Chapter 8

Early the next morning, I met Heath, Aiden, and Marley in the basement of the inn. When I arrived, Marley handed me a to-go cup of coffee.

I immediately accepted it. "I love you."

Marley laughed. "That was easy."

Aiden waved off the coffee. "You're interrupting my morning run. Let's get started."

"Someone's cranky this morning," Heath teased as he led the way around the theater. Occasionally, Marley or I would mention what we loved about the space, what we wanted to keep, and what we could do without.

It was exhilarating to be working on a project like this. It's what I'd always dreamed of doing, creating a unique space that guests could enjoy.

Instead, I was stuck working with a large hotel chain that was cookie-cutter in its design and its management style. They weren't open to new ideas. In fact, the consensus seemed to be that we should look like every other hotel. It was frowned upon to be distinct. But it went against every one of my marketing instincts.

Treasures like this theater kept people talking about your business for years to come, and I had a feeling the local papers would do an article on the renovation.

"I'll write up an estimate but think about what you're willing to spend on something like this. It's a nice add-on, but we're not talking about more rooms to rent. You're not going to make a lot of money from the theater even if you charge for tickets."

Marley frowned. "This will draw people in and keep guests talking. They'll always remember that inn that had a bowling alley or a theater in the basement."

I nodded. "It's unique things that make the best impression. Not looking like everyone else."

"We have the original paintings upstairs, the gardens outside, and the historic feel of this place. But I can't help but think we need to bring this back to life," Aiden said.

My gaze moved from Marley to Aiden. There was emotion under Aiden's stoic expression. This theater meant something to him and their family. They wanted to bring their grandmother's legacy back, and I wanted to help them with it. I'd love to see the project through in its entirety, but it wasn't possible.

"We appreciate you taking the time to look at it and write up an estimate," Aiden said to Heath.

Marley wrapped a hand around Heath's arm. "I think Gram would love that we're doing this. She'd want to see people enjoying the theater again. Closing this space and eventually the inn was her greatest regret."

"I have to agree," Aiden said.

It was the perfect project for me to see if this was something I wanted to do going forward. Would I enjoy it, or would it be too personal? It felt like we were uncovering a treasure, making it shiny and new again. It gave me hope that there was a possibility for me and Aiden. But he'd never said he was interested in rekindling the past.

"Let me walk you out," Aiden offered.

Heath paused to kiss Marley. Then he and Aiden left the room.

Marley moved closer to me. "When Aiden lets me help, money isn't an issue."

I smiled. "I love when there's no cap on spending."

Marley held up her hand. "I think it would be a travesty to put the dust covers back on and close the doors. This place was meant to be enjoyed."

"It would be an experience for sure."

"You really think people will appreciate the history of this place, sit in these smaller velvet chairs versus the recliners at the new theaters?"

"I think so. Especially if you're a guest at the inn. You came here for this experience. A historic inn outside of town next to a Christmas tree farm. You can capitalize on all those aspects when you're marketing. I have a feeling this theater will be spoken about and pictured in reviews."

"I think you're right. I got tingles when you talked about it. Everything in my body is telling me to go for it," Marley gushed, and her energy was inspiring.

"You don't think we should wait to decide until Heath provides the estimate?"

Marley shook her head. "Aiden won't like it, but I want to personally finance the renovation of the basement."

"What won't I like?" Aiden asked, returning to the room.

Marley rolled her eyes. "This is something I want to do."

"We have to look at the estimate and see if it's possible. You know we're tight right now. We only just reopened, and we aren't booked solid yet."

Marley moved toward the stage where she lifted herself on it to sit. "This will bring people in. It will create a buzz. It's the perfect marketing tool."

Aiden's jaw tightened. "I don't want you to fund it. I think the business should run itself."

Marley placed her hands on her hips. "I co-own the property. I want to invest in it."

"You may have inherited it, but you added me to the deed when I retired from the military and moved home."

"I did, and I'll listen to your opinion on the matter. But I think this is something we have to do."

"You follow your gut. But we need to look at the reality of a situation. It's not feasible to do everything you want."

Marley cocked her head. "I'm successful because I listened to my intuition. You'd do well to remember that."

Aiden held up his hands as if to ward her off. "I'm proud of you. But I don't know how you make decisions that way."

Marley thought about it for a few seconds, then said, "You're used to people telling you what to do." Then she touched her chest. "You have to get in touch with yourself, listen to the feelings in your body. The more you do it, the better you'll get. You'll know when something is right for you."

I couldn't help but compare the situation to me and Aiden's relationship. He wouldn't have known what was right back then because he was so consumed with this idea that he wasn't good enough. That he had to prove himself to someone. He wasn't in touch with his true feelings. He had no idea what he wanted. That helped ease the pain because if I thought he broke things off because he truly didn't want me, that was the worst.

"What do you think, Fiona?" Marley asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I leaned against a chair. I couldn't wait until we could sit in the theater and get the full effect. "I want to see Heath's plans for the space. I don't think we can move forward without that. I'm just used to working with numbers." I also didn't want to get between the siblings in an argument over money. They'd have to make the hard decisions themselves. "I'm happy to help with the movie theater renovation and consult on the rest of it."

"I appreciate that. I'm excited to work together," Marley said to me, and then to Aiden, "I guess we're stuck until Heath gets back to us. Good thing I know the contractor. I'll make sure he puts us on the top of the list."

Aiden sighed. "I'm sure he already did."

Marley checked her phone. "I have to record my podcast. But I'll let you know as soon as I hear something."

She hugged Aiden and waved at me before she left.

"We can't move forward with all the renovations, but if you're sure we're renovating the theater, we can at least clean it."

I rubbed my hands together. "I can't wait to get started. But I thought you had to stay close to the front desk?"

"I installed a video." He showed me the feed. "And the phone is forwarded to my cell. Charlotte's coming in later today to discuss the job."

"That's exciting. I bet you can't wait for her to start."

"I like to be in control, so it might be hard for me to let her handle the front desk and the incoming reservations."

"Do you really want to handle the customers? You don't seem like a people person." I asked as we worked together to remove the sheets hung over the chairs.

"I can handle the basics: reserving a room, checking someone in, and showing them to their room. But what I don't like is telling them about the paintings of the inn for sale or Holly's ornaments."

"You don't like to sell to people." I sneezed from the dust.

He gestured wide with his hands. "But this? I won't have any issues telling the guests about it. It's going to be perfect."

"It's this little gem that's been hidden down here for too long. When we reopen it, there will be people who remember coming here when they were younger, and others who can't wait to see a piece of history."

"It's like the ballroom upstairs. It's unique for a small inn. I'll run and get a couple of vacuums so we can clear out some of this dust."

"What do you want me to do with these cloths?" I gestured at the pile we'd made on the ground.

"Throw them out. We won't be needing them anymore." I loved that Aiden was so into the renovation of the theater. I thought it would be good for him to do something for his grandmother. He was still deployed when Marley performed the other renovations. I wondered if being down here would bring up other memories for him.

I carried the cloths to the dumpster. It took several trips, and when I was done, Aiden was running one of the vacuums down the aisle. I took the second one and ran it over the red carpet. The aisles had tiny lights that lit the way for guests. When we finished with the floors, we moved onto the chairs that were red velvet with gold detailing.

Aiden stopped the vacuum and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Should we keep the wallpaper?"

I ran a hand over its silver swirls. "It's worn in several spots."

Aiden walked down the aisle and hopped onto the stage in one smooth motion. "Heath might need to fix a few weak spots on the stage. Hopefully we can salvage it though."

I loved that he was strong and built from his time in the military. He obviously took care of his body.

I joined him using the stairs on the side of the stage.

Aiden gestured at the seats. "What do you think?"

"It's amazing. I love that it's here. I love the history. What movies were shown here? Did people dress up to go to them?" I tapped my chin. "That gives me an idea. When we do the private showing, we should make it old Hollywood glam."

Aiden chuckled. "I'll let you handle those details."

"What's the first movie we should show?"

Aiden pursed his lips. "It's a Wonderful Life? Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street?"

"Something black-and-white for sure."

Aiden reached for my hand. "When I retired from the military, I thought I'd come home and help Marley. I'd reconnect with the sister I'd left behind. But she's a woman who can take care of herself."

"That's for sure."

"She has this crazy successful business where she keeps making more and more money. She has Heath. The inn."

I tilted my head to the side. "Are you worried that you don't have everything figured out yet? You should be proud of your military career. You did something amazing and completely selfless."

"There's some collateral damage to that decision. You. Marley. Gram."

I swallowed over the lump in my throat. "Your grandmother knew why you did it. She only wanted the best for you." I may not have spent any time with Aiden's parents, but I drank tea with his grandmother and talked to her. She was a special person.

My biggest regret was that when Aiden broke things off, I never came back to see her. She wrote me in school, and I'd written back, talking about my courses and the friends I was making. She never asked about Aiden, and I never said anything.

"She wanted me to get out of here. When I told her about enlisting, she told me to go. That I should do whatever I needed to do. She'd take care of Marley."

I rested a hand over my heart. "I love that woman. Did she say anything about us?"

"She just said, I hope you know what you're doing. That was it. Cryptic and not much guidance for a stupid nineteen-year-old."

"You weren't stupid. You were running on a deep desire to get away from your parents. No one blames you for leaving." It was more about him not taking me with him. Or we could have dated long distance. But he'd shut down every possibility. He'd made me think he didn't want me.

Aiden hooked an arm around my neck and pulled me forward so that I rested against his chest. "I wish Gram were here to see this. She would have loved it."

"I think so too." The warmth of his body seeped through the thin material of his shirt, and he smelled of man, that cedar scent that I'd come to love. My fingers curled in his shirt. If I kept my body rigid, I wouldn't melt into him. I wouldn't feel every hard plane of his body against my curves.

Aiden's mouth was on my hair. "Relax. I remember how much you loved hugs when we dated."

I sighed at the memory, allowing my body to relax inch by inch until my eyes closed and my palms pressed flat against his chest. I felt the steady thud of his heart beneath my cheek.

"You ever think we'd be working together like this?"

"Never." I never thought I'd see him again. In fact, I'd hoped to avoid him.

Aiden eased back slightly. "I wouldn't want to do this with anyone but you."

Warmth spread through my chest. It was dangerous because he was standing so close to me; all he had to do was dip his head slightly and our lips would meet.

I let out a shaky breath and stepped back. I couldn't get involved with him again. He'd been clear about his feelings when he was nineteen, and I wouldn't let him hurt me twice. "We should get back to ridding this place of dust. I keep sneezing."

Aiden ran a hand through his hair. "There's no windows down here, so we can't open it up."

"Maybe we should use air cleaner or dehumidifiers."

Aiden pulled out his phone. "I'll order some online. We don't want it to be musty down here."

For the rest of the morning, we worked together, sucking up as much of the dust as we could.

When we paused to stretch our backs, Aiden said, "I have no idea how we're going to salvage these curtains."

They had holes in them and were heavy with dust and mildew.

"I'll look online to see if there's someone who restores things like this."

"In the meantime, I'm going to grab us some food from the kitchen."

I tucked my phone into my back pocket. "A sandwich would be great right now."

"I make a mean sandwich."

I laughed. "I bet you do. You're not cocky at all, are you?"

"I'm afraid that's something I picked up in the military, but I prefer confident."

I assessed him. He usually held his body rigid as if he was worried about a commanding officer showing up at any second, but he'd slowly relaxed during our time in the theater. I think it was the same reason he'd pulled me into a hug.

He felt closer to his younger self here. Spending time together was conjuring up old memories and feelings of nostalgia. That's all this was. I'd be foolish to think it was anything else.

In the kitchen, Aiden poured me blueberry lemonade from a pitcher in the fridge. "We usually keep water in the lobby during the summer season."

"This is lovely. Especially after being around so much dust. I need a long shower."

Aiden winked at me. "I could join you."

Then he got to work making cold meat subs for us. He put both on plates, cut up an apple, and threw a few chips on the side.

"This is great, Aiden. Thank you for feeding me."

He sat next to me. "You're helping me."

My lips twitched. "I keep saying this, but I'm not going to want to leave."

His brow furrowed. "Would you? I thought you wanted to stay here versus your family's home."

"I'd prefer to avoid the memories. But Daphne's living with Cole now. I could move into her cottage." But if I did that, I might want to stay. I'd get too settled. I'd fall in love with the quiet, the slower way of life, and seeing my family all the time.

"Is that what you want?" Aiden said, waiting for my answer.

"I don't know what I want anymore. I have to go back to my job in a few weeks. I was hoping to find some clarity. That the right thing to do would just hit me. But so far there's been nothing."

"I don't think you can rush these things. I've been home for almost a year, and I don't know what I want. I enjoy working at the inn, but I also like to work with my hands."

"You want to do more jobs for Heath," I said as I drank the cool lemonade.

"I just can't fit it in."

"Here's hoping we both get some answers soon." Because I wasn't any closer to that than when I came home.