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  “Wow, Sheena, you sound like you’ve been thinking about this for a while,” Regan said, impressed by her sister’s business sense.

  Sheena laughed. “Greg Ryan and I discussed several scenarios for the hotel. It may turn out to be even bigger than Uncle Gavin ever imagined.”

  “I like the idea, as long as we can afford to have good outside expertise on many different levels,” Darcy said. “Sheena, you’ve told us you intend to keep overseeing the hotel. Are you going to be willing to see this through? With a baby coming, it could be difficult.”

  “The bulk of the remaining renovations work is scheduled to be done before the baby,” said Sheena a little sharply. “And afterward, I will be thrilled to have the opportunity to work on hotel stuff while I’m caring for a baby.”

  “I was just asking,” Regan quickly said, aware Sheena didn’t want to lose herself again to raising a new baby with little outside stimulation.

  Darcy gave them a thumbs-up. “Okay then. Big deal stuff, here we come!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  SHEENA

  Later that day, Sheena sat alone in her kitchen reviewing their plans. Just as Regan needed a boost of confidence now and then, so did she. Darcy was right to question her ability to work on hotel issues and still mother a baby, but it felt so wrong to be thought incapable of doing both. That feeling of needing to find herself is what had encouraged her to take their uncle’s challenge and come to Florida in the first place. None of them had imagined where it would lead.

  She patted her stomach. “You and I are going to do just fine.”

  Laughing at herself for talking to the baby like this, Sheena went back to her spreadsheet. She’d review numbers and give Greg Ryan a call so they could talk to Brian sensibly.

  Meaghan came into the room and plopped down into a kitchen chair with a loud, long sigh.

  “What’s up?” Sheena asked.

  “I’m tired of taking the bus home. Can’t you pick me up at school?”

  “No-o-o,” said Sheena cautiously. She wasn’t about to be roped into a schedule like that. Besides, she knew where this was leading. “And, no, you’re not getting a car.”

  “But Trish got one,” said Meaghan. “And we have money now.”

  “We’re working hard to finish the hotel and keep it running,” said Sheena. “All funds are going there except for college educations for you and Mike.”

  “I know,” said Meaghan, nodding glumly. “It’s just that I’m disappointed Rob doesn’t take the bus anymore. His father bought him a car. And then I had to tell him I couldn’t go to his Valentine party because of Aunt Darcy’s wedding. Now, he thinks I don’t like him.”

  Sheena gave her a hug. “Things will work out. You’ll see.”

  “Can we go look at the house? I want to check to see if my room is painted and if the pool is done.”

  “Sure,” said Sheena, understanding Meaghan’s disappointment.

  ###

  Sheena drove through the entrance to Ventura Village with a sense of pride. It was, she thought, a handsome development. There were several floor plans to choose from, and each choice had different exterior elevations, so the houses didn’t look the same.

  Sheena drove into the driveway of one of the larger homes—a two-story with a pool. After living side by side with Tony’s parents for all her marriage, Sheena was pleased by the space between their house and the neighbors on either side.

  As she got out of the car, Sheena noticed the blue Cadillac convertible sitting in the driveway and wondered who was there. She followed Meaghan into the house, and hearing voices on the second story, she climbed the stairs and followed the sound of the voices into the guest bathroom.

  At the sight before her, she stopped in surprise.

  “Hello, what are you doing?” she asked with dismay.

  Tony had his arm around a tall, leggy, red-headed woman who was teetering on high heels.

  Turning to her with a sheepish look, Tony all but jumped away from the woman. “Hi, Sheena! Taylor twisted her ankle. I’m helping her get to a place where she can sit down.”

  He held the woman’s arm as she hobbled to the edge of the tub and sat down.

  Tony straightened. “Sheena, this is Taylor Hutchison. She’s looking to buy a house here. I was showing her what we’re doing for the guest suite that we’re using for Meaghan’s bedroom.”

  “Hello, Taylor,” said Sheena forcing a pleasantness into her voice that she didn’t feel. She recognized the look of desire the woman was bestowing upon her husband. Sheena gazed at Tony, waiting for him to say something as he continued to stand next to Taylor.

  Tony cleared his throat. “Taylor, this is my wife, Sheena.”

  Meaghan burst into in the room. “Wait until you see ...” She stopped, and seeing Taylor, frowned and blurted out, “Hi, Daddy! Who’s this?”

  Though Tony’s cheeks colored, he spoke calmly. “Taylor Hutchison is looking at houses. She likes what we’re doing to your suite.”

  “Yeah, it’s really cool having my own bathroom.” Sensing the tension in the room, she looked from Sheena to Tony. “Can I show you something, Daddy?”

  “Sure, sweetheart.” He turned to Taylor. “Maybe Sheena can show you out. Let Brian or me know which house you decide on, so we can put it on the schedule.”

  “Thanks, Tony. It was so sweet of you to take so much time out of your day to spend with me,” gushed Taylor in a breathy way that made Sheena want to slap her.

  “No worries,” said Tony, glancing at Sheena before following Meaghan out of the room.

  “Would you like me to help you down the stairs?” Sheena asked Taylor.

  She smiled. “I’m much better now. But, thanks.”

  Sheena walked behind Taylor to make sure she didn’t stumble, but, inside, she was fuming. Didn’t Tony realize what was up with Taylor? The woman, who wore no wedding ring, now seemed able to do a ten-mile race.

  After seeing Taylor off, Sheena returned to the house.

  Outside, behind the house, Meaghan and Tony were talking while sitting on the wall surrounding the spa.

  “Why don’t you go check on your room?” Sheena said to Meaghan. “I want to talk to Daddy.”

  “Okay,” said Meaghan. “Is that Taylor woman gone? I don’t like her, Mom.”

  “It’s nothing for you to worry about. She’s just looking at houses,” said Sheena, surprised by Meaghan’s intuition.

  Meaghan left, and Sheena lowered herself onto the wall next to Tony.

  “What’s all the fuss about?” asked Tony. “I hope you’re not mad because I spent time with Taylor.”

  “I’m a little uncomfortable with it, but I’m not mad, Tony. Her interest in you was so obvious it was almost alarming. Do you get many prospective customers like that?”

  Tony shook his head. “Brian’s been handling prospective clients. He’s busy with something else, so I offered to show her around. That’s all. Regan will be onsite soon, and then she or someone she hires will talk to people interested in the development, show them around.”

  “I thought Regan was going to do the interior decorating for customers,” said Sheena, concerned with the idea of Regan being gone so much of the time when they were involved in the renovations for the hotel.

  “She is. We were thinking of maybe hiring Nicole for the marketing. Then she can choose a salesperson and give Regan more time for the hotel. We’re still trying to work out the details.” Tony slipped his hand into Sheena’s. “You’re not really worried about me and other women, are you?”

  Sheena studied his face, saw the love in his eyes, and shook her head. “No, but it bothers me when someone like Taylor goes after men they know are married.” She tapped the gold wedding ring on his hand.

  Looking inordinately pleased, Tony smiled. “I like when you get jealous.”

  Sheena laughed. “I guess I am. Especially now that I’m pregnant and feeling a little fat.”

  “You’re beautiful, Sheen
a. Believe it,” said Tony, giving her a kiss so passionate they didn’t hear Meaghan approach.

  “Ugh,” said Meaghan. “You two are so mushy.”

  Satisfaction filled Sheena. Someday, Meaghan would understand the importance of keeping it that way.

  ###

  Sheena fixed cups of coffee for her sisters and sat down at the kitchen table with them. “Time to talk logistics,” she said and explained the situation at the development. “If Brian and Tony hire Nicole to run their sales and marketing program, will that leave her enough time to do our marketing?”

  “Don’t forget she works at Gavin’s at night,” said Regan. “And we wanted her to run marketing for The Key Hole.”

  “Why don’t you let me talk to her,” said Darcy. “I’ll be working on marketing for the hotel with her, but it’s a big responsibility for Nicole to be in charge of all three projects. Can we offer her enough money to entice her to do all three of them?”

  “What if we offer great incentives for all three—Ventura, the hotel, including Gavin’s, Gracie’s, and The Key Hole?” said Sheena. “Working with those three would make it a full-time job with time for little else.”

  “I like the idea,” said Regan. “I can’t do more at Ventura than the interior decorating and still oversee hotel renovations. Sales will be picking up at the development, and we still have a lot to do here.”

  “Okay, I want to get this settled before the wedding. Dad and Regina will be here before we know it, and then none of us will get much work done as we prepare for the celebrations.” Darcy fluttered her hands in an uncharacteristic way. “I’m starting to get a little nervous about it.”

  “It’s going to be lovely,” said Sheena. “A nice, small, sweet ceremony.”

  “It’ll be a good way to test our facilities before our first official wedding,” said Regan. “I hope Mo and I have thought of everything.”

  Darcy gave Sheena and Regan worried looks. “You’ll be fine without me, won’t you? Three weeks is a long time for me to be away.”

  “We’ll be fine,” said Sheena. They would, wouldn’t they?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  DARCY

  As Darcy was going through the morning mail, her heart stopped at the sight of an envelope from New York City. She lifted it to her lips, kissed it for good luck, and opened it. Glancing at the cold, impersonal rejection letter from the publisher, she crumpled it up and threw it down to the floor. This was the fourth response of its kind. As much as she hated those letters, she’d read she would be lucky to get any response at all. Allison Berkhardt hadn’t had any luck with her contacts in the industry and had informed Darcy she’d done all she could.

  This business sucks!

  Darcy pounded her desk in frustration. She’d hoped to be able to surprise Austin with publishing success as a special wedding gift. With just one more response to come in—or not—she was out of options for the time being. Even as she vowed not to give up, she knew she owed it to her sisters to keep her focus on hotel business. Sheena said they’d be fine without her, but too much was going on in her sisters’ personal lives for her not to worry.

  She picked up the phone to call Nicole. They hadn’t been able to meet yesterday. Today, she hoped, would be better.

  Nicole answered with a cheery, “Hi, there! Sorry I missed your call yesterday. I was in Miami for a couple of days.”

  “Hope it was for something fun,” said Darcy. “Can we meet for lunch? I need to talk over something with you.”

  “That would be great,” said Nicole. “I’ve got some exciting news to share with you.”

  “You didn’t find another job, did you?” Darcy blurted out.

  “Nooo, why do you ask?”

  “We’ll talk at lunch,” said Darcy. “Meet me at Gracie’s at noon.”

  “See you then,” said Nicole.

  ###

  As she waited for Nicole to show up for lunch, Darcy studied the work being done on the patio for Gavin’s people. A waterfall was being constructed as part of the small spa pool. When she and her sisters had asked for suggestions for the space, both Gracie and Bebe had thought the sound of water would be a soothing feature after working long hours in a chaotic kitchen.

  “Hi, Darcy!”

  Darcy swiveled around to face Nicole. “Hey! You look great! How are you doing?”

  “For a woman in love, I’m doing very well,” said Nicole, beaming at her.

  “You and Graham? How wonderful!” Darcy threw an arm around Nicole.

  Nicole shook her head. “Not Graham. It’s Casey and me. After working together almost every night for the last couple of months, we found we really enjoyed one another. Graham’s a nice guy, but there wasn’t the same kind of magic between us that I share with Casey. I want someone sexy whom I not only like, but who gives me goose pimples. You know?”

  Darcy grinned. “Oh, yes, I know exactly what you mean. Like Austin and me.”

  Nicole’s eyes sparkled. “We’ve talked for hours and hours about what we want out of life and agree on almost everything.”

  “How does he feel about your working?” Darcy asked, taking Nicole’s arm and leading her inside Gracie’s.

  “He likes that I’ve become interested in the hotel business. Why?” said Nicole, giving her a quizzical look.

  Darcy led Nicole to the family table in the corner. “Let’s enjoy lunch, and then let me tell you what my sisters and I have in mind.”

  Nicole smiled. “Going to be a big tease, are you?”

  “Oh, heck! I’ll tell you now.” Darcy laid out the plan and waited to see Nicole’s reaction.

  “Really?” said Nicole, her eyes wide. “You would trust me to handle all the locations? It’s a big job.”

  “I have an appointment for you at Ventura. After lunch, if you’re willing, I’ll drive you there. Brian will meet with you.

  “That would be terrific!” said Nicole. “Casey told me he’s going to manage the bar for Brian. We can work together on the advertising portfolio I’m putting together for it and coordinate it with the work I’m already doing for the hotel.”

  Maggie approached their table. “Ready to order?”

  Darcy smiled. “Thanks.”

  She and Nicole ordered lunch, and while they ate, they discussed the finer details of such an arrangement. By the time they were ready to leave the restaurant, Darcy was pretty certain Nicole would be amenable to their plan. The one difficulty would be finding a reliable broker and realtors to handle Ventura. Nicole could guide them, but she did not have a realtor’s license.

  ###

  Darcy arranged to meet Brian at the show home in Ventura Village so she could fill him in on her earlier conversation with Nicole. More than that, she wanted to have some time alone with him to discuss the future. It bothered her that Regan wasn’t talking about a wedding anytime soon when Darcy knew how much Regan wanted to be married.

  Brian was already in the office looking through different house plans when she arrived.

  “Hey there!” he said pleasantly.

  “Hi. Brian. Can we talk privately?”

  “About Nicole? Sure.”

  “No, about you and Regan,” she said, hoping she wasn’t crossing over any lines. But family was family, and she loved her sister. “Why isn’t Regan talking about any plans to get married? Is something wrong between you?”

  Brian chuckled. “Not at all. In fact, we already have our marriage license. We’re just waiting for you and Austin to get married. Regan didn’t want to do anything to upstage you on your special day. So, as soon as she gives the word, we’re going to take the leap. Nothing fancy. In fact, we’ll probably elope.”

  “Oh, but the family will be so disappointed not to share in the fun.”

  “We’ll see,” said Brian. “Now let’s talk about Nicole.”

  A few minutes later, Nicole walked into the room.

  Darcy sat in on the meeting between Brian and Nicole, impressed by the enthusiasm for the
project Brian easily made Nicole feel. When they began talking salary, Darcy excused herself, giving them the privacy they deserved.

  On a whim, she decided to check on the progress of Tony and Sheena’s house. As she walked toward it, a red-headed woman got into a blue Cadillac convertible and drove away.

  As Darcy reached for the front door, Tony opened it. “Hi, Darcy. What are you doing here?”

  “I brought Nicole Coleman over for an interview with Brian about the sales manager position. What are you doing here at the house?”

  Tony raked his fingers through his dark curls. “I honestly don’t know. Taylor Hutchison claims she’s interested in buying a house from us, but we can’t pin her down on which one.”

  Darcy’s eyebrows shot up. “Taylor Hutchison? The same woman Sheena told me about?”

  “Yeah. Do me a favor, will you? Don’t mention this to Sheena. She won’t like the idea of my meeting with Taylor.”

  Darcy’s concern for her sister rose in a scowl. “Why can’t Brian meet with her instead of you?”

  “He’s meeting with Nicole, remember?” Tony snapped at her. His expression softened. “I’m sorry. I’m just trying to do my share and make a sale. Brian makes it seem so easy, but I can’t seem to close what should be a simple deal. I’m more of a construction guy, anyway.”

  Darcy gave him a steady look. “All right, I won’t say anything to Sheena, but if you hurt my sister, I’ll never forgive you.”

  Tony raised a hand in defense. “Believe me; I have no intention of doing so. C’mon, I’ll walk you back to the office.”

  As they strolled along the new sidewalk, Tony turned to her. “Getting excited about the wedding?”

  Darcy smiled. “For that and the honeymoon. I can’t wait to travel with Austin. He’s going to show me some of his favorite places.”

  “I’d hoped to do some traveling with Sheena, but I guess that’s out of the picture now with a new baby coming.”

  Darcy turned to him. “Are you disappointed?”