It had been a long week. After spending two days assessing the cabins and preparing them for opening, Tessa returned to work and immediately started preparing for Benjamin Emerson's book signing. The book signing was for the following week, and other than her Tuesday meeting with Josiah, which was surprisingly not awkward, she was consumed with the event.

After their late-night conversation at the cabin, Josiah had awakened her with a cup of coffee and the words, "I don't know why you were so worried about our conversation being awkward when you snore so bad."

Tessa had slowly sat up and reached for the coffee, giving him a less than amused look.

"And I won't even mention the bed head," he had continued.

He, of course, was showered, dressed, and looked as close to perfect as any man could.

"Don't you have some wood to chop or something?" Tessa had asked as she sipped her coffee and closed her eyes.

There was a moment of silence that had caused Tessa to open her eyes and look at him.

"I know I don't look great, but you don't have to stare!" Then she threw a pillow at him.

He held up his hand and backed toward the door. "Not a morning person, I get it!"

Then he was gone, leaving Tessa in the quiet cabin with her cup of coffee and another omelet under a plate on the counter.

There had been no storm to slow them down, and not a flake of snow fell. Tessa couldn't help but be slightly disappointed, but it meant they made good time on the final four cabins, and she was home in time for dinner.

The book signing had been a success as well. Even with the late notice, they had pulled people in from all over the state, and Ben had been his usual charming self. The hotel restaurant had made a killing, and even though the hotel didn't sell out, they had an increase in reservations.

Tessa had decided to aim for a small increase in income every month. She figured that as long as each month was better than the last, they were moving in the right direction.

Now that it was Monday and a new week, her goal was to spend some time putting together a plan for the cabins. Then, she would ask for a meeting with Levi to see if she could convince him to let her manage them under the hotel. She was excited by their potential.

It was lunchtime when she saw Josiah enter the hotel with a lovely blonde. She was tall and elegant, everything that one would think Josiah would go for in a girlfriend. Tessa hadn't seen her before and wondered if she was local.

She glanced at Holly at the front desk and watched her eyes narrow at the beautiful woman. Either she knew who she was and didn't like her, or she didn't like the fact that she didn't know her.

Tessa went back to work and ignored the little pain she felt in the region of her chest at the site of Josiah with another beautiful woman. 

"Who was that?" Holly asked from the door to Tessa's office. She didn't enter because she still had to keep an eye on the front desk and listen for the phone.

"I have no clue," Tessa shook her head. "You don't recognize her?"

"No, she's not from around here." Holly shook her head as she wandered off, and Tessa had no doubt that it was to see what Annie could find out.

About fifteen minutes later, Rita entered her office and closed the door behind her.

"Did you see her?" Rita asked.

Tessa didn't pretend not to know what Rita was talking about.

"Yes, I saw her. She's lovely." Tessa leaned back in her chair, giving up on trying to finish what she was doing.

Rita nodded but stayed silent. Tessa could see the conflict reflected in Rita's eyes. The urge to tell Tessa what was going on was battling the urge to be discreet. She and Rita had bonded a little more over the past week. Rita had been a huge help with the book signing, and they had discovered a mutual respect and trust for each other, plus they worked well together.

The door to Tessa's office opened again, and Trinity entered, closing the door behind her.

"Are they here?" Trinity asked, sitting on the edge of the chair next to Rita, looking tense.

"Yes, they're here." Trinity and Rita looked at each other.

"I know, why don't you two go have a working lunch and keep an eye on the situation, whatever it is? You can discuss this," Tessa pushed a file toward them, "and try to figure out a way I can get Levi to agree to my plan." Tessa passed over the preliminary work for the cabins.

"Josiah will know what we're up to?" Trinity shook her head.

"Tell him I called you and wanted you to help me. Then he won't know. for sure" Tessa watched them consider it. "It won't be a lie. I really want this to work, and I feel that if you two are on my side it would be a done deal. Plus, Trinity, I would like you to look at the numbers and see if they're reasonable."

With one last look at each other, they stood and took the folder, then headed to the restaurant.

Tessa settled back in to finish what she had been working on when her phone dinged. It was an SOS from Josiah.

Tessa shook her head. What on earth was going on?

She waited five minutes, then walked toward the dining room with Holly watching her the entire way, and as soon as she entered, Annie met her.

"Who is she?" Annie whispered, looking at the beautiful woman who was laughing at something Josiah had said.

"I don't know any more than you do." Tessa shook her head and moved to Rita and Trinity's table first. 

"What do you think?" she asked, glancing at the open folder before Trinity.

Trinity and Rita's eyes met, and they shared a grin. "Oh, we'll help you, as soon as you help Josiah."

"Help Josiah?" Tessa looked over her shoulder at Josiah, who seemed oblivious to Tessa's entrance.

"We don't like her," Rita said. "We're tasking you with saving him from her."

"He doesn't look like he wants to be saved," Tessa said, thinking about the SOS he had just sent Tessa. "How exactly do you want me to save him?"

"Any way you can. It might not look like it, but he does need to be saved. So, get in there and save him." Rita hissed.

"Is that a direct order?" Tessa asked.

"Yes!" Trinity hissed.

Tessa looked from Rita to Trinity and had the feeling that she had landed in crazy land. The man was an adult. He could save himself. Tessa's phone buzzed in her pocket again, but she dared not pull it out. She knew it was Josiah telling her the same thing.

"Alright," Tessa took a deep breath, then headed towards Josiah's table. He didn't even acknowledge her approach, which ticked her off. If he needed saving, he could help her a little with an acknowledgement.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." Tessa smiled sweetly. Josiah looked up at her with mild interest, which made her angrier. He didn't deserve to be saved. He better have a very good reason. Rita and Trinity had better have a good reason, too.

The woman took a deep breath, as if upset at being disturbed, and turned to look at Tessa, disdainful of her appearance. She obviously found Tessa lacking.

Now, Tessa didn't like her either, so her smile became all the sweeter.

Rita and Trinity had said to save him any way she could, and she said the first thing that popped into her head. "Darling, I'm glad I found you. You're not answering my texts. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Tessa held out her hand, giving as much warmth and friendliness as she could muster.

Tessa didn't have the nerve to look at him to see what his reaction at her greeting might be. "Tessa Baker, this is an old college friend, Amber Woods." His voice sounded friendly enough.

"Oh, Amber! Yes, you went to Harvard together. How nice that you two could catch up." Tessa reached out and adjusted Josiah's collar. "The cleaners didn't use enough starch again, did they?" She sighed, then turned back to Amber. "Are you here for a few days or are you just passing through?"

"Just a quick visit," Amber said, looking suspiciously from one to the other. "She's not your type at all, Josiah," Amber leaned in and said just softly enough so Tessa could barely hear her. "You must be pretty desperate in this hole-in-the-wall town if she's your choice."

Tessa felt the knife go deep, but she kept the happy expression on her face as if she hadn't heard the woman. That was the second time she had been told she was chosen due to desperation.

Tessa should never have tried the tactic of a lover. She should have said there was an emergency in the kitchen or something. It was true that Josiah would never go for a girl like Tessa with the likes of Amber and Trinity around.

Josiah tilted his head, looking hard at Amber and then looked back at Tessa. He took his time, letting his gaze take in Tessa's hair, eyes, face, and curves. The look of raw desire in his eyes caused Tessa's heart rate to increase.

Oh, he was good. There was no doubt that Josiah could have any woman he wanted with a look like that. Tessa felt her bones melting. Her breathing grew erratic, and her heart started thumping. She couldn't look away from him when his eyes met hers. She was caught.

"Josiah," Trinity greeted from behind Tessa's shoulder, breaking the moment.

Tessa tried calming her racing heart as she looked at Josiah's shoulder while he answered Trinity. The whooshing sound in her ears made it impossible to hear what they were saying.

"Tessa, Rita, and I had questions about your plans. Would you mind answering them for us?" Trinity placed her hand on Tessa's elbow after a moment.

"Of course," Tessa said, glad her voice sounded normal. "Amber, it was a pleasure meeting you. I had a private taste of Chef's chocolate cake this morning. It's delightful, and I highly recommend it." Tessa squeezed Josiah's arm and followed Trinity to her and Rita's table.

"Well, that was one way to handle the situation, but maybe not ideal," Rita said with a shake of her head.

Tessa took a deep breath. "Catty woman."

Trinity and Rita nodded.

"But Josiah put her in her place with a look." Rita gave a little secret smile. "Only time will tell if it works out in the end."

"I hope it does," Trinity shared another secret smile with Rita. "Now about these plans..."