The Christmas Inn. Stella MacLean

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СКАЧАТЬ worry. I’ll call her eventually.”

      “So while you’re off for a restful few days in the mountains, I’m left to deal with Gina. If she tells me one more time about her matching wedding band to go with her square cut diamond—” Julie pulled a thick blond curl from behind her ear and examined it for split ends. “She’s already acting like she owns the place and you haven’t even signed the agreement yet.”

      Hearing the despair in her friend’s voice, Marnie sat down next to Julie. “I know how hard it is for you to watch what’s going on with Shane.”

      “I know you do.” She gave Marnie a huge hug. “Why did I have to fall for a man who is making a total fool of himself over a woman who—” Julie grimaced. “You know, when I first came to Total Elegance, the first time I saw him, I really believed I’d met the one person for me. And look at me now, sitting here with you feeling like I’ve lost everything.” She tucked her chin into her neck, hiding her face.

      “You haven’t lost everything,” Marnie said, wishing she could ease her friend’s heartache.

      “I have! Meeting Shane made me believe in love at first sight. I felt so alive, so thrilled to be around him…and now I feel like a walking cliché. What’s even worse, he’s about to marry a woman who is so completely wrong for him,” she wailed.

      “Love at first sight went out with the dinosaurs.”

      “Like you’d know.” Julie snorted.

      “I’ve seen firsthand what it does to people.”

      “You mean Shane?”

      She sighed. “Julie, Shane is getting married, and you and I may be upset with him, but there’s nothing either of us can do about it. You’re going to have to get used to working with Gina, or you’re going to have to leave the salon.”

      “If she keeps pissing people off and the staff and clientele make tracks, Shane won’t have anything left of what you and he built together. Won’t you feel bad if that happens?”

      “Of course I will, but I can’t change how Shane lives his life. Neither can you.”

      “Promise me you won’t sign until you come back? Please?”

      She and Julie had spent many late nights over bottles of wine discussing Gina and Shane. Julie had wanted to intervene, but Marnie had managed to convince her to stay out of her partner’s personal life.

      “I can’t make that promise. I’ve agreed to sell, but he’s allowed me a few days to reconsider should I need it. I don’t think I will, but it never hurts to be cautious. Meanwhile, you have to face the fact that nothing will change Shane’s mind about Gina,” she said gently.

      Tears shimmered in Julie’s eyes. “He can’t marry her, Marnie.”

      “Julie, we’ve been over this.”

      Julie gave a disgusted sniff, checked her manicure and tilted her chin toward the mirror on the dresser beside the bed. She got up, smoothing her fiery-red top over her narrow hips. “On a whole other topic, our landlord called before you got home, and he has agreed to the estimates for cleaning up the flood damage in the basement.”

      Marnie and Julie had clothes and personal belongings destroyed by water damage a couple of weeks ago when a pipe broke in the basement of the house they rented. “That’s great. We can shop for new shoes and purses now.”

      “Guess so.” Julie tucked one booted leg under her as she settled back on the bed.

      Marnie pulled her one black dress out of the closet. “Darn! That reminds me. I don’t have a decent pair of heels to take with me.”

      “You’re telling me you don’t have one pair of high heels you could wear with a black dress?”

      “None. Remember, I’d been reorganizing the closets when the flood happened—all my shoes were on the floor in the basement, along with boxes of my winter clothes.” She stuck her head into the bottom of the closet and reappeared with a pair of three-inch heels. “All I have is this pair of canary-yellow ones, and I don’t have time to shop for a new pair.”

      “Not given your inability to make a decision where clothes are concerned. Now, if it were me, I could buy ten pairs in an afternoon. Guess you’ll have to make a fashion statement with your yellow ones. I wonder if you’ll have to dress up for dinner?”

      “I went on the internet to see how formal this place is. There was no mention of a dress code, but the photos of the dining room are pretty classy,” she said, worrying that she might not have the right clothes. So much of her wardrobe involved casual pants and tops for work, or jeans.

      “You’ll be fine.”

      “I want to look good, but not draw attention to myself. It would make my job a whole lot more difficult if people began to notice me. If they started paying attention to me they might wonder why I was checking things out.”

      “You wouldn’t be that obvious.” Julie got up again and sauntered over to the chair next to the window. “So, how does this mystery-guest thing work?”

      “Scott made the reservation for me and guaranteed it with his credit card. All I have to do is show up, enjoy every service the inn has to offer and fill out a bunch of questionnaires. That’s it.”

      “Sounds simple enough. Hope it doesn’t snow too much while you’re there. You might not make it home for Christmas.”

      “Christmas is the last thing on my mind.” Marnie bundled her curling iron, makeup and hair products into a bag and packed them in her suitcase. She gave the room a quick once-over. “Well, I guess that pretty well does it.”

      Julie peered over the edge of the suitcase. “Underwear?”

      “Oh, yeah.” Marnie scooped her undergarments out of her dresser drawers, dropping her pink bustier onto the floor in her haste.

      “Wow! Are you up to something on the man front without telling me? Planning on meeting a hunky skier, perhaps?”

      “You never know. I’m going to pamper myself, and if there’s an available male, you just never know what might happen. I haven’t had a decent date in months, and now that I won’t be logging tons of time at the salon, a decent date just went to number one on my list of priorities.” She stuffed the bustier and the rest of her underwear in her suitcase and closed the zipper.

      “Well, here’s hoping that none of the guys you meet up there in the Berkshires bear the faintest resemblance to Mario.” Julie arched her eyebrows in warning.

      “So I’m lousy at picking men.”

      “No, you’ve got to stop letting them pick you. There’s a difference. As I’ve said before you’ve got to be assertive and pick the best apple from the dating tree, not the duds.”

      Marnie smiled out of the corner of her mouth and reached her arms out to her friend. “Wish me luck on all fronts.”

      “Absolutely.” Julie jumped up, towering over Marnie as she hugged her. “Call me as soon as you have a free minute and let me know what the man situation is like. СКАЧАТЬ