Free The Sunflower Cottage Breakfast Club by Lynsey James Page B

about, Noah; you can’t just abandon that to run a guesthouse!’
    He sighed and his gaze fell to the floor. ‘Rose, we don’t have a choice. You won’t be able to serve the breakfast or clean the rooms until you’re better again and, in the meantime, you’re going to need some help. I can take some time off at the garage. It’s no trouble; I’m owed some holiday anyway and you know I’d love to help more at Sunflower Cottage.’
    Rose opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind. ‘You’re right; there’s lots of things I won’t be able to do with a broken leg and I don’t want to let the guests down. The garage won’t give you enough time off to run the place until I’m better, though, and you can’t be in two places at once. We’ll have to think of who could come in to help you, even a few days a week.’
    He shook his head. ‘Just leave everything to me and concentrate on getting yourself better. I’ll manage fine on my own; you’ve got nothing to worry about.’
    She sighed and pursed her lips. ‘Noah, you’re a lovely boy wanting to take all this on for me, but between the garage and the guesthouse you’ll be run ragged. We’ll make some phone calls to see who can come in to give you a hand. If we can’t find anyone, we might have to consider cancelling some bookings.’
    I cleared my throat and took a step forward, bringing an end to their conversation.
    â€˜Sorry, I… I couldn’t help overhearing that you need an extra pair of hands to help run Sunflower Cottage.’ I felt myself blush a little as two pairs of eyes stared back at me, obviously wondering why I’d been eavesdropping on their private chat.
    Noah cocked his head slightly to one side, as though he was trying to suss out my intentions. He sat back in his chair, arms folded and a suspicious look on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but Rose beat him to it.
    â€˜Yes, we’re going to find ourselves a little short-staffed until I’m back on my feet. Don’t suppose you could recommend anyone, could you?’
    The words were out of my mouth before I had a chance to properly think about them. I wasn’t usually one to speak without engaging my brain first, but the last few days had shown that pretty much anything was possible.
    â€˜Actually, I can,’ I said. ‘Me.’
    Noah made a noise that fell somewhere between a snort and a laugh. ‘ You ?! No offence, but do you know anything about running a guesthouse? You buy them up for the company you work for, but have you ever actually worked in one?’
    I squared my shoulders and put my hands on my hips. ‘No, but I’m a quick learner and you can teach me everything you know. That way, I can cover for you if you need to be at the garage and you won’t have to cancel any bookings. What do you think?’
    There was a pause that grew increasingly awkward the longer it went on. While I hadn’t exactly expected a burst of enthusiasm, I’d hoped for some sort of reaction at least.
    Finally, Rose spoke. ‘You know, that’s not a bad idea! The whole reason you’re here is to buy Sunflower Cottage, so you’ll be around the place anyway. And at least you’ve got some experience of the industry too. Yes, this could work out quite nicely! If it’s not too much trouble for you, of course.’
    â€˜No trouble at all,’ I replied, flashing a quick grin in Noah’s direction. ‘I’m more than happy to help out.’
    â€˜Who knows,’ Rose said with a chuckle, ‘it might help you two to stop your bickering!’
    Noah rolled his eyes and murmured ‘that’ll take a bloody miracle’ as he tried to look happy about the fact he’d have to work alongside me.
    I couldn’t help but agree with him.

Chapter 9
    I’d always secretly fancied running a