the selections on the breakfast menu. Consequently Genevieve hadn’t even known they’d checked in.
“All set, Abby,” Genevieve said from right next to her.
Abby jumped a mile, nearly upsetting the tray in her chef’s hand.
“Oh, God, Genevieve,” she gasped. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
Genevieve looked down at her generous waistline and chuckled. “I’m too heavy on my feet to sneak anywhere and you know it.”
“Then what were you doing right there next to me?” Abby demanded.
She was immensely fond of her chubby cook who always joked about her weight and her unrepentant love of food. So when Genevieve looked at her as if she’d lost her mind, Abby wasn’t about to argue the point since she was nearly sure she had.
“I was on my way into the dining room to serve the last of the meals. You were in my way,” Genevieve explained patiently.
Abby felt a blush color her cheeks. “Sorry. I was preoccupied.”
“You sure are interested in that hunk out there. Why aren’t you in there chatting with him and your other guests the way you usually do?”
“Interested? Me? Don’t be silly. I loathe the man.” She refused to comment on her neglect of the guests. The way Genevieve was staring at her, Abby already felt like a bug under a microscope, so she didn’t intend to give her friend more ammunition.
“Any woman who’d loathe a man who looks like that and treats his kid like she’s the center of his universe needs to have her head examined. I think all this catering to strangers is rotting your brain, girl. Now move out of my way. I have better things to do than stand around watching you hide from life.”
“I do not hide from life,” Abby objected. “I have a very full life and a busy one. And what could you possibly have to do with everyone’s meal ready?”
“I have dinner to arrange. All your current guests have elected to upgrade and have dinner here this evening. I’m going Italian tonight. I want to get started on the fresh pasta.”
Abby scowled. “Wait a minute. All? Even Colin and his daughter?”
“Yup. Even them. I think you’d better get used to him being around.” Genevieve grinned.
Abby did just the opposite. “I thought he’d be leaving today. He knows I don’t want him here and he didn’t really want to stay here, either.”
“Since when do you discourage a paying customer from staying? And why wouldn’t he want to stay here? It’s the nicest B and B in the area.” Her focus sharpened more. “Why do I get the feeling there’s a history here?”
“Colin McCarthy is poison. Let’s just leave it at that.”
Genevieve was one of the newer residents of the area. The only McCarthy family member she’d ever met was Erin. Colin’s youngest sister had stayed at Cliff Walk when she’d revisited the area on her way home from college that spring. Abby prayed Genevieve didn’t ask any more questions. Her anger at Colin was too personal and too deep to talk about. She never had and she never would.
She put her hand on the door and glanced at Genevieve. “The little girl’s scrambled eggs are getting cold,” she grumbled pointedly and pushed through the door. The cook had no choice but to follow since Abby stood holding the door open for her.
Abby should have been ready to face Colin. But then she heard his rich baritone voice telling Jessie her breakfast had arrived. Abby’s legs started to quake as memories washed over her—that voice teasing her sweetly, whispering sexual praises in her ear one minute and rejecting her the next.
She turned away. “Enjoy your eggs, sweetheart,” she managed to say, as Genevieve placed the plate in front of Jessie. Then, trying to stay as far away from Colin as possible, Abby walked across the room to stand closer to the door of her office. “Has everyone made plans for the day?” she asked, and nearly sighed in relief when an elderly guest, Mr. Kane, nodded.
“We hoped to go into town,” he said. “Is the road clear yet?”
Abby shook her head. “I called the state police a short while ago. The rock slide should be cleared by around three this afternoon but not before. You can still go into town, though.” She gave them alternate directions that would take them into New Jersey and to the town across the river from Hopetown. “The bridge there is open and you’ll cross back into Pennsylvania right in the heart of Hopetown. Silly as it sounds, it’s actually faster, though nowhere near as quaint or scenic. You may enjoy exploring their shops, too.”
She stepped into her office then, pleased that she’d managed to keep her eyes off Colin. She picked up a pile of the brochures she’d put together with a map showing the alternate route into Hopetown and the written directions.
Unfortunately, Colin was speaking when she stepped back into the dining room and her eyes zinged right to him as if they had no will of their own. He glanced her way at the exact moment her gaze landed on him. He stopped mid-sentence for a long beat and they stared at each other. There was something turbulent in his eyes, then he blinked and looked away, finishing his comment to Mr. Kane.
Abby gave the elderly gentleman the stack of brochures to pass along the table to anyone who wanted one. She was thankful Mr. Kane was seated the farthest from Colin and so gave her all the excuse she needed to stay far away from her newest customer. Jessie was engrossed in her breakfast, but Colin looked up and their gazes locked once more—and held longer than they should have.
“You look pretty today, Miss Abby. Just like a princess,” Jessie said, looking up from her eggs.
Abby dragged her attention off Colin, grateful for Jessie’s comment. But it also surprised Abby, upon further examination, since all her clothes were essentially the same boring style. Her trendy oldest sister, Caroline, said Abby’s long, flowing skirts and Victorian-style blouses were matronly. Caroline or anyone else could call them what they wanted but, however they looked, Abby felt safe in them. She could hide in the soft layers. She did not feel at all like a princess. She was supposed to be an ice queen so she’d never be tempted to risk her heart again.
“Yep, all she needs is a tiara,” Colin quipped silkily. There were chuckles, and speculation suddenly twinkled in the eyes of most of the other guests. Abby refused to take Colin’s remark as flirting the way they apparently had. It was more likely a taunt about her privileged upbringing.
Besides no one flirted with her. And that was the way she wanted it.
And even if for some perverse reason he had been flirting, it was Colin McCarthy—so it meant nothing. Nothing at all.
Abby forced herself to smile pleasantly. She wasn’t going to let him ruin her calm existence or cause speculation and gossip about her.
“Thank you, Jessie. If you’ll all excuse me, I have some housekeeping chores to take care of,” Abby said. Then she turned to move toward her office again, holding her head high, retreating in as dignified a manner as she could manage.
Colin’s mind reeled. She was going off to what? Make beds and dust? What had happened to the rich daddy’s girl he’d once known?
He
