it?”
“Sort of. He called. I didn’t pick up. He left messages. I deleted them. He sent me an email that said Sorry, babe, let’s talk. I didn’t want to.”
Deirdre frowned. “He didn’t come to San Antonio?”
Kit shook her head. “I didn’t give him any encouragement. I didn’t see or talk to him until the other night at the Faro.”
Deirdre stared down at the counter, rubbing at an imaginary spot. “He’s Tom’s best friend, and I like him too. But I want you both to feel comfortable at the Faro. Will you be all right seeing him there?”
“Sure.” Kit took a last swallow of coffee. “I’m a big girl now, Deirdre. Moving ahead in the hospitality business. A wedding planner too, no less. Don’t worry—I can handle it. He can too.” She pushed herself up from her stool. “Speaking of which, I’d better head out to the Woodrose. I need to catch Morgenstern before she locks herself away for the day.”
Deirdre smiled. “Come back any time. Beer at night, coffee in the morning. We’re a full service stop.”
But Kit thought she saw a speculative look in her eye as she headed out the door toward the street.
Great. The last thing she wanted this time around was anybody trying to patch up her love life.
Kit had learned over the days she’d worked at the Woodrose that Mabel Morgenstern was easiest to find before the lunch rush started. Around eleven, she disappeared into her office and seldom emerged again before Kit went home. After the first day, she’d apparently decided Kit could handle the Rose just fine. At any rate, she hadn’t made any attempts to supervise, although for Kit, that hands-off policy was actually a plus.
Now, however, she was going to have to track Morgenstern into her lair, which was where the event planning and scheduling software was located. She hadn’t bothered to ask Allie for her choice of wedding date. She’d already asked several times, and Allie had done nothing but dither. When Kit had come to the inn that morning, she’d pulled up the daily schedule on her computer. The event center and the inn’s meeting rooms had a lot of bookings, although the groups seemed surprisingly small for the space available.
Still, she’d found one conspicuous open night in the middle of next month. Maybe a cancellation, and not nearly enough time to fill it on short notice. The event center was a big revenue generator for the inn. If it was empty, that meant lost cash.
She wiped her suddenly damp palms on her flowered J. Crew skirt and headed down the hall. If Allie didn’t like using the event center in a little over a month, she’d have to come up with her own alternative. Kit was fresh out of options. She took a deep breath. Time to go into negotiating mode.
As she approached Mabel’s office, she heard voices. Well, at least that meant Morgenstern was already there. Some mornings Kit got to the Woodrose before Mabel did. She peeked in at the side of the open door.
The man standing in front of Mabel’s desk wore work clothes, jeans and a denim shirt rolled up to his elbows. After a moment, Kit recognized him as the head groundskeeper, Mr. Didrikson.
“We’ve got two weddings in the knot garden over the next month,” Mabel was saying, “and it looks horrible.”
“Half the plants were dead in there,” Didrikson explained. “I had to take them out. And there’s no budget for anything new. If you want it to look better, given me some money for petunias and lantana. They’ll take up the slack for the time being.”
Mabel pressed her lips together. “I understood the knot garden was done with perennials.”
“It was.” Didrikson shrugged. “Even perennials need water and fertilizer. Somebody here let them go to shit.”
Kit frowned. She hadn’t realized Didrikson was new too. Had Mabel hired the entire staff?
Mabel waved a hand in his general direction. “Just do the best you can. Move some stuff around. Surely we’ve got plants in the other
“Sort of. He called. I didn’t pick up. He left messages. I deleted them. He sent me an email that said Sorry, babe, let’s talk. I didn’t want to.”
Deirdre frowned. “He didn’t come to San Antonio?”
Kit shook her head. “I didn’t give him any encouragement. I didn’t see or talk to him until the other night at the Faro.”
Deirdre stared down at the counter, rubbing at an imaginary spot. “He’s Tom’s best friend, and I like him too. But I want you both to feel comfortable at the Faro. Will you be all right seeing him there?”
“Sure.” Kit took a last swallow of coffee. “I’m a big girl now, Deirdre. Moving ahead in the hospitality business. A wedding planner too, no less. Don’t worry—I can handle it. He can too.” She pushed herself up from her stool. “Speaking of which, I’d better head out to the Woodrose. I need to catch Morgenstern before she locks herself away for the day.”
Deirdre smiled. “Come back any time. Beer at night, coffee in the morning. We’re a full service stop.”
But Kit thought she saw a speculative look in her eye as she headed out the door toward the street.
Great. The last thing she wanted this time around was anybody trying to patch up her love life.
Kit had learned over the days she’d worked at the Woodrose that Mabel Morgenstern was easiest to find before the lunch rush started. Around eleven, she disappeared into her office and seldom emerged again before Kit went home. After the first day, she’d apparently decided Kit could handle the Rose just fine. At any rate, she hadn’t made any attempts to supervise, although for Kit, that hands-off policy was actually a plus.
Now, however, she was going to have to track Morgenstern into her lair, which was where the event planning and scheduling software was located. She hadn’t bothered to ask Allie for her choice of wedding date. She’d already asked several times, and Allie had done nothing but dither. When Kit had come to the inn that morning, she’d pulled up the daily schedule on her computer. The event center and the inn’s meeting rooms had a lot of bookings, although the groups seemed surprisingly small for the space available.
Still, she’d found one conspicuous open night in the middle of next month. Maybe a cancellation, and not nearly enough time to fill it on short notice. The event center was a big revenue generator for the inn. If it was empty, that meant lost cash.
She wiped her suddenly damp palms on her flowered J. Crew skirt and headed down the hall. If Allie didn’t like using the event center in a little over a month, she’d have to come up with her own alternative. Kit was fresh out of options. She took a deep breath. Time to go into negotiating mode.
As she approached Mabel’s office, she heard voices. Well, at least that meant Morgenstern was already there. Some mornings Kit got to the Woodrose before Mabel did. She peeked in at the side of the open door.
The man standing in front of Mabel’s desk wore work clothes, jeans and a denim shirt rolled up to his elbows. After a moment, Kit recognized him as the head groundskeeper, Mr. Didrikson.
“We’ve got two weddings in the knot garden over the next month,” Mabel was saying, “and it looks horrible.”
“Half the plants were dead in there,” Didrikson explained. “I had to take them out. And there’s no budget for anything new. If you want it to look better, given me some money for petunias and lantana. They’ll take up the slack for the time being.”
Mabel pressed her lips together. “I understood the knot garden was done with perennials.”
“It was.” Didrikson shrugged. “Even perennials need water and fertilizer. Somebody here let them go to shit.”
Kit frowned. She hadn’t realized Didrikson was new too. Had Mabel hired the entire staff?
Mabel waved a hand in his general direction. “Just do the best you can. Move some stuff around. Surely we’ve got plants in the other
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