Page 61 of Wild Nights

"We haven't seen the couple in a while, but Marcus takes food to their room, and they've been leaving the empty trays for him. Arthur's reading in the great room and eating meals with us."

"I feel awful that we had to cancel the second day of Carolina's conference. Did you offer them a discount to return?"

"The vendors weren't happy to cancel."

Eli sighed. "I figured that."

"There's nothing we could have done. Most of the vendors and guests wanted to get home. Shutting things down early gave them time to leave and get home safely. It's always a risk with a December conference."

"How is Carolina doing? Is she upset that she wasn't able to get home?"

"She's enjoying the snow."

"Hopefully she can get home in time for Christmas. Can you make sure the guests are able to get wherever they're going after their stay?"

"On it," I said. This was standard practice for a storm but something he usually handled. In these situations, we usually comped them the nights of the storm and all the food. "Don't worry about anything. I have it under control."

"I know you do. Can I talk to Joey?"

"Sure." I headed into the dining room where Joey was eating chips and watching the snow come down. "Uncle Eli wants to say hi."

I flipped it onto speaker phone and set it in front of him.

"Uncle Eli. It's snowing!"

Eli chuckled. "I heard."

"We went sledding and built a snowman with Miss Caro. It was so much fun. I wish you were here."

"I wish I was there too, buddy. I miss you." He was quiet for a minute. Then he asked, "Who's Miss Caro?"

I leaned close to the speaker. "He's talking about Carolina."

"She built a snowman with you?" Eli asked Joey, and I held my breath, hoping he wouldn't ask any more questions, especially not on speakerphone.

"She went sledding with us and fell off her sled."

"At the cliff?" Eli asked, amusement tinging his tone.

"Yeah. You should have seen her. She landed flat on her back."

"It wasn't that bad," Carolina interjected.

"Carolina, I hope you're enjoying the snow. We'll get you home as soon as we can," Eli said.

Carolina waved a hand even though he couldn't see it. "Don't worry about me. I'm in no rush to go anywhere."

"I don't want you to miss Christmas with your family."

A shadow passed over Carolina's face before she carefully schooled her features. "Oliver, Joey, and Marcus have been the best hosts. I don't usually get to stay and enjoy the resort, so this is nice."

"That's good to hear. I'll let you go. Scarlett wants to hit the beach."

Groans sounded around the table.

I picked up my phone. "You just had to rub it in, didn't you?"

"Always, brother. Enjoy your blizzard." Eli clicked off, and I shook my head, chuckling.

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