Thank you, she mouthed to me.
“I’m honored to introduce you to our newest addition.” I moved back, turning my body toward Joanna as she held the scissors to the red ribbon, waiting for me to give her the signal to cut it. “Park City Mountainside.”
I eyed my daughter, and as each side of the ribbon fell, an applause erupted from the crowd.
Everyone rose from their seats, entering the hotel, and Joanna and Jenner made their way over to me.
“Congratulations,” Jenner said, clasping my hand, reaching forward to wrap his arm around my shoulders—the kind of hug the younger generation gave nowadays.
“And to you too,” I said, patting his back. “You know you deserve just as much recognition. You worked your ass off on this one.”
He released my hand, his arm dropping as he said, “You should have heard some of the rumblings in the crowd. They were blown away by the exterior alone, and they hadn’t even been inside yet.”
“If they think this property is magnificent, wait until they see what you and Joanna are spearheading next.”
Jenner’s arm slipped around my daughter’s shoulders. “Baby, are you ready to do this all over again in South Beach?”
“You mean, head back to one of my favorite cities in the world and eat Gloria’s desserts every day?” She grinned at me. “I’m more than ready.”
“Speaking of Gloria,” I said, gazing at the faces that walked by, looking for hers, “have you seen her?”
“She’s here,” Jenner replied, turning around, waving his hand in the air, and I assumed he’d spotted her. “She’s on her way over.”
Gloria approached with her son, Brett—a close friend of Jenner’s, who I’d now met several times—along with his fiancée, James, a woman who needed no introduction. Neither did Monica, my daughter’s best friend, who was a permanent staple in our family.
Monica threw her arms around me. “What a wicked place,” she said, hugging me like a second daughter. “I love it here, like, so, so much.”
“You know there’s a room for you anytime you want to come,” I told her. “That’s true for any of my hotels.”
She smiled. “And when you’re ready to up your style, you know I’m your girl.”
I laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Hell of a hotel,” Brett said, shaking my hand. “James and I are thrilled to be staying here this weekend.”
“Yes,” James agreed. “It’s absolutely beautiful, Walter. Thank you for inviting us.”
“I appreciate you coming,” I told them, and then I looked at Gloria, tapping my stomach that seemed to have a heavier bulge than yesterday. “I sampled some of your desserts this afternoon when my team was prepping for tonight’s gala. Don’t tell my pastry chef that I said this, but yours are the best I’ve ever had.”
Gloria blushed and replied, “You’re too kind.”
“Had my daughter not brought your desserts over for Thanksgiving, I wouldn’t have ever found you, and this never would have happened.” I pointed at the entrance behind me, where past the lobby and into the lower belly of the hotel was Gloria’s newest bake shop.
My guests were going to be able to snack on her treats anytime they wanted.
“Half of LA now knows about her,” my daughter said, smiling at her friend. “And we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
While they hugged, Ford and his daughter came over along with Dominick and his girlfriend, Kendall, as well.
“This place is gorgeous,” Ford said, picking up his little girl in his arms.
I remembered when mine had been that size. When her tiny hands would hold on to me so tightly. When her pigtails would tickle my face.
When I could protect her from everything.
“You should be proud of your brother,” I said to him. “He worked his tail off on this hotel.”
Ford clapped Jenner’s shoulder and said, “You’re always making us proud, buddy.”
“I hope you’ll be joining us for the gala tonight?” I asked Dominick and Kendall.
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Dominick replied.
As I was looking at Dominick, I felt a tap on my arm, and I glanced toward the source.
Little Everly still had her finger on me, and she whispered, “Daddy says he’s taking me skiing tomorrow. But he says I can only go if I’m a big girl and I don’t cry at your party.”
“Is that so?” I asked her, chuckling. “What happens if your daddy cries at my party? Did you make that part of your bargain?”
“Daddy!” Everly yelled. “What if you cry—”
Ford started tickling his baby, distracting her from finishing the rest of her question. Her head fell back, her mouth opened, and the cutest, loudest giggles came out of her.
I leaned into my daughter’s ear and said, “When are you going to give me one of those?”
She looked at me. “A grandchild? Dad, we’re not even engaged yet. Besides, you keep me so busy; I don’t have time for anything, let alone a child.”
I did keep her busy, but that was because I needed her.
She was far more talented than her old man with an eye for design and a personality that kept her marketing team engaged and motivated.
Of course, I hadn’t believed that at first.
In fact, Utah was a role I never intended to give her.
I didn’t think she had the skills. Right out of college, she didn’t have a lick of experience, and she was far too green.
But after finding out that the two of them had gotten together—a bit of news that had shocked the hell out of me—how else was I going to see if Jenner was the right man for her?
I laughed to myself as I watched the two of them, lost in conversation, arms wrapped around each other.
They thought they had fooled me.
They thought they had kept their relationship a secret.
But what they didn’t realize was that I knew everything that went on in my hotels.
Especially if my daughter was staying in one.
And the Vegas property made it even easier because there were cameras on every inch of the interior.
Jenner Dalton was a dirty fucking dog.
He wasn’t the type of guy you let your daughter date, and my initial instinct had been to put a stop to it.
But deep down, I knew if Jenner mended his ways, if he gave up being such a playboy and was in it for the long haul, then he would be perfect for Joanna.
I just had to make sure he wasn’t going to break my pumpkin’s heart.
Their first trip to Utah might have broken them up, but I was positive the second would glue them back together, and that was why I insisted she go with him.
Neither of them would ever know it was my doing.
I preferred to keep it that way.
So, I waited to see how long it was going to take him to tell me the truth. Every time we met, every time we spoke on the phone, I listened to him struggle with the secret. And when he finally shared the news, I wasn’t easy on him. I certainly wasn’t going to let him think he was the alpha in this family.
That role only belonged to me.
But what I did do was test him.
I wanted to see what meant more to him.