Page 12 of Paint Our Song

“It wasn’t like this last time,” Calvin murmurs. “The town was a lot… quieter. It’s a weekday morning; I really didn’t think I’d get recognized. I think it may also be because… um. My band’s trending right now.”

“Yeah, you’re all over social media,” he says. “There are also more tourists in town because of the new big grand hotel in town. Camilla Hotel, have you heard of it?” Unfortunately, the tourists were flocking to town specifically because of the popular hotel chain. The inn wasn’t benefiting from the influx of tourists at all.

“Sure. They’ve got establishments all over the country. They’re actually one of our sponsors.”

Ouch.“They’re selling the idea of Ridgeford quite well.”

“Itisa nice town. It should have had much more exposure a long time ago, though I did prefer it when there weren’t as many tourists. Your inn’s still quiet, though. Which is great.”

Miles can’t help but think that he’s slowly becoming more at ease. Very gradually. Which is good, because it makes Miles feel more at ease as well. Still…ouch, again. Yeah, their inn’s quiet, and that’s really the real issue, isn’t it? They’re not able to keep up with the competition.

Calvin peers at him and asks, “Did I say something wrong?”

His grip tightens against the wheel, and he squints at the street sign up ahead. A few more minutes until they get to the bank. “No.”

A beat passes. Calvin continues to peer at him. “You’re annoyed.”

“Not at you.”

“At Camilla Hotel?”

Fuck, is he being that transparent? “Yeah. It’s nothing. You don’t want to hear me vent.”

“You can, if you want to.”

It wouldn’t hurt. He can’t believe he’s going to letCalvin Lowe,of all people, see this side of him. “Well, uh. Our inn’s going under. That’s the gist of it, really.”

“Why?” Calvin asks.

He asks, as if it were so simple. Miles tries to explain, anyway. “We’re not getting enough bookings, we had to let go of a lot of our staff, and we’ve got—fuck. We’ve got overdue loans to pay. I didn’t know until yesterday because my mom didn’t want to tell me. That’s why I’m heading to the bank. It took forever trying to convince herto let me pay out of my pocket.”

“Oh.” Calvin scratches his neck. “Sorry. That was tactless of me to say your inn’s quiet. So, uh. Your mom hid it from you?”

“Yeah. She seems okay with letting it go, but I can’t. I need to step up. That’s why I’m in town for now.”

“Is that why you’re taking a break from painting commissions?”

How’d he know that? “Yeah. I dropped everything to come here, which is stupid because I don’t know anything about running the inn.”

“Don’t you, really? You seemed to know what you were doing at the front desk yesterday, and in the dining room.”

“Even if I yelled your name and wouldn’t back off when you didn’t want to order food?”

The corner of Calvin’s lips quirk upward. “Yes. Anyway, the inn means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”

“Definitely.”

“Then you should do what you can. You don’t want to look back and wonder if you could’ve done more.”

Calvin’s words do a funny thing to his chest. Maybe Gabby’s right. He isn’t that bad.

“So, you don’t have a plan on how to turn things around yet?” Calvin asks.

“Nope. Absolutely no plan. I’m not exactly a planning type of guy.”

Calvin waves a hand toward Miles’s phone, which is resting on the compartment between their chairs. “We can brainstorm and make a list together. You mind if I open up your notes app?”

What the actual fuck? Miles takes a moment to compose himself, because this is so far from what he actually expected. What he expected was a tense car ride with someone who didn’t want to have anything to do with him, and had only chosen him over a group of people pointing phones in his face.