Page 41 of Two Hearts' Subterfuge

“Not much. I purposely chose a weekday to open because I was afraid it might be overwhelming if I did it on the weekend. Since we’re going to be moving around furniture at the house tomorrow for a few hours, I brought the two girls I hired in for some additional training yesterday, and they both seem to have a handle on everything.”

“They ought to. Both of them worked here as Inn employees before applying for a job with you.”

She grimaced before smiling. “Sorry.”

“No, you’re not,” he muttered.

They both started laughing.

* * *

Their tasks were completed quickly at the house the following day since Aylin had already printed the furniture placement plans for each room. All the delivery people had to do was simply put each piece in place and then set up both of the beds before bringing in the mattresses.

“What do you think?” she asked, her hands on her hips as she studied the family room.

“I especially like the big screen TV over the fireplace and the comfy chairs and couch you chose for us to watch it.”

“Well, I know that sports is kind of a thing for you. My brothers were really into football. I miss those days when we all parked in front of the TV together.”

“When this is all over, you can invite them here to stay with us.”

Aylin didn’t comment. She really liked the idea that he was looking at their relationship as long term, since she was too. Everything had felt right from the moment he’d reached for her hand, taking her for a stroll across the beach before hiking to the top of Crystal Rock.

“Well, since we’re done here, why don’t we head back to the Inn and just have lunch there?” she asked.

“Sure. I know that you feel like you still have things to do before tomorrow,” he answered. “Let’s see how you’re holding up on Tuesday evening. If everything is running smoothly, we’ll go on a grocery run if you’re ready to move in on Wednesday.”

“Do you cook?” she asked curiously.

“Not really.” He grimaced. “How about you?”

“Not at all. We’ve always had a housekeeper or a chef.”

“We’ll just have to wing it. Maybe we can take a cooking class together. We often invite celebrity chefs to do demonstrations.”

“I think I’d like that,” she replied as they walked through the back door, heading towards Ben’s truck.

She turned, glancing at the magnificent view across the lake. “I’m going to love living here.”

“Me too,” he answered.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The large gardening shed located near the Dragonfly Pointe beach had been broken into sometime during the weekend, their groundskeeper Max told Ben early Monday morning on the phone before he arrived at the Inn. It was time to start getting ready for spring, so Max had been checking out supplies and fertilizer to see what they needed to stock.

Max couldn’t find anything missing, so Ben had met him at the shed near the beach to check it out.

There were surveillance cameras all over the property, but most likely it had just been some troublemaking kids who’d broken the lock.

As Ben drove into the Inn’s parking lot after speaking with Max, he couldn’t figure out what was going on. The parking lot was packed with vehicles and there was a line of people waiting on the sidewalk that led inside.

Ben drove into his employee parking space beside the Inn, walking into the side entrance and heading into the lobby.

He couldn’t believe it. The line of women, and even a few men, extended directly into the open boutique.

Walking briskly through the breezeway, Ben peeked inside, surprised to see how efficiently Aylin was handling the crowd.When he’d dropped in on her yesterday, before taking her for dinner at the restaurant, he’d noticed that not only had she set up three registers with cash, but she’d also done a lot of decorating throughout the space with fresh flowers and potted plants. She’d also finished her window displays where she’d paired shoes and assorted clothing into coordinated bundles, even including some borrowed jewelry for sale from the artisan shop nearby.

She had a radiant smile on her face when she looked up and saw him, quickly waving before returning her attention to the customer she was speaking with.

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