Page 81 of Nightcaps at The Beach House Hotel

“Yes, I did. Abbie, your sisters, Rhonda, and I all toasted you with champagne at lunch. I’m so happy for you.”

“That’s not the only news I have,” said Darryl. “Vaughn, why don’t you explain it because you’re the one who made it happen.”

I lowered myself onto the chair next to Vaughn. “Okay, spill.”

Vaughn grinned. “Darryl has a wonderful idea for a comedy show that he’s going to pitch to Tina’s husband. It’s a family situation—two men, one older, one younger, meet at a grief counseling group. The older man has three daughters. The younger one has three sons who are all teenagers. The older man has a big house and has invited the younger family to move in with him when he learns his new friend spent all his savings and mortgaged his house for his wife’s medical treatment.”

“I like the idea,” I said.

“There’s a part for Vaughn,” Darryl said.

“And I’m interested in helping to finance it,” said Rand, “if Tina’s husband will produce it.”

I studied the excitement on all three of their faces and hugged myself. It was moments like this that made me believe in miracles. Wait until the others learned the news! It would take more than a tiny glass of champagne to celebrate appropriately. We’d have dinner and end the evening with nightcaps at The Beach House Hotel. I couldn’t think of a better way to bring this group of people into the hotel family.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

It had been six months since Darryl’s sisters had visited the hotel. Now, they and their husbands and children had come to Florida to celebrate Darryl’s wedding to Abbie. This was a wedding Rhonda and I wanted to be part of.

Darryl had rented a house at the hotel for himself, Kim, and her husband, and two of their three children. Tina, Nicholas, and their two boys were in the other house on the hotel property. Abbie was staying in the bridal suite, while Rand and Emma were staying in another suite here at the hotel. The rest of Darryl’s family and all of Abbie’s family were scattered between the Sanderling Cove Inn and the Salty Key Inn within a doable range. A couple of grandchildren were among the mix of family members. All in all, the small, family wedding included almost fifty people.

Darryl and Abbie had opted for a beach wedding, declaring that’s where a lot of their early courtship had taken place.

On this April morning, I walked on the beach with Emma, delighted to be able to catch up with her. We were going to meet Rhonda for coffee as soon as we finished our walk, and then the wedding party would be busy getting ready for the day. Fortunately, the weather was cooperating, and it promised to be perfect for a late afternoon wedding.

“I can’t believe I have only two more months in Ohio before moving to Star Island to be with Rand.” She held out her left hand and gazed at the sparkling diamond on her ring finger. “It’s been such a blessing for me to find Rand. My kids adore him, and I can’t wait to be here in Florida permanently with him.”

“How are the wedding plans coming along?” I asked. They’d booked the hotel for a September wedding.

“We both want to keep our wedding low-key, like this,” said Emma. “Rand isn’t close to his family, but we’ll include his parents, of course, and a couple of his friends. The rest will look pretty much like this. Maybe with fewer kids because of school.” She turned and shrugged. “We’d prefer simply to elope, but I can’t let my sisters down. They’d never forgive me if I did.”

“It can get distressing, trying to keep everyone happy. I thought it was sweet that Abbie asked Tina to be her matron of honor. She didn’t want to hurt any feelings between you and your sisters.”

“I’m very pleased Darryl is marrying Abbie, and he’s having such success pulling together his idea for a television series. It’s made us all one big family.”

“I agree. Vaughn is thrilled about working on it with Tina’s husband, Nicholas, and it’s nice to see Rand be part of the project. Life has a way of shuffling things around making unexpected changes.”

Emma grinned and nodded. “Yes, from the bad news that Darryl was going to have to face criminal charges to what our lives are like now is dramatic and so very satisfying.”

We picked up our pace when we saw others coming onto the beach. “Time to meet Rhonda,” I said, hoping to avoid seeing Brock Goodwin.

Inside the hotel, we went to the kitchen, grabbed cups of coffee, and went into the office. Rhonda was there, talking on the phone with Angela. “Okay, see you later. Great job on the promo stuff we asked for.”

Rhonda turned to us with a smile. “Our daughters are a great help to us.”

“I’m glad for the opportunity to see you,” said Emma, giving Rhonda a hug.

“Let me get a gander,” said Rhonda, and Emma proudly held out her left hand.

Rhonda studied it. “It’s gorgeous. I wish the best to you and Rand. I can’t wait to see your wedding here in the fall.”

“It’s going to be pretty similar in attendance to this one,” said Emma. “But we’ll make it our own.”

“For all the weddings that Annie and I have overseen, each one is very special for its own reasons. Yours will be extra special because you found love here at the hotel.”

“Thanks,” said Emma. “I’d better join the other women. We’re getting our hair and nails done this morning.”

Emma left, and Rhonda and I sat and faced one another. “Another wedding. Let’s hope this one happens without any problems.”

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