Page 21 of Nightcaps at The Beach House Hotel

“And you are going to obey,” Abbie said playfully. The electricity between them was enough to send shivers across my skin. Rhonda would claim she knew all along, but these two seemed a perfect match for each other.

When Darryl took off his baseball cap to wipe his brow, I observed his shaved head. The effect was dramatic and handsome. His body still made me want to cuddle him, but I could see the beginning of some changes in him. Best of all, there was a new sparkle in his eye.

Abbie was as gorgeous as ever but had a more relaxed manner. Hopefully, being at The Beach House Hotel had something to do with it.

“I’ll leave you two alone. I’m just checking to make sure that Brock Goodwin hasn’t been trying to ask you more questions.”

“Whenever we see him, we jog on by, so he doesn’t see us go onto the trail to the houses,” said Abbie. “Believe me, I’ve met his kind before. Bad news.”

“Okay, then, I’ll see you around. I’m going to help with breakfast at the hotel.” I left and headed inside the hotel, making a stop in the kitchen. A cup of coffee was just what I needed.

Consuela handled most breakfasts at the hotel with help from the kitchen staff. It was a lot less complicated than lunch and dinners under Jean-Luc’s direction. She was there, supervising the orders when I arrived. I blew her a kiss, grabbed a cup of coffee, and headed to my office to see what was happening. The special bridal breakfast wasn’t due to start for another half-hour, leaving plenty of time after breakfast for guests to relax, sightsee, play some golf, or go shopping. Alyssa, her mother, Janelle, and her two bridesmaids were due for hair appointments and manicures this afternoon.

In the office, I checked for emergency actions to take and looked at the financials from last night’s events hosted by Janelle and Wilbur Cummings. They’d spent a lot of money. I was glad the rest of the wedding plans were going through.

I went to the private dining room to check on the breakfast buffet set up for the bridal party. The staff was just setting up. I knew one of the offerings was crepes rolled around a fresh strawberry mixture. I’d had them before, and they were delicious.

Laura arrived as I was talking to one of the servers. I walked over to her.

“Hi, Ann,” she said. “I’ve just come from Bernie’s office. He told me about the fiasco last night. I’m glad it’s all been handled. I wanted to check in before I left for the airport for my New York trip. I’m sorry to leave you like this, but Annette has promised to cover for me.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “Family is important, and you’ve had this on your schedule for a long time. I think the worst is over. Plans are moving forward with the wedding.”

“Okay, then. Good luck. I talked to Lorraine. She’s confident she can take over tomorrow.” Laura waved and left.

I watched her go thinking how lucky we were to find someone young who was reliable and loved her job. My thoughts flew to Liz, who was anxious to be part of running the hotel. Her time would come. In the meantime, I intended to enjoy my grandbabies who were growing much too fast.

I hung around the dining room waiting for Elise to show up. She and Corwin arrived with friends, and I was able to talk to her privately.

“Everything is as you ordered. Is there anything else we can do for you?” I asked.

She gave me a quick hug. “Thanks for talking to Janelle and me last night. It helped put things in perspective. I’m going to simply enjoy the time here, wedding baby and all.”

“I’m glad,” I said. “We want you to enjoy it. You’ve certainly lucked out on the weather.”

“Yes. We were concerned about an October wedding, but we’ve had plenty of sunshine and no rain.”

I was well aware that the same wouldn’t be true for later in the week. But I wasn’t about to worry about that now. Vaughn was home.

I left the dining room content things were running well and went to find Bernie.

We talked over the day’s activities and plans for tomorrow, and then I went home. Vaughn and Robbie had gone on errands looking for a dinghy and had plans to catch a movie Robbie wanted to see. I loved the idea of their spending time together and decided to go see the triplets. For years, even before my divorce, I’d had a close relationship with Liz. Now, as a mother herself, Liz relied on me to give her advice about the children. I treasured these moments with her.

I called to see if it was a good time to come over, and Liz said, “It’s perfect. Can I talk you into watching the T’s? Chad wants to take me to lunch?”

“Sure,” I said. “You tell me what I need to do, and I’ll take over.”

I hung up both excited and a little concerned about handling the three active toddlers. Two children were easy compared to three children of the same age, all bent into getting into predicaments, mostly from curiosity. But the toddlers were agreeable about following directions. Unless one of them decided to cry. Thinking of it now, I couldn’t help chuckling. Things went from calm to pandemonium in the blink of an eye.

Knowing I had limited time before I’d have to get ready for the wedding, I headed over to Liz’s house.

As soon as I saw the excitement on the children’s faces at seeing me, I couldn’t stop a sting of tears. Though a significant part of my time was spent working, it was these treasured moments that were the best. Looking back, they were what I’d most remember.

“Hi, GeeGee,” said Olivia, the boldest of the three, running up to me. Emma and Noah weren’t far behind. I scooped them into my arms. It was a hot day, and their little bodies were sweaty. Maybe I’d let them go into the pool before naptime.

“Me up,” said Noah.

“No, me!” cried Emma.

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