Christmas Sugar (Insta-Spark)

I tamped down my impatience. “Can you enlighten me, please?”

“Rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off. It means they found whatever you said funny.”

I blinked at him, then returned my gaze to the screen.

Obviously, your brain has already slipped into retirement mode. So glad I amused you. I hope you didn’t break a hip when you fell, old woman.

Her reply was swift.

If I had, it would have been worth it. I can imagine the look on your snooty face.

I had no clever comeback. I rarely used texting for personal reasons. I used the one word I knew drove her as crazy as abbreviations did me.

My face is not snooty. But . . . whatever.

Is so. And don’t be rude.

I grinned at the screen. I was snooty; I knew that. It helped me keep people at arm’s length.

Be safe, dear boy.

I smirked a little as I typed her reply.

Well, unless I get eaten by wildlife when I step out of the minivan, I think I will be fine.

A minivan—I’d pay good money to see you in the back seat of one of those.

I’ll have you know I’m riding in the front seat. I am nothing if not adaptable to my environment.

Adaptable? Stop it, Dylan. I swear you’re killing me. I can’t catch a breath from laughing.

Fine. Good night, then.

Her reply made me frown with its strange message.

This trip is going to be an eye-opener for you, Dylan. Be sure not to miss anything.

Shutting off my phone, I stared out into the darkness, again wondering what exactly she was talking about.

Seth pulled up to the front of the inn and I slid out of the van, already shivering from the drastic change in temperature. “You go inside and I’ll park the van and bring your bags, Mr. Maxwell,” he instructed and pulled away, leaving me standing in the cold.

I looked around, not able to see much except the building in front of me. The woods rose around the sides of the property, and I was sure I could hear the crash of ocean waves slamming into rocks. It was one of the key points of the property that made me want it. That, plus the fact that I owned the land on either side of it and had been waiting—not very patiently—for the piece to come up for sale. The three areas formed a triangle—the one with the inn being the uppermost point fully facing the water. When my contacts recently told me it was the right time, I had gotten in touch with Mr. Walsh before anyone else had a chance to find out it was going to be available.

The inn itself showed me the age of the complex. A three-story building that had been, I was sure, quite nice in its day. Now, even in the dark, I could see it needed work. It wasn’t overly large, but I knew they also had cabins on the grounds, accounting for the majority of their revenue. There weren’t many cars in the parking lot, which was hardly a surprise. All the information I had seen indicated they still did a decent business in the summer, mostly due to the location. However, once tourist season ended, they started bleeding red ink so fast it was as if a vampire had attacked its proverbial neck. Mr. Walsh needed the deal even more than I wanted it, no matter how hard to get he was playing. He was mortgaged to the hilt and teetering on the edge of financial disaster.

Still, there were lights strung around the building and the front decorated nicely with large pots of evergreens and bows. I hurried inside, grateful for the warmth that greeted me.

I glanced around at the old-fashioned lobby. A few well-worn sofas were in front of a roaring fireplace, which was double-sided and open to an older-style bar on the opposite wall. Tables and chairs were scattered around inside, a couple with people sitting at them. Business was about what I had expected: poor.

A throat clearing had me looking toward the sound, and for a moment, I froze in place. Behind the large desk was a girl. No, a woman—a petite one, but a woman, nonetheless. She had dark brown hair that glinted red under the lights. It tumbled past her shoulders and down her back in long waves. Her complexion was creamy, and her green eyes were wide and apprehensive as she regarded me. She was very pretty.

Then she smiled.

Warm, wide, and so sweet, her smile literally took my breath away.

No one had ever smiled at me like that. Ever. It was as if she was smiling for me. Just for me.

I’d never reacted in such a way to a smile before.