by Helen Lacey
He could identify with loneliness, with being the one single person in a sea of couples. “You’ve been a good sport about this. And Ethan likes you. When I was putting him to bed tonight, he explained to me that you’re his new friend.”
Her expression brightened. “He is so sweet.”
“So what do you say? Why not enjoy your dinner, and we’ll talk tomorrow morning. I usually have breakfast with Ethan around six-thirty. Would you like to have a hot date with the only two unattached males in the building?”
“I would love that. I’ve never had a date with two men before in my life.”
“Then I hope we live up to your expectations.”
“I’m sure you will,” she said, the look of happiness on her face, making him want to hug her. He liked this woman with the short haircut and the yellow high heels. It had been a long time since he’d felt the way he was feeling this minute.
He opened the door, before turning toward her one last time. “Wait until you see what Ethan eats for breakfast.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said and waved.
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING, LUKE’S feelings regarding Marnie had changed again. The trouble was he couldn’t imagine why any woman who loved her husband would want to stay by herself at an inn filled with married couples. It was such a lonely way to spend the days leading up to Christmas. Surely she had friends or family she could visit instead of coming to an inn on her own.
There was something about the situation that didn’t sit right with him.
Gullible, that’s what you are. Or starved for female company.
He hadn’t told Marnie the whole conversation he’d had with Scott McLaughlan. Scott was less than convincing when he explained that he’d been called away on business, and his eagerness to have Marnie stay at the inn made it sound as if he wanted his wife out of his way. The guy was probably having an affair.
And Marnie’s behavior at the bar last night raised further questions in his mind. He’d spoken with Jack again last evening after he left Marnie’s room, and Jack was convinced that Brad Parker and Marnie McLaughlan knew one another. The other odd thing Jack said was that after the Parkers left the bar, Marnie had asked all kinds of questions about how the bar operated.
Luke glanced impatiently toward the entrance of the dining room. There was still no sign of Marnie, and there were two couples already seated in the dining room. Adele and Thomas Lewis, and Mae and Walter Pearson, both great couples and repeat guests. They were also avid hikers and were leaving shortly on a two-mile trek that they’d arranged with the guide the night before.
Last evening Marnie had seemed interested in staying at the inn and helping out. So where was she?
“Daddy, more syrup,” Ethan demanded, pointing to his half-finished plate of French toast.
“You’ve had enough,” he said absent-mindedly.
“Hi!” Ethan yelled, wiggling in his seat and smiling at someone.
“Hi, yourself.” Marnie slid into the chair next to Ethan and across from Luke. “Sorry I’m late, but I couldn’t sleep last night. I went out for a walk this morning to clear my head and left my watch in my room.” She picked up her napkin and spread it on her lap, watching the female server who was pouring coffee for her.
It was still dark outside. A walk in the dark? he wanted to ask, but left it. It was none of his business.
“We need to get organized for the day ahead. It’s going to be a busy one,” he said, hearing the stiffness in his tone. Once again, he was drawn to her, to her bright smile, her easy manner. No wonder Ethan liked her. Hell, despite all his misgivings, he still liked her.
“Finished!” Ethan stated in his outdoor voice as he spotted Mary coming toward the table.
Mary took Ethan’s hand. “Come with me, and we’ll get you ready for day care.”
Ethan leaned toward his father. “Miss you.”
Luke pulled his son into his arms, his heart pressing against his throat. How he loved these words spoken every morning by his son, words that kept him centered. “Miss you, too, buddy. Have a good day, and I’ll see you when you get home.”
He watched his son leave the dining room before turning his attention to the woman sitting across from him.
“This is so beautiful,” she said, nodding at the large space with its tall windows, gleaming wood floors and linen-draped tables.
“The inn belonged to a lumber baron during the years when lumber was the main export in this part of the country. It was a lavish home, complete with its own water system located on the roof of the house. There used to be horse stables with carriages, but they were lost in a fire sixty years ago.”
“Imagine living in so much luxury. It must have been a magical life.” Her eyes shone with wonder, and he could see how easily people would like her, how easily she would make friends.
But they weren’t friends, and he needed a few more answers from her. “We have a problem.”
* * *
MARNIE FIXED HER GAZE on the single rose in the center of the table. She had no idea what was coming next, but after a restless night she knew one thing for certain. She wanted a chance to get to know Luke Harrison. It had been so long since she’d met a man she genuinely liked. It was no secret that she was lousy at picking men, and maybe her interest in Luke was a lost cause, but she had a right to find out one way or the other. “What sort of problem?”
“I don’t understand why you’d want to stay at the inn when your husband isn’t here.”
She squeezed her napkin, trying to soothe the apprehension gnawing at her gut. Scott’s stupid lie had gotten her in a ton of trouble, and now she was faced with a choice. She could perpetuate the lie, or she could tell Luke the truth. She desperately wanted a chance with him, but she couldn’t spend another night wrestling with her conscience. “I have to explain something to you.” She took a deep breath and looked into his gorgeous, trusting eyes. Oh, God… “Scott is not my husband. He’s my brother.”
Luke’s expression froze. “Would you care to explain that?” he asked, his voice tight.
Marnie wanted to crawl under the table, slink out of the room and make a run for her car. Instead she studied the huge silver Christmas tree near the window while she collected her scattered thoughts. Luke was angry and she couldn’t blame him. “My brother wanted me to be able to stay here at your inn. I needed a break away from my… I’m selling my hair-and-aesthetics salon, and I needed a little time to think about the future.”
“You could have done that at any number of resorts. I offered you the Chancellor. Why this one?” he demanded, his words harsh.
What could she say? If she told him about the questionnaire, there was no way he’d ever speak to her again. Clutching her napkin tight in her fingers, she wished she could tell him the whole truth, that there wouldn’t be any secrets between them. “I’d read about your inn, and it was so picturesque, so perfect.”
“And you wanted to stay here.” His eyes were hard.
She was certain she’d just lost any chance she had with him. “Yes, but then when I got here and realized that it was just couples…”
“You wondered how you ever got a booking here.”
She nodded slowly. “When I found out that Scott had told the story of us being husband and wife in order to make the reservation, I was upset, and I…” She rubbed her forehead in desperation. This wasn’t going well at all. “I should have told you the truth last nigh
t. I’m sorry.”
“And you had no idea that your brother had said you were husband and wife in order to make the reservation?”
“I had no idea,” she said, with a sigh of relief. Keeping the truth from him even for a few hours had been so difficult.
Her shoulders ached from the tension, her eyes hurt from lack of sleep. It was over now. Whether she wanted to or not, she couldn’t stay here, especially now that Luke knew what outrageous lengths her brother had gone to in order to get her a reservation.
There was nothing she could say that would change what Luke thought of her and her crazy brother. Scott could find someone else to be his mystery guest. She didn’t want the job.
“Now that you know the truth, there’s no reason for me to stay.” She pushed her chair back from the table, her appetite gone. “I’ll pack my bags. This was a serious mistake, and I want you to know how sorry I am. I didn’t mean to deceive you.”
His scowl eased, and a smile edged the corners of his mouth. “Wait a minute. Are you saying you don’t want to be my assistant for a few days?”
“I…I don’t understand.”
“Does it really matter why you came here? You’re here. I’m facing the busiest season of the year, and I need help. If you own a beauty salon you know how to manage people and clients. I could use your expertise for a few days.”
She couldn’t believe her ears. “You mean it?”
“I do. You said you came here for the spa facility, and I could use your input on the spa. Anything you see that might be done differently or make the spa experience for our clients more enjoyable, I’d like to hear about it. I’m not into that sort of thing, but it’s an important guest service. I’d be willing to pay your for your time and expertise. What do you say?”
She wanted to help him more than anything in the world. To have a chance to spend time with him without Scott’s stupid marriage lie coming between them.
And after all, she’d come here uncertain of her future plans, and she’d been handed an opportunity to learn about a new type of business that involved the public.
Oh, yes, and she’d promised her lying brother that she’d do his damned survey, even though at the moment, it was her last priority. While she had her hair and nails done, and enjoyed a nice massage, she’d decide what to do about Scott.
She sighed in relief. “Sure, I’d love to stay, but you don’t have to pay me.”
“I want to.”
“No, you don’t have to pay me. You’ve given me an opportunity to stay here and give you input on your spa. But, what if somebody’s wife gets upset....”
“Stay close, keep a low profile and let me worry about the rest.”
Sticking close to this man wouldn’t be a problem. “You sound so sure.”
He nodded. “I’m interested in your input. By the way, what does your brother do for a living?”
Not her brother again. “Mostly he makes my life miserable,” she grumbled.
The sound of Luke’s laughter filled the room. “Wish I had a brother to drive me nuts.”
“I have four, take your pick. I’ll trade you one brother for a month of R & R at your inn.” She took a sip of her coffee, her mind luxuriating in the fact that she would get to spend some time with Luke after all.
“Well, that’s settled. Welcome to the staff of The Mirabel,” he said, his disarming smile doing strange and awesome things to her.
“I’d better eat my breakfast. I see you’ve already finished.” She wasn’t the least bit hungry, but a piece of toast might be a good idea.
He waved his hand, and a server appeared. “My assistant would like…” He arched his eyebrows at her.
“Toast. Whole wheat toast.”
After the server left, Marnie smoothed her napkin over her lap while all sorts of thoughts swam through her head. “Running a place like this must have its challenges,” she said. They made small talk as she sipped her coffee, and the pretty, young server returned with her toast.
Once she’d finished it, she wiped her lips on her napkin and placed it beside her plate. “So, I have to get to my manicure appointment, only I don’t know where the spa is.”
He pointed toward an archway leading from the dining room to a back corridor. “Straight through there, and to the right. Can’t miss it.”
“Thank you.”
“See you in my office when you’re finished.”
* * *
THE DOOR TO THE SPA was a deep mahogany-red with gold letters announcing Spa Delights. Marnie eased the door open and a woman with a mass of long red hair and a welcoming smile greeted her. “I’m Francine, and you must be Marnie McLaughlan. Love your name, by the way. Not a common name in these parts.”
“Probably not anywhere else, either,” Marnie responded, instantly liking this woman.
“You’re booked for hair and nails first, so I’m going to take you to Lucy, who’ll do your nails, and then to Eileen for your hair. Your massage will be with me. How does that sound?”
“Wonderful.” She followed Francine to where Lucy waited at the manicure table.
“Enjoy yourself. I’ll see you later.”
Marnie studied her half-chewed nails and torn cuticles before holding them out to Lucy. She’d been so preoccupied with selling her salon that she hadn’t bothered to have her nails done. Not a great advertisement for someone in the business…well, not in the business much longer. “Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you,” she said.
Lucy grinned and put a bowl of warm, soapy water in front of her. “Let’s start with your cuticles.”
The woman worked away on Marnie’s nails, and although she was friendly, her technique was lacking. She didn’t get out a new emery board for the nail filing, and she smeared the polish remover over Marnie’s fingers instead of just on the nail beds. Because this spa would have few repeat clients, it ought to be using disposable tools or putting those nondisposable tools through a thorough cleaning process. Fungal infections were easily spread by lack of proper clean technique and hard to get rid of once a nail was infected. As for the nail polish remover, the drying effects of the solution would dry the cuticles even more.
She made a mental note of deficiencies she’d experienced with the manicurist. The selection of hair products Eileen used on her was professional with lots of client choice. She didn’t have her hair cut or trimmed, so she’d have to leave those questions unanswered. Once Eileen had finished blow-drying her hair, Francine appeared and led Marnie to a room where muted light and soft music created a restful space.
Once she had positioned herself on the state-of-the-art massage table, Francine began her massage, putting Marnie instantly at ease. “So, you’re going to be Luke’s new assistant.”
“Wow! News travels fast.”
“This is a very close-knit group of people, and we all care about Luke. He’s been through so much.”
Marnie couldn’t resist the subject of Luke. “I was told his wife died.”
“In a car accident just before Christmas three years ago. You can’t imagine what a sad place the inn was that year. He wanted to cancel all the reservations, but everyone pitched in and took over for him. He was incapable of anything other than tending to Ethan. We were all afraid he might have a nervous breakdown.”
“He loved his wife a lot,” Marnie said, wishing that someone might love her that much some day.
“He did. And she loved him, but Anna was headstrong and de
termined about everything. If she’d listened to him when he told her to stay in Boston that night, maybe she’d still be alive today. And that’s the part Luke struggled with for months after she died, and still does.”
“She probably just wanted to get home to her husband and child.”
“That’s true, but I don’t know if Luke saw it that way. And how could he when what she did destroyed his life, and left his son without a mother?”
“But surely he can’t believe his life is over. A man like Luke shouldn’t have any trouble finding someone to love.”
Francine sighed. “He’s shut himself off. It’s as if he can’t bring himself to care for another woman. His whole life is Ethan and this inn.”
“How different his life must be now.”
“Luke’s been lucky to have Mary Cunningham. She’s been like a grandmother to Ethan, and Luke couldn’t have managed without her. We all take turns babysitting Ethan when we’re needed.”
“It does sound like one big family.”
“Even more so since Anna died. Luke passed up a promotion five years ago because he wanted to stay here. With Ethan in his life now, he’s even more determined to stay put.”
Angus McAndrew and his management team probably wouldn’t understand a man who wouldn’t take a promotion because of his attachment to a community. They’d want to know if the manager was operating the inn with the intention of supporting his staff, rather than supporting their profit goals. “What if the manager’s job here wasn’t available?”
“He’d look for a job in the area,” Francine said with certainty.
“You have to admire someone who knows what he wants.”
“Well, you’ll find out soon enough, Luke can be a very demanding boss.”
Francine finished the massage, and Marnie regretted that she couldn’t simply stay and have a nap. “That felt so good.”
“I’m pleased, and I hope you like your job here at The Mirabel Inn. I don’t know if anyone told you this, but Anna was Luke’s assistant before he proposed to her. He hasn’t had an assistant since they were married, so you must be pretty good at what you do.”
