35. Tessa
Chapter 35
Tessa
Two months later
M y heels clicked on the floor as I headed toward the ballroom. I spotted Debra, one of my events organizers.
“Deb, is everything ready in the ballroom for the wedding?”
“Yes.” She blew a strand of brown hair out of her face. “The tables are set, the flowers have been delivered. Chef Harvey is roaring around the kitchen like a wounded lion.” She smiled. “It’s going to be a beautiful wedding.”
I smiled back. “Of course it is. It’s going to be perfect . That’s how we do things at the Langston Windward.” I looked at my watch. “I need to check that the outdoor chairs are set for the ceremony. Did the flower arch get done?”
“Done.”
“You rock, Deb.”
She beamed. “Thanks, Tessa.”
“The happy couple will have the best wedding ever.”
I headed out and then back down to the lobby. I heard the now-familiar sound of power tools. The renovations had started. There was never a good time to do renovations in a hotel, but Piper was like a general organizing things. Several renovations were happening in the restaurant, lobby, and they’d made a start on the new spa. Several things would be completed before our busy winter season.
Smiling, I waved at the workers on the scaffold. They waved back.
My new terrace would have to wait until the summer to get done. Piper was planning upgrades to the guest rooms as well. We were doing them in sections to minimize disruptions.
To think I’d been so dead set against becoming a Langston hotel. I grinned. Now, I’d embraced it. The new upgrades were going to be amazing.
I’d definitely changed my tune about the owner of Langston Hotels too.
“Tessa?”
Jillian raced over. Our excited and anxious bride-to-be.
“I saw the flower arch.” She clapped her hands to her cheeks. “It’s perfect.”
“Did you have any doubt?” I took her hand. “You’re going to be a stunning bride and have a stunning wedding.”
She blushed. “I can’t wait to marry my man. Speaking of men, where’s your hot rich guy?”
“In New Orleans. Designing a new hotel down there.”
“I bet you miss him. I saw pictures of the two of you on TMZ the other week. You looked gorgeous and all you two were doing was getting coffee.”
I controlled my scowl. The shot of Ro and I at Mountain Brew had been splashed all over the website. Thankfully, the locals of Windward had rallied around us and did their best to help us have some privacy. The other week, even Clyde Parker had chased off some photographers.
I did miss Ro. He’d been gone for several days, but he called me morning and night. There were some issues with the planning of the New Orleans Langston, and it was an open-ended trip. I had no idea when he was getting back.
I couldn’t wait for him to return. The best part of him traveling was our reunions when he got home.
He’d slowly started delegating more work to his team, which meant more time off for him and less trips away.
“I had better run,” Jillian said. “Or my bridesmaids will drink all the champagne.”
Smiling, I watched her dash away.
“Tessa.” Piper strode over to me on her skyscraper high heels. “Which one of these do you like better?” She held up two paint swatches. “For the restaurant feature wall.”
I pointed to the one on the left. “That one.”
Her lips quirked. “That’s my choice too.”
I’d gotten to know Piper better over the last two months. She was driven, a workaholic, but smart as hell. She’d come to our last cocktail night, and we’d all had fun. There was a good chance we’d become friends.
Everett strolled up. “Hey there, City.”
Piper sniffed and glared at his flannel shirt. “Don’t you have a hammer to wield?”
“Don’t you have some papers to push?”
I hid my smile. The two of them were like wild cats circling each other.
Piper’s cellphone rang. “I’ve got to take this.”
“She’s going to break an ankle,” Everett muttered.
I noted he wasn’t watching her ankles, he was looking at the sway of her hips in her tight skirt.
“Is it her ankles you’re worried about?”
He shot me a grin.
With a shake of my head, I continued on to check in with reception. “Everything running smoothly, ladies?”
Lara nodded and Coral scowled.
“You look happy even though that man you’re shacked up with is gone,” Coral said.
“I’m hoping he’ll be home soon, Coral.”
She harrumphed. “He’s not as bad as I’d imagined. For a good-looking charmer.”
“I think so too.”
Coral made a sound. “I know. I see you making eyes at him all the time.”
I bit my lip to keep from smiling. “I’m off to my office if anyone needs me.”
I held my card to the reader and walked into the staff area.
And spotted Caden and Allie having what looked like an intense discussion at the end of the hall.
Caden was busy doing his massive overhaul of the hotel’s security. If he had his way, there’d be cameras in every room of the hotel.
He grabbed Allie’s arm, and she snapped something at him. I raised my brows. He yanked her closer.
My breath hitched. It looked like he wanted to strangle her…or kiss her.
Allie pulled back, said something else, then stalked off with a flounce.
What the —? Allie Ford never flounced.
She still called him Broody, and thought he was paranoid, intense, and over-protective.
Caden strode down the hall, his face hard, something working behind his eyes. He spotted me and his stride hitched, then his face smoothed out.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
I waited, but unsurprisingly got nothing else from him. Caden was definitely a man of few words. Fine. I’d interrogate Allie over margaritas.
“By the way,” Caden said. “I got word that the helicopter is inbound.”
My heart leaped. I grinned.
He shook his head. “Go.”
I turned and took off for the elevator.