Page 84 of Claimed By my Frenemy

“I’m proud of you. I’m glad things are going well for your opening. Are you ready for breakfast tomorrow?”

“I think so. I’m going to have to get up at four, though, so everything is ready on time. And I have to be quiet because the last thing I want is a guest hearing me making breakfast and complaining about too much early morning noise.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. Once they taste your omelets, they’ll be in love.”

"Thank you," I say, feeling a rush of warmth. "I can’t believe this moment is finally here."

We head out to the back porch. The fire-pit still doesn’t have the glass around it, but I’ve found that I like it better like this. It allows me to feel the warmth of the fire more. Theo tells me about his own success. "The resort is buzzing," he says, his eyessparkling with excitement. "The entertainment areas are a hit. Guests from your bed and breakfast came over, too. I recognized them because they looked a little lost.”

“Who was it?”

“A woman about your age and a man who looked like he was being dragged along. When they left, though, they both looked like they had enjoyed themselves.”

"That’s exactly what I hoped for. I’m so glad it’s working out."

“What aboutyourguests? Any problems? Snags? Everything has been running so smoothly for me, that I’m almost waiting for a problem to happen.”

Theo pulls me into his arms, and I glance toward the door, but no one is coming out. I can snuggle with him for now. “No, no problems. I did have one guest all upset that she didn’t get the ocean view she wanted, but all the ocean view rooms have been booked, and she didn’t specify on her reservation.”

“So, what did you do?”

“I gave her twenty dollars in gambling chips. Now, I might end up making even more money.”

We both laugh, and I bury my face in Theo’s shoulder. “Do you want to take a walk on the beach?” Theo asks. “If you have time.”

I glance toward the door again. “It feels strange to leave my guests here, but I’m not expected to entertain them. I’m a hostess but not twenty-four hours a day.”

“I think that means you should come with me.” Theo tugs at my hand.

I finally give in and walk with him down to the beach. We go around my house and to the public beach access across the street.

“Let’s walk in the water,” I suggest, kicking off my sandals near the entrance to the beach. “It’s hot today.”

I do an awkward dance across the hot sand, then dip my feet into the water up to my ankles. Theo laughs at me.

“Once you’ve lived here a few years ago, you’ll get desensitized to the hot sand.”

“So, you just like burning the bottoms of your feet?”

“No, I just got used to it. Now, the bottoms of my feet are like leather.”

I make a retching noise, and we both laugh. We start walking along, hand in hand. My mind is still racing with details about the resort. I’m thinking of my guests and back through the conversations I’ve had with them. Everything has been perfect.

"I’ve been thinking about the future, about what’s next for us," Theo says, breaking the comfortable silence.

I look up at him, curious. "What do you mean?"

He takes a deep breath, his expression thoughtful. "We’ve both achieved so much with our businesses. They’re off to a great start, and I think they’ll only become more and more successful. But I don’t want to stop here. I want to keep growing, keep building something amazing. And I want you to be a part of that."

I feel a rush of warmth at his words. "I want that too, Theo. I want us to keep creating, to keep making our dreams a reality. I’ve actually been thinking about hiring some staff. I think I coulddoeverything myself, but I just don’t know if I would feel exhausted. And I don’t want to be less than my best for the guests. If I have to get up early for breakfastandcleanandbe there to greet them when they arrive, I’m going to feel worn out pretty soon.”

“That’s a good idea. If you can have breakfast cooked by someone, and the cleaning done too, then you can just be the happy face who answers questions and makes everyone feel welcome.”

I smile at the idea of being able to sleep in until eight every morning while a chef prepares breakfast. “I haven’t even thought about what that interview process would look like. It feels intimidating.”

“I’ll help you, out if you want. I actually might have a recommendation. My chef’s brother works in the same business, and if he’s anything like the chef I have, he might be a good choice.”

“Thanks. Yeah, I’ll take his information.”

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