She tried to push Nicole and Zoe out of her head as she dealt with the problems of the day. An irate guest who had tried to cancel their booking for the following week and had been outraged to discover that they would lose the money they’d paid. A woman who wanted to book two adjacent cabins for a Christmas celebration. As well as troubleshooting, she interviewed three people for two positions on the team (finding good staff was a never-ending nightmare) and had a meeting with a local outdoor-pursuits company who were interested in collaborating. Halfway through her morning Lorna burst into the room, staggering under the weight of an extravagant bouquet of flowers.

“Look! Aren’t they amazing?”

Milly was impressed. “Incredible. And it proves Duncan is capable of romantic gestures after all. Good for him.”

“They’re not from Duncan. They’re from Brendan Scott. Isn’t he a sweetie?”

Milly chose not to remind Lorna that just the day before she’d described him as a moody monster. “That’s a thoughtful gesture.”

“I can’t wait to see Duncan’s face when he sees them.”

Milly felt sorry for Duncan, who had always seemed to her to be solid and kind if maybe a little unimaginative.

Thinking of how brutal Richard had been—Life with you just isn’t that exciting, Milly—she was currently of the opinion that kindness in a man was underrated.

“The card says With apologies from a grumpy author.” Lorna’s cheeks were flushed. “I’m going to use it as a bookmark and keep it forever. I love his books.”

“You read crime?” Milly thought she knew her team pretty well, but still she was surprised. She’d had Lorna pegged as a lover of happy endings.

“Yes, and he’s the best. Keeps the reader guessing the whole time. You know sometimes books claim you’ll never see the twist coming, and then you see the twist on page two? Well, that’s not him. I don’t let myself buy one of his books until I have a full day off because I know that once I start, I won’t be able to stop. Nothing will get done. Duncan knows that once I have a new Brendan Scott, all I want from him is mugs of tea and finger food so that I don’t have to stop reading to eat.”

“What kind of finger food?”

“He makes me these little rolls of ham, and cubes of cheese. Baby tomatoes. Tiny wedges of cucumber. And he doesn’t try and engage me in conversation until the book is finished. Bliss.”