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“Nothing,” he says. “That’s why you’re going to run it.” He faces me, his eyes so serious, so handsome and kind. “I want us to run it together.”
My heart pounds. “You do?”
He nods. “I’ve tried for years to find a home. I knew it was out there somewhere. I just had to find it.” His fingers entwine with mine. “I think this is it, Mika. Here, with you.”
My breath catches in my throat. Lost for words, I look down, only to feel his hand touching my chin, guiding me back up.
Carter kisses me softly, and the last of my anger and confusion melts away. “If you’ll have me,” he says with a smile. “I realize I may not have been the cleanest guest in the world.”
I laugh, my blush deepening. “We’ve had worse.”
He cups my face and kisses me again.
“Are you sure?” I ask, my entire body tingling. “Small Town is... kinda boring sometimes.”
Carter chuckles. “I’m sure you and I can think of ways to pass the time.”
“How did you even afford this?” I ask, my thoughts running wild.
“Ah, well... over the years of traveling around, not paying rent or a mortgage or anything, I’ve saved almost every dollar I’ve made. That’s left me with a heck of a savings account.”
“I’ll bet.”
“It’s nearly gone now, so…” He smiles, our lips grazing. “I better learn fast how to run this place.”
I grin, bursting with happiness.
He crushes his mouth on mine, and I kiss him back. He holds me close as I hug him against me, my chest full of love, while we both look out across the lake.
Love.
For the first time in my life, I think there might be something more than marketing in Kiss County, after all.
EPILOGUE
MIKA
A Few Months Later
“Yes, Mrs. Robinson,” I say into the phone with my sweetest front desk voice. “I’ll bring a fresh stack of towels up right away.”
“Thank you, dear!” she says, her voice dripping with that strange newlywed quality.
I smile. It’s genuinely sweet. “You’re very welcome.”
Mrs. Robinson hangs up, but not before giggling something at her new husband.
I wave at the couple from Room 6 as they pass the desk and enter the back hallway. Grabbing a few towels from the linen closet, I take them into the front and start heading toward the stairs.
“There she is!” Papa says, pointing at me from the sitting room doorway. “I told you. Try the desk. Always at the desk.”
Carter appears beside him and sighs. “Come on, Mika. The fireworks are starting.”
“I know,” I say, still walking backward toward the stairs. “I just have to?—”
“Put the towels down and come outside,” he insists. “Your night off started an hour ago.”
Papa chuckles. “That’s my Mickey.”
