Chris #5
Savannah tilted her head as her brown hair shifted around her chin before she tucked it behind her hair. "You're not upset that I gave your room away, right?"
I waved my hand before I twirled in my office chair. "No, that's why I don't really get comfortable in any of the rooms here. You know I do have the room in the overflow building, and I of course have this office. Heck, give me a rollout bed. I'll just sleep here."
Savannah winced. "You know, he gives you a look when he looks at you."
Stopping the chair, I shook my head. “Poppycock,” I muttered. “Hes the enemy.”
“Whelp, I guess I better get my stuff.”
Savannah stepped in front of me. “I’ll get it and prep the room for the next guests. You take Chris to the overflow rooms.”
“Hey, since it’s Christmas, are we adding a new meal?”
I blew out a breath as I leaned against my desk. “I guess we should. Christmas spirit. Magic of the season. But I don’t have a cook.”
Savannah grinned and sat on the edge of the desk. “My boyfriend is jobless and available.”
I winced. “Can he cook?”
“Yep.”
I nodded. “Can he do the shopping for it? I don’t even know how I’d make a list of food for this many people. I have to call the mayor, too. We won’t have enough pastries.”
“I’ll call him after you get to your room. Take a break. I know you’re stressing like crazy.”
“After the holidays, I might lose this place.”
Savannah smiled kindly before she winked. “I’m not sure about that.”
Sighing, I stood up and placed my hand on the door knob. “You’re right. I should be more positive.” I sucked in a breath as I tried to push away all the negativity filling my soul.
“Don’t discount the Christmas magic!” Savannah yelled at me as I pulled the door open.
Chris stood there in all his glory with his bags. “I was about to knock.”
I shrugged. “Let’s go.”
As he trailed behind me, I held the door open for him as we walked out of the door. “Don’t you need your stuff?” he asked.
“I only had a small suitcase and toiletries in there. I don’t normally stay there.
I was only there because night management was off.
My real room is here.” A few moments later, we approached a large outer building with a covered stairwell on the side of the building.
“The bottom is a reception or wedding area. We have some storage and a small kitchenette down there. Up these stairs, we have five rooms. It’s great for renting out to a bridal party or something. I have one room up here by the stairs.”
I stepped into the covered stairwell and climbed up the steps.
At the top, I placed one foot on the top of the landing, but I must have missed it.
Instead, I started stumbling backwards until strong arms wrapped around me.
My heart thumped in my chest as I looked up at Chris’ face.
“Oh, you caught me.” His entirely too attractive mouth was only a few inches from mine; his hot breath danced along my cheek.
He nodded as his throat bobbed before he sat me on my feet at the top of the floor.
I smiled awkwardly before unlocking the door at the top of the stairs.
“Thank you,” I muttered. Yet no matter how far I was from him, I couldn’t contain the flutters in my stomach.
“Anyways, there’s a kitchenette downstairs, but the downstairs is locked.
On the left is the bathroom. The room at the end has a bathroom.
As you can tell, we did prioritize en-suites in the main house, but not in this one.
At this time, we don’t get enough people to make it worth it,” I explained.
I pointed at the room at the end of the hall.
“I actually helped design that one. It’s supposed to be a bridal suite. ”
Chris’ head tilted. “You seem like you’ve put a lot of work into this place. Were you and Lou a thing when he started this place?”
“I told you. I am single as a pringle. Anyways, your room. I’m over here.
This is my real room. I have to make some calls and texts.
I’ll see you later.” Swiftly, I turned around and retreated to my room.
Once the door shut, I leaned against it and let out a trembling breath.
I can’t fall for this man. He’s the enemy like I told Savannah.
Chris
There was a knock on the door and I walked to the door.
I wasn’t fully dressed yet and I was only in my jeans.
As I tightened my belt, I swung the door open and Lulu gasped.
Her eyes trailed down my chest as her throat bobbed and she stopped directly at my buckle.
A weird noise escaped her throat—I wasn’t sure if she knew she was making that noise. I grinned. “You okay, Lulu?”
Lulu shook her head slightly and jerked her head up. “Oh, uh. Yeah, uh, breakfast is ready at the main B & B.”
“Oh, fun. Let me get dressed. What’s on our agenda today?”
“We have the comet thing tonight. So I will be making my hot cocoa. Probably in this kitchenette. I got a text from Savannah that her boyfriend has taken over the kitchen. This wasn’t the plan, but this is a great treat.”
“Why is the kitchen so big?” I asked as I grabbed my shirt and coat.
“Oh, I want to hopefully be able to make this into an Inn with a full restaurant,” she said quickly as she looked at the zipper of her hoodie.
“What does Lou think of that?”
Lulu pressed her lips together in a thin line. “Lou is aspirational too.”
“Not sure if that’s the right phrasing,” I muttered.
Lulu turned away from me and stormed down the stairs.