Taking a drink of her almost empty coffee, she squinted at her laptop screen, scrutinizing the financials more closely now that she was into the inn’s most recent decade of operations.
The only thing she’d put her foot down about with her father was that she couldn’t head to Bingham on Friday, given that she was already going to be missing another weekend day at the inn so soon after coming on board.
She’d confirmed with him on Tuesday night, after running into Sydney in the lobby, that the two of them would arrive on Saturday. She’d also agreed to play nice with the Fitzpatrick family.
Messy. It was all so messy.
Reese hadn’t beenavoidingSydney. She was just stressed out.
Which is what she repeated to herself for the hundredth time.
The way Sydney had looked at her on Sunday hadn’t helped, given all her soft eyes and sweet smiles.
Coupled with the way Sydney had looked on Tuesday, filling out her tennis outfit as she practically bounded walking into the lobby… yeah, that was a memory that Reese wouldn’t soon forget.
Since Megan, she hadn’t even looked at another woman with appreciation or interest, and now she was going to spend the weekend in close confines withPeopleMagazine’s Sexiest Female Athlete of the Year.
2022, in case anyone was wondering. And yes, Reese had googled the specific year for the sake of accuracy.
Groaning, she put her head in her hands.
Having Sydney by her side would make these wedding events better, not worse, she reminded herself.
Deep breaths, she encouraged herself as she visualized the mounting pile of complications, trying to allay her own fears.
The wedding would be fine, even if she had to be a bridesmaid.
Grant was a menace, and he more than deserved to be put through the ringer.
Her mom was being weird, but given how little she actually knew her mom, maybe she’d always been like this.
Finally, there was her dad. She’d started to give up any false ideations about what kind of man he really was.
When she’d been younger, she’d thought he was a titan of industry, with a portfolio of properties in the double digits that at the time was as significant in Reese’s mind as if he’d built the pyramids.
Now, she was spending time with him as a true adult, and she couldn’t say she was especially impressed.
Not with how he treated his wife, only acknowledging her mother when it benefitted him. Not with how he ran his business, intent on ushering Grant in as the future of The Devereux Groupbecause of genitalia instead of talent or effort. And certainly not with how he kowtowed to the Fitzpatricks, willing to say or do whatever he needed to get their investment money.
Maybe if it had been something else he’d embellished, she’d have cared less. He could have pretended that he loved polo or that his passion was wildlife conservation. Those things wouldn’t have worked their way under her skin.
But no, he had to pretend to be dedicated to his family, and worse than that, he had to pretend that he was proud of Reese and the life she’d built. A life that he’d conveniently forgotten to mention had only been necessary because he’d made it clear she’d never be seen like Grant in his eyes.
Reese would have loved to one day take over The Devereux Group, but even by the end of high school, she knew that it was never going to be her future. If her father had given even a whisper of suggestion in the opposite direction, she’d have gone to a school on the East Coast with a stellar hospitality and tourism management major, aligning all of her focus into becoming a worthy successor when he decided to retire.
Instead, she’d moved across the country to start on her own track, one that would ultimately put her at the hands of her own destiny—or so she’d thought.
She frowned as she lifted her cup to her lips, only to find it empty.
A knock on the doorframe pulled her attention to where Hallie stood, a fresh cup of coffee in hand.
“How did you know?” Reese asked, genuinely baffled as she accepted the cup, which was fixed just the way she liked it.
“You walk by the front desk to get coffee,” Hallie said, pointing down the short hallway that connected to the lobby. “You’ve been on a pretty consistent schedule this week. Once you hit fifteen minutes late, I took a chance.”
“I appreciate it.” She reminded herself that she really needed to find a way to get Hallie to stay on board.
“How are things going in here?” Hallie gestured toward thepaperwork on the desk. “Finding any good skeletons in the cleaning closets?”
