Page 45 of The Business of Love Box Set 1: Books 1 - 4

RICK

T he Plumeria was a staggering and luxurious hotel right on the beach about a mile outside of Waikiki.

Its stucco walls were a muted blush shade and the design was traditional Hawaiian meets country beach house.

Big sprawling spaces opened up onto lush verandas with colorful gardens and reflective fountains.

The open-concept flow was enhanced by floor-to-ceiling white-trimmed windows and bay doors that led from one room to another, and it was through these style of doors that we passed in the lobby to check in for our stay.

Chessie tugged at the end of my jacket as we passed through the main atrium. “Daddy. Daddy, look!”

I knew what she was looking at.

In the middle of the atrium was a glass pillar full of water. It was as high as the ceiling which fanned out from the pillar at least twenty feet above our heads. Inside the pillar was a coral structure in shades of pink, purple, and green, and dozens of fish flitted around inside.

“Pretty cool, huh?” I took Chessie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Her fingernails were neon blue, and much to her delight, the salon was able to paint little silver dolphins on her thumbnails. She wanted them on every finger but the nail tech explained that her fingernails were too small.

Chessie couldn’t take her eyes off the aquarium as we strode past it toward the check-in counters.

Verity’s heels clipped against the glossy tile floors that were the color of sand. “The pictures made this place look more impressive.”

I glanced at my fiancée. “You don’t think this is impressive?”

Verity chewed the inside of her cheek and peered around. She didn’t answer my question. Instead, she heaved a sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t they have a preferred guest line?”

There was one couple checking in ahead of us. The man had his arm wrapped around the woman’s waist and both of them were wearing Hawaiian leis around their necks. The woman working the check-in counter was going over a property map with them.

“I think they’re almost finished,” I said. “Patience, sweetheart.”

Chessie beamed up at us. “The best things are worth waiting for. Right, Daddy?”

“Right, kiddo.” I put a hand on Chessie’s shoulder and flashed a smile at my fiancée.

Verity didn’t seem to appreciate our sentiments.

Admittedly, patience had never been her strong suit.

Verity was a woman of action, and when she wanted something, she wanted it then and there.

I knew she was stressed about the wedding and she wasn’t a good flyer—travel made her anxious—and I was sure she just wanted to get to the room and relax for a minute.

When the couple left the check-in counter, we moved up. We were presented with leis. Verity declined hers but Chessie and I accepted, and I proceeded to supply my full name for the room.

“Ah yes,” the young woman smiled at us from behind the counter. “We’ve been waiting for you, Mr. Garrett. Your room, the luxury lanai penthouse suite, is ready for you. Please leave your luggage here with me and I’ll have it sent up for you. Would you like anything else sent up to the room?”

“A drink,” Verity said.

“Absolutely. We have a refreshing mojito with Plumeria-exclusive rum if you would like—”

“Just a vodka soda with lemon,” Verity said. “You know we’re coming back for our wedding, right? Are there any free upgrades available to us?”

“Verity,” I muttered.

She looked sharply at me. “What? I’m just asking. You spent good money here, and if there are perks, we are entitled to them.”

I rolled my shoulders uncomfortably and offered the clerk an apologetic smile.

She didn’t seem bothered by the request. She flashed my fiancée a brilliant smile and clasped her hands together on the counter.

“I can see what I can attend to for you. You are in the highest-class suite in the hotel and therefore have access to amenities most other guests don’t have.

I will make sure you are sent up a bottle of our most expensive champagne as well as some fresh fruit to kick things off while I make other arrangements to ensure your stay is exceptional at The Plumeria. ”

“We appreciate that,” I said.

The clerk typed something into her computer, most likely a note that we were entitled customers making special demands when we already had the best room in the whole hotel. I grimaced internally.

The clerk looked down at Chessie. “Since we’re having a drink sent up, would you like anything?”

I turned to Chessie. “Do you want a drink, kiddo?”

Chessie blinked up at me. “Um. I don’t know.”

I smiled at the check-in clerk. “How about a virgin Pina Colada for her and one of those mojitos for me?”

“Sounds good, sir.” The clerk provided us with our room keys and a resort map and then sent us on our way to the elevators, where we rode up to the top floor to seek out our penthouse.

By the time we reached our door, which we accessed via an outdoor balcony overlooking the ocean and gardens below, the sun was setting on the horizon and painting the sky pink and purple.

Verity slid her key card through the slot in the door and pushed the door open.

She complained that it was heavy, so I held it open for her.

Chessie squeezed between me and the door and exploded into the room.

“ Whoa ,” Chessie cried as she raced into the suite. “This place is huge!”

She wasn’t wrong. The suite was a glamorous yet sleek accommodation all at once.

The living space was open with modern furniture in muted colors.

Nothing competed for attention in the space and the flow felt organic and luxurious.

The living room opened up onto a huge private patio complete with an outdoor seating area around a glass fire pit, hot tub, and plunge pool.

Chessie pressed herself up against the glass sliding doors. “This. Is. So. Cool!”

I chuckled and pointed through an open doorway off the living room. “Check out that room, kiddo. It’s all yours.”

“Mine?”

“Yep.”

Chessie pushed off the glass, leaving handprints in her wake, and raced through the living room and into her bedroom complete with her own bathroom.

I heard her delighted squeals as she discovered the gift I’d had delivered for her before we arrived: a new doll complete with her own house and car.

I knew it was a little much, especially considering how many toys Chessie had back home, but Verity and I would be spending a lot of time out of the room tending to finalizing wedding details and I didn’t want Chessie to be bored.

Her nanny, Jennifer, would be flying in tomorrow to watch her and take her to the pools while Verity and I handled the grown-up stuff.

Perhaps the gifts were my way of dealing with the guilt of taking my daughter to Hawaii and not being able to spend much time with her.

Our luggage and drinks arrived shortly after we got into our room. Chessie came out to grab her drink and promptly returned to her new doll, and I brought the other drinks outside onto the patio where Verity stood with her back to me.

She’d already taken her shoes off. They sat on the white patio about a foot away, one heel tipped over and the other standing straight up. Verity ran her left foot up her right calf and leaned forward on the railing. I saw her ribcage expand as she drew a deep breath and then exhaled.

“Hey,” I said.

She didn’t look over her shoulder. “Hey.”

I approached the railing. “Here.”

I handed her drink to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as we gazed out at the ocean and the grounds below. Verity sipped her drink and licked her lips as she grimaced. “That’s really strong.”

“Should’ve gotten the mojito.”

“I don’t need the calories.”

“I think they have the same amount of calories, baby.”

Verity scowled into her drink and set it down. “I’m sorry, Rick. I’m just… I don’t know. This isn’t what I expected. I had a different picture in my head based on the pictures Kim showed us.”

I frowned. From where I was standing, the hotel was a spot-on match to the pictures Kim had showed us. “Do you not like it?”

“It feels too simple.”

“Simple?”

How was any of it simple? The room alone had cost a fortune, and the wedding?

Well, that was a hefty price I’d struggled to comprehend.

But it didn’t matter. I’d pay it ten times over if it made my bride happy.

She was the one who’d been dreaming about this day her entire life, not me.

I’d done this once before and it ended in flames.

I would do whatever it took to make my woman happy. She deserved nothing less than that.

Verity turned to me and pressed her hands to my chest. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I want this to be perfect, you know?

We only get one wedding night and I want it to match what I picture in my head when I close my eyes.

I have my perfect man. Can you blame a girl for wanting the perfect day to go along with it? ”

“Never,” I said softly. Then I cupped her cheek in one hand and pressed a soft kiss to her full lips. She tasted like vodka and lemons. “We won’t settle, baby. Everything will be just as you want it to be when you walk down the aisle. I promise.”

She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and smiled up at me. “How did I get so lucky?”

“I ask myself the same thing every day.”

She giggled softly and ran her hands over my shoulders. “Are you trying to sweet talk me so I’m not such a diva, Rick?”

“I don’t know. Is it working?”

“Maybe.”

I chuckled and gave her another kiss. “How about I find some room in the schedule tomorrow for a couple’s massage on the beach? You need to let your hair down and relax. What do you say to some pampering?”

Verity tugged gently on the buckle of my belt. “I say hell yes, baby.”