Page 4 of Christmas In Love

Mom ended the call first, and Natalie dropped onto a barstool. She felt a little bad for lying about the phone. But any conversation with her mom always left her feeling exhausted. Or bad about herself. Kinda like any conversation with her doctor. Between the two of them, that meant about two-thirds of the people Natalie regularly spoke to made her feel tired… so the occasional phone-ringing lie was to be expected.

And maybe she should look into making some new friends. Or just not answering her personal phone for a while.

In an attempt at distraction, she looked around the dimly lit kitchen. Four of the seven guest rooms at the bed and breakfast had been rented, which was pretty good considering only six months ago this place had been a museum for dust. Still, she needed to book those last three rooms if she was going to make the mortgage and electric bill.

She’d fill them though. It was almost Christmas, and the town flooded with people at Christmas ever since an article had been published about quaint little Greenbank, Colorado. At least, that’s what her best friend said. And April would know—she’d lived here three years. Unlike Natalie, who hadn’t even passed the year mark.

Now, Natalie just had to cross her fingers those floods of people would stay at the bed and breakfast, rather than the hotel down the street.

She paced to the fridge, checking for a snack while absently rubbing her hip where she’d fallen in the road a couple of hours before. That was going to bruise.

The bell above the front door rang. She glanced at the clock. Huh. 9:47 PM. Only one guest hadn’t arrived, but they weren’t due till tomorrow. Could it be a potential guest? Putting on a welcoming smile, she stepped from the kitchen into the large entry that doubled as the check-in.

She had a brief moment to inspect the newcomer as he stood with his back to her, facing the wall of historic photos. He had on a tan peacoat, nice pants, and dress shoes. A sense of confidence surrounded him in the way he held himself. It had her standing up a bit straighter.

“Welcome to the Greenbank Bed and Breakfast, how can I help you?”

He turned from the photos, and Natalie got her first full look at him. Shock slid over her like icy water. An identical expression of surprise looked back at her.

“Natalie?” he breathed.

Natalie blinked. Had she fallen asleep at the kitchen table? She surreptitiously pinched her wrist. Ow. Nope—this was real.

But it couldn’t be happening. Words stuck in her throat. She cleared it. Then again. Every ounce of the usual poise she felt in her role as owner of the B&B was fleeing faster than her mom when faced with a six-month commitment. “Cade.” Now she couldn’t meet his eyes. “What brings you to Greenbank?” Ease. She must exude ease. She reached to lean onto the check-in counter. And missed.

Thankfully, Cade didn’t laugh while she stumbled to regain her balance. He didn’t show any emotion at all; he just stood there staring at her, looking even more handsome than four years ago.

Had it been four years? At that moment, it felt like four days.

“My parents live here.”

His parents. So the couple she’d glimpsed once or twice around town was actually Mr. and Mrs. Davis, not figments of her imagination. That would have been nice to know.

His eyes still searched her face, as if looking for the answer to something.

No answers here, buddy. Nothing to see, move right along.

“Really?” she asked. Anything to keep him from watching her like that. “I thought they lived in Denver? But that was a while ago… so I guess they could have moved. It would make sense. I moved. People move.” She clamped her mouth shut before it got away from her.Moreaway from her.

“Until almost two years ago, yeah. Then they moved here.” He lifted open hands as if that explained why his family would uproot after spending their whole lives in the same city.

“Oh. Cool. Very cool. Like this weather. Ha.” Natalie grimaced.

Cade’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, I guess. Anyway, their basement flooded, and I need a place to stay until it’s all dried out. The hotel is booked until next week, so…”

The hotel was booked? Already? And Natalie had only filled two-thirds of her cute, quirky rooms? That was sobering.

“Do you have any availability?” Cade asked.

Right. Now was not the moment to lament her poor business skills or the disappointing tastes of the general public. “Yes. Uh, yes, I do.”

“I can try and find somewhere else. Maybe I could drive out to Woodcastle.” He stepped back to the door, as if staying a twenty-minute drive from his parents was better than staying somewhere inhabited by her.

Actually, it wasn’t a terrible idea.

No. She shook her head. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she needed the business more than anything. More than she needed to avoid her ex-boyfriend. It had been four years. Surely this awkwardness was just because this was the first they’d seen of each other. In a day or two, it would melt away. She needed to fill the B&B—what did her pride matter when compared to that?

Annnd… she’d just realized she was still shaking her head.

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