Page 9 of Always Almost You

She clicked again, narrowing her search to Newport hotels dog friendly. One listing stopped her cold. The Vanderbilt.

She opened the page to their website and felt the pull immediately. The graciousness of the lines of the former mansion and the symmetrical proportions of its façade. The split staircase sweeping from the foyer to the upper floors, and the attention to every detail in the hotel’s recent remodel.

“Look at this cozy library.” She tapped the screen. “I’d have chosen the same deep chairs and soft lamps. The designer has established four separate seating areas, creating an intimate feel to the space.” She looked down at Pumpkin. “Would you like to curl up on this gorgeous rug while I sip a cup of tea in the afternoon?”

Pumpkin sneezed.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

She scrolled through the entire photo deck, noticing how the place balanced elegance with warmth, and tradition with comfort. It wasn’t trying to be cheerful. It simply was. I can be alone here without feeling conspicuous, she thought. The holiday could unfold gently instead of demanding joy on command.

Pumpkin lifted her face, nose twitching, sensing that Lauren had made a decision.

“What do you think?” Lauren asked her.

Her tail wagged once. Then again.

Lauren laughed. “I think that library may become our favorite place. The website even says people play Mah Jongg there, and beginners are welcome. That’s me, for sure.”

Lauren imagined mornings in Newport, coffee and croissants at a cafe facing the water, afternoons wandering without an agenda, and evenings returning to the elegance of their hotel. “I can’t remember the last time I spent a week doing exactly what I wanted. No schedule. No obligations.”

Her fingers rested on the trackpad as her mind returned to Mystic again. Then she thought of Newport. She didn’t analyze the choice, but trusted the feeling, the way she did when her eye told her a décor item was right in a room. Lauren clicked. The confirmation page loaded, bright and decisive.

She leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes for a moment, Pumpkin’s steady breathing reassuring at her side. “Okay,” she whispered. “We’re doing this.” Providence, Rhode Island. Newport. The Vanderbilt.

Pumpkin let out a long, contented sigh and snuggled closer, as if she had always known.

CHAPTER 7

Pumpkin hopped off the settee and trotted to the rear door of K + L Interiors, her tail wagging so furiously it nearly threw her off balance.

“You hear Kathy’s car, don’t you?” Lauren asked. She glanced at Pumpkin but continued arranging drawings and samples on the large oak table she and Kathy used for client presentations.

Pumpkin remained at the door, her tail beating the air in wide, enthusiastic arcs.

“Thank goodness,” Lauren said. “I was worried Kathy wouldn’t make it.” She unrolled a set of architectural plans, turned to the page detailing the bedroom wing, and secured the corners with heavy paperweights. Her phone pinged and she glanced at yet another text from Darren. She had ignored his messages, which were arriving with increasing frequency. She swiped up on the screen to close the message. She’d respond to him later, when her feelings weren’t still so raw. Right now, she had to focus on the Hunters’ project.

The back door burst open. Kathy rushed inside, clutching a leather folio bulging with papers. One side of her shirt collar was caught under her blazer, her hair hung in limp plaits, and her lipstick looked as though it had been applied in the dark. Kathy hurried to her desk, dumped the folio on top of it, and shoved her purse into a drawer. “Thank God I got here before the client,” she said, facing Lauren. “I look like hell, don’t I?”

Lauren bit her lip. “Rough night?”

“That’s an understatement,” Kathy said. “Two-year-old twins with ear infections? And Jake’s out of town. I don’t think I slept a wink.”

“You should’ve stayed home today,” Lauren said. “I can handle the meeting with Susan Hunter.”

“I know that,” Kathy replied. “But except for half a day on Monday when we reviewed your plans together, I’ve been out the entire week. You’ve already carried everything.” She pulled a comb, hairspray, and lipstick from her desk drawer and headed for the tiny bathroom at the back of the shop.

“Why don’t you leave after the meeting and take the rest of the day off?” Lauren asked.

“Not a chance,” Kathy said. “Jake took a red-eye flight and got home thirty minutes ago. After being cooped up with two sick toddlers, there’s nothing I’d rather do than get out of that house.” She flipped on the bathroom light and left the door open as she worked on her hair and makeup.

Lauren leaned against the doorframe.

Kathy met her friend’s eyes in the mirror while reapplying lipstick. “I’m counting on you to handle the full presentation,” she said. “I’ll contribute when possible or respond to questions Susan sends my way. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” Lauren said. “I wasn’t sure you’d make it in this morning, so I finished assembling the presentation last night.” She paused, then added, “I also have some changes I’d like to suggest to the architectural design of the bedroom wing.”

Kathy capped her lipstick and raised an eyebrow. “Really? As interior designers, we usually work with whatever the architects give us.”