Page 48 of Promise Me This Christmas
Amy grinned sheepishly.“It’s on a sticky note beside the printer.”
“Got it.Thanks, Amy.I’d like to get this filed before breakfast.”
Amy checked her watch.“You’ve got forty-five minutes.”
She watched as Larkin headed for the stairs.It had taken all her willpower not to ask to read the article herself.At least that way she would be prepared for the fallout.Why did so many things have to go wrong this of all weeks?
But she’d promised Chet not to stress about the past, she reminded herself.She recalled a quote from the author ofAnne of Green Gables, something about tomorrow being a new day with no mistakes in it.That should be her new motto.
The front door opened then and her brother came in.“Hey, Amy.Have you seen Larkin?”
He sounded tense.“She’s upstairs, using our printer so she can proofread her article on Bramble House.”
Carson raised his eyebrows, acknowledging the importance of the article.“Mind if I go up to see her?”
“Go right ahead.”She waved her arm.
Though Amy still worried about Carson getting hurt, she now saw there could be a flip side to the relationship.If Larkin really did care for Carson, maybe she would go a little bit easy on Bramble House in her article.
Chapter Thirteen
Carson watched ashis sister headed back toward the kitchen.He could tell she was anxious about the article, and he didn’t blame her.She and Chet had invested a lot into this place.And they did such a damn good job with it.He’d seen their reviews, and his own experience here had been mostly positive.
Sure there’d been some screwups.But no one was perfect, right?He hoped Larkin would understand that and would focus on the best things in her article.Maybe a subtle hint from him would help steer things in the right direction.
He had only started ascending the first flight of stairs when Larkin exited the third-story suite carrying her laptop in one hand and some papers in the other.They met on the second-floor landing.
“Good morning.”Despite the problems from yesterday, and his concern about her article, just seeing her face was enough to put a smile on his.Unfortunately, she didn’t appear as happy to see him.
“What are you doing here?”
“Trying to find you, obviously.”
She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes.“After last night don’t you think we need a breather?”
Larkin was only scheduled to stay in Marietta for two more days.They did not need a breather.There was no time for a breather.“Wasn’t twelve hours enough?”
She checked her watch.“You owe me another hour.I’ll see you at breakfast, okay?”She tried to move past him toward the room with the signMontana Sapphireover the door.
Thanks to his size, it was easy to block her.Also, it wasn’t unpleasant to feel her close to him, to smell the almond scent of her hair, and see the flecks of gold in her coffee-colored eyes.
“What’s that you’re working on?”He nodded at the papers.
“My article.I want to email it to Marly before breakfast.”
“I’d be glad to proofread it for you.”
“Oh, would you?Thanks, but no thanks.”She tried again to circumvent him, but all he had to do was shift his weight from one foot to the other, to block her access to the door handle.
“I remember playing this game as kids,” he said.
She almost smiled.“Honestly, I think you still are a kid.”
“Oh, I’ve added some real grown-up games to my repertoire.I’d like to teach you the rules sometime.”
“Be serious.I have work to do.”
“And I get that.I just hope that when you write about Bramble House you remember all the good stuff.All the special touches and the hard work that Amy in particular, but actually all the staff, puts in to make guests comfortable and happy.”
