Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
ASHLEY
“I’m so sorry, I don’t know why it’s not working.” My cheeks grow hotter as I try for the fifth time to print out Nick’s receipt—another damn error.
“That’s all right. You have my email address. Just send it along when you can.”
I give him a wan smile, but his suggestion is probably best over him continuing to stand there while I silently freak out, embarrassed by how unreliable this checkout process has been lately.
“Sounds good, Nick. I’ll be sure to send it along as soon as the system is back up. I hope you enjoyed your stay again this year. I’m glad to see that your back is feeling better.”
“Are you kidding me? I feel like I’m twenty years old again.” He twists from side to side, demonstrating, and one of his white bushy eyebrows lowers and raises when he winks. “I’ll see you next year. Already made my reservation.”
I’m so thankful to have faithful guests like him. He’s been a guest every year since I bought the place. “I look forward to it. Have a safe trip home.”
He nods and walks toward the front door, trailing his luggage behind him.
Nick was the last of the guests to check out, leaving a strange kind of silence in his wake. For the first time since I bought the B&B, it’ll be void of guests for a while—except Carter, but he’s not really a guest, is he? I certainly don’t plan on waiting on him as if he is one.
To combat the quiet, I bring my laptop into the great room and turn on Christmas Vacation, my favorite Christmas movie, to serve as background noise while I work out the issue with the reservation system.
Guests must pay for their rooms upfront, so I’m not concerned about payment, but I do need to fix this issue.
It makes me look pathetically unprofessional.
“Damn it.” My entire platform for reservations is down once again.
“That’s not very holidayish.”
“Is that even a word?” I snap, whipping my head around to see Carter coming into the room. He’s wearing a pair of jeans and a navy-blue sweater that deepens the color of his eyes.
“Whoa, bad day?”
“Sorry… I’m not feeling especially merry right now.”
“What’s wrong?” He sits on the couch, leaving a foot between us.
“My reservations system is down, and I wasn’t able to check Nick out when he left. I’m not sure what the issue is though. There always seems to be an issue.”
He nods toward the laptop on my thighs. “Mind if I take a look?”
The stubborn part of me wants to say I can figure it out on my own, but I think back to what he told me about his job and what he’d really like to be doing, and I figure he’s the perfect person to help me. I hand my laptop to Carter.
He clicks the mouse pad a few times. “What’s the web address for the B&B?”
I tell him, and he opens the browser and types it in.
He scrolls through the site for a minute, humming to himself.
It’s cute, and I shamelessly watch him work a little longer.
Then another hum comes out, and I’m not sure if this hum is of approval or disapproval, and suddenly I’m self-conscious about the choices I made for the website.
It’s not the best, most modern website, but my guests have never complained, and they can navigate it well.
He clicks to the backend of my reservation system and performs several actions I can’t follow. His gaze veers to me. “You don’t have to watch over my shoulder the entire time.”
“Sorry.” I relax back into the couch and decide to watch Chevy Chase put up his Christmas lights.
I’m not sure how long it takes him because I get into the movie, but he places the closed laptop back on my lap. “Fixed.”
“Really?”
He nods. “Yeah, it wasn’t anything major. Just something that got messed up during an update that was pushed out this morning. Should be good to go now, but if you have any more problems with it, let me know.”
A huge relief washes over me. It would have taken me so much more time and money to overhaul the site.
“Thank you, I really appreciate it.” I open my laptop and poke around to check that everything is working. It is.
“Don’t trust me, huh?”
I quickly look at him to argue that’s not it, but he’s grinning. And god, he’s so attractive. I’ve been pushing away the part of me that wants him since the minute he arrived in town. “That’s a loaded question.”
He chuckles. “I want to ask you something, but I don’t know how you’ll feel about it…”
“Well, that’s definitely a loaded statement.”
“I don’t want to overstep, but it’s about your website.”
I cross my arms with the urge to be defensive and defiant to mask my embarrassment. “It’s not the best thing in the world, but it does the job.”
“See, no one likes IT people. You think I’m already insulting you.”
I draw in a deep breath and exhale it slowly. “What is it?”
“I wondered if you’d trust me to develop a new one and show you where I think I can make some improvements.
No pressure to move it over or anything, but your feedback would be helpful to me.
You know, if I do go into business for myself, I’d appreciate feedback on what services you might find helpful and how much you would be willing to pay for them. ”
The negative part of me says he’s using the excuse of his new venture when in reality, he thinks my system is shit and wants to give me a handout.
That he’s couching his offer to help by wrapping it up as me helping him, when really the opposite is true.
But the truth is, I would love to update my website, and if I can help him out at the same time, it’s a win-win.
I’d be stupid and bullheaded if I don’t take him up on the offer.
“All right, you have yourself a deal.”
He nods. “Cool.” Then he turns his head toward the TV. “This is one of my favorite Christmas movies.”
I can’t fight the grin that spreads across my face. “Me too!”
“It kind of reminds me of when my whole family gets together during the holidays now—pure chaos.”
I smile, picturing Carter in the middle of all the chaos. “Wish I could watch it all, but I have to turn over the rooms and get the bedding into the wash.”
Carter glances back at the screen. “But the best part is coming up. Chevy Chase is going to go for a toboggan ride.” He chuckles. When I don’t say anything for a beat, he does. “What if we both watch the rest of the movie, then I’ll help you do whatever needs to be done in the rooms?”
His offer surprises me, but maybe it shouldn’t. Carter’s been offering a helping hand since he arrived—with the fridge, with the wedding, with Nick, and now me. Maybe he isn’t who I thought he was.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“’Course not. Watching a holiday movie is always more enjoyable when you do it with someone else.” There’s a glimmer of something in his eye, and if I didn’t know better, I might mistake it for interest.
I shake off the thought. We’re keeping things platonic. “That’s true. Do you want me to make some hot apple cider or hot chocolate?”
“Oh… hot chocolate, please. Any chance you have marshmallows?” He bites the corner of his lip, and oh god, he looks sexy.
No. No, Ashley. Not sexy. Not at all sexy.
I playfully scoff. “Any good B&B owner has marshmallows on hand for hot chocolate. Especially in Mistletoe Falls.”
He laughs and stands from the couch. “C’mon, I’ll help you get it ready, then we can relax for a bit before we work.”
While we prepare the hot chocolate, we chat easily about Santa Fest and how empty the house feels. Ten minutes later, we’re back in the great room with blankets over our laps and our hands wrapped around warm mugs filled with hot chocolate and marshmallows, watching the movie.
Carter laughs especially hard during the tobogganing scene, and I can’t help but look over and take him in. His head rocked back, his smile so big. A foreign feeling presses against my sternum as I admire him.
I could stay all night and play movie after movie, watching his reaction. Then I remember my plans for tonight, and guilt washes over me. I hadn’t intended to tell Carter about them, let alone invite him along. But I might enjoy myself more if he came along.
Before I talk myself out of it, I blurt, “I’m going to a holiday dance at the community center tonight. Would you want to go?”
He faces me and blinks a few times, clearly surprised by my invitation.
Oh God, why did you ask him, Ashley? He doesn’t want to go.
“Not, like, with me,” I rush out.
“No?” he asks, and there’s a pique in his tone that suggests he might not have said no if I were asking him on a date.
“No, just because I feel like I can’t let you just stay here and miss all the fun.” I shrug as if my invitation isn’t for any reason other than being polite.
“Yeah… of course.” His eyes hold mine, and I try to appear as if my heart isn’t racing. “I’d love to go. Sounds like fun.”
“There’s a catch,” I say.
“Always is. Let’s hear it.”
“You have to wear a holiday sweater. It can be funny, an ugly sweater, or whatever. It just has to be on theme. If you don’t have one, we can find something in town this afternoon.”
A slow smile spreads across his face. “You have no idea the family I come from. I have the perfect thing.”
“You mean you just happen to have a holiday sweater with you?”
It cannot be charming. I can’t find Carter charming. It’s one of those odd things about someone that you tell your friends after the breakup. Like, he had a holiday sweater, isn’t that so weird?
“’Tis the season.” He winks.
I ignore the way my belly swoops. “We’re leaving at seven.”
“I’ll be ready.”
We both turn back toward the TV and watch the rest of the movie in silence.