A quick internet search was all Cami needed to learn Delphi’s mom was named Zelda. Anxious, she checked and found reservations for the other sisters’ mothers—except for Rosemary, a fact that left all kinds of questions running through Cami’s head. But maybe Rosemary’s mom hadn’t made the reservation yet. Most likely.
Of course the others would want their parents to be there. She understood. Everyone deserved to have family there to support them and this was a really big deal. Cami longed for her own mother, and even for her father, despite the fact that she was still mad at him. She would have Lana and Alex there, so it wasn’t as though she wouldn’t have any family to support her, but it wouldn’t be the same—and Lana would be distracted with her own responsibilities.
Cami pushed back the sadness and realized Lana needed to know as well—this was not the kind of news you sprang on someone the day everyone checked into the hotel. She stood and walked up to the executive offices on the second floor. She greeted the receptionist and walked on through. Lana was at her desk and Blake sat beside her, peering over her shoulder and pointing to something on the computer screen.
He glanced up first and concern washed over his face. “Is something wrong?”
Cami considered whether she should ask to be alone with Lana, then decided Blake was so mixed up in everything going on there was no point in excluding him now. She shut the door and walked over to an empty chair across from them, feeling numb. “Not wrong, exactly.” She met Lana’s gaze as the smell of ripe strawberries wafted to her from candle warmer on the credenza. “I was checking the guest list for the gala weekend and noticed the others—their moms are coming. I don’t know how I missed it before.”
“The others?” Lana asked.
Slow down and try to make sense. “Delphi, Jonquil, Sage. All of their parents have reservations. I thought I should give you a heads up.”
Silence filled the room for a long moment.
“Are you okay with this?” Blake finally asked. His hand came to rest on Lana’s shoulder, and he gave it a squeeze as he looked between the sisters. “It must be hard for you.”
Cami watched the emotions play over Lana’s face. She recognized the feelings since she felt them as well. “I’ll be fine. I’m just glad I noticed now instead of being surprised at the last minute.”
“No problem. It’s no big deal.” Lana’s face looked numb despite her words.
Cami stood, not sure she believed either of them were okay.
As she left the room, she turned and saw Blake pushing hair back from Lana’s unhappy face, saying something to her in a voice Cami heard only as a low, comforting rumble. She wondered again at their strange relationship, but the emotions that still pumped through her made her set it aside for now.
Chapter 28
Evenings in the Rockies were cool, even in early August, so after double checking her form-fitting blouse, her boot-cut jeans and new cream-colored cowboy boots, Cami grabbed a summer sweater she could slide on later.
Cami met Vince at the bottom of the stairs, her heart pattering with excitement as he watched her descend.
“Wow. Have I said that enough lately?” He pulled her in, pressing a languid kiss to her lips.
“I don’t think you could ever overuse that word,” she murmured when they came up for air.
“Yes, he could,” Rosemary said from where she sat at the dining table. “But of course, he’s completely right. Those jeans were made for you.”
“And the jewelry is awesome,” Jonquil added.
“I guess I pass inspection.” Amused, Cami looped her arm through Vince’s and allowed him to lead her to the door. “Have a good night,” she called over her shoulder.
“Not as good as you, I’m thinking,” Rosemary shot back.
Cami felt her face heat.
“You get caught coming in the other morning?” Vince asked when they were in the open air.
“Oh, yeah.”
He helped her into the car, then joined her and pulled into the street. He talked about work, but she could barely listen, thinking about the party ahead with little idea of what to expect. Her hatred of big parties, especially ones filled with strangers, filled her chest with anxiety, nudging at her usual core of confidence. She hoped she didn’t become too nauseated to eat—a problem she often dealt with at large social gatherings.
“What’s wrong?”
She smiled weakly. “I’m a little nervous.”
“Hon, I have a feeling this is going to be nothing like the parties you’re used to.” His hand covered hers in her lap and gave it a squeeze. “No need to worry. It’ll be fine.”
Time to deflect the comment before he realized how much her stomach churned. “If it were going to be like my other parties, I sure wouldn’t be wearing these boots.” She admired them again, liking them, despite their being so different from her usual footwear.
“I like those boots. And Rosemary’s completely right about the jeans.”
She laughed in pleased embarrassment.
“I’m glad you’re coming with me tonight,” he said, twining his fingers through hers.
“I enjoy being with you.” She shrugged, feeling awkward. “Besides, it’s my job.”
“It’s more than a job; it’s family pride and love of what you accomplish.” He squeezed her hand.
He understood. Tingles of emotion rolled through her. She didn’t think he would grasp the way she felt about it. “That too.”
Vince lifted her hand, pressing it to his lips. “You’re an amazing woman, Cami.”
“Tell me again when we convince the happy couple they want to keep their wedding at the resort.”
He smiled against her knuckles. “I’ve enlisted some help there. Do what you do best, and before you know it, the bride will be begging you to keep her business.”
“This I gotta see.”
The first hour of the party went about as Cami had imagined it. She met dozens of new people, only a fraction of whose names she recalled ten minutes later. The food was a festive mix of Jell-O salads, spicy Mexican dishes, and old favorites. Upbeat tunes spanning three decades lilted through the air and the fresh scent of pine permeated everything—but because of the upcoming discussion, Cami couldn’t enjoy it. Vince knew everyone, asked them about their sister, son, cousin or grandmother. He talked about water shortages with the ranchers and the high school football team’s chances at the state title.
He helped her make connections not only with the locals, but about how they related to each other. And while Cami had been used to paying attention to those kinds of things in the city, Vince did it with a relish she never felt—and out of a genuine concern for everyone around him instead of in the scheming worry about social rank that motivated so many of her acquaintances. She knew every town had its social pitfalls and expectations. She wondered, though, if he cared more about the people than she did, or if he was really good at acting sincere.
Cami suspected it was the former and was fascinated to see how enmeshed in the community he was. No wonder he had returned to Juniper Ridge after completing his degree.
His ease and familiarity and the warmth of his hand in hers eventually soothed her, lessening her anxiety.
She and the future bride greeted each other in passing, and though Cami wanted to get it over with, she knew it was too soon to bring up the wedding. These things took planning and precision and nerves of steel—at least, they did if you didn’t want to be at the party. And despite everything, she would much, much rather have been cuddled with Vince on his sofa. Or wherever else he wanted to cuddle.
At dinner Vince maneuvered them so they sat with Jeremy and his date, Gage and his mother, and within hearing distance of the future bride. While everyone enjoyed the black forest cake the hostess had provided, Gage’s mother, Etta, started in, “Cami, I’ve heard so much about your conference center. The pictures Jeremy shot are breathtaking. Seriously, every bride within fifty miles is going to want to be married there.”
My cue. Cami plunged in enthusiastically, “You’re so sweet, but I have to agree. Things have come together now. The last of the furniture is arriving. I love the tablecloths and vases and all of the accessories we’ve ordered for the room. We’re using it for the grand opening gala and Delphi has kept all of the details so together. She’s amazing.”
Jeremy nodded reluctantly. “She’s very organized, efficient. Made sure everything I needed was handy when I did pictures there.”
“My niece and her boyfriend are talking about getting married. She’d love to stop by and see what you have to offer,” Etta said.
Cami glanced at the bride-to-be out of the corner of her eye and saw both members of the happy couple listening in. “The sky’s the limit. Sage has plans to offer wedding-morning massages for bride and groom so they can relax, along with facials or anything else they need to feel their best, and Jonquil is incredible with flowers. She’s working on the most gorgeous arrangement with roses and lilies. She had so many ideas for the big party. The pastry chef Rosemary just hired is to-die-for incredible. Her cakes are like edible joy. Everything’s coming together so well, I can hardly wait.” She turned to Vince, smiled. “And of course the grounds are more beautiful every day.”
“She wanted a fall wedding—I know, they’re in a hurry and scheduling is tight. Is there any way you could fit her in?” Etta asked.
“We do have a few open weekends left, and we just had a cancellation, so everyone but Jeremy is available that day.” She looked at Jeremy. “Your schedule must be pretty full.”
“Yes, but Delphi can check my availability and add sessions from her office, so she should have no trouble coordinating.”
“Great.” She turned back to Gage’s mom. “Didn’t I tell you everything’s falling right into line?”
“It sounds like it.”
Apparently Gage had his fill of the cheesy rah-rah talk because he changed the subject. Cami was just as glad—being that perky always made her face tired. Another glance at the bride and groom, though, showed them whispering quietly and shooting looks in her direction.
Chapter 29
The evening’s efforts were rewarded late the next morning when the bride called to reschedule her wedding, apologizing and saying they just had cold feet—as if Delphi would forget their comments about finding a different venue. Cami listened in the living room as Delphi assured the client that she could get the event reinstated, though there would be a fee to reestablish the appointments, since the vendors may have been working to fill the slot.
Delphi ended the call and danced in a circle. “Whatever you did last night, it worked. She’s hooked.”
“I’m not sure that’s a blessing, considering what a pain she’s been to work with so far, but with everything else hitting the fan, we need all the bookings we can get,” Cami said.
“I don’t care how difficult she is, I’m going to make this the wedding of the century, so everyone she knows will have to book here too.”
“Don’t crow too long and loud,” Blake said as he entered through the front door, Jonquil trailing behind him. “The report about the prince cancelling his reservation hit the news this morning, and we’ve already had several more cancelations.”
Cami swore but stopped when he held up a hand. “There’s more. A story got out about your father calling to talk to each of you at least twice a week, and making clandestine visits to your homes every-other month. I don’t know how much is true—”
A cold prickle slid down her spine and Cami stood and hollered at the top of her lungs, “Emergency meeting now! Everyone get your butts in here.”
Women came upstairs and downstairs and with a little calling back and forth, everyone was in the room within a minute. Cami stood and faced the other women, studying each of their faces as they arrived in the room. “Did anyone discuss your visitation schedules and phone calls with Dad outside this room?” When everyone just stared at her, she explained, “There’s an article in the paper about it, so if any of you shared it with other people, we need to know who so we can figure out where our leak is.”
Everyone looked around them while murmurs of “not me” and “I didn’t” filled the room.
“You think we’ve been bugged?” Lana asked.
Cami looked at Blake. “We discussed the visits and phone calls in this room. If it got to the press, we need to get someone in here to sweep for bugs like yesterday.”
Blake pulled out his cell phone and dialed. After he finished a quick conversation, he turned back to them. “Joel will be here with the right equipment within the hour. Is there any other sensitive information you’ve discussed in here?” He looked around. “Then again, maybe we should take this outside.”
Everyone agreed and they moved to the lawn, far from the porch railing.
Cami tried to think of everything they’d said in their conversation the previous week, her heart sinking. “We discussed my relationship with Vince. General plans for the hotels. Specifics about applicants. Way too much that shouldn’t become public knowledge. And if they have a bug in the great room, who’s to say there isn’t one in other rooms as well? Or cameras?”
“Oh no. What if someone recorded me trying to do Zumba?” Delphi looked horrified.
“Har, har. You think this is funny?” Lana asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Delphi glared at Lana. “No, I don’t think this is funny—an elephant is more graceful than I am.”
“Not true,” Rosemary piped up. “You’re somewhat more graceful than an elephant. At least equal to a rhino.”
“Thanks.” Delphi shot her a nasty glare. “Maybe you set up the bugs. You don’t seem to care who knows about your life. You’re so open with no secrets to hide.”
Rosemary’s jaw dropped, then she narrowed her eyes. “I can’t believe you would say that. I have as much to lose as you do.”
“Right. You, who claim you could get a job anywhere so you don’t need your inheritance.”
“I don’t. And I’m not the one who stormed out in the middle of the reading of the will.”
“Enough.” Blake raised his voice so it covered the two women. “Give it a rest. None of you have anything to gain by bringing the group down. It just comes out of your pocketbook if the hotel loses money and you’re all under the microscope.”
“There haven’t been any bad articles with her name headlining,” Rosemary pointed out.
“In some social circles, the fact that I’m known to be related to you is enough.”
“Seriously, you two,” Lana said. “Drop it. Joel will find out what’s going on.”
Cami hoped Lana was right.
“For now, maybe we ought to assume someone is listening to everything you say, and take any sensitive conversations to the office,” Blake said.
“Right. We have new employees to train today and we need to get moving,” Lana said, standing up. They were already going to be late.
“I’ll stay and let Joel in, then meet you all at the hotel,” Sage offered.
“Good idea. I’ll send you all a text when he’s done here and we’ll coordinate a meeting in Lana’s office—if that’s okay with you?” Blake asked, though it was clear the question was mostly a matter of form.
Lana pressed her lips together and nodded, whether she felt he was overstepping, or she was upset by current events, it was impossible to tell. “I’m leaving in five minutes if any of you want to ride with me.” She headed back inside.
Cami followed, gathered her things and slid them into the attaché she’d been using. She needed at least ten minutes for makeup before she’d be ready. It was going to be a long day.
~*~
Staff meeting had to wait until 4:30 when everyone had sent home the new hires for the day. They met in Lana’s office, all crowded into the tight space, and waited for Joel. When he entered, his face was grim.
“If you want to give us your report, we’ll go from there,” Lana said as the door
shut behind him.
“We found four cameras that aren’t part of the main system, and a dozen bugs. I believe we’ve cleaned everything out, and there are a few partial prints on the bugs. The sheriff is running them now against a list Sage gave me of everyone she could think of who had access to the house. In the meantime, I’ve had all the locks and codes changed. We found a recording device on site which was grabbing the signals for download. Then it would transmit the information to someone outside the house, probably in a car on the road.”
He glanced around the room, his normally serious face more severe than usual. “So the good news is the person responsible probably isn’t in the house often, but the perpetrator did have to gain access to put in the bugs and cameras. Is there any time you can think of when the house hasn’t been locked up tight?”
Cami shook her head and noticed the others doing so. “Sage is completely paranoid about setting the alarm and double checking every door and window lock at night and before we leave the place empty—even when we’re there most of the time.”
“As she should be. As you all should be. Your safety isn’t a joke.” He sent Sage an approving nod. Joel produced a bunch of keys and passed them around. “These fit the new locks.” He told them the new pass code for the garage and the house. “I’ll be over tonight and we’ll reset the garage door openers as well for each of your cars. Until then, make sure to keep the door between the garage and the house locked at all times. Actually, that’s not a bad precaution to take in any case. I’ll be hanging around a lot for the next few days, monitoring the system to see if we can catch the person downloading the data.”
Cami felt her stomach twist. She’d thought their current security efforts had been pretty strict, but this was going to make her crazy. “Do you think we’re in physical danger?”
A Perfect Fit Page 16