Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“But I don’t want to move. Neither does anyone else. I want to stay at Crompton.”
Her words awaken something in me. I remember saying the exact same thing to my mom after my dad left, and she brought home ten cardboard boxes. Our new apartment was much smaller, so we had to squeeze as much as we could into those boxes. We took trash bag after trash bag of our possessions to Goodwill, including toys I’d grown out of but still wasn’t ready to part with. I realize now that those days marked the end of my childhood. Once we moved into the new place with blindingly white walls—with memories of a happy childhood and my father, both of which were gone—I vowed I’d never get attached to anything again. Not a home, not a possession, and not a person.
“The new place will be bigger,” I say. “You’ll still be working at Crompton. There are plenty of jobs I can see you excelling in—”
She turns away from me to face the lake. “I don’t want another job. I like the job I have now.”
I take a deep breath. Maybe I shouldn’t have come after her. She needs time to process what she’s heard. It’s obviously come as a complete shock to her—but not for everyone. From a number of expressions on the staff members’ faces, they knew what was coming, or at least expected a significant change. After all, the earl isn’t getting any younger and it’s not like he had children to pass Crompton down to. Maybe it was because of our physical connection, but Kate’s reaction seemed to be the most dramatic of everyone’s.
“I never thought it would come to this,” she says. “The flower gardens are so beautiful.”
“They really are,” I agree.
She spins to face me again. “Then keep them. Keep them open to the public. Keep the tea shop. You could keep the staff cottages as they are. You don’t have to change everything.”
She needs time to adjust. I need to get her excited about the change. Or at least accepting of it.
“I’d like to show you the plans I’ve had drawn up. I can show you the spa, images of the bedrooms and some of the common areas. I’m planning to show everyone at a later date, but why don’t you come and see tomorrow? It will help you get a feel for how incredible the hotel is going to be.”
She swallows, her expression pained. I fight the urge to reach for her and pull her close to me. I know how well she fits against this body and I want to provide her some comfort. But the last person she wants touching her right now is me. “If I look at the plans, will you look at my plans?”
I frown. “What plans?”
“If I was to draw up plans. Like viability plans for the gardens staying open, will you look at them?”
I push my hands into my pockets. “I’m not going to lie to you, Kate. The flower gardens are too close to the house. I don’t want hotel guests to feel like they’re being gawked at by coach parties. And the swimming pool area is right over the red and blue borders.”
“What if we relocated the tea shop?” she asks. “You could put the pool there.”
“Come and see the plans.” She’d see for herself things were organized a certain way because it made the most sense.
“I’ll come and see the plans if you promise to look at any proposals I give you with an objective mindset.”
She was nothing if not tenacious. I couldn’t help but be drawn to that.
“I’ll look at whatever proposals you provide.”
She started to smile, and I had to look away so it didn’t break my train of thought.
“I’m not saying I’ll change anything. I have a team of people who have thought all this through and things have already been submitted to planning. So it’s very unlikely anything will shift.”
“But you’ll look?” She searches my eyes like she wants to see the promise in them. I’m many things, but I’m not a liar.
“Yes, I’ll look.”
Our eyes lock for one second, two, then three. It’s me who looks away first. I glance over to the lake. “You like it here,” I say.
“Who wouldn’t.”
She’s right. It’s beautiful. A far cry away from Pittsburgh, where I grew up.
“Can I walk you back?”
“Don’t ruin it,” she whispers.
Despite the woman in front of me being a near-stranger, a thud of responsibility lands in my gut and I shake my head. “I won’t.”
TWELVE
Kate
The turnout for my meeting is better than I’d hoped for. Granny couldn’t make it, but she wished me luck. I need it, too, because going through the figures for the tea shop, which I was privy to, and flower gardens, which I’d obtained under duress, it was clear the earl was operating at a considerable loss. But luck is back on my side because there are nearly fifty people here, squeezed into the Golden Hare. It goes to prove people aren’t happy with Vincent’s plans. He’s going to have a fight on his hands.