Page 6 of Love to Prove You Wrong

Why would I follow him? He’d be notified of it, and the last thing I wanted was him thinking I was interested in his life. Checking his profile occasionally without actually following him would be a much smarter move.

“Four weeks from now, you can forget all about him again,” Suzie said, throwing me an encouraging smile.

“And it won’t be a moment too soon.”

As I drove back to the inn, I went over my to-do list in my head. We were opening ten new rooms at the end of next week and I still needed to finalize the bedding. Every room was going to have a flower theme and name. Lily. Daisy. Begonia. Reservations for the themed rooms were already pouring in, so I was positive that it was a good move.

When I pulled into my parking spot at the inn, my mood shifted. Diane stood on the porch, arms crossed, her face bright red.

I took three deep breaths before exiting the car.

“Hi, Diane,” I said in the most cheerful voice I could muster.

“Addison, this has got to stop. I’m serious.”

“Why? What happened?” I asked, even though I had my suspicions.

“That duck happened.” She spoke the words between closed teeth. If her eyes could’ve stabbed me, I’d be on my way to the hospital.

“Duckota escaped again?”

Diane laughed hysterically. “Of course. And then she did a number two on the floor. Do you think that’s normal, Addison?”

Did I think it was normal that ducks pooped? Yeah, I did. Okay, maybe not inside. But Duckota was an animal. I couldn’t exactly send her to her room to think about what she’d done.

“You know what, I’ll take care of it right away,” I said.

Diane tapped her foot on the ground. “You told me yesterday this wouldn’t happen again. You promised me.”

I swallowed down the lump forming in my throat. Four more weeks, I repeated to myself. Four. Long. Weeks. “You’re right, I did promise. I’ll make sure to take extra precautions this time. And I’d love to offer you a lunch, on the house. Alex is making risotto.”

She hesitated for a moment, then lowered her arms. “Fine. I’ll accept your offer, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy with what happened.”

“Okay,” I said with a squeaky voice before rushing inside.

I could hear Duckota’s quacking coming from behind the reception desk. I took slow, deliberate steps so I wouldn’t scare her off. “Come here, girl. It’s okay. No need to be afraid.”

Carter appeared next to me, a bucket and sponge in his hands. “I cleaned up the mess she made before someone could step in it.”

“You’re a lifesaver, thanks.”

Carter put a hand on my arm. “No worries. Things got pretty nasty in here with Diane having one of her drama queen attacks.”

“Shh, not so loud. She might hear you.”

Carter shifted the weight from his left foot to his right, almost as if he was afraid to speak. “You know, you could tell her that you’re the boss.”

I blinked. “I am the boss.”

He threw his hands in the air. “Then why do you let Diane get away with acting like she runs the place? No offense,” he added.

Deep down, I knew he was right, but I needed to keep her happy. No matter how much of a nuisance she could be, she did choose the inn to host a wedding. And the client was king. Or in this case, queen.

“I agree that she’s demanding,” I told Carter, “but in four weeks she’ll be out of our hair. I’m sure we can cope with her fits as long as Duckota here stays put.”

With one swift motion, I got ahold of the duck, then I transported her outside, this time putting a paper cloth between her and my hands. Better safe than sorry.

I once again clicked the lock in place, although I had my doubts about its efficiency. Seven times the duck had escaped this week, and it was only Wednesday.

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