it like you do.”
Susan felt her mouth drop open in surprise. A resort here? Russell thought he could convert the inn into some kind of resort?
“Russell, we aren’t selling the inn.”
“You haven’t even heard our offer.” Russell’s eyes narrowed in the way Susan remembered so well. The way they glared at her when he got annoyed with her, or when he acted like he wanted to swat her away like a bothersome gnat.
“It doesn’t matter what the offer is.” Jamie’s voice was low and controlled. “We wouldn’t sell it to you for any price.”
“Don’t be foolish, son.” Russell glared at Jamie.
“I’m not your son.” Jamie’s voice held an edge of icy-cold fury.
Susan placed her hand on Jamie’s arm. “Jamie’s right. We wouldn’t sell to you for any price. My dealings with you are over. Forever.”
She glanced over at Adam, who was standing still as a statue, his face an unreadable mask, watching the conversation unfold.
She turned her attention back to Russell. “I think it best if you leave now.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m offering you a way out of this hole you’ve dug for yourself. You two could move anywhere you wanted. Or stay on this godforsaken island. I don’t care. Adam, make sure you leave the offer with them.”
“No need, you have your answer. It’s no.” Jamie stepped out from behind the reception desk. “I’ll walk you out.”
Jamie stood toe to toe with Russell, and pride swept through Susan. Russell had done nothing but make Jamie’s life miserable, and she was glad to see him stand up to the man.
“Well, we’ll see about all this. I’ll be back.” The man turned on his heels and crossed the lobby.
“Don’t bother.” Jamie followed Russell to the door and closed it firmly behind him.
Susan took a deep breath and slowly turned to face Adam. A cascade of fury raced down her spine and she balled her hands into fists, clenching them tightly by her sides. “So all this was just you gathering information for Russell? You’re in on this plan of his to take the inn away? It was all just part of your job?”
She felt like an old fool, thinking that Adam was interested in her. A rush of anger—or was it embarrassment—heated her cheeks. Of course he hadn’t really been interested in her, he’d been pumping her for information. Any feelings she thought she had for him were promptly swept out to sea.
Adam started to speak, but she held up a hand and interrupted him. “No, don’t bother. I think it best you go upstairs and pack your things. I’ll check you out. No charge. Just leave.”
Jamie came to stand by her side, his glance sweeping over Adam. “You’re really something, Mr. Lyons. Coming here, pretending to be all nice and making friends with Mom. Anyway, you heard her. Go pack your things.”
“I… didn’t know…” Adam’s eyes were filled with confusion and maybe a bit of regret. Not that Susan trusted her instincts anymore with this man.
“Ten minutes.” Jamie stood by her side.
“Susan… I—” Adam reached out for her.
She held up her palms and stepped back. “Don’t.”
He looked at her for long, silent moments, then nodded and turned. She watched as he left the lobby before sagging against Jamie.
“You okay, Mom?” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
“I… just… I don’t know.�
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“Why don’t you head over to the cottage? I’ll make sure Adam leaves.” Jamie’s eyes filled with concern.
“I think I will. I don’t want to see Adam again.” She turned to leave, then spun back to Jamie. “Do you think Russell will go and leave us alone now?”
“I really don’t know, Mom.”
* * *
Jamie slammed around behind the reception desk, glad there were no customers in the lobby because he sure didn’t feel like pasting on a friendly smile. He ripped open a ream of paper and loaded the printer. He dumped a handful of pens into the pen holder on the desk. He carefully aligned a stack of papers, then watched as they slipped to the floor. He bent over in exasperation, scooped them up, and plopped them behind the counter.
“Jamie, are you okay?”
He looked up to see his beautiful bride standing in front of the desk, a worried look on her face. “Yes.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I mean, no. I mean I don’t know.”
Cindy came around behind the desk and gave him a much-needed hug. “Talk to me.”
“You’d never guess who was just here.”
Cindy eyed him without offering up a guess.
“Russell.”
Cindy stepped back, her eyes wide. “Really?” She frowned. “Why?”
“He wants to buy the inn.” Jamie felt the anger rise up again.
“But, you’re not planning on selling the inn, are you?” Cindy’s forehead creased.
“No, of course not. And even if we were, we’d never consider selling to Russell. Not after he screwed over Mom in the divorce. Not after all the years he treated me like… well, like he wished I’d never come into his life.”
“I’m sorry, Jamie.” Cindy wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. The faint scent of lavender enveloped him, calming him.
“Where’s Susan? Is she okay?”
“I sent her over to the cottage for a bit.” Jamie pulled out of the embrace and sighed. “And you know that guy I told you about that I thought Mom was interested in?”
“That Adam guy?”
“That one. It appears he was just here to scope out the place and see what kind of lowball deal he thought they could offer for the inn.”
“Oh, Jamie. Your mom must be crushed.”
“Crushed, mad, hurt—you name it.”
Jamie looked up to see Adam walk across the lobby and approach the desk, carrying his suitcase.
Adam put his room key on the counter along with a folder. “Here is our offer.”
“You needn’t bother. We’re not going to sell to Russell.”
Adam looked Jamie directly in the eyes. “I had no idea Mr. Burns knew you two. None at all. I just knew he wanted this property.”
“He more than knows us. He was married to my mother, he was my stepfather.”
A look of surprise swept across Adam’s face. “He… what?”
Jamie almost believed Adam’s surprised look was genuine. But then, since he didn’t trust the guy, there was no reason to believe him now. “Russell was married to my mother. For years. He divorced her and left her with absolutely nothing. Now it appears he’s coming after even more. But it won’t happen. This inn is her whole life now. She loves it. I’m going to make this inn so successful it will make Russell’s head spin. I want that for my mother.” He wanted that for himself.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea about any of this. No idea of his connection to you. I’m sorry.”
“Well, sorry doesn’t cut it. You came here, asked Mom out, became friends… all of it was a lie. You hurt her. Don’t expect me to forget that.” Jamie heard the icy threat in his voice.
Adam stood silently for a moment then nodded. “No, I don’t expect that you will.”
Adam turned and walked out of the door. Jamie spun around to Cindy and wrapped his arm around her. “Heck of an afternoon,” he whispered against her neck.
She held him tightly and he once again thanked his lucky stars, or his wish at Lighthouse Point, or the fates, for giving him the chance to spend his life with this woman.
* * *
Adam slowly walked down the steps of the inn out into the blinding sunlight and crossed over to his car. He squinted in the bright light and retrieved his sunglasses from atop his head. He turned and took one more long look at the inn, uncertain how he’d gotten in the middle of this mess and why Mr. Burns hadn’t told him about his connection with Susan and Jamie. None of it made sense.
Well, he knew his boss was ruthless in business. It appeared he was ruthless in his personal life, too. Or maybe, he just thought the inn was a great deal and couldn’t care less if, in the process, he hurt people who used to be family. Or maybe, like Jamie had said, Mr. Burns was coming after more.
Adam was certain he’d never forget the look on Susan’s face when she called him out for not telling her the real purpose of his trip. He hadn’t really meant to trick her, he’d just wanted to figure out the right way to approach Susan and Jamie. But all that had backfired.
His boss was mad that the deal wasn’t closed, Susan was hurt, Jamie was furious with him… But how was he supposed to choose between Susan and Jamie… and his mother. And if he didn’t fix this, it looked like once again he was going to let his mother down when she needed him most.
He looked at his phone and saw an incoming text from Mr. Burns.
Reservation at the Hamilton Hotel in Sarasota. Meet you there.
His chaotic roller coaster of emotions mocked him. The brief time he’d been able to spend with Susan—and he’d enjoyed every single minute of it—well, that was over. He’d ruined that along with crushing her trust in him.
He slid into his car and muttered under his breath, “Heck of an afternoon.”
Chapter 9
Susan had given into tears last night, after Russell and Adam had left, but this morning she was more mad than anything else. Late morning she headed down the beach to Magic Cafe. The fresh salty air did little to sooth her jangled nerves. She climbed the steps to the restaurant and slipped into a chair across from Tally and Julie.
“You okay?” Tally’s face held concern. “All Jamie said when he called me was that Russell came to town and I should see if we could meet.”
“Jamie worries about me too much.” Susan reached out for the offered coffee cup, savoring the rich aroma. “But I am glad to see you two. I feel like screaming. I will never get that man out of my life.”
“What happened?” Julie leaned forward, concern etched on her face.
“Russell came to town. He… he wants to buy the inn.”
“But it’s not for sale.” Tally frowned. “Why does he want it?”
“Jamie had Harry do some checking around. It looks like Russell has bought the property beside the inn, along with a large property across the street.”
“I don’t get it.” Julie frowned.
“I think he’s trying to buy up a large swath of property and… well, open some kind of resort.”
“You think he wants to rehab the inn?”
“I guess. Then add to it? I’m not sure. I don’t know why he picked this area when there are a million other places he could buy.” Susan sipped her coffee and carefully set the cup back down. “I guess we spoke too highly of the area. I never thought he listened when we’d come back all excited from one of our trips here. He rarely joined us on our visits to Belle Island and he really doesn’t have anything good to say about the island now. Well, except that he wants to buy the inn. But it’s always just business with Russell.”
“I’m sorry, that must have been such a shock.” Tally scowled.
“Well, that’s not all. You know Adam?”
“The guy you’re trying to act like you’re not interested in?” Tally asked.
“Yep, that guy. The one who kissed me.”
“What?” Julie sat up straight.
“Yes. He did. But, for the record, I’m so not interested in him. At all. At least now.” Susan looked out at the
ocean, then back at her friends. “Well, he was in on it. He was just trying to get information about the inn and see what problems we’re having. He was trying to figure out what kind of offer to make. They did leave an offer… it is just… well, Harry looked at it for us and said it was below market by quite a bit. Though, what kind of market is there for an inn? I don’t know. It’s not like a ton of people are looking to buy one. Anyway, I don’t want to sell it.”
“Of course you don’t. You’ve come so far with it. Each year you get closer to turning the corner on making it really profitable,” Julie agreed with her.
“And it’s Jamie’s whole life.” Susan paused and traced a track of water on the table top. “But, sometimes I wonder if it’s what he really wants. What if we could get money for the inn and he could go and do anything that he wanted? He just kind of fell into running the inn.”
“Jamie loves the inn as much as you do.” Tally scooted her chair back from the table and stretched her legs. “You both love it. Don’t let Russell make you doubt yourself.”
“You’re right. Russell does have a way of making me doubt every decision I’ve ever made. I shouldn’t let him have that power over me.” Susan turned to her friends. “Enough of this. I sent Russell away. Adam is gone. Life goes on, but remind me to choose more carefully if I ever consider thinking I might like a guy again. Anyway, things will calm down and get back to normal. Now, what’s new with you two?”
* * *
Julie hadn’t ever heard Susan talk about a man she was interested in, much less one she’d kissed. She could tell her friend just wanted to move onto a new subject. Well, she had a story to share.
“I have some news.” Julie tossed a tiny smile. “Reed got me a wedding present.”
“He did? Does that mean you set a wedding date?” Susan’s eyes sparkled with hope. “We’re all set to have it at the inn if you want.”