Even as tired as she’d been, Kinley slept restlessly Thursday night. She told herself it was because she had so much to do in the next couple of days and was having trouble shutting down her thoughts. She didn’t want to accept that her sleep was disturbed entirely by thoughts of Dan Phelan, by mental replays of the time she had spent with him that day. The first unexpected glimpse of him. The smiles he’d given her over the lunch table. The way he’d instinctively moved in front of her when Ninja had appeared ahead of them. The way he’d brushed her cheek in the night shadows of the garden. The kiss they had shared by the fountain—a kiss that she had initiated. The way he gazed into her eyes and made her suspect he saw things in her that she’d buried long ago.
As she carefully applied concealer and makeup to hide any evidence of her disturbed sleep, she told herself she must have been working too intensely lately. Maybe she needed to take a couple of mental health days, something she’d been urging her siblings to do for the past month or so.
Now that the inn was starting to show a profit most months, surely they could all relax just a little—though she, for one, always had a bit of difficulty with that concept. It seemed that she was always working, just as she knew Bonnie and Logan were. None of them had much, if any, social life these days. They should do something to correct that. Not that she saw any future for herself with Dan, of course, but the fact that she had overreacted so much to his flirting was probably an indication that she’d been neglecting that part of her life. How else could she explain the fact that she had planted a kiss on the man the very same day she had met him? she asked herself with a groan.
Because she was awake early, anyway, she arrived at the inn ten minutes before breakfast service began. She had chosen her clothing carefully for the day’s events, donning a sleeveless shift dress in bright coral with a narrow cream belt, another three-quarter-sleeve cardigan—this one cream—and a comfortable pair of beige shoes. A discreet flesh-colored bandage covered the healing cut on her index finger.
She’d spent the short drive from her house steeling herself for seeing Dan again, assuring herself she could stay professional today. She’d never really given him an answer about whether she would see him for dinner after his assignment ended, but maybe it was best that she’d waited on that. As tempted as she was to agree, it was always possible that one or both of them could rethink the invitation after spending another day or two together.
She was relieved to see Rhoda had arrived on time that morning, and without destroying more of the inn. Logan and his crew hadn’t yet painted the post, other than the initial coat of flat white primer, but already the front looked much better than it had the morning before. The mouthwatering scents of coffee, warm cinnamon and maple syrup greeted her when she walked into the dining room where Bonnie and Rhoda were setting up for breakfast service. Baked cinnamon French toast was today’s breakfast casserole offering, with fruit compote and the usual assortment of pastries, hot or cold cereals and yogurt. Her mouth watered in anticipation when she helped herself to a steaming cup of coffee.
“Looks great,” she told her sister, who was lighting votive candles in glass holders tucked among arrangements of fresh white roses. Kinley was known as the family perfectionist, but she thought Bonnie was just as concerned with detail, paying careful attention to every aspect of her hostess duties.
Bonnie smiled with a flash of dimples. “Thanks. I promised Serena I’d keep pastries out for an extra couple of hours for her arriving guests.”
Kinley plucked a fat strawberry from a bowl and popped it into her mouth. “I’ll start calling subcontractors as soon as I’ve finished breakfast,” she said after swallowing. “Just to make sure everything’s on track for this evening and tomorrow.”
Bonnie nodded absently while running an eye over the dining room to check for any last-minute adjustments. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Eva’s already started calling them.”
Kinley winced. Eva had already fired a photographer and alienated several local vendors. Serena had finally forbidden her mother to make any more calls, insisting she allow Kinley and Bonnie to handle the details, but it would surprise no one if Eva reneged on that agreement. Thirty-six more hours, give or take an hour or two, and this wedding would be over, Kinley reminded herself with a bracing inhale. There could be a permanent hole in her tongue from where she’d bitten it to keep herself from telling Eva exactly what she thought of her at times, but she was determined to get through the remainder of this arrangement without conflict. She wanted good reviews from both Serena and Eva after the wedding.
She sipped her coffee, then asked, “How did things go here last night? Did anyone show up for game night?”
Bonnie turned to walk into the kitchen and Kinley followed. “Oh, yes, almost everyone,” Bonnie said over her shoulder. She opened the refrigerator to take out a pitcher of fresh-squeezed orange juice. “The Mayberrys and Travis and Gordon played Scrabble while Dan and I played as Spades partners against that nice couple that checked in yesterday afternoon, the Zakrzewskis. We had a lovely evening.”
“Did you?” Kinley frowned into her coffee cup.
“Yes. Dan’s quite the card player.”
Had Dan flirted with Bonnie? Maybe hinted to her, too, about having dinner sometime? Was that the real game he played?
“It was rather funny how many times he found a reason to casually bring up your name,” Bonnie added teasingly. “I think you’ve made a conquest, Kinley.”
Kinley forced a chuckle and spoke lightly to prove she wasn’t taking her sister—or Dan—too seriously. “He’s only going to be here for another couple of days. I’m much too busy right now for anything but work. We have that meeting with the new prospective bride this afternoon, the rehearsal and dinner this evening, the wedding tomorrow—not to mention I’ve got a real-estate deal to attend to later this morning.”
“All you ever do is work,” Bonnie chided, shaking her head in di
sapproval.
Kinley cocked an eyebrow. “Said the pot to the kettle. Who’s the one who actually lives at the inn 24/7, hmm?”
Bonnie laughed ruefully. “Well, there is that, but at least I’d be open to an evening out with a good-looking single guy if one were to ask. This particular good-looking guy just happens to be more interested in you.”
“And just how do you plan to meet a good-looking single guy when you hardly ever leave the inn?” Kinley retorted, ignoring the anything-but-subtle teasing about Dan. “You’re the one who should get out more, Bon.”
It actually surprised her a little when her sister nodded. “You’re right. I should. I have no regrets at all about the two years we’ve dedicated almost exclusively to this place, but maybe I need to expand my horizons now. I haven’t been on more than a handful of dates since we moved here. I should remedy that.”
“Yes. Yes, you should. In fact, I know a few—”
Bonnie cut her off with a quick, “Don’t even think about it. I am not commissioning you to set me up with anyone, Kinley. When it comes to my love life, you are not in control. Got it?”
“You have a love life?” Rhoda asked quizzically, entering from the laundry room with an armload of clean kitchen towels just in time to hear Bonnie’s ultimatum. “First I’ve heard of it. Far as I knew, both you girls could use a little nudge in that direction.”
With a little growl, Bonnie picked up the orange juice pitcher. “It’s time to start the breakfast service. We’ll worry about our love lives—or lack thereof—later, shall we?”
That sounded like a very good suggestion to Kinley, who didn’t really want her own so-called love life examined too closely at the moment. Just thinking about that reckless kiss in the garden last night made her skin warm uncomfortably, a fact she tried to hide from her sister’s too-perceptive eyes.
She moved into the dining room to greet guests as they entered for breakfast, some bright-eyed and eager, others a bit sleepy-lidded and heading straight for the coffee.