With This Kiss by Bella Riley Page A

thought there’s a little bit of wicked waiting inside of her to get out.” Not waiting for him to reply to her offhand comments, she said, “In that case, let me just add a pot of her favorite tea.”
    Sean could smell the roses from the leaves the chef put into the pot and something else that he was sure he was getting wrong.
    “Is there maple syrup in that tea?”
    “Oh, yes. It’s a new tea she’s been experimenting with. For the festival.” She handed him the tray. “Her idea to launch the festival was a smart one, no question about it.”
    Biting back his questions for the time being, he thanked her and carried the tray back out to Rebecca. She looked up in surprise as he placed the scones and tea in front of her.
    “Are you hungry?”
    Given the way her mouth tightened at his question, he had a feeling that if she knew it was his idea to bring the scones out to her that she’d refuse them. He shouldn’t care if she did. Then again, he didn’t want his all-important innkeeper to faint from hunger at the front desk, either.
    “Mrs. Higgins said these were your favorite.”
    “They are. Thank you,” she said as she picked one up.
    “I wanted to tell you, my secretary found Stu’s letter.”
    “I knew he had to have contacted you,” she said, clearly relieved to hear it. “Did he tell you anything about his whereabouts?”
    “No.” Damn it. “Just what he’d said in his note to my parents.”
    “I’m sorry. I know you were hoping for clues.”
    Sean felt a pang of guilt at what he wasn’t telling Rebecca—that Stu had, in fact, said more.
“It’s my fault. Treat Rebecca kindly, she deserves it.”
    Reminding himself that he had nothing to feel guilty for and that she was the one who hadn’t answered his direct questions last night, he forcefully returned his focus back to business for the time being. He’d quiz her on his brother again soon enough.
    “How have things been going here at the inn with Stu gone?”
    She poured two cups of tea and handed him one. It smelled surprisingly good, like being out in the large maple grove behind the inn.
    “Good. Busy, but good.”
    “Mrs. Higgins mentioned a maple festival?”
    Even though she clearly felt uncomfortable around him, Rebecca’s face lit up. “Oh, yes, it’s going to be wonderful.” She reached under the counter and handed him a well-designed flier, putting the rest on a stack on the corner of the check-in counter. “It’s going to be a day of nonstop maple syrup, maple cookies, maple candies.” She lifted her cup. “Even tea. I’ve found some incredible vendors the past few weeks. I really think people are going to love being able to tap the maple trees themselves. I had someone come out and do a demonstration for me a few weeks ago and it was really fun.” She tapped on a spreadsheet she had in front of her. “Just a few more details to iron out and the festival should be smooth sailing in two weeks.”
    Sean quickly scanned the flier. “How are you managing to run the inn by yourself and put on this festival at the same time? Especially with Stu gone?”
    “Honestly,” she said, “it hasn’t been easy. But I’ve been pulling it all off so far.” She gave him a little smile that made his heart do funny things in his chest. “Besides, who needs sleep? I figure I can do a little reverse hibernation after the snow thaws and the festival has passed.”
    “What are you going to do if a ball drops, Rebecca?”
    She was about to take a bite of her scone when he saw his question register. Holding it halfway to her mouth she said, “Excuse me?”
    “I understand that you’ve been managing to pull everything off thus far. But what’s going to happen when you have a problem with one of your festival suppliers and you’re needed to deal with an emergency at the inn? What if, say, two of the cleaning staff call in sick and you’re needed upstairs as well as downstairs and you’ve got a vendor waiting for an answer to