that would change when they moved to Tuscany. They’d have to find a new routine. But she was so grateful Adam was willing to move. She’d already started tackling the red tape necessary to own and operate a business in Italy. It was complicated, and she’d likely have to hire an Italian lawyer to help her muddle through it.
In the meantime she scoped out potential inns and homes online, but she didn’t want to get her heart set on anything. It would probably take a while to sell their inn, maybe over a year.
The glass door slid open, and Adam slipped through, looking handsome as ever. His brown hair was windblown, and he had a few days’ stubble on his jaw. He’d gotten new glasses a few weeks ago, and she was crazy about the way he looked in them.
“Ready for lunch?” she asked, eager for a distraction.
“Not just yet. I had a late breakfast. What are you working on in here?”
She heaved a sigh. “The inn’s listing.”
“It’s not going well? What have you written so far?”
Molly peered down at the document. “Historic inn, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, for sale.” She gave him an exaggerated pouty look.
“All right . . . That’s a nice start. Nestled is a great verb.” He came behind her and rubbed her shoulders.
She moaned as his fingers dug into her tight muscles. She hadn’t realized how tense she was. “How do you do it? How do you turn your thoughts and feelings into just the right words on paper? Everything I write . . . just doesn’t do the inn justice.”
“You’re pretty close to the subject matter. Sometimes that makes it more difficult. Want a little help?”
“Yes.”
“Want me to just do it for you?”
She peeked up at him. “Would you?”
He laughed as he leaned down, pressed a kiss to her temple, and whispered in her ear, “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Mrs. Bradford.”
Chapter Eight
Later that night Grace took the bike and helmet back from the middle-aged woman. After a bit of small talk she said good-bye, then her eyes caught on the curb where the Lumina had pulled up the night before.
She stared at the empty parking space, a shiver of apprehension skittering down her spine at the memory. She wiped her sweaty palms down her shorts.
Ridiculous. The vehicle was nowhere to be seen at the moment, and she hadn’t seen it since. Besides, it belonged to a harmless elderly woman. A sweet old grandma.
What was wrong with her? Sure, there’d been times when that childhood memory returned. Even freaked her out a little. But yesterday she’d had some kind of panic attack, and she could still feel the panic simmering beneath the surface.
And just below that was the other feeling she’d come to accept as her status quo. That she didn’t quite deserve the good things in her life. That she maybe hadn’t even deserved to live.
She knew she was dealing with survivor’s guilt. But knowing it and making it go away didn’t equate. She may have gotten away with her life that day, but she sure hadn’t gotten off scot-free.
She put the bike away, locked up the equipment shed, and went inside the inn, the depressing thoughts on her heels like a murky shadow.
When she reached the lobby she spotted Levi at the front desk, clacking away on the keyboard.
He looked up at her arrival. “Hey. How was the retail space you looked at earlier?”
She shrugged on her way to the stairs, not in the mood for conversation. “It was fine, I guess.”
“Is it a possibility? Think you could make it work?”
“I don’t know, Levi. It needs a lot of help.”
“Wait. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just tired. I’m turning in early.”
“At nine o’clock? What kind of work does it need? We aren’t exactly rookies when it comes to renovation.”
“It’s more the money than the work.”
“You’ll be getting a nice check when we sell the inn.”
“Which I’ll use to expand my business. I don’t have an extra fifty thousand to throw into a building.”
“What about a grant? I was reading a while back about state grants for new business starts. You should apply.”
“I don’t know. I’ll check it out.” She headed for the stairs.
“Sure you’re okay? You seem down or something.” He started to say something else, then closed his mouth.
“I’m fine. Just tired, like I said. Good night.”
“Good night.”
She was grateful that for once he hadn’t pried. Molly was the nosy one, but Levi had his own special way