Juniper Hill (The Edens #2)(70)

She tilted to meet my gaze. “No one important.”

“Good answer.” I let her go, twirling her once, then pulled her close. “Did Eloise ever show you pictures of what this room used to look like?”

“No. Why?”

“Ask her for them sometime. Then you’ll really appreciate the transformation.” The building had been empty and dark and musty. Its renovation had been mostly cosmetic to clean away dust and brighten the walls.

“Okay.” She smiled, taking in the room, her eyes dancing.

Memphis would get the same expression when she watched Drake play or studied me in the kitchen. But it was the first time I’d seen her light up for something here, in the hotel. “You love this, don’t you?”

“I do. I’ve always loved weddings. Helping with this has made me think . . . the bride has done all of the planning herself. She’s had to coordinate with the vendors and rental places. I asked her if she had a wedding planner but I guess there isn’t one in town.”

“There isn’t. When Winn and Griffin got married, Winn organized their wedding herself too.”

“What if . . .” She blew out a long breath. “What if I tried? I’d do it in my spare time. I don’t know if there’s a demand but I could organize any event. Corporate meetings or retirement parties or weddings.”

“Yes.” Whatever kept that look on her face.

“I see the way you love Knuckles. I want that too. If working means time away from Drake or you, I want to love it.”

“Do it. I’ll help with whatever I can.”

She blushed. “Then maybe I will.”

I spun her around again, then reluctantly let her go. “What’s on your schedule the rest of the afternoon?”

“Not much. With the rooms full, I’ve just been tidying up as people come and go. There’s a guest on the fourth floor who requested a late checkout, so hopefully that’s empty by now. The next guest who was supposed to check in called about an hour ago. Their flight got canceled so it’s actually an empty room.”

Empty rooms were a rarity this time of year. “What if we booked it? Just you and me. We could see if Mom wanted to watch Drake tonight. I bet she’d stay at our place. Then tomorrow I can get up, head to the kitchen. You can check on the wedding before you head home.”

She worried her lip between her teeth. “I’ve never left him alone at night.”

“Gotta be a first. If we don’t like it, we’ll go home.”

“Um . . .” She drew in a deep breath, then smiled. “Okay.”

With her hand clasped in mine, I dragged her to the front desk.

Eloise didn’t bat an eyelash when I told her I wanted the room. It was too late in the day to fill the reservation, and it had been ages since I’d stayed as an actual guest, something we all did from time to time.

“I guess I’ll go clean our room.” Memphis laughed when Eloise handed her the key cards.

“Come see me when you’re done,” I said.

“Sure.” She stood on her toes, fisting a handful of my shirt to drag me to her lips. Then we went our separate ways, her toward the elevators while I headed for Knuckles.

The dining room was empty for the lull between lunch and dinner. It would start to fill in the next hour as people began wandering in for a meal. But the kitchen was busy, all hands on deck, preparing for the wedding tomorrow.

Music blared from the radio in the corner. The scent of onions and garlic permeated the space. Skip and Roxanne argued over which drink was better—eggnog or Tom and Jerry’s.

“Knox, which—”

“Eggnog,” I answered before Roxanne could finish her question, then disappeared to my office to check a few emails.

The bride for tomorrow’s wedding had been emailing me daily since we’d started planning the menu. As expected, the moment I opened my inbox, there was a note from her confirming we had enough champagne for the event. Something, if Memphis had been her wedding planner, she could have confirmed weeks ago.

It was a brilliant idea. Quincy, and The Eloise, could use a planner. Maybe we could hire Memphis to be the hotel’s official event coordinator. It would mean a pay raise and if she wanted to expand into her own business, we could give her that flexibility too.

My computer dinged with another email and I tensed at Gianna’s name. I clicked it open to find a simple message—Merry Christmas—and one photo.

It was the picture she’d taken of Memphis, Drake and me in the kitchen.

Memphis was the spotlight, her face so beautiful I struggled to tear my eyes away. She looked up at me while I smiled down at her. The only one actually looking at the camera was Drake.

I shoved away from my desk and weaved through the kitchen. “Be back.”

Memphis was on the fourth floor when I found her in the empty room. She’d stripped the bed and was dusting when I walked inside.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” She smiled. “What’s up?”

“Got this today.” I dug my phone from my pocket and pulled up the email. Then I handed it over so she could see the photo.

Her eyes softened. “I love this.”

“I love you.”

Memphis gasped and the phone fell from her hand, landing with a thud on the carpet. “W-what?”