Page 13 of Searching for Sunshine (Crestbrook Cove #1)

STELLA

“ O kay, are we ready to start Operation High Tide?” Avery asks, collapsing onto the couch in the lobby.

“Yep, may as well get to it. This place isn’t gonna fix itself,” I tell her, rubbing the top of Duke’s head as he lies in my lap.

“You’re right. But also, before we get too far into this, I need to know how your first night as a married woman went?”

“Oh, obviously it was super eventful. We had a kinda awkward hug goodnight and then Duke and I went to the bed and spent a few hours cuddling until I finally fell asleep.”

Avery shoots me a look of disgust and shakes her head at me. “Why the hell was it awkward? If you ask me, the two of you should just bang and get it over with. There’s no way that it won’t happen sometime in the next year, and the sooner you rip the Band-Aid off the more hot sex you get to have.”

“Aves!” I yell, looking around the lobby to make sure no one’s around.

“For one, you can’t talk like that out here!

What if the guests hear you? And second of all, I’ve told you at least a hundred times in the last week that we’re just friends.

Nothing is ever going to happen between the two of us. ”

“Stels, I love you, but we’d have to have guests in order for them to overhear me.

And fine, I believe you. But whenever it does happen, expect to hear I told you so,” she teases.

“On another note, I thought you said that there would be staff here at the hotel. I’m pretty sure Hotel Management 101 says we aren’t supposed to just leave the lobby open like we did all day yesterday. ”

“Uh, yeah. I think that might be something we have to add to our ever-growing list of problems. Mr. Marshall told me some of the staff is still around, but all I’ve been able to figure out is that Miss Clara was running it basically solo while she waited for us to show up.

There’s a name for a housekeeper who comes once a week since we have so many uninhabited rooms, but that’s about it,” I say.

“So it looks like it might be a two-woman show around here for a little while. Memaw left a little bit of money to go toward upkeep, but even with that amount, there’s no way we can afford to pay full-time staff members right now.

I’m pretty sure we have exactly two guests right now. ”

“Yeah, you’re right but that’s fine. Neither of us has ever minded a little bit of hard work,” Avery reassures me, pulling her pink laptop out of the bag at her feet.

“I was having trouble sleeping last night, so I started to put together some ideas for a new logo and a social media strategy. This place definitely needs a little bit of upkeep, but I think with some new paint and a great website, we could really turn this place around.”

“I think that’s a good plan. Can I see the logo ideas?” I ask, leaning over to look at her computer screen. Duke blows out a sigh of annoyance as I shift under him, and I pat his head in apology.

“Okay, obviously these are just some rough sketches, so if you hate them we can trash them and try again. But what do you think?” she asks, turning her screen in my direction so I can see it.

My mouth drops open, and I stare at the computer in shock. “Aves! You did all this last night?”

On the screen, there are at least five different logo options, a stockpile of at least ten social media posts, and some other fun doodles that we could incorporate with our branding.

“Yeah, but like I said, if you hate it, I can totally restart. I was just trying to get an idea of what you might like.”

“They’re freaking perfect, Aves. I’ve always known how talented you are, but this is wild. I love all of them,” I say as I go through some of the pictures.

“Well, you know, it’s amazing how much I can get accomplished now that I’m not managing a hundred and fifty kids every day.

I loved teaching so much, but I wasn’t expecting to feel this free, you know?

I feel like all of my creativity is coming back now that I know I’m not going back to the classroom this fall. ”

I nod because I completely understand what she means.

I’ve told myself for years that teaching was my calling and I had to be obsessed with it in order to be good at my job.

And while I don’t think I ever would have made the decision to leave on my own, I have to admit that it feels good not to worry about decorating my classroom or calling parents anytime in the foreseeable future.

“But enough about that,” Avery continues, pulling me from my thoughts. “Why don’t we start with the new logos and you can tell me which one’s calling your favorite. Once we have that, I’ll use the colors and fonts to help design the website, and then maybe we can start taking reservations.”

“Oh, it’s so hard because I love them all,” I tell her truthfully, pointing to the one that caught my eye first. It’s a vintage hotel sign with a surfboard and a palm tree coming out of the top, and the pinks and blues match the hotel colors perfectly. “I think this one.”

“Ah, okay, that one is my favorite too. I’ll get it cleaned up and then start using this style to add to those posts I’ve started. And I’ll work on setting up all of our social media accounts too and send you the login information too.”

“All of that sounds perfect. Now we just have to figure out how to get people to come stay here.”

“Yeah, I was thinking about that too. And I feel like we need to decide who our target audience is. Is it families looking for a quick getaway? A romantic couple’s destination?

Or a fun girls’ trip? Obviously, we’re probably going to get all of it once we hit our stride, but I think the clearer we can make our vision, the better chances we have of filling this place up. ”

I think about it for a moment before I ask, “What if we market it as a wedding and bachelorette location? The walk-up access to the beach and the outdoor bar beside the pool area would both be ideal for a small wedding. And I know when my friends from college got married we had the hardest time finding somewhere that could accommodate us all that wasn’t crazy expensive. ”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea. You and I could plan some events here at the hotel, and we could offer a catered dinner on the beach too.

I feel like we could put together some packages, and I’m sure some local businesses would be willing to partner with us too.

Maybe some boat tours from your new hunky hubby? ”

“Yeah, I think that would be so fun. We could offer a welcome party at the pool and maybe some morning fitness classes too if any of the groups are interested,” I suggest.

“Wait, Stels. I think this could actually work,” Avery says.

“Plus, weddings are more expensive than just the average hotel stay so that could be a good way to make some extra money. But they’re also a ton of work.

So why don’t we try the girls’ trip and bachelorette route until we feel comfortable hiring more staff, and then we can reassess after that?

And we could always offer bachelor parties too, but honestly, we’d have to call in reinforcements from your hubby on that one.

I have no idea how to plan a weekend for a whole group of dudes. ”

“That sounds perfect. Let me text Wyatt and see if he’s willing to work with us on this,” I tell her, pulling out my phone and sending him a quick message.

Stella: Hey, Avery and I are talking and we had an idea on how to drum up some business for the Hideaway. But I wanted to run it by you real quick if you don’t mind because once I tell Avery to roll with it, there will be no going back.

Wyatt: Sure, go ahead.

Wyatt: Just don’t leave me hanging because honestly your best friend scares me just a little bit.

I laugh at that, and Avery shoots me a suspicious look as I go back to typing.

Stella: We’re thinking about building some packages for bachelorette trips and girls’ weekends. What do you think about something where we offer slightly discounted rooms and boat tours if they’re purchased together?

I see the dots pop up indicating that he’s typing before they disappear again. That happens several more times until finally my phone rings and Wyatt’s name flashes across the screen.

“Hey, so I’m guessing the phone call is your way of letting me down easy, huh? If you don’t want to do it, that’s totally fine. There wasn’t meant to be any pressure. I’m so sorry if it made you feel unc—” I ramble until Wyatt takes pity on me and cuts me off.

“Whoa, Stels. It’s fine. I’m not calling you because I’m upset. I feel like this is something we can make work. But just to be clear, most of these rides aren’t fishing trips, right?” he asks.

I cringe, knowing he probably won’t love the answer I’m about to give him. “No, probably not. Think more of a booze-cruise type of thing.”

Wyatt groans on the other end of the line, and I hear Trent in the background trying to convince him to just give it a shot.

“That’s what I thought. Well, it’s not exactly how I wanted to get our business out of the hole, but we’ve gotta do something. So I’m good with it. Let’s try it,” he finally says, and I hear Trent whooping in the background.

“Are you sure?” I question, wanting to make sure he’s really good with this.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Am I super excited about the idea of driving some drunk girls around all summer? Absofuckinglutely not. But we all need the money and the business so I do think this could be a decent solution,” he says, still not sounding overly happy about the idea. “But I do have a condition.”

“Oh, okay, sure. Of course. Whatever it is, we’ll make it happen.” I rush to explain. I have no idea what he’s going to ask for, but I’m sure it’ll be a small price to pay to make this work.

“You and Avery have to agree to come on any of these trips that we do. Let’s be honest, they’re going to want to take thirty-seven thousand group pictures, and I’ll be so done by the end of it that I’ll probably throw their phones in the water.

So, if you promise to come help entertain them, we’re all in. ”

I try not to burst out laughing when I hear Trent in the background cheering at the answer Wyatt just gave me, but finally, I can’t help it and start giggling.

“All right, that’s fine. I can live with that,” I say as Avery dances a little in her seat beside me. “Okay, well, we’re gonna get back to work over here, but thanks for saying yes. Are y’all in between charters right now?”

Wyatt sighs in frustration. “Actually no, we’re done for today. All the rides we had booked canceled on us, so Trent and I are at my apartment trying to get all of my shit packed. I should be back to the Hideaway in a few hours.”

“That sounds good. No rush,” I tell him. “I guess Duke and I will see you then.”

“Sounds good,” Wyatt says. “Good luck with all the planning.”

“Thanks, we’ll probably need it,” I murmur before hanging up the phone and meeting Avery’s gaze. “Uh, he said yes.”

“I heard. And I saw the way your smile got about ten times bigger when he did. You still want to pretend like nothing’s going to happen between the two of you over the next year?”

“Yep, because it’s not,” I promise her. “Now, let’s plan some dream vacations, huh?”