Page 14 of Sea Breezes at The Beach House Hotel

CHAPTER FIVE

That night, as I lay in bed with Vaughn, I told him about the phone call between Nell and Clint.

“It’s disturbing,” Vaughn said. “And not like Clint at all. I’m hoping to take him out sailing Friday morning and have a talk with him.”

“I’m trying to stay out of it, but it makes me angry to know he’s treating her this way,” I said. “In the meantime, working at the hotel will do her good. She’s very sweet and kind, and she loves helping people. We’ll need a lot of that this week.”

“She seems much happier than when she first arrived. Let’s keep that up,” said Vaughn. He pulled me closer. “You’re sweet and kind, too.”

“As Nell says, it was a lucky thing for everyone in the family when we met.”

As he kissed me, I thought how true that was.

###

The next morning, Nell and I left for the hotel together. I could sense her excitement and nerves. “No worries. You’ll do fine.”

“It’s silly, I know, but it’s been a while since I last worked, and I want to do an excellent job. To prove to myself that I can do it.”

“Just be yourself,” I said. “By the way, you look fabulous.”

“Thanks. I feel better,” Nell said.

Moments later, we entered the hotel, and after saying hello to Consuela and getting coffee, we parted ways.

I was working on the daily financial reports when Rhonda came in. “I just greeted Nell. She looks adorable. I’m delighted she’s able to help us.”

“I think it will do her a world of good. Especially after the phone call from Clint.” I told Rhonda about it. “What do you think? You know Clint and Nell. None of this seems like them.”

“They’re a married couple who need a break,” said Rhonda. “I know Will wants to talk to him privately. Maybe he’ll find out what’s really happening with Clint.”

“Why does Will want to talk to Clint?” I asked.

Rhonda covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t supposed to mention it.”

“Okay,” I said. “Another piece of the puzzle.”

###

Later, Rhonda and I made our way to the hospitality department. Even before we reached it, we heard laughter.

We entered the office and saw Lauren and Nell bent over laughing.

Delighted to see Nell like this, I couldn’t help grinning, “What’s funny?”

“It’s the phone call Nell got,” said Lauren.

“They wanted to know if we could plan a wedding for a bride who didn’t have a groom,” said Nell. “I was very polite about it, but said I’d have to get back to her.”

“I thought it was hilarious,” said Lauren. “It would be much easier to have a wedding with a groom and no bride.”

“True,” said Rhonda. “No Bridezilla”.

We talked about some of the activities they were doing and then left to go to the housekeeping department.

We confirmed that employees were lined up for a special early morning shift the day after Thanksgiving when the hotel would magically be transformed into a holiday scene.

Rhonda and I left to talk to Laura Bakeley, a designer who’d done work for us since the beginning and had opened a Christmas decorating service we used every year. This year, the Christmas tree in the lobby was to have a silver and gold theme while the Christmas tree in the lanai and pool area would have a sea theme. The rest of the hotel would be filled with accents of greens, candles, bows, and bulbs, most following the theme.