Crazy in Love (Blue Lake #3)(45)

“I thought if I said it aloud, she’d magically appear.” Leaning over the counter, Rachael peered into the street. A Porsche SUV rolled up to the curb, and a tall blonde wearing stilettos got out. For a second, Rachael thought she might’ve showed up for Cole. But the woman pulled a briefcase out of the backseat and starting taking pictures of the outside of the inn. The designer. “This isn’t going to take long. An hour. Two, tops.”

“Rachael…” Cole took her hand and sent shivers scattering up her arm. “…you have to stop worrying about everyone else. Sometimes you need to do what you want and to hell with the rest.”

“I’ve never been good at that.”

Not since she’d had to take over the inn and run it by herself. Her parents had died in the car accident on Highway 56—every year she placed flowers off the road where the trucker had crossed the yellow line—before they could show her the ropes. All she’d had to keep the place running smoothly, was the memory of how they’d managed things, and it’d never been enough. She didn’t have the luxury of saying to hell with anything.

“If you want to be truly happy,” he said, gazing down at her with those gorgeous brown eyes, “you have to try. You can only live for others for so long. While you’re busy, I’m going to clean up from breakfast, go over my songs for tonight’s show, and have the limo pick me up at five thirty. There’ll be a ticket waiting for you at StoneMill’s front gate.”

Her stomach flipped. “Are you sure you want me to—”

“Yes.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Only I don’t want you to watch the show from the crowd. When you get to StoneMill, head toward the performer’s back entrance and I’ll have Rita escort you to your seat.” He paused, searching her face. “Say okay.”

He was too persuasive and she liked him too much. She enjoyed his company and the banter between them. They had undeniable chemistry that sparked over her skin when they touched. He was dangerously sexy, winding her up tight and pushing her buttons. But it couldn’t last. She couldn’t keep him.

24 hours.

But dang it, Cole was right. She never did anything for herself. With the inn full of guests, she never had time to go out or do things that she truly wanted to do. Tonight was the last night the inn would be empty for who knew how long? She owed it to herself to go out and have a little fun, especially since she didn’t get to see his concert last night.

“Okay,” she said, heart beating out of her chest. “I’ll meet you there.”

“Perfect.” He shot her the same sultry glare he’d given the camera on the Gossip EZ Magazine. “If you give me a ride back after, there just might be a tip in it for you…a really big tip.”

“Really?” She laughed. “That’s great, because I haven’t been given a big tip in a terribly long time.”

As he chortled, she elbowed him in the belly and dashed out the back door to make some major decisions on the remodel.





Chapter Fourteen





As the designer mocked up a series of interior plans for the new building and Dom started painting the six guest rooms downstairs, Rachael traipsed through the living room, trying to imagine what size baseboards would look best.

She preferred tall and baroque. Painted eggshell.

Although the building wasn’t as old as the inn, she wanted to keep the historic feel. Guests staying in the addition should feel like they’re sleeping in a part of the inn itself. Dark hardwood floors stretched through the living room, kitchen, and into the back. (She’d have to add some scuff to tone down the new shine.) Walls were painted a muted, relaxed shade of tan and the windows were boxed by thick, elaborate molding. Black and white prints of old town Blue Lake decorated the main living space and a well-oiled wood smell filtered through the air.