A Haven on the Bay - Nicole Ellis Page 0,68

a barn. That, in itself, is a good human-interest piece.”

Meg would never have guessed the day she and Taylor found Davina’s journal that it would have such an impact on her life. The lucky discovery had not only given her a connection to the Inn’s past, but a spot on local TV, and some interesting recipes she planned to serve in her future restaurant.

She smiled. “I’d love to come back on the show.”

“Wonderful,” Demi gushed. “I’ll have our producers contact you.” She whirled and exited the green room in a flash of pink.

Still mildly shocked, Meg went to retrieve her purse from the cubbies along the wall of the green room. When she turned back around, she did a double take. A tall man stood in the entrance. This time, she wasn’t imagining his presence.

“Taylor!” She put her hand to her heart. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” He gave her a guilty look. “I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to catch you before you left so I could congratulate you on how well you did.”

Her face heated up again. “You saw the show?” She’d been so determined to not let the presence of an audience scare her that she’d immersed herself in her cooking. The Queen of England could have been there and she wouldn’t have noticed.

“I did.” He smiled. “And you were fantastic.”

“Thanks.” She gripped her purse tightly. It had been over a week since the fire, and this was the first time she’d talked to him. She’d put off the difficult task for as long as possible, but now it was to time to face her fears. “Um, about the fire…” She looked up at him and searched his face, hoping he didn’t blame her for what had happened.

He cocked his head to the side. “What about it?”

Not wanting to have this conversation inside the studio, she had him follow her out to the parking lot, where she drank in huge gulps of fresh air to quell her nerves.

“Meg. What is it?” He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him straight on.

“I’m so sorry about what happened,” she whispered.

“Sorry?” He raised his eyebrows. “What for?”

She studied her sandals again. “I tried to put out the fire, but I couldn’t stop it from spreading.”

“Meg. It wasn’t your fault.” He peered at her. “If we’re going to place any blame, it should be on Lara.”

“But you trusted me with your kitchen. I should have made sure she was being safe, but I assumed she knew what she was doing.” She frowned. “I assumed wrong.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” he repeated. His hands dropped from her shoulders, grazing her bare skin as he pulled her close. She shivered at his touch but relaxed against him, dissolving into sobs as she relived the fire and guilt all over again. “No one blames you.”

She stepped back and met his gaze. “I blame me. The kitchen was my responsibility.”

He sighed. “Please. Stop worrying about it. Once George gets the insurance situation resolved, we’ll have the Lodge’s restaurant up and running in no time.” He gave her an impish smile. “I never liked that range anyway. It was never any good at regulating its temperature.”

“Really?” She hoped he was telling her the truth.

“Really.” He patted her arm reassuringly, then looked around the parking lot. “Is Theo here? Zoe told me about the cooking show. I know she and Cassie really wanted to come, but they both had to work. I figured Theo would be here though.”

“Nope. He’s somewhere in the San Juan Islands.” She briefly closed her eyes as an image popped into her head of Theo’s sailboat cutting through the channels between the lushly forested islands.

She sighed and opened her eyes, her heart filling with warmth at the sight of Taylor. Only a true friend would both forgive her for burning down his restaurant and show up to see her appear on TV in the middle of the morning. The sailing trip would have been nice, but she had a lot going for her back in Willa Bay too.

“Ah. I bet he’s sad to have missed you on the morning show. How long is he gone for?” Taylor inquired politely.

She shrugged. “I have no clue. We broke up before he left.”

“Oh.” An odd expression crossed Taylor’s face, but she couldn’t make out what he was thinking. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Me too, but it was for the best. He wanted to continue seeing the world, and my life is here in