The equipment, I assumed, was the reason the hall currently held a tripod and a portable softbox light leaning against the wallpaper like it lived there.
Kitty blinked hard. “Three more rooms. I thought you only needed two.”
“We added a sound engineer,” he said. “And a continuity assistant. Yesterday was a disaster without the rest of the crew.”
I stared at Kitty. “Just how many rooms are we talking about? Can we handle all this?”
Kitty whispered, “We’re full.”
The bride’s mother approached, clasping her hands. “We are so grateful you could fit all of us. Small inns often cannot handle wedding parties this size.”
Kitty made a sound I could only describe as a quiet internal scream.
Lucy gave her mug to Dex, coming forward to look at the guest book. “What are we short?”
Kitty mouthed, “Two rooms?”
I glanced reflexively toward the stairs. The small apartment Lucy and I shared was at the top. It had two cozy bedrooms, a couch, a small kitchenette, and a pretty view of the courtyard. We had worked so hard to make it feel like home.
Kitty followed my gaze. “I am so sorry.”
“You didn’t think to say there weren’t any vacancies?” Lucy muttered under her breath, giving Kitty a dark look.
“Jane and Lucy,” Kitty said quietly, “I need your apartment.”
I nodded once. The knot in my stomach tightened but didn't surprise me.
“Where are we supposed to go? Jane can’t sleep in the kitchen and I can’t sleep on a sofa,” Lucy logically stated.
Kitty winced again. “I need the apartment. We have to move you to the pool house. Just for the week.”
“The pool house,” Lucy repeated in a flat voice. “The drafty one with questionable heating.”
“It has a double bed,” Kitty said brightly. “And walls.”
“That is a low bar, Kitty.”
I swallowed hard because I felt the same disappointment. Losing the apartment felt like losing the small sanctuary I had managed to carve out for myself. But the lobby was full of guests who needed rooms, and this wasn't a battle I could reasonably fight.
“We will make do,” I said softly.
Lucy set the guest book down before she dropped it. “I am not thrilled about this.”
“Neither am I,” I admitted.
Dex stepped forward. “Braxton and I can help you move your things.”
Kitty brightened. “Yes, please. And while you are here, just how long were you staying?”
Lucy shot Kitty a look sharp enough to cut glass. “They are paying guests. You can’t throw them out.”
Kitty put both hands up. “I wasn’t going to throw anyone out. I was only asking.”
Dex lifted an eyebrow. “It sounded a lot like asking if you could throw us out.”
Kitty sighed. “I was asking in a polite way.”
Lucy crossed her arms. “Kitty.”
