Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
CARLOS
“Do we really want to do this?” I ask Ned as we drive back to town. Please say yes.
He makes a humming sound. “I don’t want to run the hotel, but I definitely want to bring it back to life.”
I let out a relieved breath. “Me too. That place needs a second chance.” Sliding a sideways glance at him, I add, “Like us.”
The words hang between us for a moment. He swallows audibly. “We should probably talk.”
“I don’t want us to break up,” I reiterate firmly. “Things have been rough, but we can make them better.”
“Yes. Okay. We agree on that. I-I don’t want you to be unhappy, but I’m not willing to let go. Not yet.”
The “yet” makes me frown, but I let it slide. If I have my way, we’ll never get to that point. “I’m not unhappy with you. I could never be unhappy with you. But, uh… we probably haven’t talked as much as we should have, and things have gotten…”
“Fucked up?”
I chuckle. “Yeah. So, let’s agree to be completely honest, no offense taken, and try to work this out.” That’s a risk, but we need to get the problems out into the open.
Ned hesitates, then nods. “Okay.”
“Great. I’ll go first.” I suck in a deep breath. “Lately I feel like you’re sick of me. We were so happy in the beginning, and I’ve been trying to recreate that, but something’s not right. Do you want to go back to Europe? We can do that.”
There’s a little pause, then Ned says slowly, “So all these parties we’ve been going to lately… all the premieres and launches and fundraisers… the new nightclubs, the music festivals… you think I want that?”
My foot jerks on the gas pedal. “You don’t?”
The sound that comes from his throat is half scoff, half chuckle. “Not really. I’m… tired. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy those events, but sometimes I just want a night at home.”
Oh my god. I start to laugh. “So I’ve been jamming our calendar with more and more events in an attempt to make you happy, and the more we did, the worse you felt?”
He laughs too. “We’re both so fucking stupid. I should have said something.”
“Or I should have asked. But at least we know now, and this is easy to fix. It’s a relief, actually. I’m sick of having my feet hurt all the time and having to get dressed up. This visit with Larry and Tonya has been such a nice break.”
Ned’s smile is like the sun coming out. “It has. I wouldn’t mind more low-key socializing like this, with big events occasionally. And lots of time in between just for us.”
“Sounds perfect.” I can’t believe it’s this easy. Or that I was so blind.
“Are you sure you want to give up all the parties with underwear models?” The question is teasing, but there’s a note of insecurity in his tone.
“You mean all those boys who made me feel old?” I counter. “One of them pressed up against me, and it was like leaning against a wall. Six-pack abs might be nice to look at on TV or in magazines, but I like something softer to cuddle with.” It’s true. Ned’s always been everything I want.
He doesn’t say anything, but his hand lands on my thigh and squeezes.
A moment later, he clears his throat. “So… we’re buying Mannix Estate? I can tell you want to renovate it.”
“Dying to,” I admit. “I was thinking, though… instead of just a hotel, what if we made it a… I don’t know. A destination?”
“To do what?” He sounds skeptical. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“Well, it is a haunted house,” I point out.
“That’s gotta be worth something. And when the ghosts were showing us around and talking about how things used to be, I thought it could be fun to, you know, do some old-timey exhibits?
Like show the farming methods Carter would have used.
Or cooking exhibits using old-fashioned stoves.
” It’s kind of vague in my head. My mom loves to cook, but she’s always had modern appliances.
And I’ve spent my adult life as a huge fan of the microwave.
“I bet there’s some interesting local history,” Ned says thoughtfully. “Maybe we could have a small museum-type thing? At the very least, it could feature the history of the estate and talk about what life was like when Joe built it.”
“Yes! Stuff like that. Maybe it could be set up for educational day trips. And theme weekends—remember when Titanic came out and my sister went on that weekend getaway where they all dressed up and pretended they lived back then? Stuff like that.”
Ned’s grinning now. “That sounds fun. Can we have a blacksmith? I know there probably wasn’t one on the estate back then, but I’ve always thought blacksmithing is cool.”
I shrug, slowing as we approach the town. “I don’t see why not.”
We’re still excitedly discussing our plans when we enter the B&B and make our way upstairs. “We’re definitely not running it, though,” Ned warns. “I like the comfort of living in a city. And your mom would kill us if we moved to Illinois.”
“Agreed. We’ll hire a good manager. But it’ll be nice to visit, and I like the idea that we’re bringing the place back and giving the ghosts company.
” I kick off my shoes and flop down on the bed as Ned sits in the chair to remove his shoes more sedately, like he always does.
My love for him threatens to overwhelm me as I watch him, his hair swinging forward and hiding half his face.
The golden blond has threads of silver in it now, but it’s still as thick as ever.
He looks up and catches me staring. “What?”
“I’m just wondering how I can be so lucky to be with such a hot, sweet guy.”
His face turns pink, as expected. I love how he blushes. When we first got together, I used to make it my mission to make him blush whenever I could. Why did I stop doing that?
Only a little nervous, I pat the mattress beside me. “Wanna snuggle?”