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“So you’re going to tell him tonight?” she prodded excitedly.
I beamed at her happily. “Yes. That’s the plan.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet! I bet he’s going to cry,” she remarked.
I snorted. “Maybe. But I doubt it. He doesn’t seem like the crying type.”
“Well, sad crying, no. But happy crying? I bet he will,” Beverly teased.
“Aw. That would be really cute. I guess we’ll see,” I mused.
“So when does Chase fly in? Where was he, anyway?” she asked.
I watched as Kat pulled up a chair and stood precariously on top of it to string up a banner with HAPPY ANNIVERSARY across it in big, sparkly lettering. I winced, almost too afraid to watch her. All afternoon I had kept offering to help her, but she wouldn’t let me lift a finger to do anything. It was a sweet gesture, but I hated feeling like a useless spoiled brat sitting here doing nothing.
“God, I hope she doesn’t fall,” I mumbled. Then I realized Beverly had asked me a question and I shook it off. “Oh. Sorry. I think his flight gets in any minute now, actually. He was off in San Francisco, closing some major deal for a beach-side condo building there. He’s had his eye on snatching up some more west coast properties for the past few months. I think our little trip to San Diego in July sparked some new obsession in him or something,” I chuckled.
“Oh yeah, how was that?” she asked.
“It was awesome. The zoo was even cooler than I had expected. I can’t wait to go back there sometime after the—”
“Ouch!” exclaimed Kat, who was cradling her hand to her chest. A big black stapler went tumbling to the floor with a clatter. Beverly hopped up and ran over to help Kat get down from the chair.
“What happened?” I called out, getting up to walk over.
Kat waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, nothing. I’m fine. Just nearly stapled my own hand to the ceiling, that’s all,” she admitted. “This is why I never liked art class. All those staplers and scissors and hot glue guns. I’m too accident-prone for that life.”
Beverly was looking over Kat’s hand, examining it. She had very recently finished her final year of medical school, and was about to embark on a residency. I was elated, because the hospital they assigned her to was right here in town, which meant that I would get to hang out with my best friend much more often than we had been able to before. In fact, for the time being, she was crashing here at the Peppertree in one of the newly redesigned suites. She had begged me to let her pay for the room, but I refused. She was my best friend, and the privilege of having her close by was payment enough for me.
Besides, it wasn’t like I needed the money. Nor did the Peppertree. Even though it was still under major renovations, our success had skyrocketed in recent months. That was largely due to the fact that Chase’s brother Luke had recommended the resort to one of his celebrity friends, a swimsuit model named Gisella who had a huge following on Instagram. She stayed for a week, snapped a bunch of photos of herself posing and lounging around the property with a bunch of popular hashtags, and our fate was sealed. The Peppertree was trendy now, the kind of place where young socialites and influencers came to stay when they wanted a break from the hectic lifestyle of the big city.
“Ohh, just a little blood,” Beverly commented, clucking her tongue. “Come on. Let’s wash it off and clean up. Haley, do you have bandages in your bathroom?”
“Yes, of course,” I told her.
“All right. Just a minute,” she answered.
She led Kat into the bathroom to clean and wrap her stapled hand while I sat quietly, thinking about how much had changed in the past year. At the start of our one-year “fake” marriage, I had been overwhelmed, wondering how the hell I could possibly survive a whole twelve months of lying to everyone we knew. Of hiding my true feelings for the man who first broke my heart back in college. I couldn’t keep myself from falling for him. In fact, there were times when I thought perhaps I had never actually fallen out of love with him in the first place. After all, there had not been any other men who could have even come close to taking his place, not since college. I had thrown my heart, body, and soul into the Peppertree instead of trying to date other people. I had so easily given up on finding someone, accepting that I would just have to be lonely forever, if I couldn’t have the man I truly wanted: Chase.
But now? He was all mine. My dream, that impossible dream that used to keep me awake at night, was coming true. We were together, and it was amazing. We were both incredibly busy, of course. Chase had his gigantic business to attend to, and I had the Peppertree. On top of that, Celia had officially moved to London to be with Liam after their wedding last month. The two of them were constantly sending us photos, calling us long distance to chat. Celia and I had become good friends, as we seemed to have a lot in common. In fact, I had even started to take over some of her old responsibilities. Celia had just landed a job at a publishing house in London, and Liam was a journalist. The two of them worked well together in their own industry, just like Chase and I worked well in our business. It was a lot to juggle, and life was pretty hectic. Chase was constantly flying all around the world to check out new properties, to follow the progress of renovations and rebranding of old locations. He took a very hands-on approach these days, different from the detached way he used to conduct business. That meant the job took up more of his time, but it was paying off. As it turned out, clients adored Chase and were always much more willing to get involved when he was present-- which was a surprise to no one. That kind of handsomeness and charisma landed major deals.
Sometimes I did miss him, but he made sure to spend as much time as possible here with me at the Peppertree. The eventual goal was for me to travel with him on almost every trip, but for now, I had to stick around the resort and oversee the renovations. Luckily, in the future, I would be able to pass off most of my responsibilities to my staff. I was training a few of them, Kat included, to be able to handle operations here without me. It was bittersweet, training other people to take over what had essentially been my entire life for years and years, but I knew that it was time for me to relinquish a little control. The Peppertree was not the sole focus of my life anymore, and that was okay. I could keep the Peppertree and sustain my father’s legacy without having to totally sacrifice my own dreams to do so.
I dreamed of being a mother, of raising a child and knowing the kind of love only a parent can experience. I dreamed of being a wife, of loving a man who loves me and would do anything for me. That kind of love I already had with Chase. It was strange to picture my life without him in it. I often wondered how the hell I had managed to survive so long without him. It wasn’t like I didn’t have the strength and independence to carry on. I was a tough lady and I could handle all kinds of things a lot of other people would struggle with. But life was just so much sweeter, so much more complete with Chase around, that it was bizarre to think the portrait of my life had ever excluded him.
Beverly and Kat came back out of the bathroom, both giggling. Kat had her ha
nd wrapped in gauze and Beverly was telling her some joke or pun. I rolled my eyes even as I smiled. Sometimes I wondered if part of why Beverly finally agreed to take me up on my offer to let her stay here had something to do with Kat. The two of them had become quite close. In fact, there seemed to be some kind of magic in the air around the resort the past few months. Everyone appeared to have an extra spring in their step, to be happier and lighter than usual. Coworkers who had previously disliked each other had resolved their differences. Employees who had seemed perpetually stressed-out and nervous now whistled and sang as they worked. It was like someone had cast some kind of lovely spell over the Peppertree, and it showed. There was even love in the air. More than a few couples had paired off from my staff, which I didn’t mind at all as long as it didn’t distract too much from work. I generally just turned a blind eye to the romances blossoming all around me. If people wanted to fall in love, who the hell was I to stop them? Especially considering the bizarre details of my own love story.
I had married my college sweetheart out of nowhere in order to secure a crazy deal to get the Peppertree and to give Chase an heir. That was insane. So who was I to judge other people for dating their coworkers? As far as I was concerned, love was the most beautiful and elusive thing on the planet, and if you were lucky enough to find it wherever it showed up, then you might as well grab it and hold it close for as long as possible, regardless of circumstances.
“Hey, what’s all this?” Beverly was asking. I looked over to see a couple of the kitchen staff members walking in carrying a few bottles of what looked like fancy champagne. Beverly glanced over at me with an eyebrow raised. “You sure you should be drinking bubbly in your current condition?” she asked pointedly.
I laughed and walked over to take one of the bottles and hold it up. “It’s sparkling apple cider, Beth. Calm down. I’m not going to chug a bottle of Prosecco, okay? Chase gets champagne, and I get Martinelli’s,” I giggled.
She blushed and smiled in relief. “Phew. I was a little worried there for a second.”
“Alright, Dr. Howser, you’re off-duty. I think Haley knows what to do and what not to do perfectly well on her own,” Kat teased. She nudged Beverly’s shoulder playfully and she stuck out her tongue in response. The two girls started helping the kitchen staff carry in the massive platters of food. My jaw dropped as I watched the procession. Chef Louis and Lauren brought up the rear of the little parade, and Lauren was glancing up at the Frenchman adoringly. She was still a little starry-eyed about getting to work with such a famous culinary master.
