Red Clover Inn. Carla Neggers
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any quirks or issues you discover at the inn. We’ve cleaned up the place and put fresh sheets and towels out in a few of the rooms in case family or friends want to stay, but nothing formal. Mostly we were just getting a feel for the place. We can manage without someone there—there’s no dog to walk or anything and we have family in town—so no problem if you change your mind.”
Charlotte moved away from the window. “It sounds like a great place to unwind.”
“I can’t wait for us to be in Knights Bridge together.”
“It’ll happen, probably sooner rather than later. Don’t worry about a thing, okay? Your wedding was the best, Sam. I’m glad I was a part of it. Thank you.”
“It was everything I wanted it to be.”
“That’s fantastic. I imagine you’re ready for your honeymoon now.”
Samantha laughed. “Definitely. I’m so happy, Charlotte. I didn’t think it was possible to be this happy. Justin and I are perfect together. Harry always said I’d end up with someone who surprised me.”
“He and Max would have enjoyed today,” Charlotte said, no question in her mind.
“Harry wouldn’t have believed the good weather. He always said it rained all day, every day whenever he was in London.”
“He had a gift for hyperbole.”
“No kidding.” Samantha shut her suitcase. “I didn’t realize Tommy would stop by today. Mom and Dad didn’t, either. They saw him a few weeks ago. He’d heard I was getting married. They’re so polite—they’d never tell him to stay away. I hope it wasn’t too awkward for you.”
“No problem. We both moved on within four seconds of our wedding that wasn’t.”
“Just as well.” Samantha reached into a small bag on the dresser and withdrew a set of keys. “Here are the keys to Harry’s house in Boston in case you want to stay there or just have a look around. Feel free to use his car. We like to run it periodically. My folks and Uncle Caleb are still figuring out what to do with it and the house but might as well enjoy them for now.”
“I shall seize the moment,” Charlotte said lightly. “Leave Red Clover Inn to me. Relax and enjoy your honeymoon.”
“Ten days in Scotland. Justin’s never been. He’ll love it. We leave tonight to get a head start on the drive north.”
And no doubt to get away from lingering guests—including a slew of Sloans. As much as she and Justin loved their family and friends, it was time for each other. “We’ll have that get-together soon,” Charlotte said, hugging her cousin. “Have a great time on your honeymoon.”
She left Samantha to her packing. She ran into Justin in the lobby. He’d changed out of his tux and was as eager to be on his way to Scotland as Samantha was. “I won’t keep you,” Charlotte said cheerfully.
Isaac gave her a ride back to the pub. He was bussing tables at a London restaurant for the summer, before heading to New England for college. He hadn’t decided on a major—except that it wouldn’t be in maritime anything. “Sorry,” he said. “Whatever I end up doing, it won’t have anything to do with sunken wrecks. I’m not a big fan of the water.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s good to keep your options open at your age.”
“Did you always want to be a marine archaeologist?”
“A diver,” she said. “I always wanted to be a diver and explore what’s under the ocean.”
He shuddered as he pulled to a stop in front of the pub. “I’d stay up in my warm ship and let a mini submarine or a robot do the exploring.”
Charlotte laughed. “You always were a smart kid. It’s still hard for me to believe you’re old enough to drive, and now you’re off to college. Stay in touch, okay?”
“You, too.”
As she headed into the pub, she noticed the sky had turned grayer, rain likely on the way. She’d checked out of her room before she’d left for the wedding but hadn’t taken her bag. Now that she was alone, she wanted to have a pint and lick her wounds. Tommy. What had she ever seen in him? A whirlwind romance, a brief engagement, a slapped-together wedding...and cold feet.
Not cold feet. She’d come to her senses.
She sat at the bar and ordered a beer. She had a few minutes before she had to get herself to the train station. She’d be back in Edinburgh tonight and would figure out when she would leave for Boston. Right now, the sooner the better worked for her, but she’d wait until she got home to decide. Samantha hadn’t had a single photo of Red Clover Inn, but she’d given Charlotte directions.
She hadn’t expected to see Tommy today. She knew Malcolm and Francesca had hired him for a few dives earlier in the year. Everyone had worked hard to wrap up the U-boat project, and Charlotte was a professional. She hated the idea that friends and family might feel they needed to keep her and her former fiancé apart. She didn’t want them tiptoeing around her. She and Tommy were grown-ups. They could manage.
But when he walked into the pub and sat on the stool next to her at the bar, her heart sank. She didn’t want today to end this way, with the man who’d once proposed to her trying to get under her skin. Because that was what Tommy did. He thrived on it.
“Well, Charlotte,” he said, cocky as ever, “I see your life hasn’t changed.”
“Work, family, fun.”
“Uptight, alone, superior.” He winked at her. “Kidding.”
“Right. Kidding. I have a cab coming. I don’t have time to chat.”
His gray eyes settled on her. Speaking of superior, she thought. “How are you?” he asked.
“Great. It was a beautiful wedding.”
“Not going to ask about me?”
“As I said—”
“No time. Thought you might like to know I’m heading home to the States to take a permanent diving job in South Florida.”
She pushed her beer glass aside. “Good luck.”
“I heard you had a close call in April. I’m sorry.”
Of course he’d heard. Theirs was a small world and Tommy had known the amateur diver she’d rescued, resulting in a dangerous bout of decompression illness that continued to haunt her. “One of those things.” Her throat was tight but she didn’t think her voice sounded strangled. “I really have to go.”
“Things will be different for you now if you can’t dive again—”
“Not your concern, Tommy.”
“There’s that barbed tongue.” He paused, staying calm. “I’m trying to be nice. I’m a concerned colleague, a fellow diver who’s had a few close calls of his own. But you can’t let bygones be bygones, can you? You’d think I wronged you, when the opposite is true. You wronged me.”
“You know why I did what I did. I understand that today probably stirred up hard feelings, but we’ve both moved on, Tommy. Don’t drag me into the past with you.”
“I’m not dragging you anywhere, Charlotte. Trust me.”
She dug cash out of her bag and left it for the beer she’d ordered. She didn’t look at Tommy as she jumped off the stool and reached for her suitcase at her feet.
“Here,” he said, getting to his feet. “Let me get that for you. You don’t want to do anything to impede your recovery. I know how much diving means to you.”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
He put his hand over hers on the suitcase handle. “Don’t let stubbornness and pride get in the way of common sense.”