First Impressions (19 page)

On a long breath, he moved away again to stare at the flickering lights of the tree. “I could have told you—should have—but at first I had a need for you to love me without knowing. Unforgivably selfish.”

She remembered the secrets she had seen in his eyes. Remembered too, telling herself they were his until he shared them with her. Still, she felt the hurt of not being trusted. “Did you really think any of it would have mattered to me?”

Vance shook his head. “No.”

“Then why did you hide it all from me?” Confused, she lifted her hands palms up.

“I never intended to. Circumstances—” He broke off, no longer sure he could make her understand. “The first night we were together, I was going to tell you, but I didn't want any past that night. I told myself it wasn't too much to ask and that I'd explain things to you the next day. God, Shane, I swear to you I would have.” He took a step toward her, then stopped himself. “You were so lost, so vulnerable after Anne had left, I couldn't. How could I have dumped all this on you when you already had that to deal with?”

She remained silent, but he knew she listened very carefully. He didn't know she was remembering very clearly the things he had said to her their first night together, the tension in him, the hints of things yet to be told. And she remembered too his compassion the next evening.

“You needed my support that night, not my problems,” Vance went on. “From the very first, you gave everything to me. You brought me back, Shane, and I knew that I took much more than I gave. Until that night, you'd never asked me for anything.”

She gave him a puzzled look. “I never gave you anything.”

“Nothing?” he countered with a baffled shake of his head. “Trust, understanding. You made me laugh at myself again. Maybe you don't see just how important that is because you've never lost it. If I could give you nothing else, I thought that for a few days I could give you some peace of mind. I tried to tell you again when we argued about that damned dining room set.” Pausing, he sent her a narrowed look. “I bought it anyway.”

“You—”

“There's not a thing you can do about it,” he stated, cutting off her astonished exclamation. “It's done.”

She met the angry challenge in his eyes. “I see.”

“Do you?” He let out a quick, rough laugh. “Do you really? The only thing you see when you lift your chin up like that is your own pride.” He watched her mouth open, then close again. “It's just as well,” he murmured. “It would be difficult if you were perfect.” He moved to her then but was careful not to touch her. “I never set out to deceive you, but I deceived you nonetheless. And now I have to ask you to forgive me, even if you can't accept who and what I am.”

Shane lowered her eyes to her hands a moment. “It's not accepting so much as understanding,” she said quietly. “I don't know anything about the president of Riverton. I knew the man who bought the old Farley place, you see.” She lifted her eyes again. “He was rude, and nasty, with a streak of kindness he did his best to overcome. I loved him.”

“God knows why,” Vance replied, thinking over her description. “If that's who you want, I can promise I'm still rude and nasty.”

With a small laugh, she turned away. “Vance, it's all hit me, you see. Maybe if I had time to get used to it, to think it through . . . I don't know. When I thought you were just . . .” She made an uncharacteristically helpless gesture with her hands. “It all seemed so easy.”

“Did you only love me because you thought I was out of work?”

“No!” Frustrated, she tried to explain herself. “I haven't changed though,” she added thoughtfully. “I'm still exactly what I seem. What would the president of Riverton do with me? I can't even drink martinis.”

“Don't be absurd.”

“It's not absurd,” she corrected. “Be honest. I don't fit in. I'd never be elegant if I had years to practice.”

“What the hell's wrong with you?” Suddenly angry, he spun her around. “
Elegant!
In the name of God, Shane, what kind of nonsense is that? I had my share of elegance the way you mean. I'll be damned if you're going to put me off because you've got some twisted view of the life I lead. If you can't accept it, fine. I'll resign.”

“W-what?”

“I said I'll resign.”

She studied him with wide, astonished eyes. “You mean it,” she said wonderingly. “You really do.”

He gave her an impatient shake. “Yes, I mean it. Can you really believe the company means more to me than you do? God, you're an idiot!” Furious, he gave her an unlover-like shove and strode away. “You don't yell at me for anything I've done. You don't demand to hear all the filthy details of my first marriage. You don't make me crawl as I was damn well ready to do. You start spouting nonsense about martinis and elegance.” After swearing rudely, he stared out the window.

Shane swallowed a sudden urge to laugh. “Vance, I—”

“Shut up,” he ordered. “You drive me crazy.” With a quick jerk, he pulled his coat from the chair. Shane opened her mouth, afraid he was about to storm out, but he only pulled an envelope out of the pocket before he flung the coat down again. “Here.” He stuck it out to her.

“Vance,” she tried again, but he took her hand and slapped the envelope into her palm.

“Open it.”

Deciding a temporary retreat was advisable, Shane obeyed. She stared in silent astonishment at two round-trip tickets to Fiji.

“Someone told me it was a good place for a honeymoon,” Vance stated with a bit more control. “I thought she might still think so.”

Shane looked up at him with her heart in her eyes. Vance needed nothing more to pull her into his arms, crushing the envelope and its contents between them as he found her mouth.

Shane's answer was wild and unrestricted. She clung to him even as she demanded, yielded even as she aroused. She couldn't get enough of him, so that the desperate kisses incited only more urgent needs. “Oh, I've missed you,” she murmured. “Make love to me, Vance. Come upstairs and make love to me.”

He buried his face against her neck. “Uh-uh. You haven't said you're taking me to Fiji yet.” But his hands were already searching under her sweater. As his fingers skimmed over her warm, soft skin, he groaned, pulling her to the floor.

“Oh, Vance, your suit!” Laughing breathlessly, Shane struggled against him. “Wait until we go upstairs.”

“Shut up,” he suggested, then assured himself of her obedience by crushing his mouth on hers. It only took a moment to realize her trembling came from laughter, not from passion. Lifting his head, Vance studied her amused eyes. “Damn you, Shane,” he said in exasperation. “I'm trying to make love to you.”

“Well, then at least take off that tie,” she suggested, then buried her face against his shoulder and laughed helplessly. “I'm sorry, Vance, but it just seems so funny. I mean, there you are asking if I'll take you to Fiji before I've even gotten around to asking you to marry me, and—”

“
You
asking
me
?” he demanded, eyeing her closely.

“Yes,” she continued blithely. “I've been meaning to, though I thought I'd have to overcome some silly ego thing. You know, I thought you were out of work.”

“Ego thing,” he repeated.

“Yes, and of course, now that I know you're such an important person . . . Oh, this tie is
silk
!” she exclaimed after she had begun to struggle with the knot.

“Yes.” He allowed her to finger it curiously. “And now that you know I'm such an important person?” he prompted.

“I'd better snap you up quick.”

“Snap me up?” He bit her ear painfully.

Shane only giggled and linked her arms around his neck. “And even if I refuse to drink martinis or be elegant, I'll make an extremely good wife for a . . .” She paused a moment, lifting a brow. “What are you?”

“Insane.”

“A corporate president,” Shane decided with a nod. “No, I don't suppose you could do any better. You're making a pretty good deal now that I think about it.” She gave him a noisy kiss. “When do we leave for Fiji?”

“Day after tomorrow,” he informed her before he rose and dumped her over his shoulder.

“Vance, what are you doing?”

“I'm taking you upstairs to make love with you.”

“Vance,” she began with a half laugh. “I told you before I won't be carted around this way. This is no way for the fiancée of the president of Riverton to be treated.”

“You haven't seen anything yet,” he promised her.

Exasperated, Shane gave him a hearty thump on the back. “Vance, I mean it, put me down!”

“Am I fired?”

He heard the telltale choke of laughter. “Yes!”

“Good.” He tucked his arm firmly around her knees and carried her up the stairs.

Keep reading for an excerpt from the third book in

the Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy by Nora Roberts

THE PERFECT HOPE

Available November 2012 from Berkley Books

With a few groans and sighs, the old building settled down for the night. Under the star-washed sky its stone walls glowed, rising up over Boonsboro's square as they had for more than two centuries. Even the crossroads held quiet now, stretching out in pools of shadows and light. All the windows and storefronts along Main Street seemed to sleep, content to doze away in the balm of the summer night.

She should do the same, Hope thought. Settle down, stretch out. Sleep.

That would be the sensible thing to do, and she considered herself a sensible woman. But the long day left her restless, and she reminded herself, Carolee would arrive bright and early to start breakfast.

The innkeeper could sleep in.

In any case, it was barely midnight. When she'd lived and worked in Georgetown, she'd rarely managed to settle in for the night this early. Of course, then she'd been managing the Wickham, and if she hadn't been dealing with some small crisis or handling a guest request, she'd been enjoying the nightlife.

The town of Boonsboro, tucked into the foothills of Maryland's Blue Ridge Mountains, might have a rich and storied history, and it certainly had its charms—among which she counted the revitalized inn she now managed—but it wasn't famed for its nightlife.

That would change a bit when her friend Avery opened her restaurant and tap house. And wouldn't it be fun to see what the energetic Avery MacTavish did with her new enterprise right next door—and just across The Square from Avery's pizzeria.

Before summer ended, Avery would juggle the running of two restaurants, Hope thought.

And people called her an overachiever.

She looked around the kitchen—clean, shiny, warm and welcoming. She'd already sliced fruit, checked the supplies, restocked the refrigerator. So everything sat ready for Carolee to prepare breakfast for the guests currently tucked in their rooms.

She'd finished her paperwork, checked all the doors, and made her rounds checking for dishes—or anything else—out of place. Duties done, she told herself, and still she wasn't ready to tuck her own self in her third-floor apartment.

Instead she poured an indulgent glass of wine and did a last circle through The Lobby, switching off the chandelier over the central table with its showy summer flowers.

She moved through the arch, gave the front door one last check before she turned toward the stairs. Her fingers trailed lightly over the iron banister.

She'd already checked The Library, but she checked again. It wasn't anal, she told herself. A guest might have slipped in for a glass of Irish or a book. But the room was quiet, settled like the rest.

She glanced back. She had guests on this floor. Mr. and Mrs. Vargas—Donna and Max—married twenty-seven years. The night at the inn, in Nick and Nora, had been a birthday gift for Donna from their daughter. And wasn't that sweet?

Her other guests, a floor up in Wesley and Buttercup, chose the inn for their wedding night. She liked to think the newlyweds, April and Troy, would take lovely, lasting memories with them.

She checked the door to the second-level porch, then on impulse unlocked it and stepped out into the night.

With her wine, she crossed the wide wood deck, leaned on the rail. Across The Square, the apartment above Vesta sat dark—and empty now that Avery had moved in with Owen Montgomery. Hope could admit—to herself anyway—that she missed looking over and knowing her friend was right there, just across Main.

But Avery was exactly where she belonged, Hope decided, with Owen, her first and, as it turned out, her last boyfriend.

Talk about sweet.

And she'd help plan a wedding—May bride, May flowers—right there in The Courtyard, just as Clare's had been this past spring.

Thinking of it, Hope looked down Main toward the bookstore. Clare's Turn The Page had been a risk for a young widow with two children and another on the way. But she'd made it work. Clare had a knack for making things work. Now she was Clare Montgomery, Beckett's wife. And when winter came, they'd welcome a new baby to the mix.

Odd, wasn't it, that her two friends had lived right in Boonsboro for so long, and she'd relocated only the year—not even a full year yet—before. The new kid in town.

Now, of the three of them, she was the only one still right here, right in the heart of town.

Silly to miss them when she saw them nearly every day, but on restless nights she could wish, just a little, they were still close.

So much had changed, for all of them, in this past year.

She'd been perfectly content in Georgetown, with her home, her work, her routine. With Jonathan, the cheating bastard.

She'd had good, solid plans, no rush, no hurry, but solid plans. The Wickham had been her place. She'd known its rhythm, its tones, its needs. And she'd done a hell of a job for the Wickhams and their cheating bastard son, Jonathan.

She'd planned to marry him. No, there'd been no formal engagement, no concrete promises, but marriage and future had been on the table.

She wasn't a moron.

And all the time—or at least in the last several months—they'd been together, with him sharing her bed, or her sharing his, he'd been seeing someone else. Someone from his more elevated social strata, you could say, Hope mused with lingering bitterness. Someone who wouldn't work ten- and twelve-hour days—and often more—to manage the exclusive hotel, but who'd stay there, in its most elaborate suite, of course.

No, she wasn't a moron, but she'd been far too trusting and humiliatingly shocked when Jonathan told her he would be announcing his engagement—to someone else—the next day.

Humiliatingly shocked, she thought again, particularly as they'd been naked and in her bed at the time.

Then again, he'd been shocked too when she'd ordered him to get the hell out. He genuinely hadn't understood why anything between them should change.

That single moment ushered in a lot of change.

Now she was Inn BoonsBoro's innkeeper, living in a small town in Western Maryland, a good clip from the bright lights of the big city.

She didn't spend what free time she had planning clever little dinner parties, or shopping in the boutiques for the perfect shoes for the perfect dress for the next event.

Did she miss all that? Her go-to boutique, her favorite lunch spot, the lovely high ceilings and flower-framed little patio of her own town house? Or the pressure and excitement of preparing the hotel for visits from dignitaries, celebrities, business moguls?

Sometimes, she admitted. But not as often as she'd expected to, and not as much as she'd assumed she would.

Because she had been content in her personal life, challenged in her professional one, and the Wickham had been her place. But she'd discovered something in the last few months. Here, she wasn't just content, but happy. The inn wasn't just her place, it was
home
.

She had her friends to thank for that, and the Montgomery brothers along with their mother. Justine Montgomery had hired her on the spot. At the time Hope hadn't known Justine well enough to be surprised by her quick offer. But she did know herself and continued to be surprised at her own fast, impulsive acceptance.

Zero to sixty? More like zero to ninety and still going.

She didn't regret the impulse, the decision, the move.

Fresh starts hadn't been in the plan, but she was good at adjusting plans. Thanks to the Montgomerys, the lovingly—and effortfully—restored inn was now her home and her career.

She wandered the porch, checking the hanging planters, adjusting—minutely—the angle of a bistro chair.

“And I love every square inch of it,” she murmured.

One of the porch doors leading out from Elizabeth and Darcy opened. The scent of honeysuckle drifted on the night air.

Someone else was restless, Hope thought. Then again, she didn't know if ghosts slept. She doubted if the spirit Beckett had named Elizabeth for the room she favored would tell her if she asked. Thus far Lizzy hadn't deigned to speak to her inn-mate.

Hope smiled at the term, sipped her wine.

“Lovely night. I was just thinking how different my life is now, and all things considered, how glad I am it is.” She spoke in an easy, friendly way. After all, the research she and Owen had done—so far—on their permanent guest had proven Lizzy—or Eliza Ford, when she'd been alive—was one of Hope's ancestors.

Family, to Hope's mind, ought to be easy and friendly.

“We have newlyweds in W&B. They look so happy, so fresh and new somehow. The couple in N&N are here celebrating her fifty-eighth birthday. They don't look new, but they do look happy, and so nice and comfortable. I like giving them a special place to stay, a special experience. It's what I'm good at.”

Silence held, but Hope could
feel
the presence. Companionable, she realized. Oddly companionable. Just a couple of women up late, looking out at the night.

“Carolee will be here early. She's doing breakfast tomorrow, and I have the morning off. So.” She lifted her glass. “Some wine, some introspection, some feeling sorry for myself circling around to realizing I have nothing to feel sorry for myself about.” With a smile, Hope sipped again. “So, a good glass of wine.

“Now that I've accomplished all that, I should get to bed.”

Still she lingered a little longer in the quiet summer night, with the scent of honeysuckle drifting around her.

***

When Hope came down in the morning, the scent was of fresh coffee, grilled bacon, and, if her nose didn't deceive her, Carolee's apple cinnamon pancakes. She heard easy conversation in The Dining Room. Donna and Max, talking about poking around town before driving home.

Hope went down the hall, circled to the kitchen to see if Carolee needed a hand. Justine's sister had her bright blond hair clipped short for summer, with the addition of flirty bangs over her cheerful hazel eyes. They beamed at Hope even as she wagged a finger.

“What are you doing down here, young lady?”

“It's nearly ten.”

“And your morning off.”

“Which I spent—so far—sleeping until eight, doing yoga, and putzing.” She helped herself to a mug of coffee, closed her own deep brown eyes as she sipped. “My first cup of the day. Why is it always the best?”

“I wish I knew. I'm still trying to switch to tea. My Darla's on a health kick and doing her best to drag me along.” Carolee spoke of her daughter with affection laced with exasperation. “I really like our Titania and Oberon blend. But . . . it's not coffee.”

“Nothing is except coffee.”

“You said it. She can't wait for the new gym to open. She says if I don't sign up for yoga classes, she's signing me up and carting me over there.”

“You'll love yoga.” Hope laughed at the doubt—and anxiety—on Carolee's face. “Honest.”

“Hmmm.” Carolee lifted the dishcloth again, went back to polishing the granite countertop. “The Vargases loved the room, and as usual the bathroom—starring the magic toilet—got raves. I haven't heard a peep out of the newlyweds yet.”

“I'd be disappointed in them if you had.” Hope brushed at her hair. Unlike Carolee, she was experimenting with letting it grow out of the short, sharp wedge she'd sported the last two years. The dark, glossy ends hit her jaw now, just in between enough to be annoying.

“I'm going to go check on Donna and Max, see if they want anything.”

“Let me do it,” Hope said. “I want to say good morning anyway, and I think I'll run down to TTP, say hi to Clare while it's still my morning off.”

“I saw her last night at book club. She's got the cutest baby bump. Oh, I've got plenty of batter if they want more pancakes.”

“I'll let them know.”

She slipped into The Dining Room, chatted with the guests while she subtly checked to be sure there were still plenty of fresh summer berries, coffee, juice.

Once she'd satisfied herself that her guests were happy, she started back upstairs to grab her purse—and ran into the newlyweds as they entered from the rear porch.

“Good morning.”

“Oh, good morning.” The new bride carried the afterglow of a honeymoon morning well spent. “That's the most beautiful room. I love everything about it. I felt like a princess bride.”

“As you wish,” Hope said, and made them both laugh.

“It's so clever the way each room is named and decorated for romantic couples.”

“Couples with happy endings,” Troy reminded her, and got a slow, dreamy smile from his bride.

“Like us. We want to thank you, so much, for making our wedding night so special. It was everything I wanted. Just perfect.”

“That's what we do here.”

“But . . . we wondered. We know we're supposed to check out soon . . .”

“If you'd like a later check-out, I can arrange it,” Hope began.

“Well, actually . . .”

“We're hoping we can stay another night.” Troy slid his arm around April's shoulders, drew her close. “We really love it here. We were going to drive down into Virginia, just pick our spots as we went, but . . . we really like it right here. We'll take any room that's available, if there is one.”

“We'd love to have you, and your room's open tonight.”

“Really?” April bounced on her toes. “Oh, this is better than perfect. Thank you.”

“It's our pleasure. I'm glad you're enjoying your stay.”

Happy guests made for happy innkeepers, Hope thought as she dashed upstairs for her bag. She dashed back down again, into her office to change the reservation, and with the scents and voices behind her, hurried out the back through Reception.

She skirted the side of the building, glancing across the street at Vesta. She knew Avery's and Clare's schedule nearly as well as her own. Avery would be prepping for opening this morning, and Clare should be back from her early doctor's appointment.