her, much more than he thought he would. Not enough to stop him from using her to get to Gordon Chase…
She raised her eyes to his, and a suspicious look flashed through them.
“What?” She swiped at her face. “Do I have something on my nose?”
Jake smiled and jerked his chin up toward the clock. “It’s closing time. One a.m.”
“ I don’t think so. I own the place.” She took a swig from her dr ink and set it down on the bar. “From now on, we’re open until I’m done drinking.”
“ Fine,” he said. “But you’ll have to take that up with the town board. They make the rules, and right now, we’re in violation of the law.”
Her eyes met his, and behind her tough expression, he could see the vulnerability there. She was scared. Somehow, though he didn ’t think it was possible, that made him like her even more.
He smiled and nudged the glass toward her with his finger. “Take it with you. It’s your glass now anyway.”
“ Great. Can I get a room, too?”
“ I don’t kn ow. The desk is closed.”
“ The desk is closed? This is a hotel. What if someone needs something? Like, to get a room?”
Jake shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. The desk closes at six. And I don’t know which rooms are available. Annabelle has this… system. It’s weird. It involves tarot cards and an abacus and a trained monkey—”
“ She has a system ? What, you don’t have computers?”
Jake grinned, amused that she took the joke literally. “Yeah, we have computers. But it’s this weird program Annabelle’s, like, uncle or cousin or something wrote. It’s linked with the bookkeeping, and the last time I tried to reserve a room for someone, twelve thousand dollars went missing from the books and it was kinda bloody. Annabelle put a password on it and she’s the only one who can get in.”
Flynn stared at him. “We’ve got one person doing reservations for this entire inn?”
“ The inn is historic, but not typically overbooked. Winters, we don’t even use the west wing. Most of the money comes from the bar and restaurant, which are top quality, highly rated, and well worth keeping to the lucky person who inherits them.”
She didn ’t look impressed. “So that’s a long way of saying…?”
“ Yes. We’ve got one person handling reservations for the entire inn.”
“ Great.” Flynn downed the last of her drink and pushed off her bar stool. “Fine. Okay. Whatever. I’m an adult. There’s no reason I can’t go back to the cottage and just deal with my dead roommate.” She looked at him, tucked a strand of wild caramel hair behind her ear. “It was just a dream, right?”
He couldn ’t help but smile. For some reason, the weirder she got, the more he liked her. “Yeah. It was just a dream.”
She took a step toward the door, then turned around, nibbling on the edge of her lip. “What if she starts talking to me again?”
“ Talk back?”
“ Oh, right. What would I say? ‘Bummer you’re dead, I hear the white light rocks, go find it’?”
“ I don’t know,” he said, holding her gaze. “You could start with the ditzy Daddy’s-girl thing. It’s effective material.”
Flynn cocked her head to the side, as if deciding how to take that, then finally allowed a small smile.
Jake smiled back. “Give me ten minutes to close up here and I’ll walk you back.”
“ Oh, thank you.” She released her breath and her shoulders slumped in relief as she sat back on the bar stool. Jake chuckled and tossed the bar rag into the bucket of bleach water by his feet. This was working out better than he’d ever thought.
He was going to have to be careful around that smile, though. It knocked him over every time.
Four
F lynn rubbed the towel over her wet hair and took a deep breath of the sweet morning air coming in through the window. The bedroom, not half as creepy now as it had been last night, was aglow in the tree-filtered rays of the autumn sun,
She raised her eyes to his, and a suspicious look flashed through them.
“What?” She swiped at her face. “Do I have something on my nose?”
Jake smiled and jerked his chin up toward the clock. “It’s closing time. One a.m.”
“ I don’t think so. I own the place.” She took a swig from her dr ink and set it down on the bar. “From now on, we’re open until I’m done drinking.”
“ Fine,” he said. “But you’ll have to take that up with the town board. They make the rules, and right now, we’re in violation of the law.”
Her eyes met his, and behind her tough expression, he could see the vulnerability there. She was scared. Somehow, though he didn ’t think it was possible, that made him like her even more.
He smiled and nudged the glass toward her with his finger. “Take it with you. It’s your glass now anyway.”
“ Great. Can I get a room, too?”
“ I don’t kn ow. The desk is closed.”
“ The desk is closed? This is a hotel. What if someone needs something? Like, to get a room?”
Jake shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. The desk closes at six. And I don’t know which rooms are available. Annabelle has this… system. It’s weird. It involves tarot cards and an abacus and a trained monkey—”
“ She has a system ? What, you don’t have computers?”
Jake grinned, amused that she took the joke literally. “Yeah, we have computers. But it’s this weird program Annabelle’s, like, uncle or cousin or something wrote. It’s linked with the bookkeeping, and the last time I tried to reserve a room for someone, twelve thousand dollars went missing from the books and it was kinda bloody. Annabelle put a password on it and she’s the only one who can get in.”
Flynn stared at him. “We’ve got one person doing reservations for this entire inn?”
“ The inn is historic, but not typically overbooked. Winters, we don’t even use the west wing. Most of the money comes from the bar and restaurant, which are top quality, highly rated, and well worth keeping to the lucky person who inherits them.”
She didn ’t look impressed. “So that’s a long way of saying…?”
“ Yes. We’ve got one person handling reservations for the entire inn.”
“ Great.” Flynn downed the last of her drink and pushed off her bar stool. “Fine. Okay. Whatever. I’m an adult. There’s no reason I can’t go back to the cottage and just deal with my dead roommate.” She looked at him, tucked a strand of wild caramel hair behind her ear. “It was just a dream, right?”
He couldn ’t help but smile. For some reason, the weirder she got, the more he liked her. “Yeah. It was just a dream.”
She took a step toward the door, then turned around, nibbling on the edge of her lip. “What if she starts talking to me again?”
“ Talk back?”
“ Oh, right. What would I say? ‘Bummer you’re dead, I hear the white light rocks, go find it’?”
“ I don’t know,” he said, holding her gaze. “You could start with the ditzy Daddy’s-girl thing. It’s effective material.”
Flynn cocked her head to the side, as if deciding how to take that, then finally allowed a small smile.
Jake smiled back. “Give me ten minutes to close up here and I’ll walk you back.”
“ Oh, thank you.” She released her breath and her shoulders slumped in relief as she sat back on the bar stool. Jake chuckled and tossed the bar rag into the bucket of bleach water by his feet. This was working out better than he’d ever thought.
He was going to have to be careful around that smile, though. It knocked him over every time.
Four
F lynn rubbed the towel over her wet hair and took a deep breath of the sweet morning air coming in through the window. The bedroom, not half as creepy now as it had been last night, was aglow in the tree-filtered rays of the autumn sun,
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