Love Takes All

The elevator stopped on the top floor and the doors slid smoothly open. Miss E. stepped out and led the way down the hall. Only six doors opened to the hall, three on either side. They had reached the penthouse floor.

“The previous owner lived in the hotel,” Miss E. explained as she stopped in front of one of the doors. “This floor has what he said were family suites.” She knocked on the nearest door.

When the door opened, Hunter nearly fell to his knees. One of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen smiled at him. She was slim with a fragile, almost ethereal air to her in a Zoe Saldana way with a heart-shaped face and wide brown eyes. Shoulder-length black hair hung in long silky waves about her shoulders. Skin the color of his favorite mocha coffee looked as smooth as satin. A cream-and-black dress skimmed her body. He could tell the dress was a designer label and probably tailored to fit her. Her hands were long and slender, the nails lacquered a pale, iridescent pink to match the barely there lipstick on her pouty lips. She was so tiny a strong wind would probably blow her away. She certainly took his breath away. The longer he stood mute, the more strained her smile became until it began to falter. He was probably creeping her out.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Miss E. pushed him into the tiled entry. “Close your mouth, Hunter. Hunter, this is Lydia. And this is Maya.”

A young girl, maybe eight or nine, ran across the tiled floor and flung her arms around Miss E. Maya’s resemblance to Lydia told Hunter the child was her daughter. She wore a yellow flowered sundress that showed off her light brown skin. Her long hair was woven into two thick braids that bounced against her shoulders as she ran. Instead of dark brown eyes like her mother, Maya’s eyes were light amber.

“Miss Eleanor,” Maya cried. “My bedroom looks like a castle. It has a princess and a prince. The prince even has a horse. I’ve always wanted a horse.” She sighed longingly.

She grinned so wide Hunter could see new teeth coming in at the sides of her mouth. From the slight crookedness of her front teeth, braces were in her future. Yet her smile was infectious and Hunter found his own smile growing at her elfin enthusiasm.

“Lydia,” Miss E. said, “this is my grandson Hunter Russell.”

Lydia held out her hand. “How do you do? It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Her voice held a faint Southern accent.

Hunter was dazed as he took her hand in his. Her skin was warm and soft. “Hello.” Was that the best he could do?

“This is my daughter, Maya,” Lydia said with a soft smile as she eased her hand out of his.

Maya smiled. “Hello, Mr. Russell, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She held out a tiny hand for him to shake.

He solemnly accepted Maya’s hand, shaking it slightly. Hunter was impressed she had manners. Like her mother. “How do you do?”

“Well, thank you.” Maya giggled. For all her mannered politeness, she was still a child.

The suite was divided into three parts. The area upon walking in contained the living room. Closer to the balcony was a dining table that looked large enough to seat eight people. Beyond the sliding glass doors, he saw a pond and wondered if it had koi. On his left an open door showed a bedroom that seemed to have a child motif. Nearest the balcony was a large, open kitchen. On the other side of the living area was another open door showing a second bedroom. Across from the kitchen was another closed door, which he assumed was probably a third bedroom, and a second open door showed a white tiled bathroom.

The suite was nicely decorated with rustic red floor tiles, beige furniture and just a hint of Spanish influence in a massive sideboard holding brightly colored pottery.

“May I offer you some coffee, ice water, sweet tea?” Lydia asked in a polite voice.

“No, thank you.” Hunter was still a bit shocked at his grandmother’s decision to take on hotel/casino management, but even more so by the graceful, charming woman who was her business partner. She was a living piece of art.

His grandmother, on the other hand, was supposed to be retired, to let Hunter and his siblings start taking care of her. Running a casino wasn’t for the faint-hearted. Hunter didn’t have a clue how to run one. Miss E. probably had an idea, but she was seventy-eight years old and was more capable of playing the game than running it.

“Come see my room, Miss E.” Maya grabbed her by the hand and tugged her across the living room and into a bedroom.

He turned back to Lydia. She was watching him as closely as he had studied her. Her steady gaze unnerved him.

“I know what you’re thinking.” She sat down on the sofa and crossed her elegant legs, one foot bobbing up and down.

“And that is?” he asked cautiously.

“You’re thinking I’m insane, we’re all insane.” Her voice was calm and serene.

He wasn’t going to say anything negative. “Actually, I was thinking my grandmother is insane.”

Lydia Montgomery was as close to perfection as a woman could be. He wondered how she could have fallen in with Miss E.

Lydia leaned forward earnestly. “Miss E. knows exactly what she’s doing. And I am doing what I want to do for the first time in my life, and no one is going to stop me.” A challenge lurked in her dark eyes.

Okay, she was ready for a fight. He wondered what her life had been like that she was so passionate about doing something different. “What makes you think I intend to stop my grandmother, or you?” Part of him wanted to give her whatever she wanted. He sat down in a chair that looked comfortable, but wasn’t.

“I saw the way you looked at your grandmother. You looked at me the same way.”

Hunter held up a hand. “I’ll admit my grandmother is pretty impulsive and I do question her sanity at times, but she is an adult. And she has all her faculties.” He assumed she did. “But you....” How did he say the words struggling to get out? She looked like she belonged in a country club, not a casino.

“You think I’m going to take advantage of her, don’t you?”

“I’m more concerned about my grandmother taking advantage of you.”

A surprised look crossed her face as if she had to think about it for a minute. “Why would you think that?”

“Because she’s a bulldozer.” And Lydia looked like a stiff breeze would blow her over. “She’s an expert at reading people in order to give them what they want so she can get what she wants from them.”

“Your grandmother has been nothing but kind and encouraging to me. Maya adores her.”

“That’s how my grandma operates.” Hunter remembered when he’d been under his grandmother’s spell. He always fought it, but in the end gave in because giving in was so much easier. She just knew how to reel a person in like a big dumb trout.

“But...” Lydia floundered for a reply. “But she has such a clear vision. And she knows so much.”

“I’m pretty sure hotel and casino management isn’t on her résumé.” He could hear his grandmother’s voice coming from the open door of Maya’s bedroom. She was laughing.

“Isn’t it the same as managing a home?”

He studied her for a moment, stilled by the intensity in her chocolate brown eyes. She wasn’t as frail as she looked. The way she titled her head and watched him in such a composed manner made him wonder how his grandmother had talked her into joining the poker game. “Home management and hotel management probably have similarities, but on a much larger scale.”

“I’m sure Jasper is going to help us. And we do have experienced managers. And now we have you. Your grandmother thinks you’re capable of rising to any occasion.”

That was because his grandmother wanted him to do something. He hated feeling so cynical about Miss E. She was a master manipulator and no one got in her way when she was focused on a goal. “I have to think about this.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Think fast. We have things that need to be done and you have the expertise we need.” Her voice was soft and almost commanding. Something about her reminded him a bit of Miss E. She wasn’t asking him, but commanding him to do her bidding. Maybe he should get back in his car and return to San Francisco. His grandmother was a force of nature, but this woman looked soft and yielding yet already he could see she had a will of iron. She reminded him a little bit of a pit bull.

He forced himself not to smile or give in to make her happy. This woman was lethal. “What do you think I can do?”

“This is a luxury hotel and casino, and while we need to maintain our older clients, we also need to find a way to attract a younger clientele. Older clients think luxury comes with the room, but younger clients are willing to pay extra for them. And the one thing I’ve noticed after a couple months here in Reno and in Lake Tahoe is that there is money here. It’s quiet money, not very flashy, and buried deep. And I want to get that money for this hotel.”

He was surprised about her assumption about Reno. She had a depth to her that her exterior only hinted at. And any man would be a fool to underestimate her. “And you want a spa. Classy, elegant and...”

“Restful. A spa should be a treat. People want to be pampered.”

Me, too, Hunter thought. “Who doesn’t want to be pampered?”

“I want to create a more understated elegance. I want class with that comfort.” She closed her eyes while she thought, leaning back against the colorful cushions.

You want you. Maybe Miss E. wasn’t wrong about bringing Lydia Montgomery in. She knew what women wanted. “Understated elegance and comfort costs money. How far are you willing to go to get that?”