* * *
Lunch with the VIPs couldn’t have gone better. In spite of being kidnapped by Laine earlier, Riley knew every detail of the visit so far had been rendered exquisitely. She could still wring the woman’s neck. But she was too grateful to be angry. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a hotel number. “Hello? Riley Sinclair.”
“Hello, Riley.”
She smiled; her shoulders relaxed. “Hey, Christian. I hear I owe you an immense thank-you for what you did for me this morning.”
He chuckled. “It was my pleasure. I told you I would help. Just thought you’d be there too.”
“It’s a long story. I seem to have a lot of those.”
“The demanding Laine Fulton.”
“Yes, she is my perpetual long story. But thank you. Thank you so much.”
“No more thank-yous. It was no problem. Honestly. So did you make it to the lunch?”
“Yes, we just finished. It was as smooth as could be. All of the guests are ready to go crash on lounge chairs on the beach and stare at the ocean in this gorgeous weather, where they will sleep until it’s time to eat again.” She paused, hesitant to make the move she was about to make. But she pushed through anyway. “Would you like to join a group of ladies tonight for dinner and then go to the concert with us?”
“I would love that. Okay if I bring along at least one other male with me to even out the testosterone slightly?”
“That’s right; you’ve met my ladies.” She laughed.
“I have.” She could practically hear him smile.
“Please. Bring anyone you like.”
“One of the guys here was going to go with me.”
“Sure. All the ladies are single. Bring him along.”
“But you aren’t looking, are you? I mean, not right now.”
The phone felt warm against her face. Or it had just gotten hotter outside. “You know, I actually met this really charming man last night.”
“Oh, you did?”
“Yes, I made an idiot out of myself while I was with him, but he didn’t seem to notice.”
“I hear he likes idiots.”
“Well, that’s a good thing. . . .”
“Dinner is at . . . ?”
“Six thirty. Nobu.”
“I will see you there.”
Riley smiled as she hung up the phone. A rather eventful day had just gone to another level of eventfulness.
* * *
Laine raised her head up off the lounge chair in her cabana. The ocean was no longer playing a lullaby. Instead it had changed to a more forceful concerto. Wind whipped around them, causing the curtains of the cabana to flap against the wood plank walls. Winnie and Tamyra were facedown in their lounge chairs next to her with no idea they were in the world and no idea that the sun had been completely overtaken by an overcast heaven. Laine only knew they were alive because of the atrocious sounds coming from Winnie that competed with both the wind and the waves.
There were times she wished she had met Sam. He must have been one great man to put up with the “interesting” character traits of this woman. She chuckled softly and laid her head back down. Aquaventure had wiped these three out. None of them had any idea just how much of an adventure it was going to be. Nor did they want to leave early. But the hurricane had changed all of their plans. And it seemed to be coming in even quicker than they had thought. They would each be heading out in the morning. So tonight Harry would have to sing their swan song too.
19
Thursday evening . . .
Nobu sat at the edge of the casino in the Royal Towers, right beneath the nightclub. It was Japanese cuisine at its finest. Riley had arrived thirty minutes early to make sure the tables and menu were set for the VIP guests. She knew Max would arrive early too. He was always early. She smiled to herself, thinking she should have taken that into consideration this morning. She still had no idea how he had corralled twelve people an hour early.
The chef was preparing his omakase for them. It was a multicourse dinner of his choicest cuisine. A guest could never go wrong with it. And she knew Max and his guests would love it. At twenty after, Max walked through the doors. She handed him a watermelon martini. He loved them.
“You know me too well,” he said, taking the glass from her hand and leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“Sorry again about today.”
“No apologies. I know with the hurricane coming in fast things are crazy around here. The good news—” he took a sip of his drink—“you have an incredible team who executed everything to perfection.”
“Well, tonight should be no different.” She raised her water to him. “Thank you for this opportunity, Max. I am enjoying my job immensely.”
He let the edge of his glass clink against hers. “Gabby seems to be doing great too.”
“She’s adjusting very well. The school has been very good for her.”
“I love seeing her.”
“I know. I sent her home with Jeremy this week. After Hugo, I don’t want anyone to have to go through one. I can’t believe any of the guests are staying.”
“People take their vacations seriously. But this thing has picked up speed. The wind is really whipping out there now. People who are leaving really do need to get out of here tonight. You should tell your other guests that. They’ve increased flights and will be running them through the night, until they can no longer fly.”
“They should leave tonight?”
“Yes, the storm is coming more quickly than they originally thought. So we need to be diligent about getting the rest of the guests notified. Reception was leaving messages for all of the remaining guests. But the ones who were staying for this concert might not realize that if they don’t get out tonight, they will probably be riding this one out. The surge is already getting much higher.”
Riley spotted Laine walking through the door and their discussion
