“Sounds amazing.” He held my gaze for a long moment, and something crackled between us—a spark of connection that I felt in my fingertips and all the way down to my toes. Simon’s eyes said he felt it too, a realization that brought a different conversation I’d had with him into sharp relief. When he’d saved the wedding my first weekend on the job and we talked in the parking lot, I’d felt uneasy, like there was more to his look and I didn’t know what. It was the same look he was giving me now, only I wasn’t uneasy anymore because I felt the same spark.

Except, no. Simon had a girlfriend. And I had a boyfriend. Sparks were for people not already in relationships.

Time to change the subject. I reached for the doorknob. “Are you ready?”

He nodded. “Lead the way.”

* * *

Ida warmed to Simon immediately. There was nothing flashy about his demeanor, from his simple dark suit and pinstriped tie to his conservative, short haircut. But he was still a Hamilton. And when Hamilton men smiled, polite professionalism morphed into full-on charm, even if, in Simon’s case, it was completely unintentional. Simon was different from Jamie in that regard. Jamie knew how to work it, to play his strengths for greatest impact. Simon seemed utterly clueless about how charming—and handsome—he was.

It took about ninety minutes to work through everything and give Simon the information he needed to tackle the job. By the end of our meeting, Ida looked exhausted. She pushed the stack of Thornton’s old ledgers toward Simon. “I sure do appreciate your help, though I have no idea how you’re going to sort any of this out. We maybe ought to burn it all and start from scratch.”

Simon smiled. “I don’t think it will come to that.” He shuffled together a stack of papers and dropped them into his briefcase, then slid the ledgers into an outside pocket. He reached over and shook Ida’s hand. “Are you comfortable with me discussing my findings with Lane? If I have questions or need more information?”

Ida looked at me. “Oh, of course. Some days I think she’s more invested in this inn than I am. Whatever else you need, just let her know. I’ll help her track it down.”

We said our good-byes, and I followed Simon into the hallway, shutting the door behind me. “So what do you think?” I asked him.

His eyes shifted to the closed office door like he wasn’t sure if Ida could hear us.

“Here.” I moved across the hall and opened the door to my own office, then stepped to the side. “This is my office. We can talk in here.”

He followed me in. “Wow.” He gestured to the large sitting area in front of the big bay window. “You get the bigger office, huh?”