Page 4 of Frosted and Sliced

“It’s easy to hide from me because I can’t hear you. People do it all the time.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t like that, and I wouldn’t use your hearing loss against you that way.”

“Then you’re better than ninety percent of the population,” she said and regretted it when his eyes narrowed further.

“I’m not sure I like this place, if it’s filled with the sort of people who treat you like that,” he said.

The words made Georgie feel so odd, she didn’t know how to respond. “That’s not…I…”

His head turned toward the door like an alert collie. “More people are here, you’d better go deal with them.”

Georgie realized she’d been so absorbed with the odd stranger that she’d failed to do any of the final pre-guest touches she’d intended. “I didn’t get to put the mints on the pillows,” she fussed, pushing out her lip in a temporary pout that almost turned into a snarl when the man made a shooing motion toward her.

“Go on, no one cares about that stuff.”

She wanted to rail against him for his lack of understanding, but there was no time. And it was likely he wouldn’t get it anyway, how hard Georgette worked to try and rise above the competition and be distinct. There had been a slight uptick in her business since Elyse upped Georgie’s noticeability, but not enough to make her feel like she’d made a roaring success of the place. The possibility of failure sat on her chest like an anchor, threatening to swamp her with anxiety. The only way she could stave off the horrible feeling was to never stop moving, to constantly try to perfect everything. Not putting the homemade mints on each pillow for her guests would throw off her groove for the remainder of the night, lose one tiny advantage she might have.

She turned and bustled down the stairs and to her desk, where a tidy crowd of new arrivals stood, her friend Elyse among them. Elyse waved, and probably said hello, but Georgie wasn’t looking. Her eyes snagged on the family, Dad, Mom, and three children, one of them only a few weeks old.

“Oh,” she gasped, unable to hide her delight. She loved kids, but so rarely had the opportunity to be near them.

“I brought the fam,” the dad-looking one said. He jutted his hand for Georgie to shake, a warm smile lighting his face. “Gaines Hillcrest. This is my wife, Jordan, our kids Charlotte, Nash, and Egan. Elyse you know, and the big guy is Tristan. Don’t worry, he looks imposing, but he’s a sweetheart.”

“Much nicer than the one who’s coming,” Elyse commented, and Jordan stifled a snicker.

Georgie did a quick head count, feeling a moment of panic. By her calculations, everyone was here. If they were expecting someone else, she’d be short a room. “Someone else?”

“Our instructor,” Ribs declared, eyes narrowing. “I’m shocked he’s not here already. I’ve never known him to show up last for anything.”

“He’s already here,” Georgie said.

Everyone stopped short and stared at her. “You saw him?” Elyse said.

Georgie thumbed toward the stairs, unable to hide her annoyance over his room switch up and the wrinkle it caused in her plans. “We’re well acquainted.”

“You talked to him?” Elyse pressed, brows aloft.

“Much more than I wanted,” Georgie said, then remembered she was talking to a client now and not merely a friend. She pressed what she hoped was a professional smile on her face and began reaching for keys. “Hillcrest family, I gave you our double suite. Elyse, you’re in the front, and Mr. Evans, here you go.” She handed their keys accordingly. “I can help you with your bags,” she volunteered.

“Nah, we’re good,” Gaines said easily. “Everyone packed light, except us, and we’re using Tristan as a pack mule.”

Tristan demonstrated his new status by picking up an impossibly large number of bags.

“Okay, great, follow me,” Georgie said. They could find their rooms easily, but it felt like the personal touch to deliver them. Usually she did it with a little flourish, revealing the treats she’d left on their beds. This time she’d have to deposit them treat-less.

Or so she thought, until she opened the first door and saw the candies laid out on the bed, exactly as she’d arrange them. And in the kids’ room, the towels had been refolded into animal shapes, a bunny and an elephant.

Jordan gasped. “Georgie, this is so great,” she said. Elyse must have forewarned everyone about the lip reading, because Jordan faced Georgie before she spoke.

“Thank you,” Georgie said, but it came out like a question. Was she doing things in her sleep now? How else to explain it? Unless… But surely not. Surely the opinionated burglar hadnot taken it upon himself to lay out candy and arrange towels for her. How would he have, when all the doors were locked?He’s a burglar, obviously he broke in.She should feel thankful over his thoughtfulness. She knew that, and yet it increased her annoyance. He had no right, absolutely zero right, to enter private spaces in her inn and do…things. Her eyes landed on the adorable towel arrangements, noting Charlotte and Nash’s delight as they picked them up and gave them kisses.

Which annoyed her more? That the creepy guy did stuff without her permission? Or that he did it better than she did?

CHAPTER 2

So far Maine was everything Burke wanted it to be. He arrived a day early, to scope the land, finding it as vast and untamed as his heart told him it would be. Of course the coastline was populous, but that couldn’t be helped. Lemmings liked the ocean, after all.

He slept outside, glad for the chill that kept the mosquitoes and black flies at bay. The arrangement was so cozy, in fact, that he debated staying there all week, especially when he caught first sight of the ridiculous inn Ribs had booked for them. A former whaling mansion, it was as fanciful as everything else during the Victorian era, with unnecessary brick features, turrets, and an actual widow’s walk, facing the ocean, of course. He knew the inside would be frou-frou before he stepped in, and he was proved correct.At least it smells good,he thought, waiting impatiently at the check in desk. He wasn’t a fan of summoning bells left at a desk—if someone was supposed to be there, they should be. In this case, however, he would have preferred a bell to waiting uselessly, the floral wallpaper and shades of mauve making him feel claustrophobic and a tiny bit nauseated.

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