“No.” Although a little cyber stalking wasn’t a bad idea.

  “Hotels. They’re right up there with the Hiltons.”

  “Great. You going to hire Paris Hilton to manage the Wilder next?”

  “What do you know about Paris Hilton?” Wyatt asked.

  “I stumbled onto her cooking show on Netflix that week you made me stay in my room because one of the guys at rodeo practice got Covid. Binged the whole train wreck while I was locked down waiting to prove to you I wasn’t sick. The woman is an idiot.”

  “The unspoken connection being that you think Poppy is an idiot too?” Wyatt asked.

  “I didn’t say that. She’s smart. I can see that.” Even if her ideas were a bit idiotic.

  “Then what’s the problem? I thought you liked Poppy.”

  “I do. Hell, I like every damn thing about her—except her ideas for changing the Wilder.”

  Wyatt shook his head. “Since when do you care about the hotel?”

  “I care. Of course I care. It’s got my name on it too. Just because you sit at grandaddy’s big desk doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t have a stake in how it’s run.”

  “You seemed to have no interest when it came to the many budget and planning meetings I attended alone for the renovation.”

  “Well, that part was boring,” Ethan admitted.

  “And event planning isn’t?” Wyatt asked, wide eyed.

  Not when the event planner was so pretty and interesting, it wasn’t. If only she had better ideas.

  No, he took that back. Her ideas would be just fine for New York. It was Bitter End and Roan Mountain and the Wilder that her ideas weren’t suited for.

  “Wyatt, I know she’s got a fancy degree, but she doesn’t know the area or the people around here. Not like we do.”

  Linc walked into the room carrying a plastic container of leftovers he’d stolen from the fridge to bring back to his place as was usual after one of Olivia’s meals. “We talking about Poppy having tea parties at the Wilder?”

  “Yes.” Ethan scowled at the image. “It’s a shit idea. Even if Wyatt won’t say it, he knows it.”

  Linc glanced at Ethan. “So why don’t you come up with some better ideas?”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you.” Linc nodded.

  Wyatt chuckled. “I can’t say I disagree. Your mouth never stops running when you’re complaining about other people. Give me something of your own. Let’s see what you come up with.”

  Dammit. He never could resist a challenge. “Fine. And if it’s good, you’ll do it?”

  Wyatt paused for a bit then nodded. “Yeah. Why not? If you come up with a good idea that makes sense for the hotel, we’ll do it. I’ll implement it at the Wilder and see how it flies.”

  “And if it’s better than tea and free wine, you’ll agree that you won’t put her ideas into action?”

  Wyatt let out a breath. “You really hated her ideas that much?”

  He hated to admit it. It was rare that he hated anything at all, usually preferring to ride through life on the sunny side of the street. But Ethan had to admit the truth. “I really did.”

  Wyatt pressed his lips together as if considering Ethan’s answer.

  Ethan let out a huff. “Come on, Wy. Don’t you tell me that you liked them. I saw your face.”

  Wyatt sighed. “I don’t hate it but I don’t love it either. I was just picturing word getting out that the Wilder was giving away free food and wine. We’d be packed to capacity all right, but nobody’d be booking a room.”

  “Well, you’d have to limit it to attendees who are registered at the hotel as a guest,” Ethan said. “I mean obviously.”

  Linc let out a snort of a laugh while Wyatt’s lips twitched. “Look at that. You’re thinking like a hotel manager already.”

  Ethan’s brows shot high. “Oh, no. I’ll be your idea man, but manager? Hell, no. I want nothing to do with your job, brother. I’ll help because I don’t want to see a piece of family and Bitter End history ruined by a city slicker.”

  Wyatt’s gaze lifted as he looked past Ethan and smiled. “Oh, I don’t know. City slickers aren’t so bad.”

  Ethan turned and saw Olivia had finished cleaning up the kitchen and was back, which meant no more talking about how he didn’t like her bestie’s ideas.

  It also meant he’d lost his brother’s attention. When Olivia was in the room, Wyatt was like a moth mesmerized by a bug zapper. Any moment they’d sneak off upstairs, no doubt to do things he didn’t want to imagine his brother doing.

  Thank goodness his room was far down the hall in another wing of this big old house with thick walls. That was one thing he did not need to hear—his brother getting busy. Especially during his own dry spell. Hopefully that would end in the foreseeable future. As he’d told his brother, just because he didn’t like Poppy’s ideas didn’t mean he didn’t like her. A whole lot. In many ways.

  Ethan drained his glass and set it in the sink of the wet bar. “I’m going to bed.”

  “And I’m heading home,” Linc added, looking as anxious to get away from the love birds as Ethan was.

  “Mmm, hmm.” Wyatt barely responded and didn’t even look up as he reached for Olivia and reeled her in close.

  “Good night,” she said with a quick glance at the two of them before she gazed up lovingly at Wyatt.

  These two were so in love it was almost nauseating. Definitely time to go. Besides, he had some planning to do.

  Event planning. Jeez. What the hell had he agreed to?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Rosie’s Cafe was Poppy’s happy place.

  What was not to like about it? The entire building smelled amazing since Rosie was always baking something. The coffee was superb. The whole atmosphere had the quality of a big hug to it.

  And the fact she and Eva lived conveniently just upstairs in the cute and cozy attic apartment furnished with antiques made it all better.

  But even settled at her usual table with the meager remains of the carrot cake cupcake she’d devoured and the final sips of a cinnamon-dusted cappuccino in front of her, Poppy couldn’t shake a feeling of unease. Agitation. That was possibly because for the first time in her life she had experienced the taste of failure.

  Wyatt didn't like her ideas. This was uncharted waters. Not to mention frustrating and frightening.

  Jaw set, she physically sat up straighter in her chair. Her determination outweighed her fear. She was not a quitter. She wouldn’t give up trying to convince him this was just what the Wilder needed.

  But she needed more. Much more.

  Frustrated, she let out a huff and sagged against the chair again. “I need ideas.”

  Without raising her gaze from her laptop screen, Eva asked, “Ideas for what?”

  “For special events for the Wilder.” It was very obvious that Wyatt wasn’t over the moon about her wine tasting and daily tea idea. She had to come up with more to pitch to him.

  “Here.” Seated opposite her in the booth, Eva shoved her paper placemat across the table toward Poppy.

  “I have a placemat of my own, thanks.”

  “It’s for your brainstorming.”

  “What could possibly be on this that would help me with my plans for the Wilder?” She stared down at the same placemat she’d been looking at at least daily since settling in Bitter End with Eva and Olivia months ago.

  The same ads formed the border of the printed paper mat. Billy’s Automotive Garage. The bar next door. A dentist. A tax accountant. A funeral home. A liquor store. The ads with the new graphics for the Wilder Inn and the Spa at the Wilder that she’d given to Rosie. And finally, the history of John Wilder, who’d settled here in the 1870s, bought the mine, then built the family home and hotel on Roan Mountain.

  No ideas. No inspiration. Nothing new. Just as she’d said.

  “It’s the same old ads for the same old places. There’s nothing on here I can use.”

  After finally looking up from her screen, Eva tapped the map that filled the center of the placemat. “Not the ads. This.”

  “The map?” she asked.

  “The area. You might have to go outside of Bitter End. What’s in the surrounding areas? Maybe there’s something there you can tap into.”

  Poppy stared at the map. It was illustrated, more cartoonish than to scale, but it did show the surrounding towns and the main roadways that guests at the Wilder would travel.

  Maybe there might be something there after all.

  Hiking trails. Caves. Maybe even an outlet shopping center. Those were super popular with the tourists, the locals too, on Long Island.

  “I’m going to have to do some research.” Trying to work up the enthusiasm she’d lost in the face of adversity, she sighed and watched Eva’s fingers flying inhumanly fast over the keys of her laptop. “What are you working on?”

  “Not your project if that’s what you’re asking. I’ve got a job to finish.”

  “Oh.” The mystery of Eva’s jobs were still a mystery.

  Although, perhaps it was best if they didn’t know. Olivia thought Eva might be a hacker. Poppy, less suspicious by nature, just assumed she was some sort of freelance computer programmer.

  Either way, the rows and rows of code made no sense to her, and yes, definitely had nothing to do with the research she needed to do regarding the area and its tourism potential.

  “Why don’t you ask lover boy about the area?” Eva suggested, somehow able to talk and code at the same time.

  “Um, no thank you.”

  “Your loss.” Eva lifted a shoulder.

  Poppy blew out a snort of derision. “That’s rich, coming from you who is willing to write off every man with Wilder genes because of Em—I mean the snake.”

  The was a moratorium on mentioning Emmett Wilder’s name aloud. He was their Voldemort.

  “Just because I would never trust or date a Wilder male ever again doesn’t mean one can’t be useful. Wyatt seems like he’s not a horrible boss.”

  “He’s not.”

  “And party boy Ethan seems like he’s out and about enough he must know the area pretty well, so why not take advantage of it?”

  Refusing to admit Eva was right she glanced at her Apple Watch…and saw the time. “Oh my God. Where did the morning go? I have to get to work.”

  As Poppy reached for her bag, Eva asked, “Why do you work Saturdays?”

  “Because Wyatt works Saturdays.”

  “Kiss up,” Eva mumbled.

  “Smart,” Poppy countered as she stood and downed the last mouthful of cappuccino. Before she turned away, she grabbed the placemat to take with her. “I’ll agree you were right about researching the area. But you’re still wrong about Ethan.”

  “We’ll see,” Eva called after her as she headed for the door.

  “I hate when you say that,” she shot back.

  “Why do you think I say it?” Eva said with a laugh.

  Shaking her head, Poppy said, “Love you. See you for dinner.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Love you too,” Eva grumbled.

  With a smile, Poppy paused to pull open the door just as Rosie came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of fresh cookies that smelled amazing.“Bye, Rosie. Have a great day.”

  “You too, hon.”

  Her good mood and her confidence was back. She had an idea and a plan. And it didn’t hurt she had those cookies to look forward to when she got out of work later today.

  Poppy rode that high all the way to the Wilder and all the way to her office when, just after she’d settled in her desk chair, Wyatt came through her door.

  “Hi. Can we talk?” he asked, stopping just inside her doorway.

  She’d never known the words can we talk to be followed by anything good.

  “Sure. Come on in.” She managed a smile and keep a friendly tone even in the face of his ominous statement.

  She’d moved here on a lark. She and Eva both. All because Olivia had fallen for Wyatt when she’d gotten the job as his live-in nanny.

  It had come at a good time—Livvie’s new love. Poppy had been in transition anyway, considering career options and about to move out of the sorority house at Cornell and back in with her parents. Eva could work freelance anywhere she had WiFi, including the middle of nowhere in Bitter End. So she’d leased out her mobile home in Skaneateles. And Olivia had found a renter for her house in Albany and moved into Wilder Manor—as they liked to call it to tease her—as both Wyatt’s girlfriend and Darcy’s full time childcare.

  But they’d agreed, their new lives in Bitter End were a grand experiment. They’d all give it a year and after that, if things didn’t work out, one or all of them could go back to New York and pick up their lives there where they’d left off pretty easily. Or they could decide to stay…

  The somber tone in Wyatt’s voice had Poppy wondering if she’d have a career here to stay for. Her heart pounded as she swept a hand toward the chair on the other side of the desk and pretended she wasn’t falling apart on the inside. “Have a seat.”

  “Thanks. I’m fine.” He waved away her offer and had her feeling sick to her stomach. He didn’t even want to sit. Was she about to be fired?

  Oh, God.

  “I wanted to be straight with you,” Wyatt began.

  “Okay.” The word came out so breathy, she decided to not say anything else since apparently she couldn’t feign being all right any longer. Every word out of her boss’s mouth felt like another nail in the coffin of her future here at the Wilder.

  “I was approached by a company…They sent me an informational packet and then followed up with a phone call.”

  Wyatt referred to a business card he’d pulled out of his pocket.

  “Corporate Event Planning Specialists.” He raised his gaze to her. “Ever hear of them?”

  “No.” But she’d bet they had more experience than she did in this area.

  Her, with the ink barely dry on her Master’s Degree, or them, with a team of experienced professionals? It wouldn’t matter that Wyatt was dating one of her best friends. He was a business man. He’d go with what was best for the Wilder. And she could guess which option that was.

  “I agreed they could come and pitch their ideas to me here, live. They’re probably going to be around for the whole week. The guy I spoke with said he wanted to be on site to hone his ideas, personalize the plan after he got the feel of the hotel and the surrounding area. So you’ll see him and his team around.”

  She swallowed hard. “All right. I’ll keep an eye out for them and make sure they have anything they need.”

  How she’d gotten that many words out without her voice cracking was a miracle. Chalk one up to her acting experience from doing Summer Stock.

  “Thanks.” Wyatt nodded and looked like he was about to leave when he said, “Oh. And Ethan threw his hat into the ring.”

  “Excuse me?” she asked, her tone rising high. Almost hysterically so. She cleared her throat before continuing. “Ethan?”

  “He says he has ideas. So I told him to put them together into a plan and I’ll hear him out.”

  She was up against Ethan, who was no threat at all, and this damned sneaky company who’d swooped in out of the blue, which was a very big threat, in her opinion.

  It was surreal. She didn’t know what to think. She’d gone from being the only person in charge of events to being up against two others. All in less than twenty-four hours.

  Maybe Wyatt was just covering his bases. He wasn’t the sole owner. Perhaps he felt it was his responsibility as the representative of the Wilder family to hear multiple pitches, like when her father always demanded a minimum of three bids before hiring any company.

  “You, too, of course.” Wyatt’s comment dragged her focus back to him.

  “Me too?”

  “I want to hear your plan for the Wilder too, once you have it complete.”

  “Okay.”

  Three bids. Three plans. The problem was, there would only be one winner, which left the question what happened to the losers? Ethan could go back to being a cowboy. This other mystery company could move on to their next client.

  But what about her?

  What did it mean for Poppy when Wyatt chose the ridiculously named corporation’s plan? Would they come in and do her job? And if so, where did that leave her?

  She feared she knew. She’d be going back to New York as a failure, just as her mother expected.

  CHAPTER SIX

  It was hard to be stealthy at six foot two while wearing cowboy boots on marble hall floors, but Ethan managed it.

  He crept up to the closed door of Poppy’s office, bouquet of fresh flowers hidden behind his back, just in case. He tapped on the door with one knuckle. When she didn’t respond, he reached for the knob. It turned in his hand and he eased the door open.

  The room was empty, as he’d hoped. The fading flowers still in the vase on her desk made him smile. Not because they were dying, but because she hadn’t replaced them yet herself.

  He pitched the old flowers into the trash can and was about to shove the new bouquet inside when he noticed the water inside the vase looked less than fresh. In fact, it was well on its way to being putrid thanks to some leaves that had fallen in.

  It might be a risk and would take more time than he’d anticipated, but he had to change the water. Grabbing the vase, he hightailed it to the men’s room on that floor and made quick work of rinsing out the vase and refilling it.

  He was back in her office and had the new flowers in the vase in no time, and still no sign of Poppy.

  Of course not. He needn’t have worried. She’d likely be busy for another hour or two, knowing her and her friends.

  In a brilliant stroke of genius, he’d found out that she was meeting Olivia, Darcy and Eva at one o’clock today, so she’d be out of her office.

  Okay, it might have been less genius and more that he’d overheard Olivia on the phone making a reservation for four for the Wilder restaurant and then heard her promise Darcy lunch with just the girls.

  Those girls spent hours at their table at Rosie’s. Long after there were nothing but crumbs left, they’d keep talking. Things would be no different at their table at the Wilder, which was perfect for his plan today.