Page 53 of Nightcaps at The Beach House Hotel

“My pleasure. Rhonda and I have a wedding in the hotel, so I’ll be coming and going from here this weekend. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No problem. I’ll be busy with Darryl. I thought we’d go on a day trip to Sarasota to the Siesta Key beach there. It’s supposed to be one of the best.”

“It’s gorgeous. And you’ll be able to work there without Brock Goodwin or Lily Dorio around to interfere,” I said.

“Yes, we need to spend a large part of the day running on the beach and doing other exercises to work off the food from these last few days.”

“Remember, you can always order food from the hotel,” I said, giving her a quick hug goodnight.

I tiptoed into my bedroom and gazed at Vaughn stretched out atop the sheet asleep. I came closer and studied him. He kept himself in great shape. There were more gray hairs at his temple, but it made him look more distinguished, not older. His eyes fluttered open. He took hold of my hand and pulled me down next to him.

I loved the feel of being close. But it wasn’t enough.

Climbing out of bed, I stripped off my clothes, turned out the light, and lay beside him, smiling as he reached for me again.

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The next morning, after making sure everyone was set for the day, I left for the hotel. Weddings were an important part of the hotel’s business. Not only for the wedding itself but because the attendees spread a positive word about the food and elegant setting. But Rhonda and I believed our presence and the service from the staff is what made a well-executed wedding even better, and when guests realized, it was the success we strived for.

The staff was quietly bustling about in the hotel when I arrived. I went to Lorraine’s office. She wasn’t there, but her assistant Laura was on the phone talking to the florist.

“I’m sorry the lilies you ordered for us didn’t arrive in the shipment, but we’ll need to add somethingto the arrangements to replace them. Something at no extra cost to us.” She listened. “Okay, that will be fine.”

“Nice job,” I said to Laura. “How is everything else going?”

“Hi, Ann. Things seem to be going well. No complaints so far except from the party in The Presidential Suite. That woman was trying to make sure she was placed at the head table for the wedding dinner. I told her to confer with the family.”

“Ah, I know who that is. If you have any further trouble with her, please let me know.”

I left her to go to my office, stopping for my usual cup of coffee in the hotel kitchen.

Consuela greeted me with a smile. “’ Morning.”

I gave her a quick hug. “How’s breakfast going?”

“It’s a fun-loving crowd. While the women are shopping and getting ready for the afternoon wedding, the men are going golfing. The young men are full of teasing and seem to be very hungry. They’ve had a lot of sweet rolls.”

I grinned. “I like it when our guests are enjoying them.”

I took my coffee into the office.

Rhonda was already there. She looked up at me and shook her head. “Lily Dorio is making a fuss. She wants someone to fix her hair for the wedding. I told her that the wedding party is using our usual person on call but that she’s welcome to find someone on her own. She didn’t like that and started to tell me off. I reminded her that I was one of the owners of the hotel. I have a feeling she’s going to call you next.”

“She’s already been a problem for Laura, wanting to be seated at the head table at the wedding dinner.”

The phone rang. I picked it up. “Hello, this is Ann Sanders. How may I help you?”

“Ah, Ann, just the person I was looking for. This is Lily Dorio. Your partner is very abrupt. I couldn’t deal with her. I need to talk to you about finding someone to do my hair. I have some interviews coming up and need someone to help me in a hurry.

“We have a wedding at the hotel and our usual sources are all busy with the bridal party. But I’ve heard that Henri’s has good stylists. You might try there.” I clicked off the call.

The phone rang again. Groaning, I picked it up.

“Hi, Ann. It’s me, Lily. You didn’t give me a chance to ask you to have Vaughn give me a call. I may have a lead on a big role coming up. I want to talk to him. He won’t answer my calls.”

“I’ll give him the message you talked to me,” I said. “Excuse me, but I’m in the middle of other things right now.”

“It’s a really good opportunity for him,” said Lily. “Tell him not to miss out.”

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