Read Online The Trouble with Christmas by Kaira Rouda - Free Book Online

“You are brilliant,” she said and hugged Avery hard. “You are so right. Let the inn serve traditional Christmas dinner. Let all of the homeowners who want to make their own Christmas hams and turkeys—either with their staff or on their own—gasp,” Lily said with a wink. “Do just that. Marshside Mama’s is going to give them a different experience.”
    “And just what experience will that be?” Avery asked.
    “Well, I think I need to take you on a field trip to the restaurant before I can answer that. Let’s do that after my meeting in the morning.”
    At Avery’s questioning look, Lily felt her face flush, and she wished she’d kept her breakfast with Cole a secret, at least until it was over.
    “You have a date?”
    “It’s a meeting to discuss the menu,” Lily said and began to put the dishes into the dishwasher.
    “You’re seeing him tomorrow,” Avery grinned and kicked off her shoes. She turned out the kitchen light. “That’s a date.”
    Lily was grateful for the dark so Avery didn’t see her bright red face.
    “Don’t read anything into it, Aves. We’re discussing a menu,” she helped Avery blow out all the Christmas candles.
    “I’m not reading anything into it, until you do,” Avery said. “I think we’ve got all the lights, you need to get a good night’s beauty rest. Race you up the stairs.”
    And just as they had done for years, they raced each other to the top. And this time, Lily actually won.

Chapter Six
    COLE
    ‡
    W hat was I thinking? Cole asked himself for the millionth time. He was a bachelor, living in a huge house somebody else had decorated for their family. He had a Sub Zero refrigerator that was absolutely empty except for coffee and half a bottle of orange juice. He ate every meal at the restaurant, or, on days off, at the inn. He had a few power bars in the pantry if his blood sugar dropped too low after a workout.
    He looked at the clock on the wall. It was eight a.m. Lily, if she showed up, would be here in an hour. In a panic, he called over to the inn for room service. He ordered two plantation breakfasts—two eggs over easy, toast, hash browns, a bowl of fruit, and sausage. He added a large pot of coffee and two fresh squeezed orange juices. When the woman taking his order asked for his room number, he told her to deliver it to the members’ club. And, he promised an extra big tip if she got it there in twenty minutes or less.
    Hanging up, Cole raced outside, hopped onto his golf cart and pressed the pedal to the floor, thankful he had plugged the cart in the night before. He still remembered the way Lily made him feel, the warmth that had spread throughout his body just by being near her. He arrived at the Melrose Inn, but realized he’d been in such a rush he hadn’t worn a coat. He hadn’t noticed the temperature had dipped below freezing on this gray morning.
    Cole didn’t feel any chill as he ran up the inn stairs two at a time and bounded into the lobby. Paula, the front desk clerk, eyed him curiously, but he shot her his most innocent smile, and he crossed the lobby, passed the Christmas tree, and walked into the Member’s Club. It reminded him of the Putnams’ library, dark wood paneling, walls of bookshelves, and a large fireplace.
    Cole sat in one of the brown leather wingback chairs and stared out the large windows, across the winter brown rose garden to the white gazebo and the ocean beyond. It was hard to tell where the sky ended and the sea began; it was that type of gray, drizzly, cold morning.
    “Mr. Stanton?” a young woman pushing a cart full of room service domed dishes asked.
    “Yes, that’s me. Thank you so much for getting this all prepared so quickly. I need to load it all into my golf cart. I’ll of course bring all the dishes back. Should I pull around back? Yes, that would be better. Why don’t you roll on over to that door over there, and I’ll be right back,” Cole said, knowing he was overwhelming the young