Maggie hadn’t slept at all. After she went through her clothes, she’d put on her pajamas and climbed into bed, thinking she’d watch Netflix until she fell asleep. Instead, she lay there in the dark, so many thoughts cycling through her head that she thought she’d go crazy.
Rob. The look on his face—the confusion, the hurt, and something that looked like disgust. She’d decided it was his problem and not hers, but in reality, it did bother her. She wanted to get it worked out, to explain. He’d sent a text and that had helped somewhat, but until they could really talk, she wouldn’t have any peace about it.
Zoe. Her best friend was in jail, and there was nothing Maggie could do about it. Why had Zoe let Dean have so much influence over her? Zoe knew what had happened to Maggie’s parents. She knew drugs were bad news. Why hadn’t she listened? Maggie had talked herself blue trying to get Zoe to understand, but in the end, Zoe had chosen Dean, and now they were both sitting in prison. She didn’t know exactly what Zoe had been charged with—how much of an accessory had she been?—and she didn’t have any idea how to guess what kind of punishment that would carry if she was found guilty.
And why had Zoe called Ashli to get her stuff? Why hadn’t she called Maggie? It would have been so easy for Maggie to pick it up, but she called Ashli instead, like Maggie didn’t matter to her anymore. Of course, Maggie had the chance to pack up Zoe’s things and hadn’t taken it . . .
Maggie rolled over and folded her pillow under her head. So many things she wished she’d done differently, but so many things she knew she wouldn’t change. She had to find confidence in her decisions moving forward—if she spent all her time second-guessing things that were in the past and that she couldn’t change, she’d cripple herself, and she’d ruin the fresh start she was looking for. All she could do now was push on and continue to do the best she could with each situation.
When morning came, she got up and showered, planning to carry the clothes she was discarding out to her car. She’d drop them by the Salvation Army on her way to work. Then she remembered that her car was still at the hotel. Rats—she’d have to make the donation later. She didn’t want to pay a taxi for the additional time it would take to make two stops.
Cady, Wren, and Laura arrived at the hotel just moments after she did, and she looked around for Alice. The older woman was nowhere to be seen, so she took the other three on a tour of the hotel and showed them the bed linen closet, the cleaning supply closet, the kitchen linen closet, and then the rooms they would be cleaning and making up that day. She used the rooms that had been done earlier in the week as the model for what they would be creating, then set them to their tasks. The handicap access rooms on the first floor needed the most work, as there were particles of sawdust everywhere, but she trusted that these girls could get the job done.
After making sure they each had what they needed, she headed to the office and pulled out Alice’s employment file to locate her phone number.
“Oh. Um, hi,” Alice said when she answered. “I got to thinking about it and realized that I’m likely not the best match for this job. I’m more of a manager, you see, and I think my skills would be best used in that sort of capacity. I’m sure you understand.”
“I understand that you chose not to take the job after all, but I don’t understand why you didn’t call in. That doesn’t seem like something a manager would do,” Maggie replied. She’d known this was coming—she wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
“I suppose I should have done that. I’m sorry.” Except she didn’t sound sorry. “I wish you all the best of luck.”
“Thank you. Same here.” Maggie hung up and sighed. If Alice had just said she didn’t want the job during her interview, or even better, called to cancel the interview, it would have saved some time and effort, but at least she’d found out now and didn’t have to drag the dead weight of someone who really didn’t want to be there.
Movement through the window caught her eye, and she looked outside. Rob and Andrew were standing on the front lawn, speaking to a man in uniform. He didn’t look like a police officer—more like a security guard. Huh. She was curious, but she had other things that had to be done first.
She circled around to check on each of the three girls. Laura was the quickest, while Wren was the most meticulous. Cady was working at a medium pace, but seemed to be catching the details as she went. Maggie chatted with each of them about their strengths and weaknesses, then worked alongside them for a while, getting to know them a bit better. They were fun girls who liked to tease, although Wren was a little quieter than the other two. They were all good workers, and the best part was, Maggie felt like they would be friends before long. That was important in a hotel environment where rooms had to be changed out in short order, and teams had to pull together to get the work done.
When the last room was finished, Maggie stood in the center of the hall and smiled at the girls. “You did really well,” she said. “The rooms are ready to go, and they’re up to the Brody standard. Take a break for lunch, be back at two, and we’ll get started on the dining room.”
The girls nodded and left, and Maggie sat down on the bottom step of the staircase. There was nicer furniture in the parlor, but she was a little dusty, and she didn’t want to create more work for herself or the others if she could help it.
She wondered if Rob and Andrew were still talking to the man in uniform. She could tell from where she sat that Andrew’s office door was open, but she couldn’t make out any movement in there. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her, and she stood up and went outside.
Rob, Andrew, and Marissa were standing near one of the flower beds, and the security guard was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m going to strangle someone,” Marissa was saying as Maggie walked up. “I’m going to find that someone, I’m going to wrap my hands around their neck, and I’m going to strangle them. Then I’ll revive them and strangle them again.”
Rob looked over and saw Maggie approaching. “Hey,” he said. “Heard about our excitement?”
“No, I’ve been training the new housekeepers this morning.” She tried to ignore the way his gaze made her stomach flutter. That would have to wait until later. “What’s going on?”
Her mouth dropped open as Andrew explained what they’d discovered the night before. “So I’ve hired a security company to make their presence felt during the day, and to be on patrol at night,” he went on. “Jerry’s the name of the man they sent over for today’s shift, and he’s walking around the property right now to see if he can spot anything else suspicious. I also spoke to the police this morning, and Rob made a list of everyone who’s been working here. We’ll get it figured out—it’s just extremely frustrating.”
“Orange floors are more than frustrating,” Marissa said. “The only reason I haven’t thrown a stick of dynamite in there is because our deadline is coming up so soon. I hate orange.”
“I feel bad for Jimmy.” Maggie had only spoken to him for a few minutes the other day, but she thought he was sweet. “He’s been so excited about these flower beds.”
“I think we’re all pretty upset on Jimmy’s behalf,” Andrew said. “Mack, Danny, and Rob did a great job of redoing the curbs overnight, though, and I think we can still pull it off. Ready for a nap, Rob?”
“Yeah, I’m about there,” Rob said, and Maggie noticed how worn out he looked. Neither of them had slept, but she hadn’t been up all night working with concrete. She supposed he won the bragging rights for being the most tired.
“Why don’t you head home and get some rest? Mack and Danny left, right?”
“Yes. They’ll be back in about an hour, though.”
“Okay. We’ve got our guard on duty, and it’s lunchtime anyway. Go grab some sleep, and thanks for everything you’ve done here.”
“You’re welcome.” Rob gave Andrew a nod, then turned to Maggie. “Walk with me?”
She nodded and followed him out to his truck. He leaned against the side of it, exhaustion written all over him. “Hey,” he said softly.
“Hey yourself.”
He reached out and touched her cheek. She wanted to pull away and lean into it both at the same time, and her mixed feelings didn’t make her thought processes any simpler. “We really need to talk, but I’m falling asleep on my feet and I think I’ve forgotten how to use words. Can I take you out to dinner tonight after I’ve had a nap? Pick you up at six?”
He didn’t look angry anymore, or disgusted. Instead, he looked sincere, and so, so tired. She couldn’t hold a grudge against him after everything he’d been through the night before. “Okay,” she said. “Six is fine.”
“Great. I’ll see you then.”
She watched him drive away, a little worried that he was too tired to remember where he lived, then climbed into her own car to go find some lunch. The dining room would be hot, heavy work with lots of mopping, and she’d want to make sure she was fueled before she tackled it.
***
Maggie felt a lot better with some food in her. It was super tempting to climb into one of the beds they’d just made and take a nap too, but napping would have to wait. Talking to Rob would have to wait. So many things that would have to wait … but would likely be worth it.
She gathered her three housekeepers together in the dining room. “All right, this room’s going to be a little bit of a challenge. We’ve had construction dust blowing in from the kitchen—which we’ll be cleaning tomorrow—and as you can see, this floor is pretty expansive. We’ll be sweeping and mopping in here, but this is new varnish, so we’re using this special product.” She held up a bottle. “The tables and chairs will be arriving in about three hours, so we need to move quickly.”
It was so gratifying to see the room come together. When the deliverymen showed up with the furniture, everything was a little dusty, so they wiped each piece down before it was carried in, and by the time they were finished, it looked fantastic.
“And I think that’ll do it for today,” Maggie said, turning to the three exhausted housekeepers. “See you tomorrow.”
They waved and headed out, chattering about how great the room looked, and Maggie leaned against the back of one of the chairs to catch her breath. She had dressed in simpler clothes that day because she knew the work would be gritty, and she had just enough time to run home and change before Rob was due to pick her up.
As she drove home, she wondered what he was going to say. He’d sounded apologetic, but did that mean he was sorry for the way he’d acted, or did it mean that he was sorry, but he had to stop seeing her? Old insecurities from her past popped into her head, reminding her of relationships that had gone sour because of her parents’ choices. It felt like she’d never be able to get out from under their shadow, and she hadn’t even seen them for years.
That thought sent her brain whirling in another direction. Was it time for her to find them? If for no other reason than to set her mind at ease?
That was just it, though. Finding them likely wouldn’t ease her mind at all.
She changed her clothes and washed her face, wishing she had time for a full shower. A little sawdust here and there wouldn’t hurt anything, though—Rob was used to it.
She finished putting on her lip gloss just before the doorbell rang. When she opened it, the first thing she saw was a giant vase of roses.
“Hi,” Rob said when she moved back to let him in. “How are things going at the hotel?”
“Bedrooms are done, the dining room is done, and tomorrow we’ll do the kitchen. Thank you for these—they’re gorgeous.” She set the vase on the kitchen counter, her hands suddenly a little shaky. “How was your nap?”
“Really good. I don’t think I even moved the whole time, I was that tired.”
She invited him to sit on the couch, and she took the opposite corner. “I’m sorry you had to redo all that work. For what it’s worth, now that the tables and chairs are in the dining room, the floor’s not noticeable.”
“That’s a relief. I hope they catch this guy soon—I wonder if he has any idea how much frustration he’s caused.”
“You’re sure it’s a guy?”
“Whoever did it has to be on our work crew in order to get that close to the building without being noticed, and your housekeepers didn’t start until yesterday. Yeah, it’s a guy.” He paused. “But that’s not why I’m here. Maggie, we’ve got to talk.”
“Yes, we do.” She picked up one of the throw pillows and started playing with the fringe. She needed to do something with her hands—it would help keep her mind off her roiling stomach.
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Yesterday really threw me for a loop, and I didn’t handle it well. At all. Instead of listening to you, I shut you out, and I left without giving the situation any closure. That was selfish and immature, and you have no idea how much I regret doing that. It must have made a pretty rotten day even more rotten for you, and you don’t deserve that.”
That was nice to hear, but she still wasn’t sure where this was going. “It was a hard day. Really hard.”
He rubbed his palms on the legs of his slacks. His hands must be sweaty too. “The main thing, the most important thing, is this—you’re special to me. I knew when we first met that there was something different about you, something unique and alive and magical, and it pulled me toward you like nothing I’ve ever felt. And then when we kissed . . .”
She blushed a little. Yeah, that had been some kiss.
“. . . I felt like I’d suddenly been handed the answers of the universe. There she was, the girl I’d been looking for, right there in front of me. At first, I thought our lips just liked touching each other, but no, there was more to it than that. And it caught me so off guard, I didn’t know what to say, and then your phone rang . . .”
“And I asked you to help me move out of my druggie friend’s apartment,” Maggie finished for him.
“I didn’t know what to think. I’ve been misled by my feelings before, and I didn’t want to go through that again, and I just shut down. I didn’t give you a chance to explain—I just took off. If I could go back and change that, I would.”
“What would you have done differently?”
“Well, for starters, I would have stayed when I brought you home. I would have helped you unpack, I would have found a good place for your bookcase, and then I would have listened to anything you wanted to tell me for the rest of the night. I would have asked questions when I didn’t understand something, and I probably would have kissed you again at least twice.”
“Those would all have been very nice things,” Maggie replied. Her heart was beating fast, but it wasn’t because of nervousness this time. “I would have enjoyed that. And we could probably still do some of that, but I’ve already unpacked.”
“Okay—where would you like your bookcase?”
“I already found a spot for it, too.”
“Hmm. That just leaves the kissing part.”
“Yes, it does. But first, I have a question for you.”
He nodded. “What is it?”
“Do you believe me now? Without any doubts at all?”
He slid a little closer on the couch. “I believe you, and I never should have doubted you, not for a second. I should have trusted my first instincts, the ones that told me how amazing you are, how strong and beautiful and brave, and I should have been on your side from that first moment.” He reached out and took her hands. “I’m committed to getting to know you through and through—if you want me to. And if you don’t, I understand. You don’t deserve the way I treated you.”
She considered that for a moment, her hands starting to tremble a bit again. He squeezed them. “I do deserve to be listened to and believed, and you deserve to be listened to and forgiven. Let’s take this and learn from it, okay? And for what it’s worth, I do wish I’d told you my whole story. I just didn’t want to slam you with my whole sorry past right up front. Some things are delivered best in small doses.”
He grinned. “Yeah, some things are, and I understand why you didn’t tell me. But I like this idea of taking the situation and learning from it, and thank you for forgiving me. I forgive you, too.”
“For not telling you sooner?”
“For being so incredibly beautiful.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That’s something I need to be forgiven for?”
“Well, not necessarily, but if I’m about to give you an ‘I forgive you’ kiss, I need to forgive you for something, don’t I?”
“Why don’t I do the forgiveness kissing? Then you won’t have to make silly stuff up.”
He grinned again. “Okay.”
She took hold of his collar, pulled him closer, and kissed him. When his arms came around her, she melted into them again, feeling the warmth of them encircle her and keep her safe. Yes, he’d acted like a jerk, but he’d recognized it, apologized, and promised it would never happen again—and she couldn’t say that she would have handled it any better if the positions had been reversed. She couldn’t judge something she’d never experienced.
“Wow,” he said when he pulled back. “That was a pretty awesome forgiveness kiss. Makes me want to apologize again, if that’s how we’re going to make up.”
“I don’t think so. That means you’d keep doing stupid stuff, and we need a break from that.”
“I agree. And I’m starving and want some dinner.” He stood, then turned and held out both hands to help her up. “Where do you want to eat?”
“Someplace where we can share the same bench in a booth. I have an overwhelming desire to eat onion rings while sitting with your arm around me.”
He slid both arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Consider it done.”