A Homecoming To Cherish (Cherish, South Carolina 05) by Josie Riviera

Author:Josie Riviera [Riviera, Josie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-14T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

On Monday morning, Nora reported to the lobby at eight a.m, blinking at the glittering sunlight streaming through the front window. The day promised a brightness that filled her to the core, though she suspected her optimism was based on something more than the weather.

Julian was still in Cherish. Therefore, she was sure to see him.

Today she’d chosen to wear a watercolor-print midi dress and leopard flats, and had snagged her rebellious hair into a semblance of a ponytail.

Samantha had begged to sleep in, promising to appear downstairs by ten. Her pre-lunch job required washing, drying, and folding laundry linens. Her afternoon chores necessitated waitressing in the dining room.

Humming, Nora stepped into Tom’s office and scanned the pile of correspondence. The effort involved in running an inn of this size, of any size, never ceased.

She pushed a dusty ceramic rooster to the side of the desk. What was it with Tom and roosters? And who was in charge of dusting? Surely they needed more than microfiber cloths. She glanced at the heavy draperies. They certainly needed a good whack with a towel.

Of course, a greater concern reared, having nothing to do with roosters or drapes.

Nora had come to the realization she’d never be able to help Tom in all the areas of innkeeping as she’d originally intended. There was simply too much to do. Outwardly, things ran efficiently. Behind the scenes proved the opposite.

In the days she’d been there, the air-conditioning and heating system had broken down with frightening regularity, and pricing and bookings constantly fluctuated.

Tom had surprised her by requesting that she examine the budget. He’d voiced concern because the numbers didn’t add up, though he’d embroidered his statement with a crusty, “Being you’re an accountant and all, you might see some extra money left over for repairs.”

Her level of expertise was business foundations, she’d explained.

“Good,” he’d muttered. “I think.”

Nevertheless, he had confided in her, and she’d do her utmost not to let him down.

Seating herself at the desk, she struggled to concentrate on the ledgers. Soon her traitorous mind strayed to a more delightful thought: Julian.

Julian and their Friday night date. She relived his kisses, their amiable bantering, and the desire in his molten-gray eyes whenever he gazed at her.

With a happy sigh of remembrance, she thrust the ledgers aside, leaned back in her chair, and rested her hands behind her head.

Once Friday evening had been behind them, she hadn’t expected to see much of him again. His team members were still in town, and several closed-door meetings had ensued.

When he’d ducked out of a meeting on Saturday morning to spend a few minutes with her, he’d expounded on how he and his team evaluated costs, secured the best locations, applied for the required licenses, and the hours of groundwork all these assessments entailed. He kept appearing all day, finding her in Tom’s office, the parlor, the dining room. He forever seemed to know where she was working.

He’d also invited her and Samantha to accompany him to church services on Sunday morning.

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