Riptide (Sand Dollar Shoal Book 2)

by Pandora Pine

  Drake nodded. “What did you think I was doing?”

  Presley rolled his eyes. “Grindr, Tinder… You know, the usual.”

  Drake could see the color racing up Presley’s neck. “You thought I was looking at hook-up sites while we were hanging out at night?” He’d wondered why Presley had been so quiet the last few nights and knew this was the reason why. “No one asked me to work on decorating ideas or color schemes and I didn’t want you to think I was getting too big for my britches by thinking I could decorate Sand Dollar Shoal, so I didn’t bother to show you any of the things I liked.”

  Presley reached out and took Drake’s hand. “Please tell me you bookmarked the sites you liked.”

  Drake nodded.

  “Hmm,” Pres hummed absent-mindedly. “We might have one more stop to make on the way home.”

  Drake could see Presley’s mind was spinning, but couldn’t figure out why. He grabbed a box with his favorite writing desk, already looking forward to putting it together with Noble, and stuck it in the cart Presley was pushing.

  Next stop was the lamp section. Drake instantly saw what he was looking for. “Pres!! Look at these!” He cringed when his voice echoed across the store.

  “What did you find?”

  “Look at the nautical lamps!” One lamp was shaped like a sand dollar while another was a scallop shell. “I am so in love with the starfish.” He picked it up, cradling it in his arms.

  “I love them too. Why don’t we get one of each of these, except for the starfish?”

  Drake’s face fell. “Oh, you don’t like the starfish?”

  “I love the starfish, but you’re gonna need two of them for the bedside tables in your room at home.”

  “These are supposed to be for the hotel rooms.” More than anything, Drake wanted these lamps in his room. He had a little money in the bank but didn’t think he could justify spending three hundred dollars on a pair of lamps.

  “And they will be, but these are sample pieces we’re buying today.” Presley lifted Drake’s hand to his lips, kissing lightly over his knuckles. “Remember how you said earlier how you hoped you’d find something that would make you passionate?”

  “You think decorating is it?” Drake’s mouth dropped open.

  Pres kissed his hand again. “I think so. Look at you. You’re glowing like a bride on her wedding day.”

  Drake snorted. “Wedding packages are very popular at beachside hotels.”

  “Let me guess. You learned that in your research too?”

  Drake nodded. He knew Sand Dollar Shoal would be a perfect wedding venue. “Destination weddings are so hot right now. Why not turn Sand Dollar Shoal into the premier wedding venue on Cape Cod? We’ve got the beach and the lighthouse tower. It wouldn’t hurt to advertise as a destination for gay couples. Maybe design the advertising around Landon and Noble?”

  “I think you’ve got a lot to talk about over dinner tonight.” Presley looked so sure of himself.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You mentioned romance packages and destination weddings. I think the other guys, especially Griff, are gonna want to hear about these ideas.”

  “I’m not so sure Pres. I mean, these are your friends and Griff’s money and I don’t think...” Before Drake knew what was happening, Presley was kissing him. He reached out for Presley’s hip and let himself get lost in the moment.

  “I think you’re gonna knock their socks off, especially after we go to the next store.” Pres dropped him a sexy wink.

  “You really think they’ll want to hear what I have to say?” Drake crossed his fingers behind his back.

  Presley nodded his head and nibbled on his lower lip. “I don’t think they will. I know they will.”

  Drake smiled. It meant the world to him to have Presley’s support. If Presley thought he could do it, what did he have to lose?”

  8

  Drake thought the mysterious second store Presley had been talking about was another furniture store, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. They’d gone to Best Buy at the Cape Cod Mall, where Presley had bought him a laptop with all the bells and whistles.

  Three hours later, working with Gregor in the kitchen, he was still in shock. Floating on cloud nine would be a better way to describe what he was feeling. No one had ever done anything so generous for him in his entire life.

  What was more important to Drake than the computer and the starfish lamps, had been the faith Presley had shown in him. He hadn’t hesitated to suggest Drake pitch his ideas to the others and hadn’t said no to a single thing he’d picked out at Home Goods. No one had ever trusted his judgment like that before.

  He’d gotten straight to work on the guinea pig room, as he’d started calling it in his head, when they’d gotten back from the store. Noble had been only too happy to build the writing desk for him while he’d set up the accessories he and Presley had bought for the room.

  When they were done decorating, Drake spent about half an hour taking pictures of the room on his phone, highlighting the things he and Pres had bought.

  To Drake’s surprise, while he’d been staging the room, Presley had been busy setting up the computer for him. He’d been easily able to download the pictures he’d taken to put together a slide show for everyone to see what he’d done.

  Before he had to meet Gregor to help make dinner, he’d taken a little bit of time to put together some examples of romance and wedding packages so he’d be ready to present his ideas when the time came.

  "Are you gonna cuddle the shrimp or devein them?" Gregor half-growled from the stove, half an hour later.

  "Damn it! Sorry, Gregor." The process to clean the shrimp was easy enough, but Drake's mind was focused on what he'd say to Presley's friends after dinner. "My head is somewhere else."

  "If your head is somewhere else, then your body should join it. There's no room in the kitchen for people who'd rather be elsewhere chasing tail." Gregor’s tone sounded jealous.

  Drake burst out laughing. He couldn't help himself. This was the first time in days Drake hadn't been thinking about Presley. "I wouldn't rather be out chasing tail..." He wasn't sure if he could confide in Gregor now or if he should wait until later.

  "That's interesting. I figured you were missing Pres." Gregor grabbed the sherry bottle and splashed some of it into the lobster bisque he was babying on the stove.

  "I mentioned a couple of ideas I had for the hotel to Presley when we were out shopping. He liked them so much that he wants me to present them to all of you after dinner tonight." Drake held his breath hoping Gregor wouldn't blow him off.

  "Ideas that will cost us money or make us money?" Gregor didn't bother to turn around from the bisque.

  Drake snorted. "The plans I have would make the hotel money and could set you up nicely for years to come."

  Gregor nodded his head. "And either you're thinking about what to say or you’re so nervous you could shit a solid gold brick?"

  "A little bit of both. You guys have been friends for over fifteen years. I haven't even known you for a full week. No offense, but you’re an intimidating bunch of guys."

  Lowering the fire under the soup, Gregor moved the pot to a cold burner before turning around to face Drake. "Listen, if your ideas weren't good, Pres wouldn't be asking you to tell us about them. The person you really need to impress is Griff. Make eye contact with him and be able to back up what you're saying with facts." Gregor turned back to the stove. "Oh and one more thing, shrimp cocktail is Griff's favorite, so don't fuck it up."

  Drake nodded and turned back to the sink. He was going to make the best damn shrimp cocktail if it killed him.

  XX

  Presley was sitting next to Noble at the dinner table listening to him tell a funny story about the months he and Landon had spent at the hotel by themselves.

  "I'm telling you, nothing kills the mood faster than a puppy blowing chunks in your bed." Noble grinned at Landon.

  "In my bed you mean.
Plus, you weren't the one who had to clean it up. All you did was cuddle Charlie. I was the one doing the heavy lifting." Landon snarled his lip and shook his head.

  Pres was only half-listening. His mind, not surprisingly, was on Drake, but not for the usual reasons. Before he'd headed over to the dining room, he'd taken a few minutes to look at the presentation Drake had thrown together. In his admittedly biased mind, Drake's ideas were dynamite, but it would be up to Griff and the others to decide if they wanted to implement Drake's plans at Sand Dollar Shoal.

  "Dinner is served!" Gregor pushed into the dining room carrying a tray loaded with bowls of steaming lobster bisque. Drake was right behind him carrying a tray of shrimp cocktail.

  "Jesus! What happened to you?" Presley was halfway out of his seat when he saw the bandage wrapped around two fingers on Drake's left hand.

  "Bobby Flay over there forgot my first lesson in knife skills and didn't roll his fingers under when he was slicing the horseradish."

  Drake rolled his eyes and set a cocktail in front of Griff. "I'm fine and we managed to rinse my blood off most of the horseradish."

  "What!" Presley pulled back from the shrimp cocktail Drake had just set in front of him.

  "Kidding, Pres. I did cut myself, but didn't bleed on the food." Drake brushed a kiss against Presley's forehead and moved past to deliver the rest of the shrimp.

  Pres felt his face turning the color of the cocktail sauce. He couldn't decide if it was over Drake being hurt or Drake kissing him in front of their friends.

  "Oh my God!" Griff moaned over a mouthful of the bisque.

  "It's good to hear you moaning with a mouthful again, Griff. It's been too long." Gregor snickered.

  Instead of answering, Griffin flipped him off. "So rumor has it you had a pretty successful day of shopping, Drake."

  "Presley took me to Home Goods. We got some things to decorate the guinea pig room." He shot Presley an easy smile.

  "Guinea pig room?" Landon looked confused.

  "Just my nickname for one of the bedrooms on the second floor. We bought enough stuff to decorate just one room so that we could mix and match looks without having spent a fortune. We had a great time shopping together.”

  Pres couldn't wait to see the room. He didn't want to spoil Drake's big reveal by having seen it already. The way Drake was blushing was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. It made him want to kiss every inch of reddish skin.

  "Although," Drake swirled a jumbo shrimp around in the cocktail sauce. “Giving the room a nickname did give me an idea.”

  "What kind of idea," Griff asked casually, almost sounding bored.

  Griff's demeanor didn't fool Presley for a second. He knew Griff was interested in what Drake had to say. He just hoped his casual manner wouldn't put Drake off.

  "What if you named the hotel rooms? I was thinking the second floor could be named after famous ships, the third floor after pirates and the fourth floor after sea life." Drake held his head high and trained his eyes on Griffin.

  Griff tilted his blond head to the side. "Why would we do that?"

  Drake drew himself up straighter. "It would give the guests a connection to the room they stayed in. It might make them be more likely to reserve the Captain Kidd room the next time they came to stay with us."

  Griff raised a silent eyebrow. "Us?"

  "Right. Then there will be the people who stayed in the Sea Horse room, but wished they'd had the Sand Dollar room. Naming the rooms would make decorating them more fun as well, allowing us to add more personal touches."

  Noble elbowed Landon and started grinning. "I think the idea is genius. Don't you, Griff?"

  Griffin turned his icy stare to Noble. If he hadn't been watching so closely, Pres would have missed the slight quirk in Griff's full lips. The bastard was playing coy and testing Drake’s resolve.

  "Wouldn't that cost more money, Drake?" Griff asked.

  "With the exception of the guinea pig room, which I would call The Hiraeth Room, none of the other rooms are decorated."

  Griff sat up straighter and leaned across the table. Pres would bet his last dollar that the room name was what caught his attention. He’d never heard that word before.

  "What did you call the room?" Griff asked animatedly.

  "I did a little research on the hotel. It was built by Captain Horatio Benson. He was a sea captain who helmed a ship called the Hiraeth, which is the Welsh word for longing. I was thinking that could be the signature room on the second floor. It would have better amenities and pricier furnishings than the others. Of course it would cost more to stay in that room too."

  "You call that a little research?" Gregor laughed. "I'm with Noble, Griff. I think the idea is fucking killer."

  "Rumor has it you're full of ideas for the hotel, Drake." Griff sat back, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Presley kept a close eye on Griff. He hadn't been the one to spill the news that Drake had some ideas, but wouldn't have been surprised if Noble tipped him off. The problem with his friend was that he had one hell of a poker face which he was using with Drake. Pres couldn’t tell what Griffin was thinking.

  "Some of the other old-time hotels on the Cape offer guests add-ons for their stay. Things like having roses delivered to their room or champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. One hotel even delivers milk and whoopee pies."

  "Other old-time hotels?" The icy look was back in Griff’s blue eyes.

  Drake nodded. "Sand Dollar Shoal isn't a Motel 6 or a Holiday Inn. This hotel is elegant and almost from a bygone time. You're going to get a lot of people coming here for romantic getaways. Why not cater to them so that you're getting all of their disposable spending money?"

  Noble started to laugh. "I love it, Drake."

  "Yeah, well I don't. Who's gonna be the one to arrange the flowers or make the chocolate-covered strawberries and whoopee pies? Me! That's who." Gregor pushed his empty bisque bowl back and folded his arms over his broad chest.

  "I would love to learn how to make the strawberries and whoopee pies. I loved them as a kid and if there’s one thing I’ve noticed lately is that nostalgia sells."

  "You’d be willing to help?" Griff was back to raising an eyebrow.

  "Sure. It's my idea. I wouldn't suggest it if I wasn't able to pitch in."

  "Hmm," Griff hummed under his breath. "You're awfully quiet there, Pres. I can't decide if it's because you hate Drake's ideas or don't want to seem biased."

  Pres rolled his eyes. "I think Drake's well thought out ideas speak for themselves." Presley turned to smile at Drake. "Tell them the best idea."

  "Wait there's a better idea? Damn..." Noble rubbed his hands together.

  "Weddings." Drake took a deep breath. "Destination weddings are huge and what better place to get married than right here?"

  "Especially if you had your first date in this dining room or got engaged here." Landon was all smiles.

  "There's only one problem, Drake." Griff shook his head.

  Drake snorted. "That's better than ten problems." He turned to Pres, giggling nervously.

  "It’s a great idea, but we have so much going on with getting the hotel open and then through her first season. None of us are going to have time to deal with these customers and none of us have experience as wedding planners."

  Drake nodded, the look in his eyes turning sad. "I have no experience in party planning at all."

  "I might have the solution to that." Pres grinned, he could see how much it hurt Drake to reveal his lack of experience.

  "Oh really?" Griff sounded interested.

  "I'll let Drake plan the masquerade ball as a test of sorts,” Pres said simply as if his vote alone would decide the matter.

  Griff’s face turned serious. “To be honest, I was just giving you a hard time over your ideas, Drake. I wanted to see if you’d stand up for yourself and your plan and you did just that.”

  “Ah, so this was a test?” Drake didn’t sound surprised.

  Gri
ffin nodded. “I love everything you pitched. I want a list of possible room names by the end of the day tomorrow, along with different add-ons with estimated costs. Think outside the box and get away from ideas you saw on another hotel’s website. Gregor can work with you on that. But, and I’m sorry Drake, I can’t just give you the masquerade ball. You don’t have any party planning experience and the ball could very well make or break the hotel.”

  Pres saw red. It was his idea for Drake to plan the ball and Griff had just shot it down out of hand with no input from the rest of them. “None of us have this kind of experience, Griff. The only thing that comes close was that kegger we threw on Labor Day weekend sophomore year at Noble’s house and we all know how that ended…”

  Drake and Landon exchanged confused looks. “How did it end?”

  Noble snorted. “With all four of us spending the night in jail. Jesus fucking Christ was my Dad pissed.”

  I don’t think Drake could fuck up the masquerade ball any worse than that!” Gregor announced.

  “God fucking damn it, Gregor!” Griff slammed a fist down on the table making the glassware bounce. “This isn’t a fucking game. It’s our future. If this party ends up in the shitter I go to fucking Costa Rica with the sloths and you end up as a fry cook in East Butt Fuck, South Carolina, while Pres has to crawl back to his parents’ whiskey distillery.”