Chapter Twenty-three
Claire managed to sneak into the hotel through one of the back doors unnoticed. She and Marty were just settling in to eat fish and chips when there was a knock at the door.
Claire instinctively pulled out her phone to see if Lucy had forgotten her key, but there was no message from her. She still hadn’t written back to tell her how her interview had gone.
She whispered “let me go see who this is” to Marty. He nodded and quietly moved out of sight of the door.
Through the peephole, Claire could see Chip standing there in a flattering navy sweater. Butterflies fluttered in her chest.
“Hi,” she said, slipping out of the door and closing it behind her.
“Oh, Claire. I didn’t know you were in,” he said with a smile.
“Yeah, just, you know, brought Lucy something to eat.” He didn’t answer right away, and Claire had the urge to keep talking. “She’s not feeling well, had an interview on the mainland, you know – just, yeah.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?”
Claire shook her head. “No, but thank you.”
“Well – someone lost a scarf in the lobby. I thought it might be Lucy’s?”
He held it up and Claire looked it over – an ugly, sad looking thing, with fraying ends and snags throughout. Not something that fashion-forward Lucy would ever touch. “I don’t think so, but thanks for thinking of her.”
“Do you think she’d like to see it, just in case?”
Claire shook her head. “No, I’m pretty sure it’s not hers.”
He stood there, looking at her, seemingly hesitating. A paranoid thought crossed her mind – that he was onto her, that he knew what she was doing…
“Lovely weather we’re having, huh?” she said, hating herself as soon as the words left her lips.
“Oh yeah. It was nice to have a break from the rain.”
“Normally I like rain. It’s nice, in a way. I like the sound of the raindrops on the cabin roof.” She cleared her throat. “Any news on the menu for the Valentine’s Day dinner?”
He looked up, thinking. “You know, I’m not sure. I’ll have to check on that.”
“Okay. Great. Well….”
He nodded. “I’ll get going, then. Are we meeting tomorrow? I got some numbers from the contractor.”
She fidgeted with her hair. “Oh sure, any time. How about ten?”
“Sure, yeah, that works for me.”
He took a step back, and Claire was about to turn and open the door behind her when something caught her eye. Just over Chip’s shoulder she saw Lucy’s distinct green hat, bobbing down the hallway.
She wanted to give Lucy a signal, something to tell her to run – or at least to turn around!
But it was too late. Lucy spotted her and started waving, yelling out, “I made it back!”
Chip spun around, the surprise evident on his face. “Hi, Lucy.”
Claire needed this interaction to be over. “I was just waiting for you, Lucy. I got fish and chips.”
Lucy let out a long breath. “That sounds great. I’ve had aday.”
Chip locked his gaze onto her. “That’s a heavy meal. You must be feeling better.”
