Page 43 of Broken Princess

“There’s some billionaire tech genius staying here too, and a whole bunch of rich Russian guys as well. It’s completely packed,” she went on. “It might just be because of the auction, though.”

“Auction?”

“I heard a couple of the guests whispering about it earlier. Apparently there’s some sort of auction happening somewhere around here soon,” she said, arching one eyebrow. “There’s a few art galleries down the road, so it’s probably one of them auctioning off an old Monet or something.”

“Ah. Right.” I rested one elbow on the table and flashed her another bright smile. “Anyway… would you mind answering a few questions about the estate? I’m pretty clueless about it.”

She beamed back at me. “Of course.”

“Have you ever seen this woman?” I asked, bringing up a photo of my mother on my phone.

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Why?”

“It’s my mother. I heard she visits a lot, so I was just wondering if you’ve ever spotted her.”

“Oh. No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her.”

Weird.

“How long have you worked here?” I asked.

“A few years now.”

“So you know a lot about the general layout of the winery and the resort, right?”

She nodded. “Uh-huh. I know everything.”

“Great. How many suites are there in the resort?”

“About a hundred.”

Fuck. A hundred rooms to surreptitiously check out. That would take forever.

I leaned forward. “Are there any basement areas in the main building? Or any of the buildings?”

“There’s the stone wine cellars,” Gemma said, brows puckering. “And there’s also a basement storage area beneath the restaurant kitchen.”

“Right. Say I wanted to hide something big—or someone—around the place. Can you think of any areas or rooms where I could do that? Would the cellar or storage areas be any good?”

Her smile wavered. “Um…”

“Sorry, let me explain,” I said, realizing how fucking creepy I sounded. “I was thinking about arranging some sort of scavenger hunt for the wedding celebrations. I’m trying to think of good places to hide stuff.”

“Oh! That sounds fun.”

“Yeah. Got any ideas?”

She curled a fist under her chin as she leaned on the table. “Well, let’s see… the wine cellars probably wouldn’t make a good hiding spot. There’s staff going in and out all day. Same with the storage areas under the main kitchen.” She stopped and hesitated, twisting her lips. Then her face brightened. “Ooh, I know! The wine tunnels would be perfect.”

“The wine tunnels?”

“Yes. They’re outside on the left, behind the main cellar.”

“What the hell is a wine tunnel?”

She smiled patiently. “They’re underground aging areas for the wine. They keep the bottles at a consistent cool temperature, even during summer. Like nature’s fridges.”

“Huh. I’ve never heard of that before.”