Passion, Vows & Babies_Unexpected Bliss Read online

  I never thought about doing anything else in life other than working in the family-owned hotel business. I did find my own niche after working through the full gambit of positions in one of our hotels, along with learning from my instructors. The realm of hotel development was my passion from day one in school and in practice. I liked getting in on the creation of a property—from breaking ground and up...or taking over an existing hotel in need of being reinvigorated. I liked to watch things come to life and I even liked to see the reactions when the first guests arrived. Then I was happily moving on to my next, big or small, adventure.

  Before I had been notified of changes coming my way, I was looking into introducing boutique-style hotels to the Hayes chain. I wasn’t sure how or when I could bring up that subject, but I hoped to one day.

  I was looking forward to the change as I always relished learning. And I loved exploring other hotels when I traveled and quite often scheduled meet-ups with the hotel’s personnel. To steer my brain away from the real reason—a wedding—why I was there, I planned a meeting for the first day I arrived at the resort...business and then fun.

  Way ahead of schedule, I finagled my way into an early check-in so I could change my clothes and go for a run. The property was set on a picturesque coastline with a narrow sandy beach that ran in front of the hotel and beyond in two directions.

  Changed into a comfortable pair of running shorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt—no need for shoes in the sand—I made my way through the lush grounds and then down a set of stairs to the shore. A gorgeous day, it was clear as a bell and the Channel Islands were visible. It was tricky running on that sliver of sandy beach with the tides but if you timed it right you could go pretty far in each direction. I happened to get lucky and made my way south to a cove where there was a slightly wider beach and back. It definitely wasn’t a bad way to start a weekend.

  I had gotten into running cross country in high school. Running up and down hills, through fields and on streets was much better than running around a track with only one view. It was a form of exercise that could be achieved wherever I happened to be with work and in school. It was, also, a great way to unwind and think—something I had been doing a lot since learning that I was going to be taking on a new role in the hotel biz. One, I wasn’t sure about it including a permanent location. I was used to new towns, new states, new countries, new climates...new people. Two, being in charge of a few properties miles apart, I felt like my wings were being clipped.

  Satisfied with my run—rejuvenation—and not overdoing it, I headed back up to my room for a shower. Then I pulled on a pair of slacks, a dress shirt, a light weight sport jacket, dressy loafers, and headed down to the lobby. The beach resort was highly regarded, similar to hotels owned by my family, and I wanted to pick the brain of their management. I knew hands-on everything about developing properties and knew little about running them on a daily basis. I had worked as a teen in our hotels part-time and never found it extremely exciting. I hoped that the manager on duty at the resort would inspire me to be more enthused about managing hotels day in and day out.

  When I hit the lobby, I introduced myself to the young woman at the front desk and then stood off to the side to wait, allowing guests to check in or speak with clerks. Looking around the large space, I was suddenly wanting to skip my meeting in favor of dragging a hot-as-fuck brunette up to my room like a caveman. There was no way you could miss the beauty walking across the terra cotta tile floor announcing her grand entrance with her heels and red bag echoing in the practically empty lobby.

  I nearly lost all control as she stopped before the desk and reached up with both of her hands and pulled her long dark hair free from a pony tail. It had me thinking of her continuing to remove other items, like the dress that clung to her curves that needed to be felt with my hands, to start. Turning her lush backside to me, I caught a glimpse of a hidden zipper and had to casually adjust myself as I envisioned my fingers tugging it down to reveal her bare skin.

  Swallowing hard with thoughts of my tongue running along her spine, I was caught by the desk clerk. Or at least I imagined that I had been caught gawking as I noticed her staring right at me and then the beauty twisted to meet her gaze. I could definitely see myself savagely ravaging her in a few extremely pleasurable ways that would have her screaming my name. Her light eyes looked me over as she bit her bottom lip before she turned her attention back to resume her conversation with the front desk clerk.

  That shared moment was all I needed to confirm that there was some mutual interest between us and I silently prayed, “Please let her be a wedding guest!”

  Chapter Three

  Saffron

  Stepping into my room—compliments of the wedding couple—I had not expected to have such an amazing room with a stunning ocean view. Not only had they given me such a grand room but they filled it with fragrant flowers that matched their wedding scheme using shades of orange, yellow, and, what I referred to as, blush. Oh, and a fruit basket that featured a nice bottle of Beauclaire Wine in the middle with two red wine glasses. Hmmm...I only needed one...unless that hot guy from the lobby wanted to join me. I laughed at my wishful thinking as I hung up my dresses in the closet and nicely set up my toiletries in the beautiful bathroom complete with a separate bathtub that whispered to me.

  No time for lounging, I freshened my makeup, grabbed my trusty, fully charged electronic tablet, and headed out the door. I wasn’t vacationing. I was working and I needed to make sure that everything was set, from the welcome cocktail party in a few hours’ time to the wedding reception the next day. Starting with looking at the different areas that would be used, I enjoyed a lovely stroll down brick pathways through lush vegetation and admired the pretty Santa Barbara Mission style architecture: Off-white stucco buildings with red clay tiled roofs, colorful mosaic tiles in a variety of patterns all complimenting each other on steps, facades and fountains. The smell of the ocean breeze mixed with something floral was intoxicating.

  Working my way around before addressing the first event of the day—a welcome cocktail party for all of the guests—I popped into the garden area where the reception would take place. Scanning my list with a mapped out plan, I switched over to the camera feature and held my tablet up to snap some photos and videos. Satisfied, I moved to the area where the vows would be exchanged and found that the chairs were already set and an empty squared-off iron arch waited to be filled with a mass of flowers. Again, I photographed the ceremony area and then moved on to a room that looked out to the ocean for the rehearsal dinner that I found a bit disappointing. It was set beautifully with brilliant orange tablecloths and the flower arrangements with candles were just the right height for conversation. The room was picture perfect but, sadly, it would be dark by the time the dinner started. No stunning view.

  “What a waste,” I said out loud as I stood and looked out to the private beach right in front of the resort. And just as I was imagining slipping my shoes off and wiggling my toes in the sand, my tablet chimed with an alert to keep me on schedule. I hated to fall off course and end up rushing... Sure enough, after a couple notes, I needed to move along.

  “How many times do you need to go over that list?”

  My nose was definitely buried in my tablet—scrolling and clicking—I needed my events to be perfect and even more so the beach one, since it was my first destination wedding. True, I moved around to different resorts in the desert area, but I knew that area well.

  What I didn’t know well at all was who the deep, sexy voice belonged to...until I looked up and saw the gorgeous fantasy stranger from the lobby. Had he been following me around? He must’ve been to have known that I was concentrating on my notes. Or had he just noticed that my hand was waving back and forth and clicking check-off boxes?

  It was a good thing that he had spoken up when he did or I may have crashed right into his nicely built chest. He was that close to me and I wondered if I had missed the skim of his breath across my sk
in. Maybe his alert and my note checking wasn’t such a good thing as the thought of feeling him next to me did little things to my body. Things I hoped that he didn’t notice—like the way chills ran across my skin, my nipples pebbled and my panties became a bit uncomfortable thanks to the dampness between my thighs.

  Clearing my throat, I was able to speak so that I could excuse myself. “I have to check another location.” If you want to come along with me, I won’t mind. If only I had the nerve to say those last words out loud.

  “I saw a suitcase. You don’t work here?” He raised an eyebrow and moved a little closer to me. I, stupidly, stepped back. “Do I make you nervous?” His voice was so sexy that I was afraid of swooning and passing out as breathing was becoming difficult.

  If I would’ve stood my ground, he could’ve reached out with his hands and cupped my face. His lips looked like they would feel magical against mine. Brushing them lightly across my slightly opened lips...skimming them with his tongue enough to make me gasp and welcome him in. A slow dance building and building until frantic moves...

  “Excuse me, Miss…” Poof! Gone was my silly little fantasy. “Sorry to interrupt.”

  Thank God you did, I thought in my recently clouded head as I had no desire to moan and embarrass myself royally.

  “Did you want to speak with the head chef about tomorrow? Your chef already met with him when he arrived early this morning. But, if you need to double check with him about anything, now is the time...before the dinner rush.”

  “Of course. Point the way,” I said, straightening the hem of my dress to follow the intruder. She really hadn’t interrupted anything and yet, I was not thrilled about being called away. I hadn’t even learned the name of my future husband. I laughed to myself over that thought as we walked out of the banquet room, heading for the kitchen. I hoped that she didn’t hear me and think I was some kind of loon. Oh, I didn’t even say goodbye...how rude of me. “Oh well, c’est la vie.”

  “Excuse me?” The woman stopped and turned to look at me.

  Oops. I needed to be more careful while speaking to myself. “Oh, nothing,” I said with a half-smile and we continued our journey into the massive kitchen that was in full motion. And not one to get in the way of creativity, I quickly conversed with the lovely chef after our introduction and then flitted away to stand at the ready—just out of sight—for the cocktail party.

  It was perfectly laid out in a gorgeous area with huge unobscured glass windows that gave everyone the most spectacular view of the ocean while they sipped libations and nibbled a wide array of seafood beautifully on display. Everything was delicious as well as appealing and thanks to being perfectly early, I was able to sample the tasty items. That was often a delightful part of my job. I laughed to myself silently saying I had to make sure things weren’t poisonous...not that I ever mentioned that word anywhere near guests. The only thing I rarely tasted was the alcohol. Such a pity, I thought from time to time, since some weddings had special designer cocktails—yum! However, it would not be a pretty sight if the wedding planner was drunk, fumbling on her words or worse, stumbling around.

  I did my job precisely, checked with the head server to make sure she was set with the plan, and then I reluctantly moved to the wedding area once again to make sure the appointed official had what he needed for the rehearsal and ceremony. I had no desire to walk away as I saw Mr. Fantasy walk up to the bar and order a drink. It was even worse—or exciting—when he caught me staring at him and winked.

  Hopefully, no one else noticed me lost in the moment gazing at him like a silly love-struck teen girl, I prayed. But it appeared that I wasn’t the only one that saw the chemistry bubbling between us.

  “There is a guy all alone over there and he looks interested in you.” I heard the same girl that I had just spoken to about how things were to flow according to my time schedule.

  Not one to be rude, I replied before moving off to my next spot, “He is very good looking, unfortunately, I am working this wedding...”

  Oh my God, is he part of the wedding party too? Will he be at the rehearsal?

  Part of me hoped the answer was affirmative while the other part said no no no...very bad. I had never had that kind of battle within me before, ever. Handsome men were present at every wedding, but I can honestly say that none of them ever made me feel off my game. Some had tried to capture my attention to no avail—I was the perfect professional.

  “You are a pro wedding planner. You can handle this!” I reminded myself over and over as I awaited the arrival of the wedding party and parents. And as luck would have it, I found out that the beautiful man was merely a guest, not a groomsman. Relief. That, definitely, worked out well for me and allowed smooth sailing for the rehearsal run-through and the dinner that followed. I was back on track, able to check all boxes on my day’s list.

  I had set everything in motion, then stepped back to give way to the hotel staff, and retreated to the sanctity of my hotel room. Aah, that heavenly bottle of red wine called out to me the second I walked in. Finding a small portable bottle opener in the basket, I cracked it open. Then with a healthy pour, I grabbed the glass and proceeded to slip into the lovely tub that had begged me to hop in earlier. It was the perfect way to unwind, thinking about my fantasy man with one of my hands slipping below the bubbles, relieving some built-up tension.

  Chapter Four

  Laird

  Learning earlier in the afternoon that the beautiful woman of the lobby would be in my view for hours made me very happy and made me look less like a pervy stalker. Walking the grounds with the hotel manager gave me a few opportunities to see her as she appeared to be surveying various areas and making notes on an electronic tablet. The only bad side to her looking at the different event spots was that she could be a bride scouting for her own wedding. I found myself, again, praying that she was part of the wedding and very much unattached.

  I guess the man upstairs was looking out for me. I saw my beauty again when the hotel manager showed me the last banquet room that boasted a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean. And I couldn’t have been happier when he excused himself to answer a problem calling him away. All alone, I had a chance to introduce myself. Watching her walking around inside a room marked with Perry and Makayla’s names on an event sign by the door was a good sign.

  Apparently my interest in her was obvious to the manager, I realized, as he spoke up before departing. “She’s a wedding planner. Wish I had her on staff full time. I hear she’s amazing.” I didn’t like the tone in his voice that said he wished he had her on other parts of his body. I did like the next words he used, “she’s all yours.” I smiled thinking about how I would mark her as mine as he continued, “she’s handling your friends’ wedding.” Then he was gone, leaving Miss Hot Wedding Planner alone with me and my overly active mind.

  I watched her at a distance, listening to her one-sided conversation about how things were going to be organized. She didn’t notice me as she once again paid careful attention to her tablet, running her finger on the screen and tapping it. I wasn’t sure about the tapping motion, but I was down to have her hands all over my body. And that mouth...it could be used for so many things—I would settle for it locked with mine at that moment. The way she nibbled her lower lip was doing things to me as she stepped almost within my reach.

  “I’d like you to pay that much attention to me.” I needed to see her eyes reflected in mine and I got what I wanted when she looked up. “You’re busy getting everything set it seems. The locations are great.” She didn’t say a word but looked at me as if she was wondering if I was a creepy stalker or maybe she wanted to kiss me. I, of course, was banking on the latter.

  I did notice that she nearly did a little stumble and I felt like shooting myself. A few more steps looking down and she may have run right into me. If only I could’ve rewound that space of time, kept my mouth shut and let her slam right into my chest. I could’ve reached out to steady her...taken her into my a
rms and...

  She burst the naughty thought bubble developing above my head as she spoke up and mentioned something about another location. A brush-off? No. The way she said it sounded more like it was an invitation to come along.

  I moved closer and her eyes widened, causing me to talk about stuff that was so not important. The only thing important was to get her alone and... I stopped moving. I didn’t want to scare her away. “Do I make you nervous?” I had to ask and explain myself but just as the intense moment between us was building toward some kind of contact, a hotel employee interrupted us and took her away from me. “Not for long,” I said quietly as she faded from my sight, knowing I would see more of her since she was in charge of the wedding.

  For once I was looking forward to attending all of the festivities Perry and Makayla had planned—starting with the welcome cocktail party. Oh, fuck yeah! It was going to be a welcoming event for one reason and sure enough I saw her the moment I walked up to the bar. She had changed out of her orange dress. Still with the same reserved look she had been sporting earlier, but the black dress on her body was sexy. Her curves had me wanting to map each one to be explored in private, thoroughly.

  Thankfully I didn’t have to ask anyone attending the wedding about her—knowing who she was in advance was a major plus. Having kind of met her already, I had first dibs on her. However, I couldn’t say too much until the time was right. I had learned a long time ago to keep my mouth shut when I liked a woman. Everyone was always trying to set me up...except for my closest friends, they knew better with my shit track record. But, given the chance if I were to inquire about a woman, I was sure they—especially my female friends—would be all over me.