Early to Bed?

“Always, my dear,” Alistair replied.

Lily had to suppress the urge to applaud as the elevator doors slid shut on the couple.

“I hope she didn’t bother you,” Lucy said as she leaned down to pinch out the candles. “There was quite a leak in her suite, and I’m the only one on duty tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lily said. “That’s Sir Alistair Brooks, isn’t it? The British film star?” Growing up in boarding schools, she’d clocked a lot of hours watching old movies while other kids were home for the holidays.

“Yes,” Lucy answered, giving her a surprised look.

“And Dame Vera Darnel. I didn’t put it all together until I saw them walk away. They appeared together in film versions of Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I must have seen both of those at least twenty times. And about ten years ago they did a stint together on Day by Day.” The daytime soap had been a favorite in the boarding school she’d gone to.

Lucy smiled at her. “Not many people recognize them anymore.”

“They’re guests here?”

“Permanent ones. Their suites occupy the eighth floor—right above the family suites on the seventh floor. They were my Uncle Henry’s first guests, and the fact that they signed a ten-year lease fifty years ago gave him the financial security to open the hotel. They’ve been leasing here ever since.”

“Is the leak a bad one?” Lily asked.

For the first time, worry replaced the smile in Lucy’s eyes. “I’m sure that Tony can handle it. The plumbing has been acting up a bit more than usual lately. I’m sorry that I wasn’t here to welcome you when you arrived.”

“No problem,” Lily said. But it occurred to her that she would have to include the incident with Dame Vera and the problem with the plumbing in her report to her father. Feeling guilty, she rose and followed the younger girl to the reception desk.

Once she was behind the counter, Lucy beamed a smile at Lily. “Why don’t we start over? This is where I say, I’m Lucy Romano. Welcome to Henry’s Place.”

“I’m Lily McNeil and you must be Anthony Romano’s sister?”

“Cousin,” Lucy said. “But he’s really more like a brother. I’ve lived here in the hotel all my life. Usually, I work in the kitchen, but all the men in the family are out tonight. My cousin Sam got married a month ago, and they’re playing poker at his new place.”

“I spoke with Anthony on the phone.” Lily drew a credit card out of her purse. “I have an appointment to talk with him in the morning about renovating the hotel, and he made a reservation for me to stay here tonight as a guest.”

Lucy’s fingers flew over the keys of the computer. “I’m so glad you have a reservation. We’re booked solid. Thanks to the plumbing problem, there isn’t a room to be had. Now…” Lucy leaned back in her chair. “All we have to do is wait for the slowest computer in the world. I keep telling Tony that he has to get a new system. All he says is that he’s got it on the list.”

While Lucy chattered away, Lily glanced around the lobby again. In her mind, she pictured it as it had been in its prime. It was really a crime to have let it deteriorate this way. At least when her father took it over, the lobby would be returned to its original beauty.

“Uh-oh,” Lucy said with a frown.

“What?”

“I’ve pulled up your reservation, but there’s a notation on it that it’s been canceled.”

“That’s impossible,” Lily said as she pushed away a vision of a little black cloud forming over her head. First a monsoon and now a canceled reservation. This was the kind of luck the old Lily had, and she was no longer that person. “Your cousin made it for me himself.”

Lucy’s frown deepened as she studied the screen in front of her. “He’s also the one who canceled it. There’s a notation that someone at McNeil Enterprises called this afternoon and said that your plans had changed.”

Thoughts whirled through Lily’s mind. Who would have called? Had her father changed his mind about the job he’d given her? Surely, he would have called her first to let her know. “There must have been some mix-up at the office. Why don’t you just give me another room?”

Lucy met her eyes. “I don’t have another room. I can find you something at one of the other hotels in the city.”

“Surely, you must have something.” One thing Lily knew about the hotel business was that there were always rooms held back for just such an emergency. “Your cousin Anthony and I talked about how important it was that I stay here at Henry’s Place. It’s the only way that I can really get a feel for the place.”

Lucy’s brow knit. “I would have a room if it weren’t for the plumbing. Dame Vera’s wasn’t the only room affected.”

“I’ll take anything,” Lily said.

“Tell you what,” Lucy said. “I do have a suite on the roof. My Uncle Henry lived there while he was alive, and it’s only used by family.” She swung out from behind the counter, picked up Lily’s suitcase, and led the way to the elevator. “I’m sure that Tony would want me to put you up there. I know that he was looking forward to meeting with you.”

As she followed the young girl, Lily let out the breath she was holding. In spite of Dame Vera’s dire predictions, her past was not going to become her future.

“I’LL TAKE THREE.” Tony placed his cards face down on the table and wished fervently that he could have discarded his entire hand. The grinning look that passed between his brothers as Sam dealt him new cards added salt to the wound.

“Don’t get too smug,” he warned his brothers. “My luck is going to turn. Dame Vera read my palm just before I left this evening.”

“Did she give you a date on the turnaround?” Drew asked.

“Tonight sometime,” Tony said. At least, he hoped it would be tonight.

Drew and Sam exchanged another look.

“I don’t think we have anything to worry about yet,” Sam said. “You haven’t won a hand all night.”

Though he wouldn’t have said that he had a pessimistic nature, Tony viewed his current cards as symbolic of his luck in general lately. The hotel, his family’s home, was threatening to fall down on his head. Literally. So far, he’d managed to keep the severity of the situation from his brothers. They didn’t need the grief. They certainly didn’t need to know that two big hotel conglomerates, McNeil Enterprises and Fortescue Investments were pressuring him to sell out. Not that he ever would—and certainly not to McNeil Enterprises. His father and J. R. McNeil had a history. That was all Tony knew, but it was bad enough for his dad to warn him never to trust anyone from the company.

Still, Tony would have liked to discuss the hotel’s problems with someone. But Sam was a newlywed, and Drew had been working some tough undercover assignments at the precinct lately. The one person he might have confided in, his cousin Nick, was adjusting to fatherhood in Boston. He didn’t need anything raining on his parade, either. Besides, running the hotel was Tony’s job—the one his father had left him.

“I only need one,” Drew said as he tossed his card on the table.

“And I’m good,” Sam said.

That figured, Tony thought. Truth told, Sam’s luck was on a roll. He was not only winning at poker tonight, but ever since he’d met and married A.J., his whole life had been on an upswing. The security company he worked for had made him a VP, and A.J. was expecting a baby in early summer.

“I’m in for twenty,” Drew said, pushing chips into the center of the table.

“Big talk.” Sam set a neat stack next to Drew’s. “I’ll see that and raise you thirty.”

Drew added chips and the two men looked expectantly at Tony.

“You can always fold now,” Sam said. “That way you can hold on to that pitiful pile of chips in front of you.”

Tony turned to Drew. “That sounds like a bluff to me. I’ll bet he’s got squat.”

“How much?” Drew asked.

“Ten bucks,” Tony said.

Drew grinned. “You’re on.”

Sam shook his head sadly. “This is like taking money from a baby. You guys are no challenge at all.”