Chapter 11

“I think this about wraps it up.” Morgan dusted her hands. “Elin will bring her baked goods over at one. I ordered some floral bouquets to be delivered around the same time. Tina will coordinate the drinks.”

“And I have the open house giveaways ready to go.” Ronni reached into the box on top of the desk and began removing heart-shaped containers of chocolate. “These were a bit of a splurge, but only because they’re a luxury brand.”

Morgan plucked one from the box, running her finger over the embossed “Locke Pointe B&B” gold foil design. “They look too pretty to eat.”

“Vosges Haut-Chocolat gourmet chocolates are on the pricey side, which is why there are only two pieces of chocolate per box.” Ronni told her she’d created a carefully curated list. “The plan is to get the most bang for our buck.”

“I wonder if Grace has seen a slump in reservations.” Morgan set the chocolates on the desk with the others.

“I ran into her yesterday in the parking lot. She mentioned a drop in bookings, although I don’t know how far hers have gone down.”

“I need to find out.” Morgan finished jotting her notes and stuck the notepad in her bag. “I met Greg’s new friend from next door.”

“Hailey? Isn’t she the sweetest thing?”

“Her smile lights up her whole face. Greg is enamored.”

“The man is in love,” Ronni sing-songed. “He’s on cloud nine.”

“He deserves to be happy. I hope it works out.”

The women made small talk until a call came in for Ronni, one she needed to take.

Morgan, deciding to get the inside scoop on the budding romance along with Grace’s opinion about the downturn in business, made a beeline for the inn next door.

It took a minute for her to track her friend and neighbor down, and finally found Grace in the parlor, rearranging a group of wall hangings.

“Hey, stranger.” She hopped off the ladder and crossed the room. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming home.”

“It was nonstop travel all over Ontario. No wonder Brett was struggling to carry the workload.”

“Your brother thrives on corporate busy-ness.”

“He does, but he needs to be more aware of what he’s physically able to do. I’m glad he finally admitted it was time to share the workload.” Morgan changed the subject. “Speaking of busy-ness, how is business here at the inn?”

Grace made an unhappy sound. “In the tank. I’ve even had a couple of cancellations. I’m starting to wonder what on earth is going on.”

“Same here. I’m still new to this B&B biz, so I’m not sure what to expect. It sounds like we’re both in the same boat.”

“Hopefully, it will pick up soon.” Grace told her there was an uptick in reservations closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas. “After that, it drops off through January. We typically see an increase in bookings for February, couples who are looking for a romantic weekend away close to home.”

Morgan mentioned Ronni’s idea to host an open house. “We have one planned for tomorrow. Do you want us to send the invitees your way?”

“I…” Grace hesitated. “I hate to piggyback off your idea.”

“You will not be piggybacking off the event. You’ve been here much longer than me and have helped me in so many ways. I would love to share any and all potential customers and / or visitors.”

“Yes. Then I’ll take you up on your generous offer. Send them my way.”

Morgan told her about the goodies and what they planned to offer touring guests. “I’m sure if you swung by Elin’s bakery, she would help you come up with some decadent goodies.”

“You’re right.” Grace’s eyes lit. “She makes those adorable little gingerbread houses during the holiday season. I bet I can persuade her to whip up a dozen heart-shaped cookies if I ask nicely.”

“You had better make it at least a couple dozen,” Morgan said. “I think Ronni sent out at least two dozen invitations to local businesses in both Easton Harbor and Locke Village, along with bloggers and vloggers who specialize in blogging and creating cool videos. There are also several travel agents and online influencers who plan to be here.”

“I’ll order a few dozen to make sure I don’t run out. I hope this works like gangbusters,” Grace said. “Our themed fall party worked like a charm. Maybe we can replicate our success.”

The Lilac Inn and Locke Pointe had co-hosted a fall party and scavenger hunt. The guests loved it. Not only did they receive positive feedback, almost half of the guests booked for the following fall season, well in advance, claiming they didn’t want to miss out on the fun and festivities.

“Let’s aim for a repeat.” Morgan lifted her hand, and Grace slapped it, giving her a high five. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll let you get back to work.”

“It looks like I have a few things to do before two tomorrow.” Her friend followed Morgan out onto the porch. “Greg’s been hanging around a lot lately.”

“He has his eye on Hailey.”

“And Hailey has her eye on him. Have you heard how they met?”

“Greg told me she was having trouble dumping the trash in the dumpster. He offered to help.”

Grace giggled. “She’s volunteered to take the trash out every day at the same time ever since.”

“And Greg makes sure he’s there to offer his assistance.” Morgan lowered her voice. “He’s going to invite her over to his place for dinner.”

“How sweet.” Grace clapped her hands. “I’m sure she’ll jump at the chance.”

“It looks like we have a hint of romance in the air.”

“Greg’s a good guy. He deserves all the happiness he can get.”

“This may be premature seeing how you’ve only recently hired Hailey, but do you think she would be a good person for him?” The last thing Morgan wanted was for Greg to have his heart broken by a woman who liked flirting with men.

Her friend thought about it. “From what little I know at this point, the answer is yes. She and her aunt moved to a small rental in Locke Village. I don’t know the details, but they had some sort of incident happen in Port Huron and decided to get the heck out of Dodge.”

“Hmm.” Morgan frowned. “I wonder what happened.”

“I have no idea. I suppose if you think about it, we all have situations or people from our past we’ve had to deal with.”

“You know it. I’ve certainly had more than my share.” Morgan could tick off a long list. Percy Locke, her mother’s cousin, her ex-husband Jason, who was now in prison, Prissy Finkpin, managing editor of the Easton Harbor Beacon who made it her mission in life to write snarky, unflattering hit pieces about the Easton family.

Although, to her credit, it had been a while since the last hit piece. Perhaps because the Easton family had done nothing to put them on Prissy’s radar. The sad part of the entire situation was the fact she was Elizabeth’s sister-in-law.

Prissy and Naomi were close friends. Something told Morgan that Naomi and Amber being seen together was no accident. Perhaps the senior islanders had taken Amber under their wing and were teaching her everything they knew about torturing Morgan and her family.

“Hopefully, whatever Hailey ran from won’t follow her here.” Morgan made her way down the steps. “We all deserve someone. Speaking of someone, Wyatt and I were saying we need to plan a date night with you and Grady.”

“We would love to. The slow season is the perfect time.” Grace leaned her hip against the porch post. “Wyatt missed you.”

“He did. He picked me up at the airport and had some Vernors ginger ale and aebleskivers waiting for me. Wyatt’s very thoughtful.”

“Thoughtful enough to pull you over and give you a ticket because he missed you?” Grace teased.

Morgan’s brows furrowed. “Wyatt didn’t pull me over.”

“He did. I saw your SUV off the side of the road near the park not more than an hour ago. Wyatt’s patrol car was right behind it.”

“An hour ago?” Morgan glanced at her watch. It was late afternoon, which meant he had started his shift, and would be working late into the evening. “Where exactly was this?”

“In Locke Village, near the park.”

“And you said he had me pulled over?”

“Yes.” Grace frowned. “It was your SUV, or someone who drives an identical vehicle.”

Morgan could feel her blood pressure skyrocket. Amber had come up with the perfect plan to lure Wyatt to her.