From Hope Lake, With Love: A Novella (Hopeless Romantics Book 4) by Nina Bocci

Author:Nina Bocci [Bocci, Nina]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Nina Bocci
Published: 2020-11-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

I tucked the blanket under my legs. “Why did I think writing outside, in the snow, was the answer?”

After breakfast, Marjorie left to cover for the young man that was at the desk. I found out he was an accounting major at the local college and Max gave him the B&B books to practice.

I sought out a quiet, inspirational spot to try and get a little work done. The key to that was leaving my now-charged phone upstairs. Ignoring it wasn’t difficult.

Curling up on the soft yellow outdoor sofa seemed like a great idea. A Christmas blanket on my lap and the brisk air to keep me laser focused, I settled in. The lightly falling snow added to the ambiance, except… the eighteen-degree wind had me high-tailing it back inside.

In the grand entrance adjacent to the check in counter, the entire area was open and it was peaceful. I beelined right for the massive fireplace that was roaring to life thanks to some poking from Ross. He took one look at me and insisted on bringing me tea.

I settled in on the love seat, pulling the tufted ottoman over to me so I could stretch out. The jeans had been tossed back in the suitcase, and I had switched to soft cotton joggers for warmth and comfort after breakfast.

Cracking my knuckles, I placed the laptop on Santa’s face that smiled up at me from the blanket I had on my legs and stared at the blank document and blinking cursor.

“Riveting,” Max said from over my shoulder.

“What?” I asked, feeling the eagerness to cover the screen but there wasn’t a thing to keep secret.

He pointed at the blinking cursor and blank document. “I particularly like your use of metaphor and the pacing is spot on.”

I looked up at him, thinking that was the most he had said to me that I didn’t need to pull from him. “Hardy har har,” I quipped, and closed the laptop with a click. “I’m struggling. I’ve been staring at that same page for a week. I thought you had patients?”

“I did. Some cancelled because of the storm. It’s good too because it’s getting pretty sketchy out there. I came to plow out the driveways.”

“Why?” I asked as he came around to sit opposite me in the opposing Queen Anne chair. He filled all of the it with his large body. He crossed one long leg over the other and leaned his head against his fist. He looked relaxed, casual, and . . . what did Marjorie say, “Don’t you think my boy is handsome?”

Yes, I dare say he is.

I shifted on the couch and kept my head down knowing that my cheeks were lighting up. I could easily blame the fire in the hearth.

“Everything okay?” he asked, either unaware of my blushing or helping me out so I wouldn’t be embarrassed further.

“Yep, fine. Just warm by the fire,” I lied, pulling the blanket off of me.

“Stanford, nice,” he said, motioning to my very ratty, well-loved sweatshirt.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.