The sisters came and went over the next weeks as their schedules demanded, but by August first everyone was in residence fulltime. Cami forced herself to join the others for after-dinner conversations, movie nights and even did a few Zumba sessions with them—in which she learned that yes, Delphi was every bit as uncoordinated as she claimed.
Most of the rooms in the hotel had been completed. Furniture and supplies were arriving by the trailer load—which had them all working long hours training new employees and seeing everything put in place.
Then one evening Lana came out of her bedroom, stood at the top of the stairs, and yelled out that there was an emergency meeting, and everyone better get their tails in the great room pronto.
Cami grabbed her laptop and joined the ladies in the comfy seats around the coffee table, which Jonquil loaded up with sodas, a hot pot of coffee and munchies.
“What is that all for?” Delphi asked.
“Brain food. If this is an emergency meeting, I thought snacks might be in order.” Jonquil pulled out a package of Godiva chocolates and arranged them alongside the rest.
“Now you’re talking,” Rosemary said as she grabbed one.
Lana was grim faced. “Now that we don’t have to worry about starving, can we get down to business?”
“If this is a business meeting, shouldn’t we be holding it at the hotel?” Delphi asked. “We’re all here, so Blake is on his way to join us,” Lana said. “He’ll have all the details, but the fact is, we’ve had another media hit, and it’s going to cost us in the pocketbook big time. And more if word gets out.”
“If it’s an article, I don’t see how we could possibly keep it quiet,” Sage said. She pulled her feet up onto the sofa beneath her, leaving her sandals on the floor.
“What’s going on?” Cami asked.
Lana peered at her computer screen. “It’s in the Market News.”
Confidence in the Six DiCarlo Daughters Wanes as the Opening Date of the Latest Resort Approaches
The DiCarlo Hotel chain has received a fresh infusion from the family line since George DiCarlo’s death, but confidence in his daughters has waned and stock in his company has hit an all-time low.
“There’s still plenty of time to see what his daughters make of the newest resort in the chain,” Vice President Clark Thomas of DiCarlo Hotels, Inc said. “I wouldn’t count them out yet. The proof is in the pudding, as they say.”
The opening date for the new resort grows ever closer and rumors of security problems, late deadlines and unfinished projects abound. With an executive staff made up almost entirely of inexperienced family members, many worry nepotism will be the downfall of this venture.
“Oooh, that’s slander,” Jonquil said when the room had been silent for a long moment.
“Libel, but it actually toes the line very closely. There’s nothing absolutely false in the article. Alex said they’d take a look at suing them,” Lana said with a grimace.
“More bad news,” Cami continued. “Less than an hour ago I received an email from the reservations department. The prince of Denmark and his entourage have canceled their reservations for January, citing concern about their security while on site.”
“That’s ridiculous, as if they weren’t bringing a phalanx of their own staff, in addition to the super-tight restrictions Joel was going to run while they were here,” Sage argued.
“Yeah, but apparently they weren’t interested in reassurances or discussing security in more detail.” Lana’s face was grim.
“It gets worse,” Delphi said. “Well, no, nothing’s worse than losing the prince as a client, but we have an additional snag. The Buehler wedding has been cancelled. Or rather, it’s been moved to an alternate location. I was on the phone with the mother for over an hour this afternoon, offering almost everything from discounts to a free cake.”
Rosemary glowered at her. “You’re not giving away one of my cakes. They’re works of art.”
“Art everyone eats,” Delphi said.
“Once it’s been appreciated and photographed, that’s fine—cake is meant to be eaten.” Rosemary folded her arms over her chest. “It’s still art.”
“I offered her an equivalent price break on the package, which she turned down despite some serious temptation. The only thing she didn’t have a problem with is Jeremy’s photography skills. Apparently he’s good enough.” Her tight mouth broadcast her take on that. “Then again, her future son-in-law went to school with Jeremy, they were buddies, and he couldn’t possibly dump Jeremy too—not when so much of the work had already been put in.”
“Let’s forget the hours you’ve spent with her on details, I’ve put in on cake design, Jonquil has spent discussing flowers,” Rosemary said with a twist of her mouth.
“Of course, those details are so minor and our time isn’t worth anything to her.” Delphi shot Rosemary a grin. “Don’t worry. She isn’t getting her deposit back, and they’ll be paying penalties as well. But it’s not a good omen if the locals won’t even use us.”
The doorbell rang and Lana rose to answer it. Blake strode in wearing jeans and a T-shirt, which was the most casual thing Cami had ever seen him wear. “Hey, ladies.” He took a glance around at the food piled on the table. “I can always get behind a meeting that includes food.” He took an empty spot—the one next to Lana’s laptop—and grabbed a Coke.
Though Lana shot him a dirty look, she moved the laptop and sat beside him.
“So have you filled everyone in?” he asked.
“Yes, plus apparently we had a wedding cancellation.” Delphi gave a short explanation.
“Well, it seems like we need to do more about the bad press. Any ideas?”
Lana looked at Cami. “There’s the Franklin’s summer party. The prince’s cousin almost always attends, as do several others with whom you are far friendlier than I am.” The thought of being stuck for a full evening at the stuffy affair when she could be here with Vince made Cami’s teeth grind. “Yes, but you’re the hotel manager, I’m a lowly serf in comparison.”
“Give me a break. You have the golden touch with people. We need you to go rub elbows with a few of them. In addition, I’ll send a note to the prince’s secretary expressing our disappointment about the miscommunication and offering to put up his representative for a few days at no cost so they can review protocols and safety measures on location. It may net us nothing, but it can’t hurt.”
“Both good suggestions.” Blake turned to Delphi. “Is there anything we can do about the wedding?”
“I’m not sure I want to deal with them after all of this,” she said, but she twisted a pen between her fingers. “They said the groom is friends with Jeremy. Maybe he’s also friends with Vince?” she smiled at Cami, hopefully.
When did this all become her mess? “Oh no, I’m not asking him for that kind of favor. You can stop that train of thought right there.”
“I’m not saying he should step up and try to convince them this is the best place, the only place. I just think some schmoozing might be in order. You know, he gets together with friends and you happen to be there. Isn’t there some barbecue coming up? You two discuss the way the landscaping is coming along, what great photo opportunities it’ll afford—a sensible segue if Jeremy is handy.”
“You talk about how excited you are to see the whole place come together, the amenities, the gleaming glass, the perfect tables and chairs,” Lana picked up the line of thought.
“And how excited you are for the big opening gala we’re going to hold and invite all of the press to, because this conference-slash-reception center—the whole hotel—is something special,” Rosemary finished.
Cami growled. “Fine. Fine. I’ll see what Vince thinks and we can give it a try. I’m not making any promises.”
Jonquil’s mouth split into a smile. “They won’t know what hit them.” The doorbell rang and Cami saw Vince through the patio door window.
“Perfect,” Lana said. “The man of the hour.” She smirked at Cami. “Now you can’t weasel out of asking him.”
Cami glared at Lana as she moved to answer the door. Tittering came from several of the other women, which she chose to ignore. She had a moment to debate the best way to bring up the issue with Vince as she crossed the room. When Rosemary laughed at something Jonquil had whispered, Cami knew what she was not going to do—she was not bringing him into the house so everyone could embarrass her. When she opened the door, she smiled. “Hey, there.” She nudged him so she could join him on the patio, shutting the door firmly behind her.
He took her hand. “I stopped to see if you in the fifteen minutes I had before my meeting tonight, but it looks like you’re in the middle of something.”
She led him to the railing and leaned against it. “There was a bad article in the paper that’s cost us some bookings. We’ve been discussing strategy.” She pursed her lips, then took the plunge. “We were just talking about how you could help, if you’re willing.”
He slid his hands onto her waist and moved in close. “I’m game. What do you need?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the light scent of his cologne, the softness of his hair under her fingers. She filled him in on the wedding furor and the plan the others had hatched. She thought she was being very casual about the whole thing, so she was surprised by his response.
He stroked his hands up her back, then down to her waist again. “Now why did telling me make you nervous? Did you think I’d refuse?” He pulled her closer, holding her gaze.
The breath sucked out of her lungs when she saw the glint in his eyes. “I guess I’m not very good at asking people for help.”
“So you don’t expect your sisters to step up and help solve the problem?”
“That’s different. It’s their job.” She didn’t know how to deal with this man who wanted to be there for her through everything. Trent would have milked the favor for payback many times over.
Vince leaned in, his lips a scant inch from hers, his breath feathering across her skin. “And I thought such a slight favor was my job, since you’re my woman.”
Normally such a possessive comment would have raised her independent hackles, but coming from him, it didn’t. Their lips met in a soft caress and her brain went spinning. “Am I?”
“Most definitely.” Then his mouth took hers. His hands skimmed up her back, drawing her to him. She reveled in his taut chest muscles beneath her hand and the feel of his support surrounding her.
Much too soon, he eased back. “As much as I’d like to spend the next two weeks or so kissing you, I need to grab lunch and get back to work, and you should get back to your meeting.”
“Right. I better go.” She slid her arms from around his neck, still light-headed, and more than a little embarrassed that they’d been kissing in full view of everyone on the other side of the windows.
“Dinner tomorrow?” he asked, nibbling on her lip.
“Yeah, well, I’ll let you know. We should be done by dinnertime.”
“I’ll shoot for six-thirty. That’ll give me time to go home and clean up. Maybe we can plan another time to hang out with your sisters.”
That got her attention. “Wait,” she set a hand on his chest, easing him back so she could see his eyes. “Why?” His request to spend time with everyone threw her. Sure, been around them all before, but this felt too official or something. How would he fit into her unreliable family dynamic when so much was up in the air?
He tipped his face toward hers. “They’re your family and they’re important to you. I want to get to know them better.”
She wasn’t sure how she felt about most of them, so their importance was debatable, but she decided not to argue. “If you want to, we’ll have to set something up.”
“Great.” He pressed one last, firm kiss to her lips, then pulled away, heading for his truck. “I’ll see you at six-thirty.”
Thrown off balance by his dismissal, she crossed the patio and almost blindly reached for the door knob. The tabby Sage had adopted walked between her legs and pawed at the door. She nudged him aside, sucked in a steadying breath and slid through the opening.
She found everyone loading their plates with the sandwiches.
Rosemary cocked an eyebrow. “Whoa, serious lip-lock. I hope you got a yes out of him.”
Cami felt herself blush as Jonquil piped up. “Totally hot. You should have invited him to join us for dinner.”
Putting a hand to her hair, Cami tried to adjust to the teasing—something she and Lana rarely did with each other, and which she never did with others. It had a distinct sibling feel to it which both intrigued her, and made her nervous. “I didn’t realize you were all eating or I would have brought him in.”
Or not, since she wasn’t ready to expose Vince to these teasing women too often— because even those who kept their thoughts to themselves gave her amused looks. She walked to Blake’s side and grabbed a sandwich bun. “He wants to do a dinner thing another time, casual like, so you can meet some more people and he can get to know you all better.”
“Am I invited?” Blake asked as he passed her the mustard and shuffled the mayo toward Lana.
“Of course, if you’re in town.”
“Great. Give me some notice and I’ll arrange it.” He glanced at Lana and slid the American cheese slices to her, then grabbed the Sun Chips and set them nearby.
Lana’s eyes flew to him, confusion and surprise filling them before reverting back to her plate. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Cami narrowed her gaze at Blake as he strolled across the room, returning to his seat. There were two kinds of cheese, and three of chips, but Blake had known—without prodding—which Lana preferred. This definitely bore further scrutiny.