Page 28 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

"People really ask you that?"

"Yes, all the time."

"I can't even imagine that question coming to my mind."

"I doubt you stay very often in small inns."

"That's true. I'm usually in very busy, populated cities."

"Well, hopefully your experience here will make you appreciate being in an inn that makes you feel like family and not just a business traveler."

He didn't know what being part of a family felt like. If he had known at one time, he'd forgotten, but he didn't want to get into that with her. "Tell me how you came to be the owner of an inn."

"Are you sure you want to know? I'm thinking it's probably time for me to stop talking."

If she stopped talking, he'd probably have to answer her questions, and he'd rather not get into his personal history. "I'm always interested in origin stories for business owners."

"Well, all right. I wanted to run an inn since I was a little girl. Every pretend game in my childhood involved a hotel, and I was in charge. My friends would be the guests, or the other workers, but I was always running the place."

"How did you get from the dream to here?"

"I started working in hotels when I was fifteen as a maid. And since then, I've done every job. In addition to housekeeping, I've been a desk clerk, room service operator, laundry worker, concierge, banquet server. I've even parked cars for valet. I did eventually get a degree in hotel management, but in some ways, I think my practical experience has served me better."

"I'm impressed. A lot of managers don't want to start at the bottom and work their way up. They prefer to jump into the top spot right away."

"Because I started young, the bottom was the only place available to me. But working hard is something that has also been ingrained in me since I was a kid. Anyway, when the opportunity to buy the inn came up, I was lucky enough to have some family members willing to jump in. They knew how hard I had worked to get ready, and they wanted to invest in me."

"That's great, but it also adds pressure."

She nodded in agreement. "Unbelievable pressure. I can't let them down. It's not just my parents. All my siblings bought in, as well as some of my cousins. I can't fail."

"Do you think you will?"

Her lips tightened, and she clearly didn't like his question. "No. Why would you say that?"

"Because there's something in your voice, an edge of desperation."

She ran a hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ears as she looked out at the lake. "It's been a rough few weeks, but I'm not giving up. I'm too stubborn for that."

"You need stubbornness to build a company. I have plenty of that as well."

She turned her gaze back to him. "I noticed."

"And I have investors, too, not family, but people I don't want to let down."

"You know how I feel then."

"Yes. That's why I was so needy to get a computer today. I have a big presentation happening in London that I should have been going to, but I couldn't say no to my grandmother, so here I am."

"I heard you talking about that on the phone earlier. But don't you run a big company? Surely there are other people who can make the deal."

"I had a good person lined up, but she had a family emergency, so I'm going with someone smart but green. Hopefully, he'll come through. I tried to tell him everything he needs to know, but I'd rather be doing it myself."

"It's hard to let go of the reins when you have a lot on the line."

"And even when you don't, if you like to be in control."

"True," she said with a nod. "I like to excuse my need for control as a result of my dedication to my investors, but it's been around longer than I've had investors." She blew out a breath as her gaze returned to the lake. "But when I come down to the water, when I take a minute to just enjoy the moment, I'm reminded that I'm exactly where I want to be, problems and all."

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