A Perfect Fit

by Heather Tullis

  “He always made time to do what interested me and he nurtured my dreams, encouraged me to do what made me happy, even if it wasn’t what he valued.” Delphi grimaced. “There were lots of times I felt second place to you two, but that was because he didn’t acknowledge me in public rather than because he didn’t make a real effort to keep up on what was going on in my life.”

  “If I wanted to talk, needed to vent, whatever, he always made time, even if it wasn’t our scheduled talk time,” Rosemary added. “And if he was in a meeting, he always called back within a few hours. He never forgot or blew me off. But I’m seriously ticked he didn’t tell me he was sick so I could visit him before he died.”

  “Get in line,” Jonquil said. “There’s no question we all wish he’d been around more. But considering how many of us there are, and the geographical problems, I’m impressed he managed so well. But I guess he always had the excuse of checking in on the resorts where we lived.”

  Tears started pouring down Cami’s cheeks and she brushed them away. He really had loved them all, and made sure they felt it. Knowing this only confused her more as she tried to piece together the man she’d thought she knew with these new facets of his personality. “Thank you. This has been a lot to take in, and I don’t know how to deal with it.”

  “You’re not the only one who feels that way,” Jonquil pointed out. “Even though we knew about you, we didn’t know about each other, and Dad had an amazing ability to maneuver everyone around him to do his bidding.” Her jaw set at a surly angle.

  “You’re not kidding. I still can’t believe Delphi and I were on the same floor of the dorm and never had a real conversation.” Cami asked Delphi, “Did you know then?”

  Delphi nodded. “Yeah. And I recognized you the first day I moved in. I was curious about you, even while I resented you for being the one he acknowledged. Did you notice he never came to the campus or dorms that year?”

  Cami paused and thought back, then snorted in disgust. “You’re right. I never thought about it, though. He didn’t want to run into one of us while he was with the other one.” She called him a harsh name.

  Rosemary laughed, but Sage gave Cami an admonishing glare.

  Cami debated mentioning more, and decided to come clean. “He put a bug in Vince’s ear about me while they were planning the landscaping. He had Vince thinking I must have been a wallflower or something for Dad to be so pushy about how I was perfect for him, but it got him to step up and learn more about me.” She swore. “I actually thought I was making my own moves on this relationship, and then it turned out he’d manipulated that, as well.”

  “He didn’t manipulate you into accepting a date, though,” Jonquil pointed out. “You did it on your own. And weren’t you dating someone pretty recently?”

  “Ah, yes, Trent. The sludge of humanity. I split with him in January when I realized he was searching for a cash infusion. He kept popping back up, trying to convince me to give him another chance after Dad died. I guess our relationship was pretty well known. Too bad his financial need wasn’t quite as clear when we started dating.” She still couldn’t believe she’d been so gullible.

  “So you split with him because he wasn’t as rich as you?” Rosemary asked.

  “No.” Cami infused ice into her voice at the suggestion. “I dumped him because he cared more about the money than about me. I’m not giving a fortune hunter the time of day.”

  “But did you care about him?” Jonquil asked.

  Cami set her water to the side and shifted in her spot. “Not as much as I thought at the time.” She waved a hand. “Oh, I felt betrayed, but mostly I was embarrassed I let myself be taken in. Letting him go was ridiculously easy.”

  “That’s almost harder,” Jonquil said with a nod. “I split with my boyfriend of two years, just realized it wasn’t going anywhere. I think I was more upset it took me so long to realize there wasn’t anything between us and we’d wasted our time than I was at the split.” She smiled. “Dad always said he was too bland for me. It’s irritating when you find out he’s right.”

  “Isn’t it, though?” Rosemary asked. “Well, if Dad was in the matchmaking business for us before he died, no way am I going to start up anything with a guy he knew. Better yet, I’ll be far too busy running my kitchen to get involved with any guy at all for the next year, at least.”

  Cami decided it was time for a change of subject. “Any interesting applicants in the pile I brought home?”

  “A few, and a few others I’ll check into for servers and stuff. The applications better keep pouring in, because no way could we staff the entire hotel from what we’ve seen, and there were definitely a few I wouldn’t consider interviewing, never mind hiring.”

  Cami grinned. “I’ve been in touch with a concierge from the Four Seasons in Denver. She thinks she might like a change of scene, and she’d be a great resource as we’re starting out. I’ve known her for a few years. She’s very good.” If she managed to get Lorna, it would make her life so much easier.

  “That would be a coup,” Lana agreed.

  “Yes it would.”

  They took turns discussing hiring possibilities, then directed the subject elsewhere. Cami mostly sat back and listened to the banter as it flowed from one woman to the next. She hadn’t considered the others might be struggling as much with current events as she was, or that they might be angry and confused about why their dad had kept so many secrets. They’d all lost something when their father died. But maybe, just maybe, the note he’d left her, his words about wanting her to have her sisters there to love and support her, would be fulfilled after all. Eventually.

  Chapter 24

  Vince smiled when he found Cami gathered around the island with her sisters, putting together sandwiches for dinner. “Hey, a room full of beautiful women, what more could a man want?”

  “Join us for dinner.” Cami accepted his peck on the lips, warming him with her smile.

  “I think I will.” He pulled her into a hug and leaned against the counter, enjoying the babble of women’s voices, and more importantly, the feel of Cami in his arms after a long day of slogging through paperwork at the nursery.

  The door to the garage opened and Delphi came through in one of her sleek suits. She pointed at Vince, irritation on her face. “Your friend is the most arrogant ass I’ve ever met.”

  “Things didn’t go well with Jeremy?” Cami asked.

  “Wait, Jeremy’s the ass? What did he do?” Jeremy was usually so good with women, and Delphi so professional, he must have really done something out of character to get her fuming.

  She dumped her attaché in a chair in the great room and stormed back to him on three-inch heels. “I’d known him all of thirty seconds when he made some arrogant statement about how he wasn’t interested in marriage no matter how much I was worth. As if I were some wannabe contestant for The Bachelor or something. As if I didn’t already have a boyfriend and actually cared what the jerk wanted.”

  Vince tried to choke back a laugh, but couldn’t manage it. “He’s usually very smooth with beautiful women. I don’t know what he was thinking.” Vince did know what Jeremy had been thinking, but obviously George hadn’t shared his grand plans for his daughters’ marriages with the ladies. “What did you say?”

  She told them about Jeremy insisting she’d been checking him out, and her rebuttal that it was the bike she was interested in. When she said she’d told Jeremy his bike was way hotter than he was, Vince barely managed to hold back the guffaw that ached to explode.

  “Is it true?” Jonquil asked. “Is the bike way hotter?”

  Delphi eyed Vince. “You ever repeat what I’m about to say, and I’ll make sure you pay for a long, long time.” When he held up his hands in defense, she grinned at Jonquil. “Oh, the bike is super-hot, and the guy is a pretty good match. Too bad his personality hotness quotient dropped like fifty points when he opened his mouth.”

  “Too bad.” Jonquil piled a handful of ch
ips on the side of her plate. “What did you think of his work?”

  “Top notch. I guess I’ll deal with the arrogance.” She looked at Sage. “I don’t know how you put up with him on the Fourth of July.”

  “He had a girl with him, and I wasn’t checking out his…equipment, so apparently he didn’t see a point in going on the offense,” Sage said with a teasing smile. “Besides, you might change your mind about him later.”

  Delphi snorted. “Not likely.”

  Wishing he hadn’t promised to keep this exchange to himself, Vince decided having the sisters around could be very entertaining.

  ~*~

  “Joel, don’t think you’re getting out of this,” Sage called out as the sisters collected in the entrance to the hotel.

  Cami laughed when he pulled a face. The entire executive staff was getting their pictures taken and Joel had done nothing but scowl and complain since the announcement was made. The sisters were all in professional outfits of one kind or another—though Rosemary wore a chef’s uniform, and Sage wore the polo and dress pants that were her typical spa uniform.

  “I can’t believe you’re wearing that, and I’m in a dress suit,” Jonquil complained. “I should never have let Delphi help me pick something.”

  “Blue is your color and the pictures are going to be awesome,” Delphi said, adjusting the collar on her blouse.

  Jeremy stood by in jeans, a tight white tee and his signature sunglasses. His camera, a tripod and a long pole were all strapped to him as he watched the group of women with thinly disguised irritation. “Are we about ready?”

  “I’m not wearing a suit coat,” Joel stated as he came to join the group.

  “You’re fine the way you are.” Rosemary smoothed a wrinkle in the green polo he wore that had the company logo and his name embroidered on it. “You just need to seem tough and intimidating. See there, you’ve already got it down.”

  Cami held in a chuckle. Joel hadn’t changed his usual expression one iota.

  When she realized he was staring at someone walking into the building, Cami turned to the man approaching them. He grinned broadly and offered her his hand. “Hi, you’d be Camellia, right?”

  “Yes, have we met?”

  “I’m Larry Clonger, a reporter with—”

  That was as far as he got before Joel stepped in and started herding the man back to the outside door. “If you want interviews, you’ll have to go through proper channels,” he said.

  “But I wanted to ask the ladies about the rumors that have been cropping up,” the reporter protested.

  “Then call and set something up. Now isn’t a good time.” Joel lifted his radio and called for backup before he got out of hearing. “They’re very busy getting ready for the resort opening.”

  “That was interesting,” Rosemary said, straightening her uniform.

  “They’re coming out of the woodwork. Joel and the other security guys are already working overtime to keep the reporters at bay and screen incoming calls,” Lana said with a sigh.

  “It’ll blow over soon. We’re really not that big of news,” Jonquil said.

  “Yeah, until someone finds or makes up something spectacular enough to print again.” Lana frowned.

  “You have something to hide?” Rosemary asked, her brows lifting suggestively.

  Blake came down the stairs and joined them “Sorry I’m late. Where do you want us?” he asked Jeremy.

  They went out to a nice spot in the landscaping with rocks and trees and Jeremy started ordering people around. Delphi kept things moving along, not letting time lapse between pictures, while Lana ensured everyone’s clothes were smooth and hair perfect for each shot.

  Jeremy had all of the sisters get together for a group picture. “Don’t you want everyone in this?” Cami asked.

  “We’ll take one in a minute, but for this picture we’re going to focus on the idea of family running the hotel, a family you trust and believe in,” Jeremy said. “That’s what the PR person said.”

  “So what am I doing here?” Joel asked.

  Sage gave him a saucy smile. “You’ll live.”

  “Jeremy, is the picture balanced? Maybe I should switch with Jonquil,” Delphi said as she touched her hair.

  “It’s fine. This is my job. You can trust me to do it right, your majesty.”

  Delphi sent him a quelling look, then put on a smile and posed for the shot.

  Chapter 25

  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.”