But that hadn’t stopped Marla Taylor. She’d finagled her way into volunteering at the hotel’s concierge desk, but Donnie knew she was only positioning herself to scan the women as they came and went. So far, she hadn’t throw any of the hotel’s guests at him, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. Donnie knew it was only a matter of time before she found the one she deemed Ms. Right.
He strolled through the open veranda, smiling and greeting hotel guests and staff alike with an amiable nod. His mother wasn’t at the concierge desk, and that troubled him as he headed for the elevator and his office on the second floor.
His secretary, Lorna, hadn’t come in yet. As Donnie recalled, she’d said something about a doctor’s appointment today. Passing by Lorna’s work space, he wondered where his mother was and what she was up to?
Opening the door to his office, he found Marla Taylor sitting at his desk. She was in her late fifties and not a bad looking woman—as far as mothers go—and Donnie couldn’t understand why she didn’t concentrate on her own love life.
“Morning, Mother.” He called her mother because he knew it bugged her. “Something wrong with your desk?” He stood beside his chair, staring down at her.
“No. I just wanted to talk to you.” Her Texas drawl was alive and kicking, and truth be told, so was Donnie’s, just not as pronounced. It was hard to get rid of something that’d been more than twenty-five years in the making.
“What can I do for you?” he asked, thumbing through the files on his desk, pretending to look at them.
“Well, for starters—”
“Never mind.” He raised a hand as if that’d stop her. But something had to. Donnie had bigger problems than his mother’s need for grandchildren. “Mom, I really don’t have time right now. Erin called in sick,” he said of one of the two dayshift hostesses for the Beachcomber Café, one of four restaurants on the resort’s grounds. “I’ve got to find a replacement to handle her duties.” There was no way the other hostess, Kelly, could handle the crowd by herself. Donnie wondered if he could get one of the waitresses from the Oceanview to stand in?
Marla stood. “I can do it.” Her voice was calm, but her eagerness was shining brightly on her face.
It wasn’t the greatest idea, but it wasn’t the worst either. Marla could easily handle the task of greeting the coffee shop’s patrons. She’d also be on the female diners like a dog with a bone once she found out they were single. And she would find out.
“Mom…” He glared at her and issued a stern warning. “You can’t be pestering the female diners in the restaurant.”
“Donnie.” She used her scolding tone. What she didn’t know was that it hadn’t worked on him since he turned ten. “People in Hawaii are friendly. I intend to merely uphold that tradition.”
He latched onto her arm and guided her toward the door. “Don’t make me regret this, Mother,” he said, shuffling her out into the hallway.
So far, Donnie had been able to appease the resort’s guests his mother had interrogated. Thankfully, they were easily amused with comps for dinner at the Wishing Well, Sapphire Bay’s world-renowned steakhouse. He didn’t want to get to the point where he had to start handing out free passes to the hotel’s best suites because of his mother’s hare-brained schemes.
Genie Wainwright hid away in her room the first few days she was in Hawaii. On her sixth morning, she awaken at 5:00 a.m. and went down to the beach to take photos of the incredible sun rise. After breakfast at Oceanview’s morning buffet, she went back to the beach and perched herself under an umbrella. She was early. The only company she had (other than beachside vendors) was a half-washed-away sandcastle, probably a leftover remnant from yesterday.
As the resort’s guests began to dot the shoreline, Genie found solace in the sight and sound of whispering waves crawling up onto the shore and then prowling back out again.
Around 11:30, hunger pangs nagged at her sanity so she decided to head back up to the hotel to grab some lunch. She pushed herself up from the beach chair, smiling to herself. She could stay right here at Sapphire Bay for the rest of her trip and be quite content. As pricey as this place was, it wasn’t as costly as the honeymooners’ paradise over on Maui. Cami’s bright idea had bought Genie a few extra days just by moving over to Oahu.
That settled it. Before she headed home she was going to visit the resort’s gift shop and buy Cami an awesome ‘thank you’ present.
Genie fished around in her beach bag and came out with a sarong, which she wrapped around her waist, and a tee shirt that she pulled down over her bikini top. Slipping her feet into her pale green Reef thongs, she liked the idea that what she was wearing was suitable attire for any restaurant on the island.
She trekked back inside the hotel and decided to try the Beachcomber Café.
A woman about the same age as Genie’s mother approached her with a smile. The coral print Hawaiian-style dress she was wearing looked good on her. Her dark hair was short and perfectly coiffed. Her makeup was done to precision. Her smile brightened her eyes and instantly flooded Genie with feelings of cheer.
“Good morning,” the woman said, then laughed, looking at her watch. She nodded and glanced back up at Genie. “It is still morning. Sometimes I lose track.” Still laughing at herself, she added, “Just one?” Genie nodded. The woman grabbed a menu and motioned for Genie to follow her. “Would you like to sit out on the terrace? It’s a lovely view.”
“That’d be great,” Genie said, following the woman through the restaurant. A gentle breeze blew past as they moved outside. “You’re right,” Genie said, taking in the sight of intense blue waters glistening in the sunlight. “What a gorgeous view.”
The hostess led her to the far corner table, one that could seat four. “Here.” She smiled at Genie. “This table affords the best view.”
Genie pulled a chair out and sat. “Thank you,” she said, accepting the menu from the hostess.
“Brianna will be your server today,” the woman said. “Can I bring you something to drink while you look over the menu?”
Genie thought about it briefly and decided to quench her thirst with something that had a little flavor. “Raspberry iced tea sounds really good.”
The hostess trotted away, but was back before Genie had time to take an extended look at the waves tumbling lazily toward the shore.