The Albright Hotel (A Frosty Season #4)

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

O livia texted Maya from her car to say she was headed back to the Albright Hotel, and she’d see her there. After that, she threw her phone into the passenger seat and burst into tears.

She couldn’t make sense of anything Robby had said. He’d left her that night in Vermont. He’d known how sensitive she was to romantic love and romantic loss. He’d known how gentle he needed to be. But he hadn’t been gentle! He’d thrown her out for that bird-watcher!

At least, she was pretty sure that was what had happened.

But her memories were getting twisted. Everything felt flipped on its head.

She drove through the night with the radio on. The DJ played “Jingle Bells,” but the version was grating and overly commercial, and Olivia eventually flipped it to a station over, where a pastor said a prayer. She took a deep breath, trying to focus on the soft cadence of his voice.

Before she knew it, she was back home.

Instead of going immediately to the family side of the hotel, Olivia walked through the double-wide doors of the hotel, smiling prettily at Marcia, the woman working the front desk. Marcia was a Hollygrove local and a kindhearted widow who’d told them she could work any holiday, no matter what, because her daughter lived across the country. She didn’t have anyone at home anyway. Olivia’s heart went out to her. But Marcia looked far happier than Olivia felt. In her Christmas sweater and with Christmas bows in her hair, she leaned over the counter and said, “It’s been a wonderful evening! We had some carolers over, and a young man even proposed to his girlfriend by the Christmas tree!”

Olivia found her smile. “That’s wonderful.”

“Yes. I can’t thank you enough for this job,” Marcia said, her eyes dancing. “I’m a part of so many people’s stories here at the hotel. I feel like I belong.”

Learn from Marcia. Learn to see the goodness around you.

Olivia wished several celebrators in the dining hall and bar area a Merry Christmas. She walked through the grand hall and the ballroom with her heart in her throat. It was far more beautiful than she’d ever imagined when she and Maya dreamed the place up. She wanted to live in every detail, every little carving Robby had made, and every flickering candle she and Maya had selected specifically for the space.

Not long after that, Maya called to say they were having drinks around the Christmas tree on the family side of the house.

MAYA: Come back! We can’t celebrate Christmas without you.

Olivia snapped a final picture of the foyer with the elaborate three-story-high Christmas tree. She sent the photo to Maya with the text:

Look at what we made!

With Robby.

Maya texted back:

It’s better than I ever dreamed.

Entering the family side of the Albright Mansion was like entering another dimension. The air smelled of melted cheese and baking cookies, and James Taylor’s Christmas songs swept from the living room. It was cozy and warm and inviting, the kind of place that immediately demanded Olivia take off her fancy church clothes. She hurried to the Christmas tree to find Maya, Brad, Aunt Veronica, Phoebe, and Braxton, all in comfortable clothes, drinking everything from hot cocoa to gin, from juice to wine.

“You’re just in time for the Christmas toasts!” Maya said, popping up to hug Olivia.

Olivia glanced down at her itchy church dress and asked to change first.

“Hurry up!” Maya urged. “I’ll pour you a drink.”

“You can start on the speeches without me!” Olivia called as she scampered down the hall.

“We wouldn’t dream of it!” Aunt Veronica returned.

Olivia pulled on a pair of sweats and a Christmas sweater upon which Maya had stitched an otter wearing a Santa hat. It had been a Thanksgiving gift, and it cracked her up. Live in the moment. Don’t think about Robby. She hurried downstairs, where Maya had already prepared a mug of eggnog for her. Olivia sat on the sofa next to Aunt Veronica and raised her mug.

“I’m ready!”

Brad went first. It looked as though he was bursting with love and couldn’t bear not saying how he felt aloud. “I wanted to take a moment to toast my darling Maya,” he began. “Last year, she came into Hollygrove like a black cloud. She hated Christmas, she said. But her aunt Veronica had her plan the Christmas Festival. So there I was, enthralled with her beauty and her wit. I would have done anything to help her. Since then, I’ve gotten to know Maya and the rest of her family, and I’ve fallen in love with the Albright Hotel and the passion behind it. I want to thank you all for allowing me to spend so much time here.” Brad sniffed, laughing at himself. “A toast to all of that!”

Everyone raised their glasses and smiled. Even Braxton offered a half grin.

Maya went next. She toasted the Albright, Aunt Veronica, “and my darling ‘new’ sister, Olivia. What would I do without you?” And then she said, “Phoebe, I know you’ve had a strange and liminal year. But you’ve been so strong. I hope you know that Aunt Veronica, Aunt Olivia, and I are always here for you. Always.”

Maya cast Braxton a look that eked of poison.

Maybe because he felt threatened by Maya’s speech, Braxton said he wanted to go next.

Aunt Veronica shot daggers at him from the sofa. Olivia wanted to laugh at that, but she kept her lips in a straight line.

In his quasi-British accent, Braxton said, “When I first met Phoebe, my life flipped upside down.”

“October third!” Phoebe chimed in happily.

Maya, Olivia, and Aunt Veronica had done a wonderful job hiding what they really felt about him.

Braxton grinned. To Olivia, he looked like a wolf prepared to eat a lamb.

“The Albright Hotel is a sensational destination,” he said, sounding like a travel blog. “Watching your family come together to run it has been wonderful.”

Braxton’s eyes swept from Phoebe, to Maya, to Aunt Veronica, to Olivia. Olivia studied his clean-cut face and sharp jawline. He looked like he’d been carved from stone.

Braxton continued, “I’m not usually in the States for Christmas. I’d forgotten how magical it is to see the snow over the north and feel the blessings of a small town and its people.”

Olivia squinted at him. Why didn’t she believe him?

Why, with all his wealth, did he want to be with Phoebe?

He’d called the Albright Mansion quaint when he’d first seen it!

He could be with anyone.

Olivia shifted her attention to Aunt Veronica. She remembered the first time Aunt Veronica had met him. She’d said he was faking his wealth. How did she know that? Did she still think that?

Something about his accent was so bizarre. Too, it was strange that he never really said where he was from. It was as though it was a great big secret. Why isn’t he honest with us?

“I look forward to seeing where the Albright Hotel takes us all in the coming year,” Braxton said. “Phoebe’s just told me she wants to quit her job in Pennsylvania and spend more time here. I’m all for it.” He grinned to show all his teeth.

Suddenly, Olivia was on her feet.

I know that smile. I know that face.

She’d thought she knew Braxton from a magazine advertisement or a film or a commercial. She’d thought she recognized him.

She hadn’t been imagining it.

“I know you,” Olivia whispered.

Braxton arched his eyebrow and turned to look at Phoebe. His air was what is wrong with your aunt?

But Olivia couldn’t be stopped. Not now. “I can’t believe it. But it’s you. I swear it’s you.” She raised a finger and pointed at him.

The twentysomething from Vermont.

The young man working at the inn.

“Aunt Olivia? Are you all right?” Phoebe asked. She was on her feet, touching Braxton’s shoulder. She looked frightened.

She looked at Olivia as though she’d lost her mind.

But Olivia had never been more sure of anything. She’d never been more clear.

“He was in Vermont,” Olivia said, her voice shaking. “When Robby and I went to that inn, he was working there.”

Braxton gave her a sinister smile. “I’ve never been to Vermont in my life.”

“That’s a lie,” Olivia said.

Phoebe furrowed her brow. Maya made a soft sound in her throat. Nobody knew what to do. Even the Christmas music sounded too loud and strange.

“Why are you here?” Olivia asked. She swallowed. “That must have been just a few days before you met Phoebe. You met on October third. I was in Vermont at the end of September.”

“End of September? I was in Switzerland,” Braxton shot back.

“You weren’t.” Olivia filled her lungs. “You were in Vermont. I saw you. I remember.”

I have to call Robby. I have to get him here immediately. He’ll know what to do. Won’t he?

“Olivia, are you feeling all right?” Maya asked softly.

Olivia shook violently. She sat back down and put her hands on her knees.

“I really can’t take this abuse from your family, Phoebe,” Braxton said, bowing his head and burrowing it into his hands.

Olivia searched her purse for her phone and dialed Robby’s number. She hadn’t done that in months. It felt like ripping off a Band-Aid.

Robby answered on the third ring. “Olivia?”

His voice was so nourishing. She could have listened to it forever.

“Robby, can you come to the Albright? As soon as you can.” She glared at Braxton.

“I’m on my way there now,” Robby said.

Olivia’s heartbeat quickened. “You are?”

Robby cleared his throat. “I need to talk to you. Something isn’t right.”

Does he already know about Braxton?

“I’m three minutes away,” Robby said.

“Family side of the house,” she said before hanging up.

All eyes were on Olivia as she dropped her phone back in her purse. She glared at Braxton. “He’s a con artist. I don’t know how I know. I just do.”

Braxton coughed. “I’m the con artist? I know all about last year, Olivia. You conned your way into the Albright Hotel and stole an heirloom necklace, did you not?”

Olivia’s cheeks were hot. It was a different time. I didn’t understand. I didn’t know Maya!

“We will not be talking about last year,” Maya barked at Braxton.

“Tell her not to call me a con artist, then!” Braxton shot back.

Maya folded her arms over her chest and glared at him. Olivia wasn’t sure what Maya was thinking. Did she believe Olivia? Probably not. But she wasn’t so keen on believing Braxton, either.

Braxton put his hands up and took several steps back toward the fireplace. “Please,” he said. “It’s Christmas. Can’t we calm down a little bit? I just want to celebrate the holidays with my new family.” He cleared his throat. “My real family was never kind to each other. We have so much money, but we don’t know how to love. It’s a tragedy.”

“Enough,” Aunt Veronica shot. She was done with him. She stood and glared.

Braxton looked like a dog, backed into a corner. Phoebe wrung her hands.

Olivia twisted around, trying to see the family entrance. She knew Robby was just moments away. She could hardly wait.