Page 87 of The Summer Inn on Plum Island
“You read my book?” Dawn gaped at her niece.
Harper nodded as she continued her voice, which was a mix of admiration and guilt. “Last Christmas, when you were home, I noticed that every time you talked about the hotel, Plum Island, and Liam, your eyes would light up just like Eve’s in the story whenever she was around Jack, the hotel manager.”
“Why did you name him Jack?” Lila asked. “Did you know that my father’s second name is Jackson?”
“What?” Dawn looked at Lila in amazement. “No, I didn’t.”
“Fate,” Lila said, nodding.
“I got hold of Lila, and we started talking. We became friends,” Harper admitted.
“You two knew each other before I introduced you at the airport?” Dawn asked, and they nodded. “I must say that I’ve seen talented actors before, and the two of you outshine them.”
“Your book was amazing, Dawn,” Lila confirmed what Harper had said. “And we’re so sorry for deceiving you.” She glanced at Harper for support.
“We wanted to make your fairytale come true, like in your book.” Harper’s eyes shone with emotion. “We thought… we thought it would make everyone happy.”
“My father was so closed off toward other women before you came to Plum Island,” Lila told Dawn. “After the two of you became friends, it was like he became a different person and was so happy. Every time he saw you, he’d get this goofy look in his eyes.”
“Like you do when you see him,” Harper explained.
“Thanks?” Dawn didn’t know quite how to take that, and if she did get a goofy look, she really hoped Liam hadn’t seen it, or he’d think she was a moron.
An image of their kiss flitted through her mind, and she automatically touched her lips.
“I have some chapstick,” Lila said, having seen Dawn touch her lips. She fished a tube from her pocket. “It will help with dry lips, and it’s cherry, so it’s sweet.”
“Thank you,” Dawn said.
She took the chapstick and applied some to her lips. It felt great, and she hadn’t even realized how much her lips needed it. It was also tasty and made Dawn feel hungry, and the panic swelled again.
The girls were going to get hungry and thirsty!Dawn realized.
“We’re sorry, Aunt Dawn,” Harper said again and dropped her head, making Dawn think there was a lot more to the story.
“Is there more you want to tell me?” Dawn asked. Harper and Lila nodded.
Lila admitted to stealing Dawn’s watch at Alex and Daniella’s wedding, intending to use it as part of their matchmaking plot. They were going to take odd things and make Liam and Dawn think the hotel was haunted, throwing them into solving the mystery together. But the plan backfired.
“I lost your watch at the wedding,” Lila said, disappearing in her voice. “I was beside myself. Carl helped me look for it. He asked me when I lost it, and I told him that I thought I had dropped it when one of the waiting staff at the wedding bumped into me. She had mean eyes.” She shuddered.
“Carl started investigating the staff that worked at the wedding that night,” Harper added. “But Lila told him she thought she recognized the woman that bumped into her as one of the cleaning crew from the Inn’s new cleaning service.”
“I went through all the cleaning staff pictures, but the woman wasn’t on the list,” Lila told Dawn. “The cameras at the wedding hadn’t picked her up either. But Carl was looking into it for us.”
“We tried to manipulate events to mirror the narrative of your book, Aunt Dawn.” Harper’s voice was filled with contrition. “Then Lila’s locket and your journal were stolen on the first night I got there.”
“It was like someone knew and had taken over our plans,” Lila told Dawn.
“Only they weren’t trying to matchmake you and Liam.” Harper’s voice wobbled with fear, and she sucked in a shaky breath, her eyes filling with unshed tears. “It’s like they are trying to hurt the both of you.”
“Wait!” Dawn held up her hand, halting the teen’s confessions. “You keep referring to Carl, but he only got here the day Harper did.”
“No.” Harper shook her head and corrected her Aunt. “Carl was here two days before you first arrived on Plum Island and has been here ever since.”
“Excuse me?” Dawn’s brow rose, and her chin tucked in as she stared at Harper in shock. “Carl’smysecurity detail?”
Harper looked confused, then said, “Carl’s been here over a year, Dawn. He’s been looking after you.”
