Harlequin Desire January 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 by Maisey Yates (free biff chip and kipper ebooks .txt) 📕

walls were cluttered with charcoal sketches framed in gold. She sat behind a desk that was free of all clutter and got down to it. “Ms. Taylor, the suite you requested is no longer available.”

Nina dropped into an empty chair and stared at her. “I don’t understand. I booked the Oasis spa getaway package one month ago.”

“Sand Castle has no official spa suite,” Grace said. “All our rooms are suited for relaxing stays.”

“Not according to your website.”

The spa package had included the two-bedroom top-floor suite. Jackie Onassis had called it an oasis when she’d spent a night in February 1988 and the name had stuck. Belle magazine had ranked it among the top ten hotels for the sophisticated traveler—a list that Nina had curated without ever stepping foot on any of the listed properties. It was her late mother’s dream to spend the night there. Nina was here to fulfill that dream. If that weren’t the case, Nina would have picked a less expensive, less pretentious hotel. Even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew it wasn’t true. The instant her cab pulled up to the gates and her luggage had exchanged hands, she had succumbed to the old mansion’s charm.

“Ms. Taylor, try to understand. The Oasis is our equivalent of the presidential suite. It’s subject to availability.”

“Is the president coming?” Nina asked. “Because according to CNN, he’s expected to give a speech in Johannesburg.”

Grace’s eyes narrowed. “We’ve had to make it available for an important guest. It’s all last-minute, and I apologize. Since you’re traveling alone, would you settle for a superior room instead?”

What? She wasn’t going to settle for some single-lady-traveler downgrade! “I’d mind very much.”

Grace smiled coolly. Nina noted the lovely creases at the corners of her eyes. In her midfifties or so, she was a beauty and knew it. Her foundation makeup didn’t blend well into her olive complexion, but otherwise she was perfect. Wearing a belted yellow dress and heels, Grace had the advantage of style. Nina felt plain by comparison in her go-to travel uniform: T-shirt, skinny jeans, don’t-mess-with-me shades and ballerina flats.

Prepping for this trip, Nina had scrubbed, peeled and waxed. On the plane, she’d slathered serum on her face; as a result, her matte brown skin was dewy, but not in a good way. Her hair hung in a limp braid down her back. And now it was clear that in her zealous preparation for her Miami getaway, she’d neglected all the smaller moments leading to it, like arriving in style at a luxury hotel, dressed to kill and prepared to confront the arrogant staff.

Grace checked her gold watch. “Your stay is important to us, I assure you.”

Nina’s anger spiked. “Not as important as this person you’ve given my suite to!”

It was probably a lost cause, but there was no way she was going to make this easy on management.

“We think you’ll be happy in our Garden Room.”

Nina shut her eyes. A tingling sensation spread from her chest to her throat, a sign that things were going to get loud and ugly. She thought it best to warn the other woman. “I’m sorry, but I’m about to throw a fit.”

The flutter of Grace’s unnaturally thick lashes was the only hint that Nina had gotten under her skin. “Naturally, your account will reflect the change in price.”

Nina remained stone-faced. Grace tried a different tactic. “What if we offered a complimentary in-room massage? Would that make up for the inconvenience?”

“No, it wouldn’t.” She was so brittle with exhaustion, if anyone laid a hand on her, she’d snap like a twig.

“How about an extra night’s stay on us?” Grace proposed.

That would round up her trip to seven nights. But why stop there? “Make it two nights.”

Grace made a show of checking her computer before tossing her reading glasses onto the glass desktop. “That’ll work.”

Nina nodded. She was disappointed, to be sure. The point of this trip was to honor her mother with the sort of Jackie O experience she’d deserved, but even the most unhinged traveler had to yield to reason. The Garden Room would do for now.

Grace pressed an intercom buzzer and called for a porter. Rising from behind her desk, she said, “Let’s get you settled.”

Nina followed Grace out the office just in time to witness the commotion in the courtyard marking the arrival of new guests. Grace promptly abandoned her and, in a state of agitation that didn’t suit her, went off to greet the newcomers. A hostess trailed behind her with a tray of champagne flutes. Nina wondered where the welcome committee had been when she’d arrived only moments earlier. Then it dawned on her—she’d been booted out of the Oasis to accommodate the excessively attractive people making their entrance.

A power couple if she’d ever seen one. The man was stunning. Nina hated to admit it, but there was no tap-dancing around the obvious. Tall, broad and with a profile that matched the marble busts hidden in the mansion’s many alcoves, he was hard to ignore. His complexion was raw honey, taking on a golden patina in the sun. His eyes were concealed behind smoky glasses, and he wore his long, wavy hair tied neatly at the nape of his neck. Given three guesses, Nina would go with soccer player, baseball star or prizefighter—middleweight division. He looked important, even though his appearance was somewhat disheveled in a black blazer worn over a wrinkled white T-shirt paired with faded jeans. The woman was obviously younger, still in her twenties, but that was how those things sorted themselves out. She was blonde and wore the equivalent of Nina’s travel uniform, elevated by a pair of black pumps. Nina imagined the couple getting settled in her suite, sipping champagne on her balcony before having sex on her custom double king bed—the absolute best sex in the world. That image alone prompted her to move all her resentment from Grace Guzman to the power couple with a simple mental balance transfer.

Nina hid behind a