A Sinful Trap - R.G. Alexander Page 0,29
moan. “Around seven-thirty.”
“Seven-thirty?” She shot up to her knees, fumbling the phone before bringing it to her ear again. “In the morning?”
She never slept this late. But the sun shining through her small window told her he wasn’t joking. “Damn it, the muffins.”
The coffee and tea bar should already be set up on the trolley she kept in the kitchen. Muffins in their basket and the breakfast burritos needed to be set in the warming tray she’d gotten as a present from Liam.
Jumping off the bed, she reached for her jeans.
“Relax, Bailey. I spoke to Ava before I called you, and she’s agreed to keep those muffins coming to give the guests options. She’s drawn the line at the breakfast burritos, I’m afraid. She swears hers are better.”
Bailey sank down onto of edge of the bed. “Oh, thank God.”
She’d completely forgotten the inn had a cook now. And housekeeping. And sexy roofers. This was going to take some getting used to. “Everything’s fine.”
“Better than fine,” he assured her. “How’s your head?”
The scrape from the other night had all but disappeared, but her temples were throbbing. And she was tired, despite sleeping in. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think she’d gotten drunk and danced all night instead of spending her evening worrying about what had happened the day before.
Kissing Cam. Coming for Davide. Ghost hunting guests.
No wonder she had a headache.
“I’m good,” she told him. “But if you tell me you’re already here while I’m slacking off, my humiliation will be complete. I’m really not putting my best foot forward here. I swear I’m usually up before the sun.”
“I didn’t sleep well either. And you’ve been dealing with a lot of changes,” he said sympathetically. “I wish I were there for what’s coming today, but I’m not yet. Neither is Davide. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. We had to leave for Colorado last night. An unexpected but important meeting.”
“Oh.” Since he hadn’t mentioned it when he invited her over for dinner, it really must have been unexpected. They were both gone?
Bailey fought the urge to crawl back under the covers. The profound sense of loss surging through her was totally out of proportion to the situation. “Thank you for filling me in. I should let you get back to your meeting.”
“Bailey, don’t hang up yet.” He sounded as disappointed as she was. “We’re trying to make it back as fast as we can. It’s only a two-hour flight and we’d already be in the air, but the pilot says there’s a delay.”
Likely story.
“You don’t need to explain anything to me, although that’s an oddly short business trip. You left last night and you’re already finished? Checking out a new property already?” And did she really want to know if he was?
“It was nothing like that. This was old business. Old, frustrating business.”
She could feel his frustration over the phone. She was tempted to ask him about it. She wanted to make him feel better. To comfort him.
That’s not why he called, Bailey.
She made a face at herself. Thank God they weren’t video chatting. “Sorry to hear that. You said something was coming today? Is that why you’re in such a hurry? Are there any deliveries I should be on the lookout for?”
She heard Davide’s laugh in the distance, followed by Cam’s warning growl. Was she on speakerphone?
“I’m in a hurry because we have a date for dinner.”
He remembered.
“Date?” Infused with new energy, Bailey slid off the bed again, throwing on her jeans and grabbing a fresh towel from her laundry basket. She was never this late. Hopefully the bathroom was free. “I don’t think anyone used that word, Mr. Locke. I would have remembered.”
“It was implied,” he said darkly, making the unsubtle Davide laugh again.
“Maybe assumed is a better word,” she said as she left her bedroom and walked down the hall. “And you know what happens when people assume.”
She’d nearly reached her bathroom when she saw a man and woman carrying a gorgeous teal sofa with a colorful flower pattern toward the front desk. “What the…?”
“Bailey? What is it?”
This was what he was expecting today? Her dream sofa?
“We’re being the opposite of robbed,” she whispered into the phone, still in shock. “Very attractive people are carrying things into the inn. I should be mad that you didn’t consult me again, but I’ve wanted that particular loveseat for a while now. For the guests, you understand.”
“That’s one of the reasons I was calling you. I