The Prims were the only business outside of Christopher’s purview. He had consolidated power to never be caught unaware. No one could blindside him like she had. Yet, somehow, someone found a way. He pressed his lips together. He had nothing to say that wouldn’t leave him with regret.
“Do you have anything you can leave? A mock menu or a list of price points on scratch paper?” she asked.
Steve reached into his back pocket and handed over a folded sheet of paper. “It’s a rough draft of the brochure. Seth is going to print them for me as soon as he finishes the menus.”
Don’t hold your breath.Christopher kept his gaze fixed on Steve to stop his eyes from rolling. Instead, a vein throbbed in Christopher’s temple for the exertion of restraint. He couldn’t let Steve walk away thinking he had the upper hand. “You have a good set-up here. You sell out most of your tours. Get your boats back on the water. Leave this idea to another time.”
“Review the materials. We can talk again. Great to see you again, Ashley,” Steve said. With a slight bow, he strode away.
Ashley opened the sheet and narrowed her gaze at the wrinkled paper. After a few seconds, she looked over his shoulder and sighed. “He left. Why weren’t you more encouraging?”
“Because… this is a… change.” The words sounded flimsy the second he said them. He had doubts about Steve and Carl. But Christopher wasn’t sure Ashley would listen and commiserate as his spouse or roll her eyes at his concerns.
She shot him her incredulous, withering stare. “Life is change.”
“Not always for the better. We don’t have to force transformation. Let it evolve naturally. Slowly.”Like us. The thought tickled his Adam’s apple. Their failed marriage was hardly the proof he wanted. Yes, they’d gone from childhood friends to madly in love. And the breakdown of their marriage—one fight he hadn’t realized was the end, when she asked him to choose between the Inn and her and he froze—only signaled they had been wrong to ever try for something more. Not that he’d regret a single day he held her in his arms. He only mourned for the loss.
“The glaciers made more progress during the Ice Age.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Give me the real answer.”
He scrubbed his hands over his face. Whatever role she assumed, she wouldn’t be his subordinate. Acting like he was the sole decision-maker wouldn’t work. He’d try a different tactic. Honesty. “Okay, it’s competition. Part of our success was keeping guests on our property. These cruises will steal from the restaurant.”
She nodded.
He felt a little lighter. Her agreement eased his inner critic more than was good. Her insistence on the plain truth revealed something he’d hidden. He’d spent years running away from confrontation by avoiding frank discussions like this. He operated as the boss and never an equal. Only Xavier had given him orders. But she challenged him in the best way. “Great. You’re on board.”
“I understand your perspective,” Ashley said. “But I disagree.”
Those three words popped him like a balloon.
“It’s an entirely new branch for the Prims,” she said. “It might not last a month, let alone forever. Why not encourage them? At the very least, you’re expanding the Inn’s offerings. Maybe it’s something different enough to encourage families to return; they feel like they haven’t had a chance to see everything here.”
“Have you?”
The corner of her mouth quirked. “I hope I never learn all the Inn’s secrets. I love a mystery.”
“I don’t.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, I know. You’re very black and white. Case in point, the Prims’ expansion. You can’t control everything, and you shouldn’t want to. Let guests create their own narratives. Give them the freedom to choose you.”
He opened his mouth and stopped. He’d totally forgotten her capability. Part and parcel of her unwavering self-confidence was her ability to jump into any situation and navigate to success. She’d drawn him in with her bravado, and he had tried, unsuccessfully, to emulate it. She always had answers. Letting her call all the shots again was more tempting than she could realize.
The concierge, Mr. Brixen, approached. “The movie is starting. Are you helping us, Mrs. Hale-Lewis?”
A funny look passed over her, clouding her blue eyes for a second. She nodded. “I guess that’s my cue?”
He didn’t reply, watching her leave and letting the moment sink in. Shouldn’t his loyalty to her family and the legacy be worth something? She remained charming as always. He’d been more susceptible to her charm than anyone else. He could see himself slipping under her spell all over again. It would be easy to let her take charge and not look too far into the future.
He couldn’t. He had to resist. Everything was different now. Especially him.
ChapterEight
In the chilly, pre-dawn air, Ashley tucked her hands into the cuffs of her sweatshirt, seeking warmth for her icy fingers, and continued around the perimeter of the Inn. She was up early with a purpose, find Mr. Willie and return his keys. Her simple mission encountered one set back after another.
The front desk clerk spotted Mr. Willie headed to the back lawn ten minutes earlier. By the time she cut through the building, she found only a couple of employees arranging the chairs on the patio. They pointed her toward the front entrance. Once again, she arrived too late. The valet saw Mr. Willie on his way to the coach house. She tired of chasing him but refused defeat.
She turned toward the cemetery, thinking one step ahead. Hopefully. Or perhaps she needed more physical exertion and the calm that hung in the air at a higher elevation. She’d been suffering from an excess of feelings for the past week, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Yesterday, she had started to think of herself as capable. She had answers and a clear head when Steve Prim appeared. She could offer something of value and another perspective to the Inn. When her husband had been flabbergasted, she had found her strength. It was too bad her ego had burst like one of the balloons she’d overinflated at the movie matinee only minutes later. Balloon animals required skills she hadn’t mastered.
