by Judith Keim
Vaughn grinned good-naturedly and gave me a look that told me he wouldn’t mind that one bit. If I didn’t already love him, I would have fallen in love with him right then. But I knew we needed more than love to make such a union. Our relationship was complicated by others.
Will shook hands with Vaughn and gave me a peck on the cheek. Rhonda embraced us both. “You two take good care of The Beach House Hotel. We’ll see you soon!”
We all followed them outside. Tim and Angela sat in the limousine, which was decorated with white ribbons. Rhonda turned to Will with a smile. “Ready? Let’s go!”
Inside the limo, Rhonda opened her window and leaned out. “Remember, Annie, you’re next!”
As the limousine pulled out of the driveway, Liz came up beside me. “Didn’t Rhonda look great? Angela too!”
“Yes, it was lovely, wasn’t it?”
“But, Mom—“ Liz lowered her voice and gave Vaughn an anxious glance. “Are you really going to be next?”
“I’m taking it one day at a time, Liz.” I put my arm around her. “Now that the wedding’s over, we have to think about getting you back to school. I’m going to miss you, Liz, but I’m glad you’re going.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, well, I guess I have no choice.”
She walked away to join Angela’s cousins. Watching her, I couldn’t stop a sigh of frustration. Robert had given her an opening to quit school.
“Kids. They’re always a worry,” said Vaughn, joining me.
I smiled. “I guess that’s what makes us parents.”
“What do you say we go back to your house?”
“Let me check with Paul and Maria, then I’ll be ready to go.” I couldn’t wait to go into the pool and take a night swim. With Liz at home, we’d be restrained, but after she left for school Vaughn would be alone with me for the whole week. We planned to make the most of it.
###
I rose and quietly dressed, managing to tiptoe out of the house without waking either Vaughn or Liz.
When I arrived at the hotel, Consuela and Maria were already in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Richie and Annette and their families were due to fly out mid-afternoon. Liz and Angela were on a different flight a half-hour later.
I checked email and voice messages and went back to the kitchen, drawn by the unmistakable bouquet of brewed coffee. Richie was seated at the table sipping coffee and munching on a sweet roll. By now, I was used to seeing Rhonda’s face on his shoulders and didn’t feel the least bit awkward when he stood and gave me a bear hug.
“Annie, you gonna be able to tackle this joint alone or do ya need me to stay behind with ya?” He laughed Rhonda’s raucous laugh, and I chuckled. He was almost as outrageous as his sister.
I smiled. “Vaughn and I are going to be fine.” Rhonda and I had been surprised by the number of reservations that had unexpectedly been booked, but I was comfortable about running the place with the staff.
“Sit.” He waved me to a seat at the kitchen table. “I want to tell ya how damn much it means to me to see Rhonda so happy. A lot of it has to do with you being here, supportin’ her if ya know what I mean. Anytime you need somethin’, you tell me. That’s how we keep it in our family. Hear?”
“Thanks.” It meant more to me than he knew. I’d never had a real family. My grandmother would abhor his rough language, but there was nothing but heartfelt emotion behind his words.
We chatted for a few minutes longer, and then I hurried away to take care of business.
After a late lunch, we loaded the family’s luggage into the van, the trunk of the limo, and even my old Honda. It was quite something to see how we managed to fit everything and everyone in the vehicles. We headed for Ft. Myers like a gypsy caravan, with Tim and Angela in the limo and Vaughn driving the van. Liz and I were alone in my car, along with luggage that had been loaded inside it. I was glad for the private time with her.
We’d gone only a short distance when she turned to me. “Mom? Make sure Vaughn doesn’t hurt you. Did you see all those women at the wedding? They couldn’t stay away from him.”
“It’s not easy to get used to, but as he says, it’s all part of the scene. It really doesn’t mean anything to him personally. He learned that long ago.”
“I talked to Nell ...”
“You did?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.
She gave me a sheepish smile. “She told me to back off. Guess Nell really likes you.”
I gave her a reassuring smile. “Liz, I’m not going to do anything foolish.”
“It’s just that my whole life is upside down. First, Dad. Now, maybe you.” She looked younger than her years. My heart went out to her. I patted her hand.
“The one thing that won’t change is how much I love you.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “I know. Sorry, I was such a jerk to Vaughn.”
She turned away from me, and I realized it would be a while longer before Liz accepted the fact that I was on my own and about to enjoy it with the most exciting man I’d ever met.
We got the luggage inside the terminal, and then I had one last chance to hug Liz before she and the others stood in the security line to go out to the gates.
I raced back to my car and led the parade of vehicles back to the hotel. As I passed through the gates to the hotel, Manny waved frantically to me from the front entrance. I pulled the car to a stop in the front circle.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’d better come, Annie! Dorothy needs to see you!”
It could only mean another problem. Heart pounding, I got out of the car and rushed up the steps.
Dorothy looked up from behind the front desk, her eyes huge behind her glasses. “Oh, there you are, Ann. I don’t know what to do! I just got a call from one of Roger Sloan’s friends, a big movie producer by the name of Robert Bronson. He’s at the airport in Chicago with his wife and another couple. They’re catching a plane to Sabal, and he wanted us to know he and his group of four would be arriving by six o’clock tonight. I looked on the reservations list, but they aren’t there.”
My lips thinned. “And I know why. They never sent us a deposit as we requested or called to confirm their reservations. I told him when we talked that we wouldn’t hold a room without a deposit.”
“What are we going to do?” Dorothy wrung her hands. “I didn’t know what to say, so I told them okay. And now they’re on their way!”
We were in trouble. I didn’t want someone like Robert Bronson turned away. It would kill too much goodwill . I checked the reservations schedule.
“We’ve only got one room available. A large group from the east coast booked rooms for a special event this week. We’d better pray one of our other guests can’t come at the last minute. Otherwise, we’ll have to walk the Bronson party to another property, and I’d hate to do that.”
Dorothy clucked her tongue. “I’m so sorry.”
“You’d better go ahead and call the other hotels to see if they have any availability, in case we need the room. Let me know.”
Carrying an inspection checklist, I climbed the stairs to check on Maria and Rosita. Each room had to be spotlessly clean, with fresh flowers in vases and a basket of amenities that included bottled water, crackers, and nuts.
After I left them, Vaughn met me downstairs. “How’s it going? I told the party planner I’d help take down the decorations.”
I filled him in on the latest news and returned to the office to check with Dorothy.
“There’s a big boat and fishing exhibition along with a contest or some such thing. The other hotels, at least the ones we’d choose, are pretty well booked.” Dorothy gave me a worried look. “I’m sorry, Ann. I really am.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll work something out,” I said, but I wondered how.
As each guest arrived, I checked them off my list. With time running out, I realized the only space available was Rhonda’s suite in her wing of the house. After deciding to live in Will’s bayside home, whe
re they’d have more privacy, she’d pretty much moved out of it.
Maria and I checked the suite to make sure it was clean and that nothing of Rhonda’s personal property was in danger of being taken.
Observing the tall ceilings, the crystal chandelier hanging from it, and the marble fireplace, I thought the elegant bedroom with its large sitting area overlooking the Gulf was exquisite by anyone’s standards. Using this room might be a great marketing tool for us, sort of like the Presidential Suites of larger hotels.
I turned around to get a better sense of the room. The pale-blue tones of the walls and the assorted fabrics in the room were duplicated by the shades of the water outside, while the deep-magenta accent colors in the Oriental rug were echoed by the bougainvillea displayed so colorfully in the landscaping.
I checked the bathroom. The brass fixtures gleamed. Maria set to work on the enormous shower, which featured six shower heads. I leaned over the spa and looked out of the crescent-shaped window to the view of the Gulf.
“Mr. Big Producer and his wife better appreciate this,” I grumbled and went about setting out flowers and amenities.
By six-thirty, all the reserved rooms but the two set aside for the producer and his group been filled. I heaved a sigh of relief. It had all worked out.
Paul had already left to pick up the producer, his wife, and their friends. Tim would officially greet them. Jean-Luc was in full swing in the kitchen with his new assistant, who’d done a spectacular job with the wedding.
I peeked into the living room. Consuela and Rosita were serving wine and appetizers to several of our guests. Everything was in order.
“Go home!” Tim gave me a big grin. “Rhonda told me she’d skin me alive if you didn’t have any free time with Vaughn.”
I smiled happily. “Thanks. You know where I am. Give me a call if you need me.”
“No problem. Go!”
I all but skipped along the path to my house. The lights in my house shone a welcome. Best of all, Vaughn was waiting inside. My steps quickened.
I burst through the front doorway. “Hello! Anybody home?”
“Just me!” Vaughn lunged at me playfully from behind the door and drew me into his arms. His lips pressed down on mine.
I closed my eyes, reveling in the feel, the touch, the taste of him. At that moment, being with him like this was all that mattered to me. He drew me closer, and I could tell he was as ready for me as I was for him.
Vaughn stepped back and looked at me with such a tender expression, tears stung my eyes. He offered his hand, and I took it.
In my bedroom, I pushed thoughts of Lily away. I wanted to prove to Vaughn that our relationship was worth fighting for. Making love with Vaughn never ceased to amaze me. He was creative and gentle and rough and tender and so, so generous.
Much later, we returned to the kitchen. Vaughn sat at the kitchen bar and watched while I fixed a crisp green salad and sliced cold, blackened chicken breast to put on top. I handed him a chilled bottle of sauvignon blanc. He opened it and poured out two glasses of the white wine.
We sat side by side at the bar, relaxed with each other as we ate our supper.
“Liz told me she talked to Nell,” I said.
Vaughn’s eyebrows lifted. “And?”
“Nell told her to back off.”
Vaughn laughed. “At times, she’s so much like her mother. My son, Ty, is more like me.”
I sobered. “Do you still miss Ellen? She sounds like such a nice person.”
Vaughn nodded. “Yeah, it was a real blow to the gut to lose her, but I’m ready to move on.” He leaned over and kissed me.
I didn’t know much about his wife, but I was grateful to her for making Vaughn so happy and teaching him what a woman wants.
We took our wine outside, and I relaxed in my chair, enjoying the clean, salty evening air. A sliver-shaped moon hung suspended above us. Whimsically, I thought of it as the night sky smiling down on the love we shared.
Vaughn took the last sip of his wine, set down his glass, and turned to me. “While you were working this afternoon, I wandered down to the beach to take a walk. There’s something wonderful about doing that. It helps bring things into perspective. I’d like to tell you about Lily Dorio now.”
My stomach clenched as I faced him. I remembered the lies I’d heard from Robert and gripped the arms of my chair.
Vaughn reached over and gave my hand a squeeze of encouragement. I gazed at the love in his eyes, and the tension that had gripped me eased. I settled back to listen.
“You remember Roger Sloan, the producer of the show? As you know, his wife, Darlene, is in the fashion industry and has become quite a force to be reckoned with. Her business now does over one billion dollars a year. She works very hard at it, and she’s been very successful.”
Vaughn leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. “When Roger and Darlene flew over here with me in July, I was surprised to find Lily Dorio and her date with them. Lily is well-known in theatrical circles as someone who enjoys a fantasy world for the right price, if you get my meaning. I didn’t think much more of it because Darlene and Roger have always been a close couple. I didn’t know then that Roger’s affair with Lily had already begun.”
I sat up in surprise. I remembered how Lily had hung onto Vaughn’s every word during our dinner together, how she’d brushed up against him with her ample breasts.
Vaughn looked uncomfortable. “That’s why Lily kept throwing herself at me. She didn’t want Darlene to suspect anything was going on between Roger and her.”
“Surely Darlene would have known something was up when she was right there with them,” I said, and then recalled how fooled I’d been by Robert’s need to stay at the office.
“Apparently, Darlene suspected something along the way. Roger cashed in some stock he owned in the company, and when Darlene discovered it, she was furious. Roger tried to cover it up by saying the show was starting to get stale, and he needed the money for it. Actually, it was to pay off Lily.”
“Pay her off? For what? The affair?”
Vaughn shook his head with disgust. “Roger decided he wanted out. Darlene threatened divorce and Roger is no dummy—he didn’t want to give up his lush lifestyle with her. He told Lily he couldn’t see her anymore. Lily threatened to tell Darlene all about what their little games had produced unless he kept her living in style. As long as he paid her, she wouldn’t tell anyone that the baby was his. That’s when Roger came to me.”
“Why you?” I asked, thinking life is sometimes the best and worst soap opera of all.
“You may remember my mentioning my contract was up for renewal. It expires in October, and we’d already begun negotiations. Through my agent, I let it be known I wanted a special release from the show to do some movies. I had an offer I wanted to be able to think about. The big guys didn’t like that one bit, Roger included. So when he came to see me, he offered me a deal. If I’d talk to Lily, he’d talk to the network’s bigwigs about the movie clause in the contract and convince them to give it to me. I agreed to do it. What did I have to lose?”
“And so you went to see Lily. And I imagine she tried to latch onto you, a handsome, single man. Is that it?”
Vaughn’s cheeks grew red. He nodded. “If you knew Lily, you’d know she’s not one to let grass grow under her feet.”
“Going for the green can be a never-ending pursuit,” I said sourly. “She’s just the type.”
Vaughn gave me an abashed look. “Yeah, well, she tried, but I wasn’t interested. She seemed to take it in stride, almost as if she was expecting it. She walked me to the door of her apartment to show me out. Just as I was leaving, a photographer popped out of the bushes. Lily grabbed me before I could stop her. The picture in the news shows her in a filmy gown of some sort, clearly displaying the fact that she was wearing nothing underneath it despite her pregnancy, and made me look like a love-sick schmuck in her arms.”
Vaughn’s eyes flashed. “Th
e picture came out the day before I left to come here. I was furious. It was a set-up if I ever saw one.” He stirred angrily in his chair. “I went to see Roger and asked him what the hell was going on. I thought he was going to break down and cry. He gave me this song-and-dance routine about how he could never let Lily go. It seems he’s hooked on some of the weird stuff she does—stuff I wouldn’t even tell you about. He admitted he arranged for the photographer to be there so Darlene would be convinced there was nothing going on between him and Lily. He wanted her to think that Lily was having an affair with me.”
“Nice of him,” I commented.
Vaughn shook his head. “While you were at the hotel this morning, I called a few people I know in New York. It seems the loser’s trying to scrounge money from anybody he knows to keep Lily happy. Believe me, I’ve been so disgusted with the whole thing, I was ready to quit the show. But I’ve had time to think about it. As bad as this is, I don’t think I could leave the show forever. Acting is my work.”
I frowned. I was still trying to absorb the impact of what Vaughn had told me. “Didn’t Roger realize that other people would be hurt by what he’d done? Your children? Your friends? Me?”
Vaughn snorted. “I guess he just doesn’t give a shit. I’ve talked to Nell about it, and she’s okay. Ty’s great about it too. My son is pretty liberal about things like that. It’s you I’ve been worried about. I know how you feel about scandals. I’m trying to prove to you that I can be trusted, and then something like this comes along to ruin it. What can I do?”
“You’ve already begun to do it.” Touched by his sincerity, I clasped his hand. “You’ve told me what happened and how you feel about it. That’s a good beginning.”
Vaughn gazed into my eyes. “I want you with me. I need you. When I come home at night, I want you there. I don’t want to talk to you on the phone or exchange emails. I want you in my arms. Will you give me, give us, this chance to be together? Will you come to New York and stay with me for a while?”
My racing heart bumped to a shocked stop. “You’re suggesting that I come and live with you for a short, trial period?”
