Page 4 of Nightcaps at The Beach House Hotel

Rhonda raised her cup of coffee and took a sip. “Delicious. If nightcaps are the way to making a wise choice, I’m all for it. But, Annie, we gotta be sensible.”

“I know. But, in truth, we need the business and Amelia’s continued support. The hotel business is very competitive. Especially when we have others trying to emulate us.”

The show’s title,Night Talk with Darryl Douglas, came on screen with a musical introduction. I moved in my seat restlessly, hoping we could give Amelia the answer she wanted. Darryl’s bio indicated he was the youngest of the family with four older sisters. I could only imagine how spoiled he must’ve been growing up.

At the sound of a certain drum roll, Darryl walked out on stage. He was of average height, a little overweight, and had a bright, easy smile as he waved to the studio audience.

“He looks like a cuddly Teddy Bear,” I murmured, and beside me, Rhonda nodded.

“I bet those four sisters of his spoiled him like crazy,” she said. “That or made his life miserable by dominating him.”

“Maybe that’s why he turned to comedy,” I said, seeing him in a whole new light.

Darryl did a short monologue talking about teachers being back at school that had us both laughing. And then he walked behind his desk and announced who would be his guests for the evening.

A young actress who, no doubt, had had breast enhancement surgery was the first guest. Her perfect facial features and botoxed lips made her beautiful, but I’m sure she would’ve been perfectly fine without all the enhancements.

I could sense Rhonda grow tense beside me and knew she was irritated by the idea that some women had to meet certain standards of appearance to become successful. She hated the idea, and I understood. But that’s what it often took to get noticed in the entertainment industry.

Darryl asked the actress about the role she was in and listened politely while she talked about how she’d fallen in love with her co-star, a sexy man known for fooling around. She smiled. “In making this movie, I’ve discovered what it’s like to be with a man who knows how to truly make a woman satisfied. You know what I mean?”

She leaned forward, waiting for Darryl to answer.

Darryl grimaced and said, “Let’s go to break time.”

“Wow,” said Rhonda. “He all but rolled his eyes. I don’t blame him. I don’t think the woman has a brain in her head. Do you think that’s the problem with him doing the show?

‘I’m not sure,” I said. “I have a feeling we’ll find out someday. I like Darryl. His jokes are funny. He has a great sense of humor. But he did seem embarrassed by his guests.”

“I agree,” said Rhonda, taking a brownie from the plate. “He seems like a nice guy. Let’s give him the chance to stay here. It’s for four weeks or so. Right?”

“That’s what the request said. But we’d better verify that. I agree we give him the chance. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d intrude on Tina’s stay.”

Rhonda waggled a finger at me. “I wouldn’t trust him on that point. We’ll just have to make sure they never meet. I don’t think anyone would give up the chance to interview Tina Marks. She’s usually very private.”

“You’re right. And the one person who can never know about either of them is Brock. Heaven knows what he’d do with information like that.”

###

By the end of the program, Rhonda was snoring, and I was doing everything I could to stay awake. With Vaughn traveling from time to time, I sometimes read before going to sleep. But I never stayed up this late when I had to work the next day.

“Okay, Rhonda. Time to get up and go home,” I said shaking her gently.

Her eyes flew open. “Is it the kids?”

“No, Rhonda, we were watching the Darryl Douglas show. Now it’s over.”

She yawned and stretched before standing. “Okay. Don’t worry. I can make it home.”

I walked her to the door, and after seeing her off, I locked the house and turned into my bedroom. The bed was empty without Vaughn. We’d talked earlier that evening, but words of love didn’t compare to having him beside me.

###

The next morning, I awoke with a start, glanced at the clock, and hurried to wake Robbie.

He was stretched out, face down across the bed. Cindy nestled up beside him. She turned and looked at me, then moved as I called out to Robbie to wake up.

“Sorry. I overslept. Hurry. I’ll fix breakfast for you while you get dressed.” I studied the young man he was becoming and remembered the two-year-old toddler we’d adopted. He’d been orphaned by his parent’s automobile accident. Robert, my ex, had dumped me for his voluptuous receptionist. Robbie was theirs, and now he was Vaughn’s and mine.

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