Margie walked toward one of the windows overlooking the water. “The first time that Hank brought me to Orcas Island, Steve accused me of stealing from him.”

Chip cocked his head to the side. “Stealing?”

“Well, he called that little bay out there Sunset Cove, because of the beautiful sunsets you can catch behind the mountain. And I thought that was just wonderful, and I told him that my wedding venue was named Saltwater Cove.”

“Ah.” Chip smiled. “I can see where this is going.”

“Mhm,” Margie said with a nod. “Steve said that he couldn’t believe I had the audacity to come to his hotel and steal one of his names. I was mortified, and I apologized several times, at one point promising to change the name of my business and everything.”

Chip laughed. “Then Steve told you that he was joking.”

“Yes!” Margie said, shaking her head. “He did. He laughed so hard that he cried. Hank laughed at me too! They were terrible. On the way home I saw that every other road on this island had Cove in the name.”

“That’s Steve for you,” Chip said, shaking his head.

“I’m sure you miss him.” Margie patted him on the shoulder.

“Of course,” he said, “but –”

Margie cut in. “But Claire is a great new Steve, isn’t she?”

He nodded, and before he could form a response, Margie spoke again. “I’m sure she makes the loveliest boss, but she’s so much more than that. She’s kind and beautiful, too.”

Chip looked at Claire, who was staring down at the ground, and he couldn’t help himself. “Yes, she most certainly is.”

“Okay Margie,” Claire said loudly. “Is there anything else you wanted to see today?”

“If any of the rooms are open, I’d love to take a peek.”

From the narrowing of Claire’s eyes, it didn’t seem like this was the response she was looking for.

Chip, however, was having a grand time and was happy to extend the tour. He cleared his throat. “No problem. Let me check our system and grab some room keys.”

He popped over to the front desk, momentarily excusing Gigi from her post. As he clicked around the computer, Chip was disappointed to see that there were more than a few rooms open. He did a quick count. The hotel had twenty-one unoccupied rooms.

While it was nice to have something to show Margie, it was another sad reminder of how empty they were running. He hoped that there were better days ahead of them.

There was hope, of course. Claire had shocked him the previous night with the story of that inheritance. True, she didn’t have experience in hotels, but that didn’t matter. She was willing to learn.