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“I’ll call and see if you can get a discount for a room.”
I handed her the phone. “Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“At least write it off as a business expense. It’s research, after all.”
It was a great idea. I already had so many questions. How did she handle the business? Did she have any time for herself?
“Juliana has two little girls. She divorced before she renovated the B&B and married her contractor.”
“What?” I asked.
Alice laughed. “I’ll never forget it. She said he fell in love with her little girls, even though he swore he didn’t want a family. It stuck with me because I fell in love with Maggie before Sam.”
“That is a nice story.” I couldn’t believe Juliana’s journey was so similar to mine. “I’ll definitely reach out to her.”
“Tell her I sent you. I’d love to visit again.”
“You’ll have to tell me all the good places to visit.”
Alice brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Just walk out the front door and start walking. The B&B is downtown, next to the Naval Academy, and within easy walking distance to the shops, restaurants, and the harbor.”
It sounded like the perfect vacation. Was it awful that I wanted to leave town when Carter was here? Would Mac be able to take time away from work to go with me? Why was I even thinking about that?
Saying good-bye to Alice, I returned to the front counter area, where I sent an email to Juliana, the owner of the B&B. I wasn’t expecting a quick response, but later that afternoon, she replied, telling me she had a cancelation for the next weekend, and I was welcome to take it.
I immediately accepted, excited that I was doing something for myself and the business. On Wednesday evening, Carter asked to take Delaney to dinner. I said yes because Delaney wanted to see him. I just hoped I wasn’t making a huge mistake.
He picked her up shortly after she got home from school, and I was at a loss for what I should do. I hadn’t bothered to make dinner since it was just me.
When there was a knock on the door, I worried that there was something wrong. My heart pounded in my chest as I pulled the door open. I let out the breath I’d been holding when I saw it was Mac.
He held a carryout bag of food, a wine bottle, and a bouquet of flowers.
“Is this all for me?” I stepped back so he could enter, blinking back tears that he’d shown up for me.
He paused to kiss me before heading inside. “I thought you could use the distraction.”
I closed the door behind him. “I didn’t think it would be this hard to let her go with him. He’s her father.”
Mac pulled take-out containers out of the bags and grabbed plates and silverware before reaching for the bottle of wine. The knot in my stomach slowly unraveled as Mac uncorked the bottle of wine and poured me a glass. I took a large sip.
We sat next to each other at the island. “Thank you for thinking of me. I didn’t even plan anything for dinner.”
“I’ll always think of you.”
My heart couldn’t take much more of his thoughtfulness. He made me want forever with him. After we’d eaten most of our food in silence, I said, “I did something a little crazy.” Other than moving to Colorado, I wasn’t an adventurous person.
Mac chuckled. “What’s that?”
“I booked a B&B in Annapolis, Maryland. Alice told me about it, said it was a cute town, and suggested I could pick the owner’s brain about her business.”
“When are you going?”
“She had a cancelation for next week that coincides with Delaney’s three-day weekend.”
“That’ll be a nice trip for you.”
I wanted to ask him to join us, but I wasn’t sure if he would be interested in going, or even able to.
