Sweet Christmas Kisses (13 page)

Carol’s heart thumped as her throat swelled shut. He couldn’t possibly know she had a fetish for all things Beatles, especially when those things were called Paul.
Paul, the very married innkeeper
, she reminded herself with a start. “Right,” she squeaked. “Thought so.”

Seconds later, he’d delivered her to her rabbit’s den and left her standing with her suitcase by the door. She rushed inside and banged it shut, slamming her back against it.
Oh Gawd,
she thought, biting into her knuckles.
What am I? Fourteen?

Something rapped soundly at the door. “Just so you know,” Paul called from the other side, “dinner’s at seven! I’ll see you and the kids downstairs.”

“Thanks!” Carol cried with a gulp. Now all that remained was forcing herself not to act like one of them. Or to drown her awkwardness in one too many glasses of Chablis and come out spouting “Yellow Submarine.” She yanked off her hat, determined to pull herself together. She was here for the kids, after all. A wonderful family vacation. And this place was turning out to be every bit as grand as she thought it might be. The fact that Paul was drop-dead gorgeous was clearly no fault of his own. He didn’t seem the stuck-up sort and probably never even thought about it. He was just a good, old-fashioned down-to-earth guy.
Which is why his lovely blonde wife loves him so much
, Carol reminded herself resolutely.

Paul strode away from Carol’s room, puzzling at their exchange. She was an unusual yet enchanting woman, engaging in a way that was disarming and funny at once. Sure, she’d been acting a bit punchy, especially about the raccoon thing. But hey, she’d had a long day. Besides, he’d heard that joke before. Running a fanciful place like this one, he’d come to expect lots of animal jokes. Besides, he himself was partial to the Beatles. Though he hadn’t played any of their music in years. He and Nancy had met at a Beatles Bash, in fact. It was a themed party the girls in her sorority had put together. They’d danced to some upbeat songs and then to some of the sweeter, early ballads. He’d fallen in love with her nearly at once.

Zach passed him in the hall, headed for the bath at the east end. The main drawback to this place, but one that guests had learned to live with, was the fact that there were only two upstairs bathrooms. The guests had to share, European style. Though, given the rest of the inn’s grand accoutrements, none of them seemed to mind. “I think Beth’s in that one,” Paul said, causing Zach to stop short.

“Thanks, man,” he said, turning. “Other one’s…?”

“Last door on the left,” Paul directed.

He descended the stairs with a spring in his step, thinking this Christmas vacation was turning out to be more interesting than he could have imagined. He hadn’t considered becoming involved with a woman in ages, and now two terribly attractive—and single ones—had appeared on his doorstep. Not that Carol Baker was any kind of option. He’d never yet hit on a guest, and it would be highly unprofessional of him to start now. Of course, Beth was a guest in a way too, but in a larger respect, she really wasn’t. She was more of an old friend he was helping out in difficult circumstances. That clearly meant he shouldn’t be taking advantage of her situation either. Paul heaved a breath, thinking he needed to get his head in order. He had things to organize for the evening meal and other preparations to make as well. For everyone who came to the Love Inn at Christmastime arrived with one primary expectation: to have a memorable, fun-filled holiday. That was something Paul felt comfortable in ensuring. He’d do well to leave thoughts of shoring up his beaten-down heart out of it. Heck, he’d be moving to Montreal by this time next year, anyway.

Beth lathered her hair, pondering this gift of the fates. While her cancelled flight to O’Hare was anticipated, given the weather, running into Velma and Zach at the gate had been a genuine surprise. Getting invited to come back here had been even more unexpected. Paul had been her first, wonderful love. Naturally, she’d thought of him from time to time over the years. Especially after things ran cold with Jack, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d made a mistake. While they’d all been friends in high school, somehow, going away to their separate universities had changed things. Goofball Jack had become more confident, morphing from a gangly teenager into a disarming and dashing young man. Ready to sweep her off her feet with his charm and good looks. Having been a high school beauty, Beth had become unsure of herself in her new coed world. Ever-stable Paul was really the only one of them who hadn’t seen the rush to reinvent himself in college. He’d always been focused and mature, maybe more mature than she’d been ready for or had completely understood at the time.

To her, Paul had appeared so predictable, unwilling to take chances and spread his wings. Jack wanted to get away and start over, far from their families and homegrown expectations. That had proved extra appealing to Beth, who couldn’t imagine going home again after her four years at Wellesley. Always having been good with his hands, Paul had long ago set his sights on this place, here. It had been foreclosed on when they were still kids, but he’d made a vow to restore and reopen it, even if he had to do most of the grunt work himself—which he apparently had, shortly after saving up funds from his student jobs and majoring in business. His new girlfriend, Nancy, had wholeheartedly supported his dreams. She’d been his partner and his helpmate, until a car accident had taken her unexpectedly shortly after the two of them had opened the inn they’d worked for years to lovingly craft together.

Beth shut off the water, thinking she’d heard something. She was quite sure she’d locked the door, but the way the latch went seemed backwards to her, so perhaps she hadn’t set it right. She’d tried the other bathroom first, but the door had either been locked from the inside or set so snugly in its frame she couldn’t budge it open, no matter how hard she tugged. Giving up, she’d opted to try this bathroom here, where the door opened much more easily. Too easily, she thought with a start, as a cool blast of air invaded her warm space. She heard bright whistling and lunged for a towel as a ponytailed man pulled back the curtain with a jerk.

“Ack!” he shouted, falling back in shock as Beth shrieked at the top of her lungs. Seconds later, the other inn guests flooded the hall.

Beyond the open door at Zach’s back, Velma stood clutching a container of Ageless Skin Cream, her jaw dropping.

Zach sat on the bed with Velma, his arm around her shoulder. She still clutched her open jar of face cream in shock.

“You’re getting way too keyed up about this,” he told her. “It was nothing, I swear.”

“Of course, I know you’re right. It’s just that… Zach!” She capped her cold cream, turning toward him. “She was right there with you—in a towel!”

“It was more like a washcloth, really. Pretty tiny, actually,” he teased.

“Enough!” She fell back on the bed with a moan.

He smiled sympathetically and patted her thigh through her bell-bottom jeans. “You’re not jealous?”

She raised her head to look at him. “Who me? Of a woman thirty years younger, half naked in a bathroom with you?”

He scooted down on the bed beside her, taking her hand. “You, Mama Bear, have nothing to worry about.”

“No?” she asked, lines creasing her face.

“Do you know who I fell in love with?” he asked, turning toward her.

“A cougar?” she asked, dark eyes widening.

Zach gave a low chuckle, then brushed his lips to hers. “I fell in love with the woman in here,” he said, laying a hand on her heart. “And that woman,” he said with another kiss, “is the best-looking babe in all of Maine. I’m talking about at any age.”

She sighed and smiled up at him. “You really are the cat’s pajamas, you know that?”

“Meow,” he said, closing in for another kiss.

“Zach?” she asked a moment later. “How do you think things are going with Beth and Paul?”

“She just got here!”

“I know, but still… Do you think there’s a chance?”

“I think there’s a good one,” he said with a wink.

She playfully tugged him toward her. “It’s a shame Pauly put us in separate rooms.”

“Probably because there are kids here.”

“No, it’s because my son’s an old stick-in-the-mud.”

He thumbed her nose. “Be nice now, and get dressed for dinner.”

Carol exited the Rabbit Room all freshened up. Unsure of the protocol in a place like this, she’d worn a short black dress, leather boots, and a suede jacket. Something a little dressed up, but casual just the same. She shut her door firmly, then turned, nearly colliding with Paul. He was dapperly handsome, well turned-out in a sports coat and tie. It was hard to say which way he looked best, like this, the preppie sophisticate, or like he had earlier this evening, dressed down in a flannel shirt and jeans. He quickly shut the door behind him, but not in time to conceal his room’s marvelous moose theme. When she’d checked in, Carol hadn’t realized her room was straight across the hall from his. All at once she felt like she’d shacked up with the Huntsman in some wild wilderness tale. He was so rugged and easily in charge, in a faraway land like this one. She found herself wondering briefly if she should have worn a red hooded cape. Then she realized with a jolt she was already bathed in that color from head to toe from blushing so hard.

He smiled warmly, brown eyes twinkling.

“After you,” he said, motioning for her to move ahead.

“I uh…”
Very…married,
she told herself, counting to three. And an innkeeper merely looking after his guests, besides. His pretty wife was likely in their Moose Room, still getting ready. “I’m just going to check on the kids! We’ll see you downstairs.” Carol made a vow to investigate online dating the moment she and the kids got home. Things really had gotten out of hand if she couldn’t take a simple New England holiday without crushing on the first handsome face she came across. Maybe her coworkers were right and enough time
had
gone by for her to stick her big toe in the dating waters. She didn’t have to get into anything heavy. She might even find a friend to enjoy some casual outings with. But even that seemed scary when she couldn’t be certain what kind of
friend
that person might be. Maybe a lunatic or a psychopath, or some sort of sick predator after her children! Carol drew a breath, deciding Internet dating didn’t sound right for her. Maybe she should wait until the kids were grown and had gone off to college before she started thinking about herself.

She was just outside Ashley’s room when another door opened down the hall, and Paul walked by. “Don’t you look lovely,” he said to the beautiful blonde who—wait a minute—was staying in another room? Carol hoped they hadn’t caught her glancing their way as they exchanged amiable chatter and headed down the stairs together. If the blonde was a guest rather than Paul’s wife, they still seemed awfully familiar with each other. Perhaps she was a regular here, and maybe Paul wasn’t married at all. But what did that matter to Carol? She had more immediate things to think about, like corralling her kids and getting them to dinner on time.

Daniel ran a thumb down Amy’s damp cheek, then threaded his fingers through her short, raven hair. Her nearly black eyes welled with tears as she and Daniel stood in the pantry where they’d gone to collect dinner supplies.

“How can you say that, Danny?” she said, her voice cracking. “Can’t you see there’s no point?”

Daniel took her in his arms, cradling her up against him. “Hey, hey… That’s not true. Listen up, Amy I already told you I have a plan. Grandma’s in on it too.”

“Velma?” she asked with a sniff. She wore smart black slacks with a matching man’s tie, draping down a crisp, white, button-down shirt.

He centered his gaze on hers. “You’ve got to know she doesn’t want Dad leaving here any more than we do.”

“Does this have to do with the old flame?”

“It might.”

“I thought the airport was a coincidence.”

“It was. And so much better than Grandma’s plan A.”

“What was plan A?”

“Introducing Dad to Zach’s little sister.”

“Ew! How old is Zach’s little sister?”

“Not
that
young. In her thirties, I think.” He jostled her in his arms. “The great part is, this way’s so much better. It’s like fate was helping us along.”

“I suppose.”

“Why do you sound so doubtful?”

“Are you sure you should go meddling in your dad’s love life, Danny? He’s bound not to like it if he finds out.”

“Who says he has to? Besides, getting a girlfriend will be good for the old man.”

“Good, how?”

“It will distract him, you know. Make him feel young again, not like some old guy putting himself out to pasture.”

“I thought he was buying a condo in Montreal?”

“You’re missing my point.”

“Which is?”

“Once my dad has a life again, he won’t go chasing greener pastures in Canada. He’ll be happy staying right here!”

“But whether he’s here or there, it’s all the same. You’ll be gone eight months out of the year.”

He held her tighter, pressing his forehead to hers. “Seven months, three weeks, and two days, exactly.”

She sighed in his arms. “You counted?”

He looked at her deeply, lost in her beautiful dark eyes. “Of course, I counted. Listen up, Amy Littleton. This thing is going to work out for us, okay? One way or another, it’s working out.”

“This isn’t just about me—or your dad—is it?” she asked astutely.

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t want your dad selling the inn because it doesn’t just belong to him and you; it was your mom’s place too.”

“Yeah, and she loved it. Wanted to see me grow up and get married here.”

“Married?”

“Not any time soon,” he stammered. “I mean, some day.”

She gave him a soft smile. “Yeah, some day.”

“I love you,” he whispered, leaning forward.

“I love you too.”

When Carol and her kids entered the dining room, she was struck at once by their setting’s beauty. Intimate tables adorned the room; each afforded a view through the magnificent bay window. Towering pines and rolling mountaintops surrounded frozen Moosehead Lake, ringed by a fairy-tale-like string of winter lanterns skimming its perimeter. An empty skating rink by a big, brown barn only added to the scene’s magical appeal.