Page 14 of Nightcaps at The Beach House Hotel

We kissed, and I got out of bed determined to take advantage of Vaughn being home.

In the kitchen, I fixed a cup of coffee and took it and my cell phone out to the lanai. I knew it was early, but Rhonda’s husband, Will, was an early riser, and with the kids in school, I figured Rhonda would be up.

She answered on the second ring. “Hi, there. What’s up?”

“Vaughn’s home for a couple of days, and I’m wondering if you’ll handle the Gorman wedding. I’m sure Lorraine has everything organized, and Laura Young is scheduled to help.”

“Sure, I’ll help. But, Annie, I must warn you Willow and Drew are both fighting the flu, and I’m not feeling great after taking care of them.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Let me know how your day goes. I’ll go to the hotel this morning, but I’d like this afternoon and the rest of the weekend off.” I seldom asked for time off, but with Vaughn’s erratic schedule, this was important.

I finished my coffee and went into the kitchen where Vaughn had fixed breakfast for Robbie. He looked up at me. “Well? Did you get the time off?”

Feeling conflicted, I shrugged. “It’s complicated, but I think I have this afternoon off. Rhonda’s kids are sick, and she isn’t feeling great.”

I could see the disappointment on his face, but we supported one another in our jobs, and I knew he wouldn’t make a big issue of it. Still, I was as disappointed as he was.

“We can look for a new dinghy,” said Robbie to his dad.

Vaughn’s face brightened. “Yes, we do need one.”

I smiled at the two of them. Boys and toys.

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A short while later, I arrived at the hotel and went directly to Lorraine Grace’s office, which served as the coordination center for weddings. Laura was there looking frazzled. A woman in her late twenties, she’d been helping Lorraine parttime with weddings doing a lot of the administrative work while Lorraine planned and executed wedding functions.

“What’s wrong?” I asked Laura, a pretty, brown-haired woman with dark brown eyes, who was normally calm.

“Lorraine called me. She and Arthur are both sick. Apparently, there is some kind of flu going around. I told her not to worry that you, Rhonda, and I would handle the Gorman wedding.”

“Oh, dear. I’m afraid it’s going to be just you and me. Rhonda isn’t feeling well, and if she’s getting the flu, we don’t want her at the hotel.”

“Most of the wedding guests are arriving this afternoon. The Rehearsal Dinner is here tonight. The groom’s family specifically requested the dinner be held here, so Jean-Luc could prepare duck a’l’orange. They’re regular hotel guests and had it here previously.”

“What are we talking about in numbers for that meal?” It worried me to have a fancy, time-consuming meal for a lot of people in addition to serving our regular guests.

Laura looked through the notebook Lorraine had set up for the wedding. “It looks like there are only two bridesmaids and three groomsmen. And with the other guests listed the total is twenty-four.”

“What about the wedding dinner? How many people and what is the menu for that?”

“That’s a little easier. They are expecting forty people and are offering a choice of surf and turf or poached salmon for those who don’t eat red meat. Jean-Luc can easily handle that.”

Though this was an important wedding for PR purposes, it sounded like a tasteful, small gathering. But that meant that each detail had to be perfect. “Do we have the gift baskets ready?”

Laura checked another section of the notebook. “Yes. Dorothy Stern and two friends packed them up yesterday.” She smiled. “Dorothy loves to do this. She says it reminds her of getting ready for her wedding years ago.”

“Nice. Will you see that they get delivered to the proper rooms? I assume housekeeping has been notified.”

“Yes. It’s checked here.”

“What time is the cocktail reception?” I asked. “I’ll arrange to be here to welcome everyone, but will you oversee dinner and make sure all is going well? Vaughn is home for only a couple of days and, if possible, I’d like to have the evening with him.”

“Okay, I’ll handle it today, but tomorrow I’m leaving for New York to attend a family celebration. I’d already cleared it with Lorraine.”

I let out a long breath. “No problem.” After Rhonda and I first opened the hotel, I knew that our time would never be ours alone. The hotel, the biggest baby of all, would come first.

I left Laura and went to find Bernie to inform him of how I planned to handle things.

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