Irresistible (Cloverleigh Farms #1)(35)

“I don’t have a sour expression,” I snapped.

She folded her arms. “I can see it clear across the room. We want people to feel welcome when they come in. Look a little warmer, please.”

“Sorry.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “I’ll try.”

Suddenly her annoyance turned into concern. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m feeling fine,” I said through my teeth, plastering on a smile as a few guests approached. “And I have to seat these people, so excuse me.”

I made a better effort to be warm and welcoming after that, and I was doing okay until I heard Mack’s voice. Looking up from the stack of menus in front of me, I locked eyes with him as he and Henry DeSantis crossed the lobby. My heart beat faster as they approached.

“Hey, Frannie,” Henry said. “They’ve got you out here tonight, huh?”

“Yes.” I offered Henry a smile, tearing my gaze from Mack. “Working late tonight?”

“We were, but we just decided to knock off for the night and grab a drink at the bar.”

Mack spoke up. “I left a check for you at the desk, Frannie.”

My smile faded as I forced myself to meet his eyes again. “Thanks.”

“We’ll just grab a couple seats at the bar if that’s okay,” Henry said. “No need to seat us.”

“Okay.” I tried hard to sound cheerful. “Enjoy.”

They moved past me, and I caught a whiff of Mack’s scent—it nearly made my knees buckle. And he looked so good in that shade of blue. It matched his eyes. Why’d he have to be so handsome?

Several times over the next hour, I peeked into the bar area and spied on them. It wasn’t easy since they’d taken two seats at the far end of the bar, but twice I was able to make up an excuse to go into the kitchen. That meant I had to walk by them four times. The first time, I was careful to make no eye contact whatsoever. The second time, Mack happened to notice me, and our eyes met. Neither of us smiled. The third time, I noticed they’d decided to eat at the bar, and both had ordered steaks. The final time, Henry must have gone to the bathroom or something, because Mack was sitting by himself. He looked at me as I passed him, and I refused to make eye contact. Then he said my name.

I pretended like I hadn’t heard him and walked faster, my heels clacking on the wood floor. Next thing I knew, a hand was on my shoulder.

“Frannie,” he said again. “Stop a minute.”

I turned to face him, reluctantly meeting his eyes. “Yes?”

“Are you—I mean, how are you?” He shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Fine.” I crossed my arms. “Are the girls with their mom?”

He grimaced and shook his head. “She didn’t show.”

I gasped, although it didn’t surprise me. “She didn’t?”

“No, she texted me this morning to tell me she wasn’t coming because of the weather. She didn’t want to fly into a snowstorm.”

“Were the girls upset?”

“They didn’t even know she was coming. Well, Millie knew it was a possibility, but she’s getting to the point where she knows she can’t believe anything her mother says.”

“That’s tough.” I felt myself softening. “Poor Millie.”

“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I felt so bad I picked them up from school and drove them all the way to my sister’s in Petoskey to hang out with their cousins. Then Jodie invited them to stay the night, so I came back here to get some work done because I’m so behind, but … I couldn’t concentrate.”

“Why not?”

He lowered his voice. “Because you’re upset with me.”

“No, I’m not,” I said, glancing around at the other patrons in the bar.

“Then why are you avoiding me? You’ve hardly said two words to me since Tuesday. Yesterday at the house you wouldn’t even look at me.”

I took a breath and squared my shoulders. “I’m not upset with you. I’m just trying to get over my stupid feelings. Talking to you doesn’t help.”

He nodded slowly. “Does that mean you don’t want to nanny for me anymore?”

“No.” I sighed, feeling embarrassed that I’d turned this into a thing that was making us both feel awkward. “I’ll be fine, Mack. Don’t worry about it. I should get back to work.”

“Okay.” He opened his mouth like he might say something else, and I could have thought of any number of things I wanted to hear. Don’t go. I’m sorry. I changed my mind.

But a second later, he closed it again, and I walked away.

What else could I do?





*



The inn’s dinner crowd was a pretty early one in the winter, so the floor manager let me go by nine-thirty. Mack and Henry still hadn’t come out of the bar, and I was glad I didn’t have to see him again before I left.

After finishing up the hostess’s side work, I said goodnight to my mom at reception, picked up Mack’s check, and went up to my suite. Tossing the check onto my dresser, I changed from my work clothes into flannel pajama pants, a giant gray sweatshirt with a sherpa-lined hood, and fuzzy socks. After throwing my hair into a sloppy bun on the top of my head, I went into the kitchen to warm up a bowl of the squash soup I’d made earlier. But I wasn’t very hungry and only ended up eating about half of it.