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She replied a few minutes later.

That sounds great. See you then.

***

The following few days were uncomfortable to say the least. It went to show how much everyone loved Cooke because morale was at an all-time low. He was a mainstay of the hotel, a friendly face, and things wouldn’t be the same without him around. It also made others worry about their own employment and how easily it could be terminated.

On Friday evening, I’d brought Italian takeout and a bottle of red wine over to my sister’s house. Cooke had a meeting with Tristan and Moira earlier that evening where they’d set out their reasons for ending his contract prematurely, and the severance package they were offering. All in all, he and Sloane would have enough to see them through the next few months, and the bistro he’d been temping at had offered to take him on part-time.

Despite this, I was still feeling a certain type of way about the whole thing. It could’ve been dealt with differently. Why couldn’t they have simply demoted him from head chef? Was he really so bad at the new menu that they had to fire him completely?

I found myself feeling resentful towards Tristan again. Ever since he’d purchased the hotel, things had shifted, and I felt like my relationship with the place was changing. The Astor Cove was a second home to me for many years, but now it was becoming something else, something sleeker but not necessarily better.

I also never used to feel a sense of dread on a Sunday night before work on Monday, but now I did. Not only was I miserable about my brother-in-law being let go, I was also stressed about running into Tristan. I wasn’t ready to see him, not when I still felt a lingering resentment towards him for giving me an official warning. I didn’t think I deserved it, and he was at least partly to blame for not informing Cooke about his decision sooner. If he’d done that, then Cooke wouldn’t have grown suspicious enough to confront Moira.

The first few days of the week passed busily. I was mostly holed up in my office with Katy, going over the new management protocols. I’d really wanted to sneak up to the roof terrace again for lunch, but I didn’t want to run into Tristan, so I decided to go outside and sit in the gardens instead.

I’d almost reached reception when a familiar voice said, “Someone called about a breakdown.”

I stopped in my tracks immediately, heart pounding because I’d know my ex, Zach’s, voice anywhere. We still lived in the same town, but it was large enough that I rarely ran into him. We didn’t frequent the same places anymore, so it was easy enough to avoid him, but obviously not when someone at the hotel called for a mechanic.

Peering around the corner, I saw him speaking to Tristan’s assistant, Becky. He wore his scuffed and stained work clothes, his dark hair close shaven and his beard now peppered with a little grey. He was a good-looking man, but I no longer felt even a flicker of attraction for him.

“Yes, hi!” said Becky. “You’re a lifesaver. My boss’s car won’t start, and we can’t figure out what the issue is.”

“That’s no problem. If you have the keys, I’ll go take a look.”

Okay, I needed to get out of here before he saw me. I mean, I harboured zero feelings for Zach, but I’d just prefer to avoid a run in where I could. Nobody enjoys unexpectedly bumping into their ex.

Turning swiftly, I kept my head down before walking right into a brick wall. Then I lifted my head and discovered the brick wall was in fact Tristan’s chest. His hands came up to steady me, and my anxiety about running into Zach increased now that I’d also—literally—run into the boss I was avoiding all week. His hands were warm on my shoulders, and I tried not to notice how nice they felt.

My throat thickened.

“Rinnie, are you okay?” His gaze ran over me, his eyebrows drawing together as his hands remained on my shoulders—completely unnecessarily I might add, considering I was no longer in danger of falling over. He studied me intently. A flurry of butterflies whirled in my belly at the way he appeared to be searching my face for the cause of my fluster.

“Yes, I’m fine. Sorry for, uh, walking into you.”

His expression softened ever so slightly, and I was surprised since I half expected him to still be mad at me over our exchange last week. I had given him some attitude, after all, although a part of me still felt it was warranted.

“That’s all right,” he said, still not moving an inch. An unexpected flood of relief struck me because he no longer seemed frosty. Instead, he appeared intent on figuring out why I was in such a rush to get away.

My throat went dry. “I’m—”

“Are you—"

“There you are!” Becky interrupted us as she rounded the corner with Zach just behind her. “The mechanic is here. He needs your keys to take a look at the engine.”

“Ah, right, yes,” Tristan replied, his warm hands falling away from my shoulders, and I strangely missed them even though it was a little uncomfortable to be so close to him, so keenly studied. I felt like he saw way more than I wanted him to. He dug in his pocket for his keys, and I was of half a mind to just leave, but that would be too weird, and besides, Zach had already clocked me.

“Hey, Rinnie. Good to see you.”

“Yes, y-you, too. Hi Zach.”

Both Becky and Tristan glanced between us. “You two know each other?” Becky asked with a curious eyebrow.

“Of course. Zach is the local—”

“I’m her ex.”