Page 70 of The Matchmaker's Cottage

He had lost control of the narrative. Now he had three celebrities under one roof, with a bed-and-breakfast owner and her two employees andhim—the self-destructive PR guru who had already had one public relations disaster blow up spectacularly in his face, while he was on the imminent cusp of having another one do the same.

To add insult to injury, the guilty party from the first incidentwas also there with them.

It was, in short, an unmitigated disaster.

Threesome for Super Couple? Emily Sattler Third Wheels Noah and Katy’s Romantic Rendezvous? Who’s with Who??

Potential headlines screamed in his face, making a mockery of all that he had planned to do with his last-ditch Hail Mary attempt to revive his name and his career.

Once the paps had been spotted, everyone in the house had hunkered down. Emily had declared that it was her yoga time and gone to her room, presumably to work out. Noah had said he was taking a nap. Katy stayed downstairs with the rest of them, while Norman set out to do his daily work, not allowing something as inconsequential as local paparazzi to alter the course of his day. The photogs had snapped a few shots of him raking leaves and deadheading the flowers, but soon discovered that pictures of Norman and his chores weren’t exactly going to cut it.

A few braver ones tried to venture close to the house, even taking pictures through the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of someone noteworthy inside. Julia had, at Ethan’s request, gone around at that point and closed all the curtains, as well as locked all doors into and out of the house.

“We just need this to die down,” he said, “then we’ll sneak you two out.” The last part was directed at Katy, since Noah had already gone upstairs, and she just nodded, albeit a bit of a disappointed expression on her face.

“I’m just going to miss this place, is all,” she said when pressed, shrugging with a slight air of sadness to her. “I had gotten used to it in just a couple short days. There was more I wanted to explore.”

“You can always come back,” Julia said warmly. “You and Noah. We’d be happy to have you.”

Ethan’s thoughts soured slightly when he thought of Noah. He had forgotten for a moment about the kiss that had occurred between him and Julia, but now the thought of him returning to Donwell Cottage at some unforeseen point in the future brought the image of him and Julia kissing back to his mind in full force.

Julia glanced at him at the mention—he could feel the heat of her gaze on his face—but he tried to keep his expression even-keeled and guarded, like hers. Unfazed.

Trying to take his mind off anything having to do specifically with Julia, Ethan picked up his phone again, scrolling through his Google Alerts and social media account to see if anything had been mentioned about the whereabouts of Katy and Noah. He saw the usual speculation from those who had put them together, even in fanfic, writing stories about them as though they were characters in a movie instead of real-life people, but there was nothing about Donwell Cottage or the addition of Emily into the mix.

He refused to be relieved by it, instead vowing to stay vigilant and keep checking to see if anything had come up.

Looking at Julia again, he took in her nervous expression, the way she worried at her thumbnail and kept exchanging meaningful glances with Maggie.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked finally, unable to stop himself from wondering and needing to know the answer.

She glanced at him, surprised, perhaps, that he had even noticed her expression, her anxiety, then looked at Maggie one last time before sighing. “I’m just worried that this whole situation is going to make things a joke—that it’ll affect ourreputation as this quiet little escape, a safe haven, and instead become a celebrity stop on some stupid sightseeing tour. Hordes of people will come through to gawk, but there will be no real substance to their attention, and they won’t stay, and they won’t appreciate any of the”—she twitched her reddening nose, and Ethan recognized it for what it was—“the details or thelovethat goes into any of it, and eventually the novelty will wear off and we’ll be…” She sighed heavily again, meeting his gaze finally, her eyes bright with the threat of tears. “We’ll be worse off than we were before you came.”

Worse off.There was something about the way she said it. The implication that things had already been bad and now she was worried they weren’t going to get better.

“Is the business not doing well, Gem?” he asked softly, forgetting there were others around them, forgetting about anything except for the concern he had for her, for her well-being, her livelihood. Now that he was here, had seen it firsthand, had fit himself back into her life—in more ways than one—now he was invested. Whatever the future held for them, he wanted to make sure she would be okay.

Her jaw clenched, and she looked away. Maggie made a sound, and Ethan looked at her sharply, trying to gauge what she’d been about to say, but Julia cut her off before words could come out with a fierce look and a slight shake of her head, almost imperceptible unless someone who knew her was looking for it.

So she was hiding something. There was something about the state of Donwell Cottage that was cause for concern.

He thought back to what Maggie had said about the website and the moment when he’d realized she needed this, maybe as much as he did. Just now realizing it might be even more serious than all that. The fragments clicked together like the finalpiece of a puzzle. It all made sense now—why she would so quickly agree to his offer, why she would be amenable to housing him, to helping him.

She was in trouble. The bed-and-breakfast needed the coverage, the profits, to continue to be sustainable. She’d figured a bit of celebrity influence would do the trick, some sightings here and there, something to grow the appeal of her hidden gem. The Katy-and-Noah thing should have been perfect—a brief shot at the farmers’ market, a zoom-lens capture of them strolling through the gardens, posting pictures of the same beautiful lake from two slightly different angles. It would have been just enough to get her the attention she needed to lure customers, to build her business.

What it had turned into, though—that didn’t fit the aesthetic. They weren’t a celebrity pit stop. They weren’t a place for drama or titillation, hedonism or indecency. A threesome or love triangle wasn’t the right kind of exposure.

“I think we all need to get some rest,” Maggie announced finally. “It’s getting dark out, and it’s been a long and eventful day. There doesn’t seem to be a point to prolonging it. I personally am beat. I think I’m going to head home, see if the folks need anything, and I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow to deal with whatever the day brings.” She turned to Julia and Ethan. “There’s tons of chili left if you’re hungry, and some bread, too. Help yourselves and let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you, Maggie,” Julia said quietly, a genuine smile on her face. “Please go home and take it easy now. There’s really nothing more for you to do here today anyway.”

Maggie nodded thoughtfully, her gaze darting between Julia and Ethan in a way that indicated she knew something wasgoing on. She hadn’t said anything to them about the shed, but surely she had noticed the telltale signs? Regardless, she appeared to be keeping mum, with not so much as a pointed glance in Julia’s direction or an admonishing one in his. Instead, she turned to Katy.

“Would you like to come over to mine?” she asked to the surprise of all three people in the room.

“I would,” Katy began hesitantly, “but won’t they see?”

Maggie waved her hand dismissively. “We’ll go out the back and through the garden, then out past the trees to get there. It’s a bit overgrown, but we can manage. They won’t even realize anyone has left. They’re all in the front anyway, thinking they’re going to get pictures from the main road.” Her expression brightened. “If you want, though, we could find you a disguise!”