Contents
Chapter 3
Overview
Eloise returns to Quincy wracked with regret over her impulsive Vegas marriage and scrambles to contain the fallout. Her parents unexpectedly praise her leadership and reveal plans to transfer the hotel to her by year’s end, raising the stakes of secrecy. Pressed by guilt and urgency, she tracks down Jasper at his cabin to talk annulment and discretion.
Summary
At the front desk of The Eloise Inn, Eloise struggles to focus after returning from Vegas, ashamed of her impulsive, drunken marriage to Jasper Vale. She resolves to fix it quietly, listing steps that begin with finding Jasper and an attorney outside town to avoid small-town gossip.
Her parents arrive unexpectedly. After minor business updates, they praise Eloise’s performance—record guest counts, positive press, and strong personnel management—and reveal they plan to transfer ownership of the hotel to her by year’s end if momentum continues. The word “responsible” stings, intensifying Eloise’s panic that her secret marriage could destroy her dream.
Unable to confess, Eloise promises not to let them down, then immediately decides she must secure Jasper’s agreement to keep the marriage quiet and seek an annulment. She delegates the front desk, hurries across town, and drives to the A-frame cabin he’s renting.
At the cabin, Jasper waits on the porch. Eloise, both anxious and physically reminded of their night together, greets him as “husband” and opens the conversation: they must talk about the marriage.
Who Appears
- EloiseInn manager; panics over her secret Vegas marriage, learns her parents plan to give her the hotel, and seeks Jasper to discuss annulment and secrecy.
- Jasper ValeHusband from a spontaneous Vegas wedding; encountered at his A-frame cabin as Eloise initiates a talk about ending the marriage discreetly.
- Anne (Eloise’s mother)Visits the hotel, praises Eloise’s leadership, and supports transferring ownership by year’s end.
- Eloise’s fatherReviews business matters, expresses pride, and signals intention to hand over the hotel to Eloise.
- BrittanyHousekeeper in training for the front desk; covers so Eloise can rush to find Jasper.