Isabella laughed and let herself be pulled along, pausing only to wave at Jane. Christopher followed behind them with an amused expression, and Jane watched them disappear through the front entrance.
As the door closed behind them, Jane’s mind shifted to the one other person who was going to be at the inn tonight. Gabe.
Her heart did an involuntary flip at the thought of him.
Her hand went automatically to the bump and bruise on her temple that was still healing from where Todd had hit her. The physical pain had faded to a dull ache, but the memory of that afternoon on the beach remained sharp and clear.
Before she could ponder that thought too deeply, Christopher suddenly rushed back in like something was chasing him.
“Forgot something?” Jane asked, startled by his urgency.
“Your father’s keys for his pickup,” Christopher said quickly, stopping at the reception desk. “He said I could borrow it.” He paused, and Jane saw something in his eyes that made her straighten. “Listen, Jane...” His eyes were wide and filled with an emotion she couldn’t quite decipher. There was urgency in his voice that set her nerves on edge. “Two people have just arrived, and it looks like they’re going to try to checkin. I don’t have time to explain. But please tell them the inn is full and whatever you do, please don’t give them rooms.”
“What? Why—” Jane started.
But footsteps and voices were already approaching from outside. Christopher ducked into the office behind the reception desk, saying again with even more urgency: “Don’t give them rooms.”
Very curious now and slightly alarmed, Jane turned toward the entrance just as a very well and expensively dressed woman, probably in her early fifties, walked in. A man about her father’s age followed, also impeccably dressed. Both were wheeling expensive-looking suitcases.
“Hello,” the man greeted her with a charming smile that, for some reason, made Jane want to hurl.
She didn’t know if it was because of Christopher’s warning or her own intuition, but this man made her skin crawl.
“Evening,” Jane greeted back, plastering on her best false smile. “How can I help you?”
“My fiancée and I would like two rooms for a few nights, please,” the man said with the kind of confidence that suggested he was used to getting whatever he wanted. That confidence just made Jane’s hackles rise further.
“I’m sorry, but we’re fully booked,” Jane told him, and she felt a surge of satisfaction when she saw surprise register on his face. What kind of person just assumed there would be roomsavailable without calling ahead? She thoroughly enjoyed wiping that confidence from his expression.
“Oh?” He said in clear disbelief. “Really?” He glanced around the lobby pointedly, as if trying to catch her in a lie.
“Yes, really,” Jane said firmly, nodding. “I can recommend you try one of the hotels in St. Augustine.” She glanced at the woman, who was looking around the inn with an expression that bordered on disdain.
“Are you sure, dear?” the woman said, her tone dripping with condescension. “This place doesn’t look...” She glanced around pointedly. “Full.”
“That’s because all of our guests are out for the evening enjoying the many Christmas activities in St. Augustine,” Jane told her, secretly enjoying the annoyance that flashed in the woman’s eyes.
She was one of those people used to getting her own way, Jane realized immediately.What a witch.She wondered again who these people were and why Christopher had been so insistent that she not give them rooms.
“You can try one of the bigger hotels in St. Augustine or just outside of town,” Jane continued. “We get pretty booked up in this area at this time of year.”
“Yes, we understand,” the man said, though his smile had become noticeably cooler. “Thank you for your suggestions. Come, love, let’s go findanother place.”
“But we need to be here,” the woman said beneath her breath, but loud enough that Jane heard it clearly.
Jane frowned.What did she mean by that?
“Well, we’re not getting in here tonight,” the man answered, starting to pull the woman toward the door.
Just then, footsteps echoed from the staircase. Jane heard Christopher, who she could see peeking through the office door, hiss a quiet “Uh oh.”
She turned to see Holly helping Gabe down the stairs, with Trinity on his other side. Her heart did that involuntary flip again at the sight of Gabe. He was still moving carefully with the newly reset leg, and Holly was being overly cautious about making sure he didn’t put too much weight on it.
They were just reaching the bottom step when the man by the door suddenly spoke.
“Holly?”
Holly, Gabe, and Trinity froze mid-step and turned toward the newcomers.
