Compromising Positions by Kate Hoffmann Page A

brought it up. It had just felt so good to have someone to share his troubles with, but now he realized that it made him look incompetent. “I’ll figure it out.”
    â€œThe other day, when I was staying in the room at the end of the hall, there was a little mug on the table with flowers in it. I think it might be a Revere mug.”
    â€œPaul Revere?”
    She nodded. “I’m not sure you could find a buyer in a day, but you might be able to use it as collateral for a bank loan. I did a bit of research on the internet and one similar to it sold for thirty thousand last year. They don’t come up often.”
    â€œYou’re telling me that we have a mug at the inn that’s worth thirty thousand and it’s just sitting in one of our rooms.”
    â€œWith flowers in it. I’d have to have our silver curator look at it, to be sure. But I’ve already taken a few photos with my phone and sent them to him for his initial impressions.”
    Sam ran his fingers through his hair, stunned at the revelation. If she was right, then his problems were solved. Could it be that easy? “It’s like you came along at the perfect time.”
    Amelia shrugged. “I could have slipped the mug into my bag and you never would have missed it.”
    â€œLike you tried to steal the bed this morning?” he teased.
    Her smile faded. “That was not my best moment,” she said. “I’m sorry about that.”
    Sam frowned. “I did give you the benefit of the doubt at first. I assumed you had some kind of business in town and couldn’t unhitch the trailer on your own.”
    â€œNo, I got all the way to the interstate before I stopped and reconsidered.”
    He reached across the table and grabbed her hand, pressing a kiss to it. “Why did you come back?”
    â€œI didn’t want to end it like that. In an act of dishonesty. And I didn’t think we were finished yet,” she said. “I guess I’m not perfect.”
    â€œI’m not, either. And we’re not finished,” he said. “You were right about that.”
    Would they ever be finished? Sam couldn’t imagine reaching a point where he would be willing to let her go. Yet he knew he would have to.
    Her life was in Boston. She was a city girl with dreams that could only be met in a place such as Boston or New York. Millhaven would never satisfy her. Hell, he could barely stand the small town and he’d spent his whole life here.
    And yet Sam had to wonder how different he’d feel if he had someone to share his life. Would the inn still seem like an anchor or would he begin to see the possibility of finding true happiness here? She’d already changed him in tiny ways. Was Amelia capable of causing such a profound shift in his life?
    He stood and wandered over to the gramophone. “Does this thing work?”
    Amelia followed him, standing beside him as he peered inside. “I don’t know. There are records in the cabinet. We can try it.”
    â€œA little music might be nice.” He heard her shudder beside him and he turned to find her rubbing her arms. “Cold?”
    â€œIt’s a little drafty in here. The wind has picked up and it seems to blow straight through that glass window.” She handed him a record. “I think it’s time to pull the curtains.”
    She walked over to the side of the display window and pulled a cord, dropping a thick velvet curtain across one half of the window.
    â€œGuaranteed not to fall down in the middle of the night.”
    â€œWhere did Benny get that?”
    â€œIt’s out of the old movie theater in town,” Amelia said. She pulled the other side and suddenly they were alone in a cozy room, soft lighting creating shadows on the false walls.
    Sam cranked up the gramophone, then slipped the record out of the sleeve. “This is Rudy Vallee. ‘If You Were the Only Girl in the