Milo groaned loudly.
“Dude, relax. There were legitimate delays. The only one upset about it is you,” Walker said.
“I could have handled a brief delay, but two months? I feel like a failure.”
“You’re not a failure,” Nora assured him. “And I honestly can’t keep having this conversation. Between you and Reece and all the whining, I’ve run out of empathy.”
“And I think Reece took it harder than you did,” Axel added. “He’s bringing his whole family tonight for the concert. You better have included him in your big opening ceremony speech.”
“Don’t worry, I did.” Milo paused. “But I thought we were all contributing to the speech. This was a group effort.”
“No, we’re all going to say a few words, but this was your baby. It only seems fair that you’re the one doing the dedication.”
Lexi cleared her throat emphatically, making them all laugh.
Connor came over and wrapped his free arm around her. “And you did a lot of the work to book all the acts.”
“Even while I was ridiculously pregnant, I was still making calls,” she reminded them. “And tonight’s band is a big deal. This is the first time they’ve played together in over five years. We’re getting a lot of good press because of it. And last I checked, the resort is booked to capacity, and we had to hire security to keep people from sneaking onto the property to see them.”
“How did you even manage to get them?” Slater asked. “I was a Shaughnessy fan growing up, but I thought they were done touring.”
“Their manager used to come into my restaurant in Boston a lot, and we became friends over the years,” Connor explained. “We’ve kept in touch, and when we were trying to think of who we wanted to perform at the opening here, it was just wishful thinking that we could get a big-name act for it. I called Mick on the off chance he thought the band would be interested.”
“That is insane!” Slater said with a laugh. “I feel so out of the damn loop!”
“Well, to be fair, you two have been kind of busy,” Harlow commented. “Between Evie’s brother’s wedding and your trip to Costa Rica, the new house, the sky tours…”
“Yeah, but even though I get weekly updates on things happening here, I guess I missed a few things. So what’s the plan for the weekend?”
“We have the inaugural concert tonight,” Lexi said. “And they’ll play again tomorrow night. Then we’re having a regional theater production of Beauty and the Beast on Sunday afternoon. They just finished their run in Albany, and we got them to come here for the next few weekends.”
Evie gasped and jumped up and down excitedly as she looked up at him. “We have to see it! Like…how perfect is that?”
“Did we miss something?” Maisie asked with amusement.
“Oh, my goodness! It’s one of my favorite movies, and Slater and I watched it together on that stormy night. It’s just got a special place in my heart.”
His arm went around her as he boldly admitted, “Mine too.”
“Aww…” Connor and Walker teased while laughing.
After that, the conversation branched off in several directions and everyone worked together as food was brought down from the resort kitchen.
“Did you set an opening date for your glamping resort?” Slater asked Walker. “And did you name it yet?”
“Canvas & Sky,” Walker told him. “And we hit our own delays, so we’re holding off until the spring. It just feels like we need some extra time. My grandparents’ anniversary is coming up, and they want to take the whole family on a cruise to celebrate. Then it’ll be the holidays, and Harlow and I decided that we need a bit of a break before we launch.”
“It’s like we’ve been going nonstop ever since Walker showed up here to start work on this resort,” Harlow chimed in. “So we’re going to go someplace just the two of us where we can relax and unwind that’s all-inclusive.”
“I’m thinking Hawaii,” Walker said.
“You can’t beat a private, all-inclusive Hawaiian resort,” Connor added, still holding the baby. “Couples massages, private bungalows with a personal chef…” He kissed the air. “Perfection.”
Slater nodded to the baby. “So when does he start working at the resort?”
Laughing, Connor replied, “Give him a few years.”
Milo joined them. “Yeah, but we’re teaching him to swim first.”
