The Perfect Hope (inn Boonsboro Trilogy, #3)

The third and final book in the Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy centers on Hope Beaumont, the innkeeper of Inn BoonsBoro, a restored bed-and-breakfast in Boonsboro, Maryland. Hope formerly managed the exclusive Wickham hotel in Georgetown but left after discovering that her boyfriend, Jonathan Wickham, the hotel owner's son, had been secretly engaged to another woman while still involved with her. She accepted an offer from Justine Montgomery, the inn's owner and mother of the Montgomery brothers, to manage the property. Now settled into her new life, Hope is close friends with Avery MacTavish, a pizzeria owner engaged to Owen Montgomery, and Clare Murphy Montgomery, a bookstore owner married to Beckett Montgomery. Both women have partnered with Montgomery brothers, leaving Hope and the third brother, Ryder Montgomery, the family's gruff head contractor, as the remaining unattached pair.

Hope and Ryder share an undeniable physical attraction but struggle to hold a civil conversation. Their dynamic shifts when Lizzy, the inn's resident ghost, locks them together in The Penthouse, one of the inn's guest suites. Lizzy, formally known as Eliza Ford, died of fever at the inn in September 1862 while waiting for a man named Billy. Research has revealed that Lizzy is one of Hope's ancestors. Having previously trapped Owen and Avery in a similar scheme, Lizzy refuses to release the door until Hope and Ryder kiss. The kiss sends a powerful surge through both of them, but they separate awkwardly and return to their prickly dynamic.

The tension shifts when Jonathan appears uninvited at the inn. After offering Hope her old job back, he reveals his true purpose: He wants her to become his mistress, promising a house, spending money, and a trip to Paris. Furious, Hope spots Ryder in the parking lot and impulsively kisses him passionately in front of Jonathan. Ryder cooperates without hesitation. After Jonathan leaves, Ryder listens to Hope's fury, calms her, and tells her Jonathan is an entitled idiot who does not understand her. Later, recognizing that Hope has shifted from anger to sadness, Ryder sends Avery to check on her, an act of insight Hope had not expected from him.

When Hope delivers a cherry pie she promised him, Ryder grabs her and kisses her for the first time on his own initiative, telling her he wanted it to be his idea. Hope then confirms that he does not consider himself her boss, clearing a potential complication should they become involved. Days later, she approaches him and bluntly asks whether he is considering having sex with her, explaining that she values honesty. Caught off guard, he says he does not know what page he is on. She tells him to let her know when he does.

Over the following weeks, their flirtation intensifies. Ryder concludes in favor of the idea, and they agree on a Tuesday night when the inn has no bookings. Walk-in guests disrupt the plan, but after sharing dinner and conversation that evening, they consummate the relationship. They fall into an undefined pattern: Ryder parks discreetly and enters through the exterior stairs; Hope stocks beer in her fridge, and he keeps her shower gel at his house. After encountering a former casual partner at a baseball game, Ryder surprises himself by describing Hope as the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. That night, he drives to the inn to establish exclusivity. He later invites her to his house for their first real date. Justine gives Hope her blessing, confiding that Ryder has never been serious about a woman but appears to be "slipping some" with Hope.

Meanwhile, Hope pursues the mystery of Lizzy's Billy. Lizzy appears visibly to Hope for the first time, a young blonde in a blue dress, and speaks briefly, saying things "fade" and mentioning Billy "was here" and "close, but too far" before vanishing. A breakthrough comes when Hope discovers a passage in a letter by Catherine Ford Darby, Lizzy's sister, describing Eliza sneaking out to meet a stonemason hired by their father. Hope is certain this stonemason is Billy, but no name appears.

The search is violently interrupted when Sheridan Wickham, Jonathan's wife, arrives at the inn, accuses Hope of sleeping with Jonathan, and slaps her across the face. Ryder intervenes, and Justine orders Sheridan to leave. Hope rushes to her apartment in tears. Without telling Hope, Ryder drives to Georgetown and confronts Baxter Wickham, Jonathan's father, laying out both Jonathan's proposition and Sheridan's assault. Baxter gives his word that neither his son nor daughter-in-law will trouble Hope again.

Hope is furious when she learns Ryder acted without consulting her. Days of strained silence follow until Lizzy forces the issue by locking Hope out of the inn until Ryder appears. During their reconciliation, Hope acknowledges she would have gone with him had he told her. They agree that she is not wrong to want communication and he is not wrong to stand up for her. The kiss that seals their reconciliation leaves Hope emotionally staggered as she realizes she is falling in love.

Shortly after, Lizzy helps crack the mystery by repeatedly saying "Billy" and "Ryder" together, leading Hope to a sudden insight: Billy's surname is Ryder, and his full name is Joseph William Ryder. Ryder confirms that his mother's maiden name is Ryder, connecting the families across centuries. Lizzy later appears to Hope, Avery, and Clare in Elizabeth and Darcy, one of the inn's guest rooms, and tells her full story. She met Billy, a stonemason, by a stream on her father's estate. They fell in love secretly, but her father arranged a different marriage. When Lizzy refused, he struck her and locked her away. She pretended to submit, then escaped alone to Maryland to find Billy. She believed she was pregnant when she arrived and fell ill with fever, hearing cannon fire as she lay dying.

The family discovers a small cemetery on land that was once the Ryder family farm. They find Billy's headstone: "Billy Ryder, March 14, 1843 – September 17, 1862." Ryder, who felt an inexplicable pull to the spot, cuts honeysuckle from a vine and lays it on the marker. That night, he dreams vividly of Billy's final hours at the Battle of Antietam, experiencing the terror and Billy's dying thoughts of Lizzy. At a family gathering, Ryder recounts the dream. Lizzy appears to all of them, expresses gratitude, and says that love "never fades."

At the opening night of Avery's new restaurant, MacTavish's, the extended family celebrates together. Afterward, Ryder and Hope sit on the inn's porch with champagne. Working through a blunt negotiation of ground rules, including no opera, no ballet, and no chick flicks, Ryder tells Hope he loves her, the first time he has ever said those words to a woman. Hope tells him she loves him too. He produces a diamond ring, and she holds out her hand. Looking down the porch, they see Lizzy and Billy together at last, embracing in the shadows, reunited after more than 150 years.

In the epilogue, set the following spring, Hope and Clare help Avery into her wedding gown at the inn. Hope, now engaged to Ryder with a September wedding planned, spots Lizzy and Billy on the porch, watching the celebration. She walks down the stairs toward The Courtyard, the inn's outdoor event space, toward Ryder and the promise of her own future.