AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And it was her first night away from the bed and breakfast since the soft launch. He had to have known how big of a deal it was. She hoped he felt special to know that she would do that for him.
In fact, if she hadn't found Millie, she wouldn't have agreed to meet him. There would have been too many available excuses.
I have to get the room ready for the guests. It's too busy tonight. Maybe another time?
She imagined writing out those texts instead of the unenthusiastic acceptance she ended up sending.
The street was dark, the only light coming from streetlights that hadn't been dimmed into the night. The night air brushed her skin, sending chills down her spine. Thankfully, she'd remembered to bring her sweater.
A hint of pine trees and a cool breeze that smelled slightly of the ocean blew past her face. The only sound filling her ears, the soft crunch under her feet.
Downtown was different than it was during the day. The bustling center of town was now quiet and peaceful. She wished knocking on his door gave her the same peace. Instead, it made her heart pound and her mouth dry.
April eagerly waited to see his face appear in the doorway. But when it finally did, her nerves took over. Her body wanted to run, but she kept her feet firmly planted.
"Hi," he said, his eyes taking her in with a warmth she hadn't expected.
"Hi," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
Nigel smiled, and a hint of relief came over his face. He opened the door wider and stepped aside so that April could enter. "Come in," he said.
She walked into the same place she'd been that night, looking around for clues that Lily had been over. Jealousy seemed to take over.
But how could she blame him? She was a gorgeous woman who clearly came back into town to see him. And April was just someone he'd met not that long ago. They'd only known each other for a few months, unlike the history she assumed lay between Nigel and Lily.
April sat on the couch and waited for him to speak. A few times he opened his mouth to speak and no words came out. She waited patiently for the words she wanted to hear.
"I'm really sorry about what happened. I wasn't expecting that at all. I know I handled it poorly. It was just a big misunderstanding."
That was close to the speech April had in her head. "I appreciate that. And I accept your apology."
"Thank you," Nigel said, his hands clasped together like in prayer. "I can't tell you how much that means to me."
She slowly started to remember why she fell in love with him in the first place.
His intellect and wit was something she admired, because it reminded her of her own. She could always talk to him about anything without feeling judged or embarrassed.
He was always so sure of himself and yet gentle when it came to her. His eyes were intense and captivating, drawing her in like a moth to flame.
Nigel sat beside her, leaving enough room between them for an extra person. She could tell he was being cautious of her feelings, and she appreciated that.
"So how did the soft opening go? The first guests should be in now, right?"
April relaxed a little at the change of topic. "It was good. I was a little nervous at first, but everything ended up okay. The couple who checked in seemed really nice. But I did lose one of my first guests."
"Lose?"
Her mouth just continued to move, spewing out all of the facts of the last two days.
April's expression darkened. "He had some high expectations and I made a few mistakes. He had no patience. It wasn't a good fit, but I learned from it."
Nigel nodded understandingly. "It happens. You're doing something new, and there's bound to be a learning curve. I'm sure things will get better with time."
"Right, well..."
April considered telling him the truth about her father showing up and distracting her from the opening. In the end, she couldn't hold it in. The stress was building up, and hiring an extra hand could only help so much. She needed to let loose.
A hand nervously went to her mouth as she explained it all. "My dad showed up. I haven't seen him for quite some time. He's kind of come and gone in my life. And he just happened to come right as the man was coming. So I mean, technically I was distracted. I probably would have handled it better if he wasn't there."
