Page 2 of Return to Lovett Cove (Lovett Cove B&B #1)
CHAPTER ONE
“I hope this email finds you well,” Jasmine Grove grumbled. The nerve of this R. Scott. He knew full well his email would find her unwell.
Jasmine followed the directions on her rental car’s GPS. She exited the highway and onto a two-lane road that led away from civilization and into the mountainous region where her mother had settled in retirement.
Some place called Lovett Cove.
Jasmine asked her phone to connect her to Kennedy, her personal assistant.
Jasmine had asked Kennedy to keep her phone on while she was here in the mountainous coves of the Northeast in case Kennedy had to file a missing persons report.
Why had her mother retired here? It was a long way from Philadelphia, where she had raised her six daughters.
Kennedy answered on the first ring. “Jasmine! Are you there yet?”
It was good to hear her assistant’s voice. As vibrant green trees lined either side of the road, Jasmine felt isolated—and claustrophobic. “I’m almost there.”
“Is it…rural?” Kennedy choked.
“Compared to Philadelphia, it’s undeveloped. How are we doing on our projects?” She needed something to distract her on the drive.
As a senior marketing agent for a prestigious firm, Jasmine couldn’t afford to take time off to handle her mother’s business affairs almost halfway across the country.
She was up for VP. She had to deliver on each project or she could lose her chance to be one step closer to becoming a partner.
Jasmine had sworn to her mother that she would make partner in under ten years, much to the older woman’s skepticism.
And now Lily Grove was gone. But if Jasmine knew her mother, she was still looking down from heaven and judging her daughter’s every professional choice.
“Everything is right on schedule,” Kennedy said confidently. “I emailed the final draft plan for the Miller Proposal to the partners, and the last deliverables for the Babcock Project have been completed.”
Jasmine would’ve closed her eyes and sighed in relief, but she didn’t want to take her eyes off the sketchy road for a second. “Okay, sounds like everything is under control,” Jasmine’s voice wavered.
“Of course it is! I’m watching your inbox for notes on the Miller proposal from the partners. Why don’t you enjoy yourself?” Kennedy suggested.
“What? Out here in the middle of the woods? Kennedy, do you know me?”
Her assistant chuckled. “I know you called me for an update an hour ago.”
“And you’ve done great work in that hour.” Just like Jasmine had taught her. “If I didn’t believe you could handle the workload, I never would’ve left.”
“And miss out on what your mother left you?”
“A bed-and-breakfast in the middle of the forest? Kennedy, the only reason I’m not in the office right now is because this hick real estate agent—”
“R. Scott?”
“Yes, R. Scott,” Jasmine ground out. The man (she assumed it was a man given the tone of his emails) was unyielding in providing a reasonable solution to her problem and unrelenting in what he described was the only way forward.
Lily Grove had left her an inn that required a signature—in ink—on the paperwork for Jasmine to take ownership.
Why her mother couldn’t just accept an electronic signature, Jasmine would never know.
Lily passed away from a heart attack despite being a fit and active woman in her late fifties.
Her sudden death left the Grove sisters in shock.
No one more than Jasmine, who was so close in realizing her professional dreams and proving her mother wrong.
And Jasmine right—finally.
Jasmine’s mine returned to R. Scott’s last email. The condescending tone boiled her blood. “Can you believe he called his town charming?”
“It could be.”
“He insinuated I’d like it. Who does he think he is? He doesn’t know me. Mom was a city girl. Charming was an adjective she used to describe the ambiance in her favorite restaurant.”
“Jasmine, if Lovett Cove is charming, no need to hurry back. I have things under control.”
Jasmine heard the blare of a car horn in the background. “Where are you?”
“Out to lunch. Talk to you soon!”
Before Jasmine could chastise her for even suggesting she stay a day longer in Lovett Cove, Kennedy disconnected the line.
Jasmine appreciated her assistant’s concern, but now was not the time to slow down.
Sure, Jasmine’s small ulcer would grow with any more stress, but she was days away from the VP announcement.
Once she secured the VP promotion, then a staff would be assigned to her and she could slow down.
Her GPS spoke. She was one minute away. “Looking forward to meeting you soon. Yeah, right,” Jasmine mumbled.
Jasmine turned onto a gravelly road. She spotted a couple of steeples in the distance. The inn sat on the outskirts of town, apparently in a charming section of forest that would provide visitors lush scenery as well as privacy. A perfect vacation oasis. Or so her mother had described.
Jasmine spotted a black truck in front of the home. According to her GPS, this was her mother’s inn. Was someone living in it?
“Now I have to deal with squatters.” Jasmine shoved her door open and marched up the porch steps.
She ignored the broken porch swing to her left and the busted downspout on her right and stomped right past the open front door and into the foyer.
“Hello? Whoever you are, you’re trespassing. I’m calling the cops.”
Heavy footsteps landed on the wooden floor. A shirtless man rounded the corner. Sweat glistened across his abs and matted the sandy-colored hair that fanned across his sculpted chest. Dusty light-wash jeans sat low on his hips, where he rested his hands. “Who are you?” he asked gruffly.
“I’m the one evicting you.”
The bronze god smirked.