The last time she’d been in the rooms, she hadn’t seen the bathroom. She had never seen anything so wonderful before. The bathtub was as big as a hot tub with a huge glass shower on one end and a gas fireplace with a flat screen television above it along the other end.
A long shallow trough-like sink with two faucets filled the opposite wall. A huge lighted mirror hung over it all.
There was a small wood door and, when she peeked her head in, she realized it was a sauna. Shutting the door, she thought about enjoying that later that evening.
“I could get used to this.” She smiled as she stepped into the massive closet. “If only I’d brought more clothes,” she joked to herself, remembering the six pieces of luggage sitting in the other room that she’d carted through the airport herself.
Pulling on her sandals again, she picked up her discarded clothes and walked back to the closet to hang them up. The lone shirt and slacks looked so lonely in the massive space. “I’ll bring your friends in later,” she promised them.
She grabbed her cell phone and made her way downstairs and outside to the larger of the three swimming pools. She wanted to enjoy time with her family, but she knew that the fear and the secrets she was keeping from them would prevent her from relaxing completely.
Chapter Two
Calvin was seriously wondering how far his patience could stretch. First thing that morning, he had found out from Heather, who had heard it from Stacey, that Bella Rothschild had booked a room for the next few weeks.
Of course, he remembered Ben’s little sister. How could he forget the summer he’d spent with Ben and his family in Mexico? It had been obvious the girl had a huge crush on him all summer long. He’d done everything to discourage her. After all, it was his best friend’s little sister.
He’d known Ben Rothschild, Bella’s older brother, since middle school. They had met at the private school in the Alps they had both been shipped off to so that their parents wouldn’t have to deal with them.
Both Ben and he had been forgotten children whose parents had spent thousands of dollars for someone else to deal with them. Of course, the similarity of their stories ended there.
Ben had been sent there because his parents were selfish and busy living their lives the way they wanted, and a teenage boy didn’t fit into their plans. Calvin had been sent there because of all the trouble he’d caused his family.
Ben had been the only reason he’d been able to claw his way out of the darkness that had consumed him back then.
After graduation, Ben had been lucky enough to get a job at Elite Resorts, thanks to family connections. A few years later, he’d married the granddaughter of Carl Harrison, the owner of the multi-million-dollar business. Then, when the older man had died, Ben’s new wife, Sarah had inherited everything from her grandfather. Including East Haven resorts.
The moment Calvin had met Sarah at their wedding a few years back, he’d liked her. She was more down to earth than anyone he would have expected Ben to fall for. Ben had always feared that his parents would arrange his entire life, including who he married.
Two years after Ben and Sarah had married, Calvin had received a phone call from his friend. He’d been happily surprised when he’d been offered a temporary manager job at East Haven. The last manager, Lilith Carriveau, had just given birth to her son, Alex. That was three years ago. Shortly before Sarah’s best friend was set to return to the job full time, she’d gotten pregnant again and had her daughter, Brooke.
With the two little ones at home, Sarah had given her a different job so she could stay at home with the children. Which had left the management position open for him.
He’d jumped at the chance to continue working for his friends. After that first year, he had realized that he’d never had a place where he felt like he fit in so well. Even in his own childhood home, he had always felt like a stranger.
Was it one of the reasons he had acted out so badly as a teen? Either way, he knew that if it hadn’t been for Ben Rothschild, he probably wouldn’t be alive.
He’d been watching out for the ferry so he could be the one to greet Bella Rothschild himself. He knew Ben and Sarah and their two little girls, Aurora and Luna, wouldn’t be far behind.
What he hadn’t expected was the fist-to-the-gut attraction he’d felt upon seeing the pretty brunette slowly stroll down the dock towards him. Had she always been this gorgeous? The sunlight hitting her had red hints almost glowing in her hair.
She had been wearing a dark silver tank top with flowing white cotton pants and silver sandals and had walked towards him like she was on a catwalk instead of the old dock. His heart had jumped in his chest when she’d slowly flipped her hair and lowered the sunglasses from her eyes as she smiled at him.
Then, it was as if the entire world stopped. The sadness he’d seen in her dark eyes had made him frown slightly as she talked with JT.
Then Ben and Sarah had arrived, and his attention had been pulled to entertaining their daughters. He loved the little girls and always enjoyed playing with Aurora. Little Luna was just starting to come out of her shell around him. He figured that she was following her big sister, who always hung on him and wanted him to spin her around like an airplane.
After making sure Bella’s luggage was delivered up to her room, he stood around the lobby with Ben while Sarah and Bella talked outside.
Ben sighed. “She looks unhappy.” He nodded towards the doors while Calvin kept hold of the two little girls.
“Yeah. Any idea why?”
Ben shook his head. “There are rumors about a breakup, but something tells me it’s not that.”
Calvin shifted Luna in his arms as Aurora weaved between his legs. “Whatever it is, this is the best place to recover.”
“Yeah,” Ben agreed as the women stepped inside.
When they all agreed to head to the pool, Calvin figured the least he could do was to ensure them a spot at the larger pool. After everyone went to change into their swimsuits, he rushed to the pool area and asked Ken, the staff member working the area, to set aside a few chairs for the family.
Walking over to the bar, he asked Stacy to make sure the family had whatever drinks they wanted. It helped to give the staff a heads-up that the bosses were present. Even though Sarah and Ben were really relaxed, Calvin prided himself on making sure everything was perfect, as he did for all of the guests.
Then he headed down to the kitchen to see about getting some of the little cheese crackers he knew Aurora liked, along with a fruit and a cheese platter for the adults.
Stepping into the kitchen, he made a point not to get in the way of Adam or any of his staff. He knew the man was very particular with his job and, since the guy made some of the best food in Maine, he tended to stay out of his way.
“Hey, Adam.” Calvin got the man’s attention. “Just a heads-up, Ben and Sarah are on the grounds. They’re heading to the pool with Bella and the girls.”
“Bella’s here?” The Frenchman’s outer shell cracked slightly, and he smiled. Calvin knew the man normally only did that when he was talking about his wife and kids.
“She just arrived. We’ll host her for the next two weeks or so. She’s in the Summer Suite.”
“Bien.” Adam set down the pan with a chunk of salmon he’d been preparing. “I’ll see to putting something together for them for a snack.” He smiled. “I know Aurora likes those cheese crackers.”