“You’re the guest,” Paige had said, wheezing into the bag. “You shouldn’t be—”
“I’ll manage,” Sienna assured her. Besides, the more she focused on Paige’s problems, the less time she had to think about her real reason for this impulsive trip to Crimson—confronting her dad after twenty years of no contact between them.
Plumbing issues were way less trouble than family drama.
Once Paige had calmed down, she’d insisted on making dinner, which consisted of an array of surprisingly delicious frozen appetizers heated in the oven. Sienna had searched through the cabinets until she’d found a decent bottle of vodka.
“Grammy liked a little nip before bed,” Paige explained.
Sienna had concocted a hard lemonade drink, and no matter how much vodka she added it still seemed to go down far too easily.
They’d watched a few episodes of a reality TV show about pampered pets, then Paige had pulled a disco ball strobe light out of a closet.
“Dance party!” she’d shouted and Sienna had been too blissfully numb to argue.
They’d danced for what seemed like hours, avoiding the caution tape that roped off the hole in the floor. When Sienna realized she was a sweaty and thirsty mess, she made another pitcher of hard lemonade. She smiled as she watched the bright flashes of color on the bumblebee wallpaper in the kitchen.
“This has been the funnest night ever,” Paige said, then yawned.
“Ever,” Sienna agreed without hesitation. She’d never had a night like this, one filled with laughing and dancing and ignoring all of her worries. Paige had asked a few subtle questions about what brought Sienna to Crimson but hadn’t seemed to mind Sienna’s vague answers.
Both women jumped when a loud knock sounded on the front door.
“Stupid neighbors,” Paige muttered, stumbling a little as she hopped off her stool. “I bet they called the cops again.”
“The cops?”
“The grumpy couple down the street has the local department on speed dial. If I so much as put my trash out too early, they report me. I’m guessing they think colored lights from a disco ball are the devil’s handiwork.”
A sinking pit opened in Sienna’s stomach. It was highly unlikely Cole would be the one to respond to a call like this but with the way her luck was running...
“I’m going to head upsta—”
She got up from her stool just as Paige turned toward her. Sienna’s arm jostled the cup Paige held, and vodka lemonade splashed all over the front of Paige’s pajamas.
“Yuck,” Paige cried. “I’m going to be a sticky mess. You get the door while I change.”
“I can’t—”
Paige’s eyes widened. “Don’t make me answer it when I’m practically bathed in vodka. A plumbing problem is bad enough. Who wants to stay at a B&B where the lady who runs it is a stinking drunk?”
The knock sounded again, more forcefully this time.
“It’s not like potential guests will hear about it,” Sienna protested, shaking her head.
“This is Crimson.” Paige threw up her hands. “Everyone will know.” She made a kissing sound toward Sienna. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
Sienna sighed as Paige disappeared into her bedroom. She turned down the music, flipped off the disco light and padded to the door, trying to ignore both her hammering heart and the fact that she was wearing a set of Paige’s tie-dyed pajamas.
She wet her lips with her tongue, said a silent prayer that some low-level officer had gotten stuck with this call and opened the door.
Cole Bennett stood on the other side.
