He reached for her hand, but she pushed off from the railing and headed toward their grandmother, looping her arm through hers. When Jordan spoke, she made damn sure her tone was laced with sugar and sunshine. “Let’s go inside, shall we?”
Simon frowned at her, but she ignored him. More than that, she resisted the urge to present her middle finger, a feat she was very proud of in that moment. Pru patted her arm, and Jordan breathed in the older woman’s scent, rosewater and mint, the smells of her childhood. She relaxed, just a little, and squeezed her grandmother closer. Jordan didn’t want her to worry about anything, and dammit, she would not give her any reason to.
“Yes, I can’t wait to see inside,” Natasha said, then she gestured to a white woman with bright pink hair who had a large camera perched on her shoulder. “We want to get some footage of the tour to document what the inn looks like before the reno. This is Goldie. She’ll be following us around a bit. But again, just act natural.”
“Hi, all,” Goldie said, and everyone offered their greeting. An Asian woman named Darcy came over and cleaned up Jordan’s fucked-up eyeliner, then dusted powder all over her face. Jordan caught Astrid fidgeting, straightening her blazer, smoothing a hand over her hair.
Astrid’s eyes met hers, her mouth parting in a split second of vulnerability before a poised mask dropped down over her lovely face. Jordan had the sudden urge to do something to yank it off again.
Once they were settled and Goldie gave them a thumbs-up, Simon opened the front door and a stale smell rushed out to greet them, like century-old wood and unused rooms, which was odd considering they’d only just closed to guests right before Jordan arrived last week.
Now she wondered if maybe they’d been closed a lot longer, and her family hadn’t bothered telling her because she was oh-so-fragile.
“This entryway is breathtaking,” Astrid said, gazing up at the vaulted ceiling.
And it was. The vestibule was dark and musty, granted, but the bones were incredible. It was a large space, the stairs spiraling to the second floor in front of them. Crimson-pink floral wallpaper covered the walls, meeting the deep cherry wood wainscoting rising up from original cherry floors. If you looked up, you could follow the staircase to a small balcony on the second floor that looked down on the vestibule.
Several floral couches and wingback chairs took up most of the living room, where the rest of theInnside Americacrew was currently setting up cameras and lighting. The parlor was to the left, now used as the concierge room, a huge oak desk equipped with an ancient computer and... god, was that a Rolodex?
Jordan knew her grandmother employed exactly two people to help her with the inn: Evelyn, a woman only about a decade younger than Pru herself, who handled all the booking and guest services, and Sarah, a woman in her fifties who acted as the cook-slash-housekeeper. There were only eight guest rooms upstairs, which was a huge number of bedrooms for a residential house, but not so many for an inn. The three of them had gotten along nicely for as long as Jordan could remember... but now, in light of Simon’s revelation and looking at that sad Rolodex and dinosaur computer, she felt concern bloom in her chest.
“Now, we’ll want to brighten this up,” Astrid said, waving her hand across the foyer. “Make sure that the Everwood experience begins as soon as guests walk in the door.” Her voice was perfectly calm. Elegant, even.
“Yes, I agree,” Natasha said.
“Perfect,” Simon said. “We know it’s a little dark.”
Everyone was playing their part just perfectly. Wasn’t it all so nice?
“And what is the Everwood experience?” Jordan asked, eyeing Astrid. She folded her arms for extra effect.
Simon shot her a look, but it was a fair question. All renos had a vision—Jordan simply wanted to know Astrid’s.
She tilted her head at Jordan and smiled. “Luxury.”
“Everyone likes luxury,” Simon said, clapping his sister a bit too hard on the back.
“I think so,” Astrid said, her tone methodical, almost scientific. She began to circle the area. “These hardwood floors are beautiful and in pretty good shape, so I’d love to refinish them and replace any carpet throughout the house with a similar product. We’ll remove the wallpaper, use a cool gray paint and bright white trim throughout.”
“Gray paint and white trim?” Jordan said. “That’s it?”
Astrid cleared her throat. “Of course not.”
“Interesting,” Natasha said, shooting a glance at Emery that Jordan couldn’t parse. Emery simply lifted their brows.
“Okay, let’s see the rest of the house, and then we’ll all sit down in the living room to go over the design,” Natasha said.
Goldie trailed them through the dark and cluttered kitchen, the one guest room on the main floor that had literal cobwebs in the corners, the upstairs rooms, including the famously haunted Lapis Room, where Alice Everwood’s ghost purportedly still resided. And all the while, Astrid talked of white this and gray that, so that by the time they all came into the living room to look at her actual design plan, Jordan already knew she was going to hate it.
“I’m so excited to show you what I’ve come up with,” Astrid said, once they were back downstairs. She took an iPad out of her fancy bag and tapped its leather cover.
“Oh, goodie,” Jordan said.
Simon muttered something that sounded suspiciously likeJesusChristunder his breath as they all headed into the living room and sat in the musty chairs circling the coffee table. Astrid set her iPad on the surface, carefully pushing aside some ancientBetter Homes and Gardensmagazines, and tapped a few things on the screen. Emery chatted with the crew, and they all fiddled with lighting and angles for a few minutes while Astrid and the Everwoods waited. Jordan pulled one leg up on the chair she was in, bouncing her knee. Every now and then she and Astrid would lock eyes, but it never lasted long.
Pru placed a calming hand on Jordan’s undulating leg. Jordan stopped immediately, and Pru winked at her. Jordan took a deep breath, trying to focus on her grandmother’s happiness. Simon was right—this had to go well. They couldn’t lose the Everwood.
“Okay, we’re all set,” Emery said. “Whenever you’re ready, Astrid.”
