Hurricanes in Paradise by Denise Hildreth (web ebook reader .TXT) 📕

a few rough edges. I have no idea what she was talking about, so I said, ‘Okay’ ’cause you’ve always told me to be polite.”

Riley laughed, but she could tell Gabby was squirming. “Well, that was a good girl. Are you enjoying your time with Daddy?”

“Yeah, we’ve had a great time.” She paused. “But I sure wish you were here too, Mommy.”

Riley felt the lump rise. “I know. Me too. But if all goes well with this storm, Daddy can bring you home Saturday and we’ll have Sunday all to ourselves.”

“That sounds great! But, Mommy . . .”

Riley steadied herself for more of her old-soul six-year-old.

“I’ve really got to go pee.”

Riley laughed. “Well, go, go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Love you, Mommy!” The line went dead.

Riley leaned against the small back of the teak bench and stuck her phone in her pocket. A warm breeze swept through the open spaces and fluttered over her. She pulled her arms around her chest and leaned her head back. “Thank You,” she whispered to heaven. “Whatever You did to Laine or for Laine, thank You.”

She was certain heaven responded. Yes, she was absolutely certain.

14

Wednesday morning . . .

“Looks like a storm is headed our way, Miss Riley,” Bart said as he greeted Riley on her arrival.

“So it’s certain?”

“It got upgraded to a hurricane overnight. Weatherman says if it keeps its projected path, it should be here by Saturday afternoon.”

“Well, we will just get everyone here, have a great concert Thursday night, and fly them out as soon as we can.” Riley patted him as she headed to her office.

Mia stood behind the counter, a Starbucks cup next to her as she rapidly thumbed through papers. She looked up, slightly startled. “Good morning, Riley.”

“Good morning. What you got there?”

“Oh, well . . .” She looked down oddly at the papers in her hand. “Just confirmations for our VIPs coming in tomorrow for the concert tomorrow evening.”

“Oh, good. Put them on my desk so I can go over them. That isn’t something we can allow anything to go wrong with.” Riley turned and started toward her office, Laine’s words reverberating in her head.

“So everything went okay with your conversation with Max?” Mia asked as she followed her to the door.

Riley set her briefcase and purse down beside her desk and looked at Mia. She studied her to see if there was any reflection of Laine’s concern. She saw nothing. And why would she? This woman had done her job perfectly since she had arrived. “It went well. Laine called him and sang my praises. He has no idea, so it looks like we will get to work together a little longer.” A smile spread across her face as she considered the absurdity of it all.

“Well . . . that’s wonderful!” Mia said, clapping her hands together animatedly. “I knew you’d be okay. You’re great at this. Absolutely great.”

Riley sat down in her chair, scooted up to her desk, and looked at Mia again. “Thank you. And thank you for yesterday. You know, just for listening. I needed that. A place where I could share what was going on inside of me.”

“We all do, Riley. Glad I could be there.”

“Oh, and our tropical storm has become a hurricane. Not sure yet whether we’ll be in its path, but we’ll need to make sure that we have all our procedures in order to take care of our guests.”

“Oh, I know. Do you think many of them will be flying out?”

“Yes. We’ll probably be bombarded today and tomorrow. But a few will wait to see what category they are qualifying it as.”

“I heard this morning it could be a three or greater.”

Riley shook her head. She obviously needed to watch the news more. “That big?”

“Yes, it sounds pretty daunting.”

“Then, yeah, we may see some leave today, but the majority will probably head out tomorrow.” This was an entirely different beast. The concierge and her office would be swamped with flight changes, questions about refunds, and panicked guests. Sadly, Charleston and its turbulent waters had prepared her for times like these.

“Well, I’ll keep you updated on who is staying, and we’ll make sure all goes well. Let me know if there is anything else.”

“Thank you again.”

Mia closed the door, and Riley leaned her head back against the leather headrest of her chair. Laine wasn’t as good at reading people as she thought. Mia was a really sweet young woman, a great asset to the team, and might end up being a really good friend to Riley long after Laine was gone.

* * *

Riley walked into Mosaic. A stone and glass water wall stood behind the hostess stand like an ocean wave, lit by a blue agate pool below it. Water was everywhere at The Cove, but here it was mixed with modern touches of polished chrome, wenge wood, and limestone, and its light followed the same pattern of storytelling as the rest of The Cove.

Riley took a booth and waited. Just like she had yesterday.

“I told you not to be here,” Laine spouted as she climbed into the other side of the booth and laid her Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses on the edge of the table.

“You don’t like to eat alone, remember?”

Laine smiled. “No, I don’t. So thanks. I haven’t heard from those other two this morning and I was starving. Last night about did me in.”

“Not used to crying on women’s shoulders?” Riley chuckled.

“Not used to crying.”

They walked over to the buffet, and each took a plate from the silver, tiered plate holder. “Did you talk to Mitchell?”

Laine took a slice of watermelon and ignored her.

“Laine,” Riley persisted.

She shook her head. “He’s never home on Tuesday nights. It’s his standing night out with the boys. I’m going to call him tonight. I promise. I’m going to talk to him tonight.”

“You promise.”

“Okay, just because I cried on your shoulder doesn’t mean you can turn into my mother. Plus, I’m still the boss of you for the next three days.” She waited for a crepe