Chapter 21

Pepper sat behind the carved desk in the lobby, studying the registration list on her computer.
"Hey, Cilla?" she called.
"What's up?" Cilla hurried in from the kitchen, carrying two iced teas.
Breakfast was over, the kitchen cleaned, and Mary Tierney was working her way through the bedrooms and bathrooms. The weekend guests had all left, and the next group wasn't due to arrive until the next day.
"When did all these reservations come in?" She continued to scroll through the program.
"Oh." Cilla read the screen over Pepper's shoulder. "We had a slew of calls yesterday afternoon while you were out. Did I do it wrong?"
"No. You did great. I'm...I don't know where they are all coming from all of a sudden. Can you believe it? We're booked up for the next four months."
"Isn't it exciting?" Cilla laughed and squeezed Pepper's shoulder. "Word of mouth, I guess. Or maybe those listings you've been placing on travel sites are finally paying off."
"Maybe. It just seems so weird, you know?"
"Hey. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. You might be able to pay off the loan on this place sooner than you think. Then your folks would have no reason not to sign it over to you. There'd be no debt to hang on you."
"Would be nice." She grinned at Cilla. "If it keeps up like this, I can pay off the rest of the loan and do some other things I've had on my list for some time." She scowled at her friend. "But you, my dear, need to get a life outside this place. Your whole social life revolves around Hibiscus House, and you won't even let me pay you."
"What would I do with the money? I got a whoppingly generous settlement from Jay, and I enjoy playing hostess around here."
"If business keeps up like this, we'll revisit it. And don't give me any lip."
"We'll see." She looked up as the wide front door opened. "And what's this?"
"Delivery for Miss Pepper Thornton." The delivery man in black slacks and a green polo shirt double checked his notes. "Yup. Which of you is Miss Thornton?"
"That's me." Pepper rose, eyes wide as she took in the gigantic arrangement of hibiscus in a tall vase. "What on earth?"
"Where would you like me to put it?"
"Um, right here." She pointed next to the desk. "That way everyone can see them when they come through the door."
The delivery man set them down, nodded, and took his leave. Pepper couldn't keep herself from staring at them.
"Oh, look." Cilla reached into the center of the arrangement and pulled out a small white box. "What's this?"
"I don't know. Give it here." Pepper put the four-inch square box on the desk, undid the red bow, and pulled off the lid. And stared. "What on earth?"
"It's a heart," Cilla said. "A broken heart. Someone is giving you their broken heart."
Sure enough. The big red heart had a diagonal crack from top to bottom.
"But who - ?"
"Who indeed. Who do you know who might have a broken heart that they want you to know about?"
"This is stupid." Pepper still stared into the box. "It's nothing more than some cheap trick on his part."
Cilla chuckled. "I'd say it's a pretty expensive trick."
"Well. I'll keep the flowers, but he can keep his heart. Mine's just as broken."
"Maybe he's trying to make amends," Cilla pointed out.
"If he is, it's going to take a lot more than flowers."
Reservations continued to pour in and, two days later, as Pepper and Cilla were trying to juggle reservations for Memorial Day weekend, the phone rang.
"God, if this is another reservation," Pepper said, "I'll have to take out another loan just to add more rooms."
"A nice spot to be in," Cilla told her.
But the call was from a national travel show called Travel America.
"We received your information," the man on the phone told her, "and Hibiscus House fits right in with our bed-and-breakfast tour coming up. We'd like to know when we can come down there to shoot some footage."
Pepper stared at the phone. "Are you sure you have the right place?"
"I believe so." Papers rattled on the other end. "Yes, yes, yes. Hibiscus House. Bayview, Florida. We almost didn't get you in. Is it possible for us to be down there next week?"
Pepper was dumbstruck. "Yes. I guess so. Can you email or fax me everything?" She gave him the information. "But, if you want to stay here, it will have to be from Monday night until Thursday morning. I'm booked solid after that."
"That works out fine. Perfect, in fact. Let me give you my credit card information. We'll need four rooms."
When Pepper hung up the phone, she sat there for a long moment, dazed.
"Are you going to tell me what that was all about?" Cilla asked. When Pepper told her, she burst out laughing. "I'll say this for Roger Kyle Montgomery. He's got style. He doesn't do anything by half measures."
"B-but why is he doing this? He has a zillion hotels to run."
"Obviously, my dear, you are far more important to him than any hotel. I think I'm starting to like him again."
"Come on. Because he did a couple of hokey things?"
"Hokey things? Pepper, he sent you flowers that the place you love the most is named for and handed over his heart. He got you on the top-rated destination show on television. And, unless I miss my guess, I'd say he has something to do with the flood of reservations."
"B-but why?"
"Because he loves you, and he feels like a cheap trick for what he did." She smiled at Pepper. "Come on, honey. Give him a break. At least call him."
Call him. Talk to him. What if he broke her heart again?
"I'll think about it."
"Fine. But if you don't want him, I might go after him myself."
"You said after Jay you were done with men."
She laughed. "For him, I'd make an exception."