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than three years to get everything put together, but by some miracle, Katia’s great aunt had passed away and left her a significant chunk of her money in her will.
    ...The money was the miracle, not her great aunt dying. But the point was, that money had allowed her to quit one of the two jobs she had been working and still have money to put away for the inn.
    And now it was a real thing. Shiny and painted and renovated, bursting with flowers and guests. It was right on the edge of town, which was perfect for the people who were just passing through and the people who wanted a quiet night away from home and anyone else who happened to find their way to The Lily, as the name had been truncated to.
    Katia was delighted with the success.
    On this Friday morning, she hit the button on her phone to make her morning playlist fill her bedroom and half danced, half stumbled around her room, pulling out her outfit for the day (a classy skirt with a smart blouse) and shucking off her pajamas so she could head for the shower. In her small kitchen, she heard the coffeemaker click on, and she smiled. Some people had significant others, but she had a coffeemaker that worked on a timer, and honestly that was just as good as far as she was concerned.
    Katia padded into the bathroom, hips swaying slightly as she made her way to the lighted mirror above the sink and washed her face. Her bathroom was small enough that she could just lean over and turn on the shower to get the water heating while she surveyed her appearance in the mirror.
    She had done a lot of dance in high school and college, and that showed still in her willowy figure and her natural grace. She was tall and slender, and she looked at herself in the mirror with a critical eye. She wasn’t as curvy as some of her friends or even some of the women in her family, and it wasn’t like she had time to exercise what with running her own business now, so she just assumed that she was going to stay that way. Her hips were softly rounded, just enough that someone could rest their hands there, and her breasts were small and perky, tipped in soft brown nipples.
    The freckles that were dusted over her cheeks and forehead and nose were also scattered over the rest of her body, from her shoulders down to her stomach, and then lower to her thighs, and she made a face at the sight of them as she usually did.
    Green eyes looked back at herself in the reflection, and Katia made a face at her messy hair. It was long and a mousy shade of brown, usually kept in a long braid that she coiled into a bun for work so she didn’t have to deal with it.
    People were always telling her that if she did more with her hair or her makeup, she’d have a boyfriend by now. They went on and on about her flawless skin and how men liked girls with freckles and how her nose was pert and perfect and her eyes would look amazing if she did more with eye makeup, but honestly it all sounded exhausting.
    She had enough to be keeping up with when it came to her business. The inn took up any free time that she would spend dating someone, and if her friends thought she was getting up any earlier than she already did just so she could make herself look ‘prettier’ then they had another thing coming.
    Who had time for curling irons and eyeliner? Not her, that was for sure. More power to the women who did, but Katia was fine with her lip gloss and braid, and she nodded decisively as she stepped into the shower.
     
    Two hours later, she was parking her car and getting out to stand in front of her inn. Her inn. Just thinking it made her shiver with delight. The four story building with two porches, three turrets, and spiral staircases was all hers .
    The contractors and renovators had done a great job on the place, and Katia always had to take a minute to look it over when she arrived. The porches were still hung with ivy, but it was a carefully garlanded look now, instead of just masses of overgrowth. There were lights on