The Mills & Boon Christmas Wishes Collection. Maisey Yates
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hung up, and slapped a hand to my forehead. Could I get myself into a bigger mess?
Amory wandered in and surveyed my pinched face. “It didn’t go well?”
“He wants to chat with Kai, our registered builder…”
“Oh.” She folded her arms, leaning against the doorjamb, and fanned herself with the postcard Kai had sent. “Guess you better call Kai and ask him to be Prince Charming just this once.” Gone was the grimace, replaced by her Mona Lisa smile. The one she used when she was trying to act professional, but I could see straight through it.
“Don’t give me that look.” I narrowed my eyes.
“What look?” she said mock-innocently.
“Like you’re the cat who got the cream. I’ll call Kai and see if he can make a flying visit, but I’m not mentioning the kiss or any of that, so don’t even think about trying to set us up. My focus is Cedarwood and getting this chapel mess sorted out.”
She threw her hands in the air. “That’s my focus too, darling! And you’re the matchmaker, not me. I’m more of a casual encounter enthusiast when I’m advising my friends, aren’t I? Life is too short for bad men, don’t I always say that? On a serious note, Kai must stay at the lodge. You can’t summon him all this way and expect him to pay for some sleazy motel out of town.” The Mona Lisa smile was back.
I cocked my head. “I see what you’re doing.”
She feigned surprise. “Being a good host?”
Micah wandered in, face grimy with dust. He’d been clearing out the wine cellar since our eventual plan was to stock it with an eclectic mix of vintages for our guests. “What’s up?” he asked.
Amory filled him in, taking great delight in the fact I had to call Kai back to Cedarwood.
Micah’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, dang it, I didn’t know we needed him on-site once the work was done. That can’t be right? I think Ned is speaking out of his… What?” he said, surveying me. “What don’t I know here?”
I squirmed, sinking into the chair hoping to disappear. Micah read my body language loud and clear.
Outside, gray clouds gathered, inching toward the lodge as if they’d crept forward to listen in.
“Well… we kissed, so it might be a little awkward at first,” I admitted, grimacing.
He slapped a hand to his forehead, and let out a deep belly laugh. “And you let him leave? What about all that talk you gave me about following my heart and taking risks?”
Amory nodded in agreement with him. “Her heart is a vault, Micah. Matchmaker extraordinaire can’t take her own advice.”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
“She’s always been like that,” Micah said, nodding.
Amory’s lips pulled down. “She just cannot recognize that in herself. There were plenty of keepers in New York but she always found fault…”
I jumped off the chair and spun to face them, snatching Kai’s postcard out of Amory’s hand as she laughed. “Umm, guys, I’m right here, you know! If you’ve finished your little psychoanalyzing session we can move on with, you know, important things – like business?”
They giggled.
“Admit it,” Micah said. “You don’t follow your own advice!”
I scoffed. “Because my advice is… bespoke, Micah! It doesn’t apply to everyone and you’re making it sound like I’m some kind of nagging Nelly, when all I did was tell you to open your frosty little heart to Isla, which, I might add, has made you extremely happy by the looks of it!” My voice rose with every inflection, as I tried to get my point across. “And you, Amory, I think you have to admit you care about Cruz more than you want him to know.”
I was met with a weighty silence.
“What?” I asked, sensing their ploy. “All I need from Kai is his building knowledge, nothing more. So, if you need me, I’ll be in my office!”
“We are in your office.”
They had me frazzled! “Then… get out!”
Laughing behind their hands, they retreated. I took my cellphone and dialed. No point worrying over his reaction to my call; it was business, and I was a professional. Still, my stomach flipped as it rang.
“Clio! How’s things?” His Australian accent was even more pronounced with the distance separating us.
I nervously shuffled papers, and tried to make my voice even. “Good, good. Well, not great actually. I have a problem.”
“Yeah?”
“I need you here.”
He laughed.
Oh God. “I mean, I really need you for a very good business reason. Business at the lodge, you could say. Or lodge business is a more economical way to say it.”
Say business one more time! With a manic little laugh I explained about the hold-up and what it meant for the lodge and how dire things would be if we didn’t get approval in time for the expo.
He managed to ignore my woes and said, “Clio, you’re not doing midnight yoga any more, are you?”
Surfer yogi strikes again. “Oh sure, sure, I am. Like clockwork. It’s my favorite time of day. Well, night, but you know what I mean.” Could midnight yoga solve this problem? I didn’t think so.
“I can hear it in your voice. You’re back to not sleeping too, I take it?”
Damn the man, how did he always know? All I needed to do was wrap myself in some of that fine Egyptian cotton and I’d sleep like a baby.
“Things have been a touch hectic, but I’m going to do some breathing… erm… exercises, as soon as I’ve hung up from you. It’s written right here on my to-do list. Breathe for the count of five. Make that ten, just to be sure.” I smiled at the memory of him, hands on my shoulders, gaze fervent, as if he believed taking five deep breaths could cure anything. Crazy but sweet just the same.
“So, what do you need from me, Clio?” Kai’s voice was calm and level, just like always, but I detected a twinge of sadness to it. As if big-city living stole the ying from his yang. Did he pine for home? For the Australian beaches and the surf culture he’d once been part of? Or just for the quiet? Fewer people, less noise, less bustle. Life pared right back to the elements.
“I need you to meet with Ned, and tell him you’re still working for us, and that everything with the chapel is hunky-dory and safe, and we’d like you to be our guest at Cedarwood, so as not to put you out.”
“Wow… OK. Let me see what I can do. I’m so busy right now in the lead-up to Christmas; everyone wants their jobs wrapped up. But I’ll try and get there as soon as I can, yeah?”
Perhaps we’d get out of this situation by the skin of our teeth, just like we had so far with the other dilemmas at the lodge. I knew if Kai gave his word, he would try and make it happen, but it would obviously be up to his boss whether he could make it here or not. I crossed my fingers and tried very hard not to feel sick as worry washed over me.
“Thanks, Kai, I really appreciate it. I can’t believe I forgot about the planning permission.” Color rose in my cheeks, remembering his express instructions, now, when it was much too late. I wondered if my subconscious was setting me up on purpose… At least Ned was allowing the brides to peek in, so that was something at least. But there was no way we could take a booking if we didn’t have approval, and the money we’d sunk into the expo would be wasted.
He clucked his tongue. “Don’t sweat it. You can’t do everything, and not