Page 46 of Starfish Cottage
“What’s going on?” Maddie nodded toward the phone. “Secret admirer?”
Gina scoffed. “Hardly. Just the usual stuff. But enough about me. How about the town? I feel like things are looking up, and the motel is booked out for almost the entire summer.”
“Really?” Dex looked up from his pie. “That’s great.”
Maddie felt a pang of guilt. Earlier in the month, she’d been focused on the event and then on her cottage. She hadn’t helped out at the motel at all. “I’m going to start putting in regular hours there again.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Jules waved her off. “We have it handled. I might put you on laundry duty though.”
Maddie laughed. “Maybe we’ll have enough money to hire someone for that soon.”
“With all the rooms booked, it won’t be long.” Gina settled back and sipped her wine. “Though I am upset our long-term resident won’t be staying much longer.”
Maddie leaned forward to grab a cracker then stick a slice of cheddar on top. “Aggie? Oh no! I thought she might be staying indefinitely. Poor Henry!”
“Actually, she is staying, just not at the motel,” Nick said. “She’s getting a permanent place in town. I guess Gramps is really hard to resist.”
Jules smiled at him. “Runs in the family.”
Gina made a gagging noise. “We don’t need to go down that road. But speaking of relationships, there might be some drama at the motel.”
“Why do you say that?” Maddie asked.
“Chuck’s son, Cole, and Deena’s daughter, Sam, both made reservations at the motel for the same week.”
“I remember Chuck and Deena wanted them to come. We gave them a discount. But why is that a problem?” Maddie asked.
“Since they don’t approve of Chuck and Deena’s relationship, they might be at odds. Sam thinks Chuck is taking advantage of Deena, and Cole thinks Deena is taking advantage of Chuck.” Gina flipped her phone over and glanced at the screen quickly before flipping it back.
“I could see how that can be problematic,” Jules said. “But it won’t take them long to see that Chuck and Deena are very nice and that they are made for each other.”
“Maybe,” Gina said. “But you know how people are. Once they are invested in an idea, they don’t want to let go of it.”
“True.” Maddie knew that better than anyone. “Hopefully they will come to their senses.”
“I hope so for Chuck and Deena’s sake,” Maddie said.
“I don’t know. I think we may be in for an interesting summer,” Gina said.
“Nothing wrong with that.” Maddie settled back into the cushions, and they lapsed into the easy conversation of good friends. She was optimistic about the rest of the summer. The town was starting to thrive, the motel was booked, and she had a summer full of beach nights and get-togethers on her deck. What more could she ask for?
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