Chapter 14 #2
“I’ve just finished cleaning all the rooms, so I’ll head out to the grocery store and pick up some. I promised Mrs. Bateman that a variety would be available by tomorrow morning.”
“Don’t let that get you down. Layne didn’t mention it.”
“She probably didn’t know herself,” Piper said.
“She never really had any involvement in running the inn. Yes, back in high school, she would help her mom clean some of the rooms, but she never did any of the cooking or shopping. I’ll make a note of it so that whoever eventually takes over, he or she will know it’s something to provide. ”
“Were the cookies a hit yesterday?” he asked.
She chuckled. “Oh, they scarfed those down. Drank most of the cucumber water, too. I’m going to go with a different flavored water each afternoon. I think it’s a nice touch,”
“How many people checked in total?”
“Three of the four rooms were occupied last night. All those couples are staying another night. I’ll have a new check-in this afternoon, and they’re staying an entire week. Going back through the previous records, they’ve stayed at the Bay Breeze multiple times over the years.”
“I wish we could grab some lunch now, but I’m over at Tidewater.”
“That’s okay. I’ve got laundry going now, and I need to pick up the tea.”
“I know you’re on desk duty until six tonight.”
“Actually, I’ll I only need to stay until the Millers check in. Since they’re the only guests coming today, I’ll be done for the night when they check in. Of course, I have no idea when they’ll arrive.”
“How about we eat dinner in tonight?” Sullivan suggested.
“I think I may be too tired to cook by tonight. Not that I know how to make anything other than breakfast.”
“Leave dinner to me,” he said. “I’ll be over at six.”
“Thank you,” she said, glad she would be able to see him tonight.
Piper wondered how long she had with Sullivan.
A part of her wanted him to give her the date he would be leaving the Bay so that she would be able to prepare herself for his departure.
Yet at the same time, it almost might be better not knowing.
Not having that countdown clock hanging over her.
If Sullivan left abruptly, it would be like pulling a Band-Aid off with one, swift move.
It would still hurt—but maybe not as much.
Her eyes welled with tears. Who was she fooling? Sullivan leaving Driftwood Bay would be the worst thing that had ever happened to her. At least she would have her parents and friends to lean on once he was gone.
She collected towels from the dryer and put another load of them on to dry before doing a thirty-minute Zumba routine.
Having worked up a good sweat, she jumped into the shower, feeling more energized now.
She dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved shirt and picked up her purse in order to head to the store.
Her phone chimed, and she saw it was a text from Layne. It was a good seven or eight hours later in Italy.
Aren’t you glad I waited so long to check in?
I didn’t want you to think I was hovering over you, but I do hope everything went smoothly yesterday and that breakfast was fine this morning.
Rome is everything I thought it could be—and more!
I’ve already eaten my weight in gelato today, but we’re doing a lot of walking when we’re not in our room, and I know you know what that means.
She typed a reply, telling her friend everything was perfectly fine and to enjoy her honeymoon. Piper then sent a second text, telling Layne not to check in daily and concentrate on her new, handsome husband and exercising in bed. Layne sent back three heart emojis.
Going back to the laundry room, she pulled out the last load from the dryer.
After folding those sheets, she placed them on the shelf in the supply room and headed downstairs to Keaton’s car.
She went to the grocery store, picking up a variety of teas, both individual teabags and pods to use in the coffee maker.
While there, she added hot chocolate, just in case anyone got a hankering for it.
Then she stopped by the bakery and chatted a few minutes with Denise, telling the bakery owner the cookies she had purchased yesterday disappeared quickly.
“I saw two guests munching on them, while they carried more on napkins back to their rooms. I found cookie crumbs in the bedsheets in one room.” She didn’t mention it was the Batemans.
Denise laughed. “There’s nothing like a good cookie to close out the day. What can I get you today, Piper?”
She had gone with sugar cookies and oatmeal raisin ones yesterday, so she said, “Let me have chocolate chip and peanut butter. A dozen of each.”
Piper hoped some might be left over for her and Sullivan to nibble on in bed and decided she would set a couple aside before she placed them out for the guests so they would have a sweet treat themselves after dinner—or sex—tonight.
She returned to the inn and made herself a quick sandwich and grabbed an apple to go with it.
The rest of the afternoon she sat at the desk, scrolling through the Driftwood Bay Chamber of Commerce site.
It connected to all members, and she perused those business websites carefully, hoping she might find an idea of what she wanted to do in the future beyond caring for the B&B.
At a quarter after five, the Millers arrived. She greeted them warmly, going through her spiel and giving them their keys.
“We are delighted the Bay Breeze underwent a facelift,” Mr. Miller said. “We’ve come here for many years, and it was beginning to look a little sad.”
“I think you’ll be happy with all the changes you find,” she told the pair. “You’ll be staying in the Daffodil Room. It’s the third on the left.”
“It was so clever to decorate the rooms and name them after flowers,” Mrs. Miller said.
“You can credit Layne Larson with that. She inherited the inn from her parents after their deaths. Actually, she’s Layne Maxwell now—and on her honeymoon.”
“Oh, I remember Layne as a teenager,” Mrs. Miller said. “A lovely girl. Please pass along our best wishes to her on her marriage.”
“I’ll do that,” Piper promised.
She texted Sullivan, letting him know that the Millers had checked in and she was free for the rest of the evening. Piper went to her room to freshen up, spritzing on a bit of perfume.
When he arrived, he had a large, brown sack in hand. She recognized the logo of Ming Dynasty stamped in bright red on the side.
“You mentioned you liked Chinese,” he said as he followed her into the kitchen. “Since I didn’t know exactly what you preferred, I brought several things.”
“I adore Chinese. I could eat it every day. Thanks for picking up dinner tonight. I’m more hungry than I thought I would be.”
“You’re in the people pleasing business now. That’s what Zane calls it—and people can be high maintenance. Even the nicest ones.”
“When will he be arriving in the Bay?”
“I need to touch base with him about that. He’s been in Asia for a couple of months now, so we haven’t talked much.”
She claimed plates from the cupboard while Sullivan set the various cartons on the table and opened them.
“Shrimp fried rice. Orange chicken. Moo Goo Gai Pan. Pepper steak. And chow mein. A couple of eggrolls in case you want one of those. Huh. They only put in one fortune cookie with all this food?” he complained.
“You can keep it.”
“No, it’s yours. Open it.”
Piper yanked apart the cellophane and removed the cookie. Halving it, she gave him his share, which he immediately popped into his mouth. She removed the slip of paper and read her fortune.
Your future holds a big decision. Be sure you make the right one.
“What does it say?” he asked.
She passed the slip to him and sat, picking up a carton of the orange chicken and placing some on her plate.
Sullivan set the fortune aside and filled his own plate.
He told her a little about what he’d been doing at Tidewater today and then said, “I’ve got to head up to Vancouver tomorrow.
It’s the next place I’ll be designing for, and I always go in person to see where the resort will stand.
That helps me generate ideas, plus I take a ton of pictures to refer to in order to incorporate the surrounding area into my design. ”
Piper’s appetite disappeared in an instant. Dully, she said, “I didn’t realize tonight would be our last night.”