AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Take care, Maren,” he said, holding her gaze for one more moment before he pivoted and walked out the door.
Maren sighed, realizing her heart might be just a tiny bit broken.
Chapter Eleven
She swiped the paper towel over the mirror for the third time before bringing the crinkled sheet closer to her face, frowning at it. Had she bought the cheap paper towels? Is that why they were leaving lint all over the bathroom mirror? Maren consulted the spray bottle of glass cleaner—was this the culprit?
She sprayed and wiped again, moving her hand in such a way as to bring any and all offending lint with her hand, down, down, down, until the mirror was eventually streak, splash, and lint free. There. Much better.
Dressed in her joggers and an old T-shirt and wearing cleaning gloves and a colorful headband in her hair, Maren meticulously scrubbed the rest of the first floor half bath. Over Monday and Tuesday, she’d managed only to straighten the inn, get all the bed linens washed and changed, and vacuum rugs and carpets. Today was for deep cleaning, kitchen, bathrooms, floors. After a weekend of non-stop excitement, such as the blizzard and wedding had provided, Maren was content with the quiet of the house, and hadn’t even brought her phone, ear buds, and music with her while cleaning.
She was bent over the toilet, brush in hand, when the doorbell’s chime interrupted the rhythmic swish of her scrubbing, prompting her to straighten and turn, glancing in the direction of the front door, as if that alone would have advised her of who stood outside the door, ringing the bell. When it did not, she left the bathroom and walked through the kitchen and down the hall, toilet brush in hand. The sign in the door’s window, displaying the Morning Glory’s hours and contact information, prevented her from seeing who stood on the other side of the door.
But nothing would have prepared her to find Alec Sullivan standing before her when she opened the door.
Certainly she hadn’t forgotten how handsome he was, but boy, what sunshine did for him!
Under a clear blue sky, with the sun heading down over the lake just beyond his shoulder, he was cast in a warm and ethereal hue. His hair glistened and his eyes, a shade of blue that corresponded with the winter sky, held a warmth that contrasted with the chill in the air. Dressed in a winter coat that accentuated the breadth of his shoulders, Alec exuded the same effortless allure that had attracted Maren over the last week, in person and in memory. The crisp air couldn’t diminish the vitality of his gaze—in fact the still-snowy backdrop only seemed to enhance his natural magnetism.
It had only been three days since he’d left but it might well have been three hundred, so happy was her gaze to rest on him.
“Hello. This is a surprise. Did you...leave something here?” She asked, as much perplexed as she was ridiculously happy by his unexpected appearance.
A mischievous glint entered his warm blue eyes. “I think I did.”
“Oh,” she said, a bit confused and undeniably, disappointed. How silly she was, to have allowed the thrill of hope to come to life so immediately at the sight of him. “Um, I’ve mostly cleaned the rooms from last weekend, I didn’t see—”
“No, it wasn’t left in my room. She’s standing right in front of me.”
It took her a moment, and admittedly she needed Alec’s barely repressed smile to help her figure out what he was talking about.
She tapped her gloved finger against her chest. “Me?”
“Yeah. This is corny as—fine, I’m just going to say it. I think I left my heart here.”
Maren’s face softened. “You did? You do?”
“Yeah. Any chance you’re holding it? And willing to make a trade? Or at least have some discussion about it?”
Her heart raced with bubbling joy. Caution swiftly interceded. “But...Alec, you live in Austin.”
“I do. At the moment. But yesterday, I signed a contract on a lease for a commercial property halfway between here and Buffalo. I’d been thinking about launching a second location and moving back near family.” He paused and smiled sheepishly. “Maren, I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Her hand moved helplessly in front of her, tremendously shocked by both his presence and the reason behind it. But the bright pink and red polka dots on her bougie cleaning gloves caught her eye, which then reminded her of her complete—and utterly humiliating, wholly unsuitable forthismoment in her life—ensemble. Good grief, she was holding a toilet brush in her hand!
“Why did you have to come today—now!—do you see how I’m dressed?” She blurted out, a mixture of embarrassment and surprise evident in her tone.
Alec raked his gaze over her from the top of her paisley headband and messy bun, over her old and frayed t-shirt and well-worn pink joggers, to her very serviceable pink flannel gripper slippers. Another smile arose, from just a curve of one side of his mouth until it grew to full strength, dazzling for its beauty.
“You are perfect,” he said.
Though caught off guard, Maren had never felt more beautiful than at this moment.
A warm and joyful smile creased her face. “In that case, won’t you come in?”
The air inside the Inn seemed to shimmer with newfound excitement as Maren moved backward and Alec stepped inside,his smile unwavering, closing the door behind him. Little did she know, but this unexpected reunion would become a cherished memory, etched in the pages of the Morning Glory’s history, marking the beginning of another enduring and fascinating chapter.
––––––––
The End
