LITMIR.BIZ

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until bitterness swept in, leaving a glaze of frost. Fire and ice. This wasn’t the first time they’d battled it out, and this wouldn’t be the last. The biggest downside? They ensured the wounds inside her hollowed-out chest never really had a chance to heal.

      After graduation, she’d moved to the big bad city, enrolled in the University of Oklahoma’s meteorology program, met Jazz and gotten hitched, just as she’d always dreamed...only to return home several years later with a divorce and no degree.

      A washed-up has-been by the age of twenty-four.

      Daniel, having served multiple tours of duty, had come back a hero.

      His life had meaning, hers didn’t. He and two of his friends had started a security company right here in Strawberry Valley. He took care of his ailing father, and in his free time he dated a plethora of city girls.

      Dorothea knew about the girls because he’d stayed at the inn every time a date had ended...successfully.

      Her flush returned full force as she considered the other five rooms he’d wrecked since his return...all the pleasure he’d been having...all the pleasure she wished she could experience.

      Not with him, of course. With someone she liked and respected. Someone who liked and respected her, too, despite the fact that she was still too round for society’s unhealthy standards, a lot too freckled and trapped in a dead-end job.

      Daniel Porter would never qualify.

      Dorothea found him attractive, yes, but to her, appearance would never outshine personality.

      My man must be my equal. She had a lot of love to give. She’d even grown to like herself...kind of. Maybe. Fine, she was trying to like herself.

      Avoiding Daniel’s gaze, she said, “No, you stay. I’ll go.” Words her mother had drilled into her shouted inside her head: the customer comes first. “I’ll finish your room later.” She rolled the vacuum toward her cart.

      “You live here, right?” he asked. “You own the inn?”

      “I... Yes.” Technically she lived in the attic. The more rooms she had available for guests, the more money she would make. At least in theory.

      Money was the number one reason she cleaned the pigsties herself, rather than hiring a maid. She was saving her pennies to turn every plain, ordinary room into a themed paradise. Then Strawberry Valley residents would happily pay to stay just for fun.

      Again, in theory.

      So far she’d decided on six themes. (1) Four seasons—the weather, not the hotel chain. (2) An enchanted forest. (3) A techno dance club. (4) The underwater world of Atlantis. (5) A royal palace. And (6) an inner sanctum, aka a superhero’s wet dream.

      Also up for consideration? A beach hut, an igloo, an insane asylum for her more daring patrons and a desert oasis.

      With twenty-three rooms in total, she needed other ideas fast. And more money. A lot more money.

      Maybe, when the transformations were completed, the feeling of accomplishment would finally chase away her anger and bitterness. Maybe she would feel alive. Happy.

      “If any part of your stay was subpar,” she said, “I will personally—”

      “No, everything has been great.” He looked over his shoulder and winked at her. “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to get into trouble with the boss.”

      Every pulse point in her body leaped with excitement. He’d winked at her. Her!

      I think you’re perfect just the way you are.

      Red alert! She would not read more into his words than he’d intended. Not this time. He was a flirt, plain and simple. Always had been, apparently always would be.

      “Why would I get in trouble?” she asked.

      “For not finishing the room.”

      Oh. Right. “Well, as long as you plan to come back to the inn, I won’t fire myself. Not because I’m desperate to see you or anything,” she added in a rush. “I’m not.” Dang it! “I mean, I’m always glad to see you here. I mean, I just want your money.” Okay. Enough!

      He laughed, his amber eyes twinkling.

      Air caught in her throat and sizzled. He had the sexiest laugh on the planet. His entire face softened. He pulsed with new life; fresh and vibrant, he was the epitome of spring.

      Then he frowned, as if he couldn’t believe he’d found humor in, well, anything.

      Her brow furrowed with confusion. Why the doom and gloom?

      “In that case,” he said, his tone flat, “I think I’ll stay another night.”

      “Really?” She licked her lips. “What about your girlfriend?”

      He stiffened. “She isn’t my—”

      “No, don’t tell me. I’m sorry I asked. Your love life isn’t my business.”

      “I live in Strawberry Valley. My love life is everyone’s business.”

      His wry tone made her chuckle, and he stiffened all over again. Great. What had she done wrong this time?

      “I’ll be alone tonight,” he said, looking anywhere but at her. “Apparently I hover over my dad when I’m home, so he’s asked for another night off. But I swear to you, this room will be clean in the morning.”

      She snorted. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

      The corners of his mouth twitched. “Doubting Dottie.” A pause, then, “Would you like a cup of coffee before you go?”

      “Oh, uh, no, thank you.” While she no longer viewed Daniel through the wounded eyes of high school betrayal—he’d been a nice boy doing a nice thing for a vulnerable girl in desperate need of a white knight—she’d endured too much heartbreak over the years to risk getting to know him better and reigniting her crush.

      Look at the way she’d reacted to him already.

      He appeared...disappointed? No, of course not. A trick of the light, surely. “Well. See you around, Daniel.”

      “Yeah. See you around, Dottie.” He returned his attention to his toiletry bag, dismissing her.

      Irritation had her snapping, “My name is Dorothea.”

      Before he could respond, she stepped into the hall and closed the door with a soft snick. Hands trembling, she hooked the vacuum to the cart and rolled the cargo to the supply room...where her younger sister Holly was smoking a cigarette.

      Coughing, Dorothea claimed the cigarette and stubbed the tip into an ashtray.

      “Hey!” Eighteen-year-old Holly glared at her. “I wasn’t done.”

      “You mean you weren’t done giving our guests lung cancer and stinking up the inn?”

      “Exactly.” Ever the smart aleck, Holly tossed a piece of gum in her mouth and popped a bubble in Dorothea’s face. “Besides, we don’t really have guests, now, do we? Since you took over, only four people have stayed here. Mayor Trueman and his side slice, and Daniel Porter and whatever bimbo he happens to be banging.”

      Not true! A few months ago, Dorothea had hired Harlow Glass, and everyone in town had rented a room to witness the former bully’s downfall.

      Good times.

      Dorothea hadn’t wanted to like Harlow, but dang it, something bad had happened to the girl in the years since high school, and she’d changed. More than that, Harlow had done everything in her power to make amends, and eventually Dorothea had warmed up to her.

      Now the beautiful brunette was married to reformed playboy Beck Ockley. The happy couple were expecting their first child in a few months.

      A razor-sharp pang cut through Dorothea.

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