Before We Kiss. Susan MalleryЧитать онлайн книгу.
himself. She saw plugs for hooking up a computer and suspected a screen lowered on one of the walls.
“Fancy,” she said, pointing to the connections.
“I have finance meetings in here,” he said. “With the accountants. We keep them small because no one else wants to attend.”
“Your partners want to know their checks cleared and little else?”
“Something like that.”
She pulled out her stack of folders. “I get that. Just once I’d like to have a phone call with my bookkeeper that doesn’t have her trying very hard not to sigh in my ear. Every time I think I’ve got stuff the way she wants...”
Dellina trailed off, thinking that admitting a shortcoming like that probably wasn’t a good idea.
Sam leaned back in his chair. “Don’t worry. I’m not hiring you for your genius with numbers. I want you to make sure our guests have a good time.”
“Much more my area of expertise.” She passed him the top folder. “The preliminary schedule of events.”
He handed her a couple of sheets of paper. “The guest list, including who has kids and their ages.”
* * *
SAM FLIPPED OPEN the folder. The top two pages contained the calendar for the weekend. He scanned the lists. Per his request, the party began at four on Friday and went until two-thirty on Sunday.
“As you can see,” Dellina said, leaning toward him and pointing, “we’re keeping both kids and parents busy. The only places where the children need to be kept separate are the welcome wine tasting and dinner at Henri’s. I have a private room reserved for the event. Not only won’t it hold extra people, the kids would be a distraction.”
“I agree,” he told her.
“The other possible need for separation could be the lecture, but as I haven’t lined up anyone yet, I don’t know. Regardless, I’m running a full second track for the children. I suggest we go item by item through both schedules.”
He nodded.
Dellina shifted her chair closer. Her wavy brown hair slipped off her shoulder and brushed against his arm. He was wearing long sleeves and couldn’t really feel the contact, but he could imagine it. His fantasy for round two of their lone night together had been her on top. Only things hadn’t gotten that far.
“The wine tasting is the first item,” she said. “It will be held on the patio by the restaurant. I want to feature local wineries. Condor Valley Winery is right here in the valley, so they’ll be the star. I have an in with the owners. My sister Ana Raquel is married to the nephew of the winemaker. He’ll give a short talk on wine making, and the hotel wants to provide the appetizers. After the tasting we’ll head into the restaurant for a full sit-down dinner. You and I will figure out the menu. Their wine cellar is impressive, so we have a lot to choose from.”
She pointed to the second sheet. “While this is going on, the kids will be learning how to make various mocktails and appetizers. Ana Raquel and her husband are professional chefs. They’ll be teaching the class. It seems like an easy way for everyone to get to know one another. There will be an informal dinner. During which we’ll have a local band playing.”
“You have a band suitable for children?”
She grinned. “A high school band, but still fun.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. Her lips were full and shiny from some gloss. He wondered if it would have a flavor and how much trouble he would be in if he tried to find out.
“There’s a group in Sacramento that puts on plays for children. I want to hire them to do a kid-friendly play. It’s a little pricey but will be a great end to the evening. The fun part is the kids learn lines and participate as well as watch.”
It was a lot, but as she said, memorable. Better for the parents to know their children were entertained and tired at the end of the day.
“Is the play going to cost more than ten thousand dollars?” he asked.
Her eyes widened. “Hardly.”
“Then it’s fine.”
“Sheesh. We have different definitions of expensive,” she murmured.
He was sure that was true. “What about babysitters?”
“There will be at least two adults with the kids at all times along with several teenage sitters to keep an eye on things. I’ll have references for everyone working two weeks before the party so parents can check them out if they want.”
“Impressive,” he told her.
She smiled. “I live to dazzle. Okay, Saturday morning. We’ll have a stretching class for those who are in the mood, followed by breakfast on the terrace. Then we split up. Adults go to CDS for a fun obstacle course while the kids go bike riding with Josh Golden.”
“Josh agreed to this?” Sam asked.
Dellina nodded. “I wouldn’t have put it on the schedule if he hadn’t. He does a lot of Saturday morning rides with different people. If you’re visiting town, you can sign up for it through your hotel. They start on the track at his school, and then when everyone is comfortable they head out to the bike path that circles the city.”
She angled toward him. “I’ve talked to Angel and CDS has several corporate obstacle courses for us to choose from. They have balance beams and things with tires.”
He held in a smile. “Things with tires?”
“You know what I mean. You jump in and out of tires. It’s supposed to be fun.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“I don’t see the point, but that doesn’t matter. This isn’t about me. You and Jack and Kenny are the stars. Your guests will be expecting a lot of physical activities and this will be a fun one.”
She wore a lightweight sweater over black pants. Low-heeled shoes that Taryn would turn her nose up at but Sam thought were cute. Dellina was professional and obviously good at her job. She also smelled good and he couldn’t stop wanting to pull her close and violate several state statutes on sexual harassment.
“After that,” she continued, “we meet up with the kids and head into town. It’s the weekend of the Summer Festival. We’ll have lunch together, then split up to explore. There will be a tour of the town for anyone interested. We shuttle back to the hotel at three-thirty and then there’s the lecture for the adults and the children get to hang out with Max and his therapy dogs.”
She pulled a brochure out of another folder and passed it to him. “Normally Montana does the community outreach with the dogs, but she’s seriously pregnant and taking it easy. K9Rx Therapy Dogs does what it sounds like.”
“I know what therapy dogs are.”
“Then you get the fun the kids will have with friendly, adoring dogs. Angel will bring his Acorns by to talk about their recent project with therapy puppies.”
Acorns? Sam started to ask what or who they were. Then he remembered Taryn’s involvement with a group of girls. They were like scouts, only local. There had been activities and a project involving puppies. More interesting was take-no-prisoners Taryn now spent her days staring at her engagement ring and sighing like a schoolgirl.
Love did strange things to people. Once he’d wanted that for himself. Not the acting like a fool part, but the rest of it. The connection. The family.
Dellina continued, “We finish the evening with a barbecue on the terrace. Kids with their parents, although there will be sitters available if Mom and Dad want to stay up late.” She drew a breath. “Sunday morning we have brunch together. Then there’s golf for those interested, a spa day here at the hotel for the ladies and the kids get on a bus to head to Castle Ranch.”