Starting Over (Nugget Romance 4) Read Online Free

could answer and shut his door a little louder than usual.
    She had half a mind to barge into his office and quit. But if she wanted to launch this new life of hers, she needed the job. The only reason she’d gotten it in the first place was that Maddy believed in her. That, and Maddy had been desperate to find a replacement during her maternity leave. Otherwise, Sam wasn’t the least bit employable. Not unless you counted her bulging résumé of lunching with the ladies and throwing charity galas as a prerequisite for a job. But in a way, it was the perfect experience for planning events at a small inn. She had the fortitude to deal with difficult people—nothing was more challenging than planning a charity auction or cotillion with a group of insanely rich, narcissistic women. Hello, Judith Forsyth, the biggest bitch in Connecticut, who wanted to take credit just for breathing. And there was Muffy Vandertilten, whose husband would threaten to sue the committee if the Muffmeister didn’t get her way. But the biggest takeaway was that Samantha knew how to make every detail, from the color of the napkins to the party favors, blend seamlessly with the theme of every event.
    And no one knew better how to fix a last-minute catastrophe than Samantha. And believe it or not, large-scale society events were rife with catastrophes. When Tony Bennett came down with pharyngitis six hours before performing a charity concert in New Canaan, Sam had managed to rope Billy Joel into doing the show. She went over to Long Island and drove him back to Connecticut herself. She had a contact list filled with florists, caterers, and celebrities who would come to her rescue at a moment’s notice. Sure, having the Dunsbury name helped, but even without it, Sam had an aptitude for creating memorable parties.
    People were still talking about her Snow Ball. She’d put the entire affair under a glass dome, used nothing but diamond white as her theme color, and created a winter wonderland complete with a machine that dropped fake flurries from the sky to make the event look like a giant snow globe.
    She might not be a cutthroat business person like Nate or her father, but she knew that if given the chance she could increase sales tenfold at the Lumber Baron. For that reason, she gritted her teeth and got back to work. She’d just gotten off the phone with a linen vendor when she heard a fuss coming from the lobby and went out to investigate. Maddy had come in to show off baby Emma to the housekeeping staff.
    “Look who’s here.” Sam gave Maddy a hug and kissed Emma on the forehead, getting a sweet whiff of baby smell. “You look fantastic, by the way.” Sam had only known Maddy since the tail end of her second trimester, but now she looked slender and glowing.
    “Thanks. You too. Love that dress.”
    “You here to put in a few hours, or just visiting?” Sam asked.
    “Just visiting. I’m meeting Emily and Pam at the Ponderosa in a bit, but is there anything I can do?”
    Yeah, tell your bother he’s a colossal jerk . “I think we have everything under control.”
    “Nate told me about the Abernathys,” Maddy said. “I’ve never had a guest with appendicitis before. But it sounds like you handled it perfectly.”
    “Thank you.” Now why couldn’t Nate throw a little praise around every once in a while? “I called the hospital earlier and she’s doing much better.”
    “Good,” Maddy said. “Poor thing. Anything else going on?”
    “Landon Lowery’s interested in the inn for a family reunion.”
    “The gaming guy? He wants to stay here?”
    Why was it that everyone knew who Landon Lowery was except Sam? “He’s thinking of booking the entire inn for a week in July.”
    They were still standing in the lobby, near the reservation desk, where Andy pretended not to be eavesdropping. Maddy motioned that they should move the conversation to someplace more private, parked the stroller in a corner, and carried Emma into her old