“Probably should have gotten that information before I opened my damn mouth,” he muttered as he walked over to talk to his crew.
After giving them their instructions and placing Jim in charge, Colton was in his truck and fighting a panic attack at the thought of seeing Susannah.
It was too soon and not something he was mentally prepared for. If anything, he had figured it would be well after the holidays before they would potentially cross paths.
And he had foolishly volunteered to not only see her but put himself in a position where he’d have to be around her for at least a day or two.
“I’m a damn fool.”
Yeah, but he was a responsible one and he knew he couldn’t hide forever.
This was clearly going to be his new normal – life where he wasn’t dating or marrying Susannah – so he might as well pull the bandage off and deal with it.
As he drove across town, a thought hit him – when Sam had shown up at his place on Sunday and mentioned coming up with an excuse to get Colton over to the inn, he had shot him down. There was no way he wanted some flimsy excuse to make him look like some sort of clingy man. It was one thing if Susannah didn’t love him; it was another if she lost all respect for him too.
All this meant was that the work for the inn was legit.
But it still brought him back to the conversation with Sam.
After shooting down all the excuses to bring him and Susannah together, they had left it that Sam wasn’t giving up and was willing to do whatever it took to see his mother happy.
And if he already didn’t think Sam was a good man, that attitude pretty much cemented it for him.
The one thing Colton had to remind himself was that Susannah’s happiness didn’t necessarily have anything to do with him.
Not anymore.
And that was something he couldn’t allow himself to dwell on as he pulled into the long, gravel drive that led to the inn. Once he was parked, he simply sat there and stared up at the house for several minutes as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do and say when Susannah opened the door. How was he supposed to go back to being casual acquaintances when all he wanted to do was turn back the clock and go back to the way they were before he proposed? How was he going to just talk about carpentry repairs when he knew he was going to want to hold her and kiss her and be with her? How could he possibly…
A loud knock on the truck window made him jump and brought him out of his reverie.
Susannah.
Holding up his hand, he grabbed his clipboard and opened the door. Once he was standing beside her and felt like he could speak, he cleared his throat and forced a smile. “Hey, Susannah.”
Her smile was a little shy – and completely endearing – as she combed her hair behind her ear. “Hey, Colt. What are you…?” She paused and noticed the clipboard in his hands. “I um…I didn’t realize you were the one who was going to come and look over the repairs the city is insisting I make.”
With a curt nod, he focused on the house rather than looking at her because it hurt too much. Just days ago, he would have been allowed to lean in and kiss her hello before taking her by the hand and walking up to the front porch. Now he had to keep a respectable distance, act professional, and remember why he was here.
“Jake didn’t mention what the issue was, but I have to admit that I’m confused. We passed all inspections. It was a done deal. Why was anyone even out here at this point?”
“It’s my own fault, really. I was down at town hall because I was meeting Mason and Scarlett for lunch. We were going to go over some of the social media campaigns Scarlett’s planning for the inn.”
He nodded.
“We were standing around and talking in Mason’s office and I mentioned how I’d like to host larger events in the spring and summer,” she explained, “You know, utilizing the new deck and the gardens.”
He nodded again.
“Anyway, out of nowhere, this guy walked in and mentioned overhearing the conversation and said that the deck needed to be rated for commercial use and I’d need to add more lighting!”
“But…how would he even…?”
“I know, right? So Mason tried talking to him and this guy was insistent on coming over and inspecting everything since it seemed like this was a new idea.”
“He really had no right…”
“I have to admit, Mason really tried to smooth things over, but this guy…” She groaned. “He was just the worst. I was so upset that I told Scarlett we’d have to reschedule lunch and our meeting and I had this…this…jerk follow me home so we could just get the whole thing over with.”
“Damn, Susannah. I don’t even know what to…”
“And as if all that wasn’t upsetting enough, he gets done inspecting the deck, walked through the house on his way out, and claimed that the grading on the driveway was not sufficient nor was the space allotted for parking!” Reaching out, she placed a hand on his arm. He knew it wasn’t anything personal – she wasn’t touching him for any other reason except she was upset. But still, it took him a minute to focus on what she was saying and not on how good her hands felt on him.
“These aren’t small or quick fixes, are they? I mean, the grounds have already been landscaped! I can’t dig up the whole front yard and have it fixed by Friday, Colton! What am I going to do?”
Next thing he knew, he had his arms full of Susannah and it was a long time before either of them let go.
4
Okay, maybe it had been a mistake to fall apart like that, but as Susannah made Colton a fresh cup of coffee while he was on the phone arguing with someone over these new coding issues, she couldn’t find the will to care. Her feelings for him hadn’t gone away or even changed, but their relationship was just…different now.
He stormed into the kitchen and right out to the deck, arguing the entire time about permits and codes and materials. She had to smile because the man seemed to remember every single detail of what went into the work here on the inn and she knew right now that gave him the advantage.
Well, at least she hoped it did.
Unsure of what to do with herself in the meantime, she wiped down the countertops and then placed his coffee on the kitchen table. Hopefully he’d see it when he came back in.
With nothing left to do, she walked out of the room and to her own apartment. She had converted what had originally been her grandfather’s master suite and two guest rooms into a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment for herself. It was really a little more space than she actually needed considering the sheer size of the main house, but with this particular setup she had her own living room and kitchenette so she would have some privacy when the inn was full.
At some point she would love to hire a live-in innkeeper, someone who would work with her and allow her to have time off and away. That had been the plan when she started and it had really grown on her when she and Colton had gotten serious. The thought of being able to take time off to get away for a vacation and having someone in charge who didn’t have to live in her apartment seemed like the perfect solution. They had even talked about converting the attic to a small apartment but she couldn’t afford to do it right now. Getting the inn up to code had taken every dime her grandfather had left her. Maybe someday she could make it happen.