Page 31 of The Handy Men
Stephanie was an idiot.
While she wasn't Stephanie, Paige did have a lot riding on this opening. Not to mention the endless aggravation her parents would give her if she crashed and burned. She couldn't afford to fail. But she wasn't going to hide anything from them—she just wasn't going to offer any information about her sex life. It's not as if her parents enjoyed talking about that part of her life anyway.
Unfortunately, that didn't mean that no one else was talking about it. It seemed whenever they went out around the island, someone was whispering behind their hands. It didn't help the gossip that Jack and Dean insisted on kissing her good-bye when they left on the ferry to go home during the day to check on things. Paige knew the longshoremen talked with their wives about it. Caillie frowned at them in the town square, but Paige managed to avoid her when she shopped for the last minute things she needed to make the grand opening perfect.
Most of the time, Jack and Dean slept over at the inn because it was easier to get started on what had to be done. But they all took some time out to relax as well, spending a few nights together at their place in Port Hamilton. It had felt good to get off the island and away from all the knowing looks and gossip. One night, they even took Jack and Dean's boat into Long Island Sound. Out on the water, there was no one else around, so they walked the deck naked until it grew too cold, and then they went below decks to end the night off with more uninhibited lovemaking.
All in all, it was a great two weeks and she was having the time of her life. They pushed her sexual boundaries and made her try things she'd never even fantasized about. It was like a new life. She was really beginning to like the after-divorce Paige. The Nutmeg Inn was getting a fresh start and so was she.
It would have been the best time of her life, if she didn't have her grand opening over her head and the fear of having empty rooms for the rest of the summer.
But she wasn't sitting around waiting for things to happen. She ran a few ads in the Connecticut papers and on Airbnb, and was slowly filling up her calendar. For the first time in a long while, she was cautiously optimistic. Senator Mellon even put down a deposit on his two weeks in August. Of course, he also submitted a list of things he wanted to eat and an equally long list of things he didn't, but that was the life of an innkeeper. As long as he kept his conservative thoughts to himself and the townspeople didn't throw her under the bus, this could all work out.
Paige crossed her fingers until she thought they would freeze that way.
Jack and Dean finished the third floor with a few days to spare. That allowed her to concentrate on the details. She had her menus planned for the month of June and organized the pantry, double checking she had all the ingredients she needed. For now, she was going to do all the cooking. All three meals. But once the money started coming in, she was going to look into hiring a full-time cook. She stocked up on food off island at the Costco wholesale warehouse store in North Haven. It was a few hours round trip, but she had Jack and Dean to help her with the errands, so it made it fun. They made a date out of tasting all the samples and they probably overspent on some non-essentials, but Paige wanted to pamper both herself and them.
She did a lot of baking, too, with the thought that if worse came to worse she could always defrost cookies or muffins to buy her some time while she handled an emergency or soothed a disgruntled guest. Besides, keeping busy kept her from worrying about her parents' upcoming visit.
Fred still sent more nasty-gram emails to her, bitching about everything from the house being sold out from underneath him to how she was crazy to attempt to make a bed and breakfast work when she had zero hotel experience. He patronizingly offered to put her in touch with a few of his hotelier friends who were looking for a wife. Like it was his job to marry her off, so he didn’t have to worry about her. She changed her cell phone number and refused to answer his emails.
Too bad she couldn’t do the same with her parents.
While Paige didn’t have a reason to talk with Fred anymore, the "Save the Date" card was still up on her fridge. Maybe they would have it at the Waldorf Astoria, where she'd stumbled upon them. In fact, Paige ripped it down, making a decision.
She checked off that she'd attend and wrote underneath the check box:
+2 Mr. Jack and Dean Reynolds will also attend as my date.
Miss Manners would be horrified, but Paige didn’t give a fuck. She put the card into the pre-paid envelope and licked it closed.
"What's on the agenda for today?" Dean asked, coming over to kiss her good morning. Jack was probably still in the shower.
She waved the invitation at him. "I just RSVP'd to Fred's wedding. We're all going. Are you okay with that?"
"Are you?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. "Your parents are going to be there."
"They're going to see us on Friday. Might as well let them know that we’re not going anywhere." Paige bit her lip. "Right?" Sudden doubt flashed through her.
"It means the world to me—to us—that you're not going to hide that we're a threesome. I have to warn you, though, it's probably going to get ugly before it gets better."
"I've lived through ugly," she said, holding his hand. "It doesn't feel anything like this."
"We don't want to pressure you," he said. "If you want us to lay low while your parents are here, we can do that."
"They're enough to drive anyone insane," she said. "So if you need space, I won't blame you. But I'm not letting them drive you off."
Dean rested his forehead on hers. "What if they try to extort you into paying back the loan?"
Paige shrugged. "I'll think of something." A little wisp of dread wound around her heart. Maybe it would be a good idea if they stayed away until her parents left. But what if they decided to stay the whole summer? She shook away the bad thoughts. "I'm training the housekeeping staff today, if you want to watch."
"I'll pass. I think Jack and I are going to go out fishing. You want to join us afterwards?"
"I'd love to, but I've got a ton of stuff to do here. You guys go have fun."
"Dinner aboard the boat tonight?" he asked.
Paige's body tingled in memory of the last time they went sailing. "Sounds perfect."
