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“No, he’s not.” Steph gave her older sister a curious look. “I think he’s sweet.” She grinned as she ducked into her office to put her purse away before resurfacing. “Not to mention incredibly handsome.”
“Does your husband know you come out early to ogle other men?” Lorry teased. “Especially when you landed not only one of the most handsome but nicest men in the world.”
Steph swallowed and took a mental breath to steady her nerves. While she couldn’t deny what Lorry had said was true, Steph wasn’t quite sure she still had him. She forced a smile and quickly moved the subject away from her relationship with Max.
“Why are you fighting Mom and the architect on the expansion plan?” Steph asked Lorry. “You wanted to expand.”
“I wanted to renovate and refresh the hotel,” Lorry pointed out. “I didn’t want to change the structure.”
“You won’t be changing the structure,” a deep voice had them both turning to see Tom Barnes, the architect, dressed in jeans and a cotton shirt, walking toward them. “You’ll be adding to it.”
“Same thing,” Lorry’s shoulders instantly stiffened, and her chin raised. She glanced at her wristwatch before looking at Steph. “I’m glad you’re early. If you want to be more involved with the hotel renovations, could you deal with this today?”
“Sure.” Steph’s frown deepened at her sister’s icy attitude toward Tom. She turned toward him. “Hi, Tom. I apologize for my sister’s rudeness.” She shook her head. “I’m not sure what bee is in her bonnet today. At a guess, I’d say it was my niece.”
“Hi, Steph,” Tom greeted her. His eyes crinkled at the corners as his lips turned into a smile, making him even more handsome. “You don’t have to make excuses for Lorry. I know it’s me that she doesn’t like.”
“No.” Steph waved his thoughts off. “She’s a bit put out that my mother wants to add to the hotels, and my Gran’s vote swung it.” She smiled. “That’s all.”
“That’s sweet of you to say, Steph.” Tom’s grin widened. “But your sister took one look at me and decided she didn’t like me.”
“I think it’s men in general that my sister doesn’t trust.” Steph decided to move the conversation away from her ill-mannered sister. “How are the plans for the extension coming along?”
“That’s what I have here.” Tom held up the roll of paper he had in his hands.
“Why don’t we go to the dining room and grab a coffee—” Steph stopped herself. “Or tea, and you can show me. The tables are bigger there.”
“Sure,” Tom said, stepping aside for Steph to precede him.
When they got to the dining room, Steph decided it wasn’t a good idea as the smell of bacon and eggs hit her, and her stomach started to churn.
“Uh…” Steph tasted the acrid bile rising in her throat. “Will you excuse me for a minute?”
“Not a problem. I’ll grab a coffee and a table.” Tom gave her a curious look. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Steph nodded before heading for the bathroom, where she locked the door and vomited in the toilet.
When the retching passed, she rinsed her mouth and took a few complimentary mints in the bathroom. Steph quickly opened a few packets and chewed them before meeting Tom.
She spotted him walking to a table with a tray in his hands, and his plans tucked beneath his arm. Steph tried to ignore the aroma hitting her heightened sense of smell in full force. She swallowed and forced herself forward.
“I got you a pot of ginger and lemon balm tea,” Tom told her. “I hope that’s okay?” He put the tray on the table. “I didn’t know if you wanted anything to eat.” He gave her a small smile. “I remember when my ex-wife was pregnant, ginger was the only thing that settled her stomach.”
Steph nearly choked at his words as she stared at him in shock.
“How did you…” Steph slid into the seat, her brows tightening.
“The minute we stepped into the room and you smelt the breakfast, you turned gray,” Tom explained. “Then you bolted to the ladies’ room so fast you nearly knocked poor Mrs. Darling down.”
“I ran into Mrs. Darling?” Steph’s eyes widened in disbelief as her head shot around the room. His eyes settled on the dear old lady who was basically a permanent resident at the hotel. “Oh no.”
“Don’t worry,” Tom told her. “I apologized and told her you had a bit of an upset stomach.”
“Thank you,” Steph said, pouring some ginger tea into a cup.
“How far along are you?” Tom asked her, stirring sugar into his coffee.
“Eight weeks,” Steph couldn’t stop the words from slipping past her lips, and she looked at him startled. “I…”
