Page 19 of Love to Prove You Wrong

“Not that I recall, no.”

She put a finger over her mouth. “Hm. Well, this online review begs to differ.”

She pulled a manila folder from her purse and handed me a piece of paper. “Why don’t you read it out loud?”

“Out loud?”

She waved her hand at me, an irritated look in her eyes. “Yes, that’s what I said. Go ahead.”

I hesitated for a moment before I did as she asked, but figured I’d best get this over with. The sooner I could return to my daily tasks, the better.

“The Old Pine Cove Inn is a lovely place to spend a vacation. My husband and I went on a tour of the snow globe factory and loved exploring the hiking trails in the mountains. We always got a warm welcome after returning from our wonderful excursions. The place is impeccably clean. I only saw some breadcrumbs on the floor of the dining room once and they got cleaned up swiftly.”

“Ha, see?” Diane said, a smug look on her face.

I frowned. “I’m afraid I’m not following, Diane. For starters, these people state how impeccably clean the inn is. And second, why do you have any interest in the cleanliness of my floors? Because I can tell you right now that there’s no need to worry. The floors are clean and will stay clean for the wedding.”

“Have you ever heard of the TurboVac5000 Diamond Series?” she asked.

“Can’t say that I have,” I replied in all honesty.

“I thought not,” she said. “You need one, Addison. And I can sell you one for a price that will blow your mind.”

I shook my head in disbelief. Why would a retired person want to sell me a vacuum cleaner? Then it dawned on me that she had probably bought one herself and needed to get rid of it.

“You do know you can send most items back if you haven’t used them yet, right? Why don’t you contact the store where you bought yours?”

Diane let out a high-pitched laugh. “Oh dear, don’t be silly. I’m not selling mine. I’ve got extra and I want everyone to experience the joy of cleaning with the TurboVac5000 Diamond Series. Your floors will have never looked this sparkly.”

Okay, now it sounded like she was presenting an infomercial. Maybe she was rehearsing for a play? Nothing could surprise me when it concerned Diane.

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t need another vacuum cleaner.”

“Yes, you do. And so do all of your friends,” she said, her eyes full of desperation.

I leaned back in my chair. “All of my friends? Diane, what are you talking about? Please level with me.”

She sighed. “I might have bought five hundred vacuum cleaners. But I promise you they are topnotch.”

I gasped. “Five hundred? Why? How?”

Diane pursed her lips. “This charming man showed me the power of these machines at the parking lot of the mall. He even cleaned my car for me, and I can confirm that my car’s interior has indeed never been cleaner. The TurboVac5000 Diamond Series does its job.”

“Then why not buy just the one?”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, as if I was a toddler who didn’t understand a thing about the world. “Because that’s not how it works. You can’t just buy one. That would be a waste of money. You see, if you buy a hundred boxes from me, you can sell those at the inn. You’ll make a huge profit. Can’t you see what an amazing opportunity this is?”

I knitted my eyebrows together. “How much did you pay for all of those vacuum cleaners? Did you check that man’s information? I’m thinking you might have been scammed, Diane.”

“Scammed? By such a charming man?” Her eyes grew wide. I half expected them to shoot beams of fire at me. “Forget I said anything, Addison. Once I’m out of vacuum cleaners, you’ll come begging for one. Mark my words.”

She pushed the folder back in her purse and got up. I scrambled to my feet as well, and tried to rectify the situation. “It’s nothing personal. I just want to help. Maybe you could get your money back somehow.”

But Diane wouldn’t hear it. She trotted toward the front door and I ran after her. She was unbelievably fast for an old lady, but then I almost crashed into her when she came to a sudden standstill.

A shocked look spread all over her face, and her mouth opened and closed like a fish. I followed her gaze up the stairs and looked right at Justin, who was dressed in nothing but a pair of denim shorts and black socks. A flutter of confusing feelings rushed through me, and I couldn’t stop myself from staring at him.

Diane cleared her throat and shot me a death stare. “I’m starting to have second thoughts about hosting the wedding here, Addison. First, you don’t seem to care about the cleanliness of your floors, and then you allow… this.” She circled her hand in the air to where Justin was standing. “I thought this was a decent establishment.”

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