Page 106 of The Main Event

“I would’ve been fine if you wanted to stay with her. I can work out alone.”

“No, I needed to get a start on the day.” I grabbed a pair of hand weights. “The big Halloween party is almost here, and everything has to be perfect, or Daisy will melt down.”

“And if Daisy melts down, then you want to melt down,” Jesse teased.

I didn’t have to consider it long. “Pretty much,” I confirmed. “In truth, though, we need the money. We should have enough to finish two legs of the renovations after the party. Daisy says we take in huge gobs of cash for Christmas and New Year’s, so that pays for the third leg. That just leaves one more leg to fund.”

“Any ideas on how you’re going to do that? The December to April stretch in Salem is lean. We have to lay off half our staff, although we have volunteers who like the unemployment so they can take a break. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”

“According to Daisy, we have to do that with some of the hotel staff, too.” I didn’t like it, but there didn’t seem to be a way around it. “She’s making noise about Valentine’s Day parties,even suggesting we do a big blowout like we do for Halloween, but I’m not sure that we’ll have enough interest.”

“Don’t underestimate Daisy. She’s good at what she does. If she thinks she can make it work, then she can make it work. Have faith in her.”

I glanced around to see if anybody was listening. It was just the two of us in this corner of the gym, though. “I have faith in her. In fact, she’s the one who convinced me to make a go of it with the hotel.”

“Really?” Jesse’s eyes gleamed. “That’s great. What did she say when you told her?”

“She hasn’t said anything yet,” I replied. “Of course, I haven’t told her yet.” In truth, I didn’t know why I hadn’t told her. I’d promised to tell her the second I made my decision. I hadn’t pulled the trigger yet, though.

“Why haven’t you told her?” Jesse demanded. “She’ll be thrilled.”

“I kind of want to make a big deal about it,” I admitted. When Jesse didn’t immediately say anything, I made a face. “That makes me a big weenie, doesn’t it?”

The question was enough to draw a smirk. “It makes you a little weenie. I get it, though.” He touched his tongue to his top lip as he regarded me. “You love her, don’t you?”

I wasn’t expecting the question, and yet it didn’t terrify me as I would’ve once thought. “Isn’t it too soon to be in love?”

“There’s no set rule.”

“Yeah, but … it hasn’t even been a full two months yet.”

“I knew with Lux in about two weeks. I didn’t tell her that, of course, but I knew. Sometimes, when you know, you know.”

That made sense. At least on the surface. “What if I tell her and she doesn’t say it back?”

“Do you think that’s what’s going to happen?”

I shrugged. “I’ve never said ‘I love you’ to anybody before.”

“Ah.” Jesse’s smile was soft. “Lux was the first and only person I said it to too.”

“Were you freaked out when you said it?”

“No. She was upset and took off after an altercation with her mother. I was too intent on finding her when it happened. The second I saw her, it just spilled out. It was right, so I never worried.”

I nodded. “Daisy didn’t go into a lot of detail, but she said Lux’s mother was a monster.”

“She is, and we’ve banned her from our lives,” Jesse confirmed. “My family isn’t perfect, but they’re ten times better than Lux’s family. And, thankfully, they’ve opened their arms to Lux. They love her. Heck, I think they love her more than they love me.”

We both knew that was an exaggeration. “That’s not going to happen with my family,” I explained. “When I tell them I don’t intend to sell the hotel…” I trailed off. Even though I’d come to the conclusion that my family was the absolute worst, it was hard to say the next part out loud.

“You think they’re going to cut you loose,” Jesse realized.

I nodded. “I think that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”

“Are you sad about that?”

“I don’t want Daisy thinking it’s because of her.”

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