Captiva Ever After (Captiva Island Series #7)

“He told his wife that it was someone who looked like him, but it wasn’t him. He chased her out of the hotel yelling that he was sorry and that it didn’t mean anything and that he loved only her.”

Chelsea took back her cell phone and removed not only the man from her match but deleted the app from her phone.

“I think I’ve had enough of this dating online thing, Isabella,” she said. “I appreciate that you put this on my phone to help me, but I think I’m going back to the old-fashioned way of dating.

“What do you mean? You didn’t even get out of the gate. This was a mistake of course, but that doesn’t mean the app doesn’t work. You should try again.”

“No. I’m good. Thanks anyway.”

“Well, it’s been quite a night. What do you say we all get back to the limousine and head home?”

“Sounds good to me,” Sarah said. “My feet are killing me. That’s what I get for going dancing in new shoes.”

Sarah took her shoes off and everyone walked down the stairs to the limousine. Carlo was waiting for them and opened the back door. He smiled at Chelsea and winked.

“Don’t forget, you have my card,” he said. “I hope I’ll hear from you soon.”

Chelsea smiled. “I won’t forget,” she said, grateful that she hadn’t forgotten how to flirt.

CHAPTER 20

Millie got to the inn twenty minutes before she was to meet Ciara so that she could explore more of the Key Lime Garden Inn.

Although there were construction vehicles and men beginning their work in the garden area, she still found her way from the property to the beach. It was only seven o’clock and she was surprised to see a few beachgoers setting up their chairs and umbrellas with others claiming their spot with towels.

She walked back toward the inn and watched men working around a newly installed gazebo. The early morning hubbub signaled the efforts toward the upcoming weddings and, although still two weeks away, there was excitement in the air.

She went inside and walked through the empty rooms, trying to imagine guests coming and going as they enjoyed their island vacation. She tried to picture what the inn was like back when she was an infant. So long ago with memories that were created by her mother.

Nothing about the inn seemed like what her mother described. Millie couldn’t tell if the inn had changed so much over the years or if her mother’s memories were less about the inn’s actual appearance and more her mother’s fantasies.

Pictures on the walls throughout the rooms helped detail the inn’s glory days, but to Millie, they were descriptions and explanations of her mother’s world when she was a teenager. It didn’t, however, shed light on whether her mother was happy, and that mattered most to Millie.

She found several pictures hanging along the wall of the library. Some were of the front of the inn and the surrounding grounds, but there were a few group photos of employees and Rose Johnson Lane and her husband.

Millie searched the photos until she found what she’d hoped to see. There, standing next to Robert Lane, was her mother dressed in a maid’s uniform and a sad expression on her face.

“Pretty cool to see the old photos of the place, isn’t it?” Ciara asked, surprising Millie who jumped at Ciara’s voice.

Millie quickly put the photo back on the wall. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have taken the picture off the wall.”

“Oh, that’s fine, no harm,” Ciara said.

Ciara came up beside Millie and took the picture that Millie was holding off the wall. “I wonder what happened to the people who used to work here. We still have the old records of when the inn was running back in the 50’s and 60’s. I’ve often thought of looking each of them up on the internet. Most of them are probably dead or at least in their eighties by now, but it would be fun to interview them. Maybe I’ll do that as a project for the inn. I bet people would love to read about the inn back in the day.”

Millie panicked and didn’t like the way Ciara was looking at her. It was as if she knew everything. “We should probably get started on my training. Where did we leave off last time?”

“You know someone in that photo, don’t you Millie?” Ciara asked.

There was no point in denying it. Millie was certain that Ciara wouldn’t let this go. “Yes, my mother. She used to work here before I was born.”

Ciara’s face lit up. “That’s incredible. Which one is she?”

Millie took the picture from Ciara. “Here, the one standing next to Mr. Lane.”

“This is amazing, Millie. Maggie is going to flip when she hears this. You have to tell her. It’s so exciting to know that the inn has a legacy employee. What was your mother’s name?”

“Kathleen O’Hara”