Page 30 of In Spades

Maddie

KRISTIN TOTALLY HAS A DATE! Tall, dark, and handsome just picked up way too much food from the restaurant for it to be for just one person.

Melissa

OMG! Who? Hottie from the bar?

Bridget

If it’s that hottie from the bar, I approve. He tips well.

Steve

Chase, DeRossi, Lawson—y’all seeing this?

Erica

Aw! Go Kris! I’m totally game for babysitting so you can go out on dates.

Steve

Whoa. Hold the fuck on, Mrs. Pelham. We are NOT okay with Kris dating some random axe murderer.

Luca

Isaac and I need to be filled in. Who’s the axe murderer?

Isaac

I’m new to this. Do we get to kill someone? I’m in.

Hannah giggled as she typed out her two cents.

Hannah Jane

Will just saw Kris in the lobby and called her Sunshine. They’re definitely a thing. Shall we call for a vote?

Kristin

OH MY GOD. STOP. We’re not a thing. No one is voting on anyone. It’s just lunch.

“Well,” Hannah said with an all too giddy smile. She circled her finger toward the Revanche bags. “That smells delicious. We wouldn’t want it getting cold now, would we?”

Will looked down at me. “Hungry?”

“Starving,” I said, desperate to get away from prying eyes.

“Bye, guys,” Hannah sing-songed as she disappeared into the administrative wing

“Have you seen the courtyard?” I asked Will, motioning for him to follow me.

“Wow,” Will said, looking around as he set the bags on a table and sat down. “I never would’ve expected this to be here.”

“I’ve always loved coming out here,” I said, taking a seat opposite him.

Tucked away from prying eyes, the courtyard was a hidden paradise at the inn. Two-seater wrought iron tables offered guests a place to enjoy a morning cup of coffee. String lights zigzagged from wall to wall across the open-air courtyard. Three walls rose up from the cobblestones, covered in ivy and running vines. The fourth wall had been removed, opening the space to an immaculate view of the waterfront.

Hannah’s wedding clients always used it, but most guests were more interested in the beach or the waterfront shopping and dining options. That made the courtyard an idyllic place to escape.

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