Total pages in book: 8
Estimated words: 7958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 40(@200wpm)___ 32(@250wpm)___ 27(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 7958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 40(@200wpm)___ 32(@250wpm)___ 27(@300wpm)
Finally, we arrive at the lodge. A team of bellhops swarms the limo, each with a luggage rack. With help from the driver, they sort the luggage, and we go inside the lodge's main lodge. Hoyt’s mother, Christina, has already checked everyone in and is waiting in the lobby with a huge pile of room keys. She consults a clipboard as everyone kind of naturally lines up in front of her.
“Arina?” she calls.
“Mom!” she calls to Hoyt’s mother. I call her Christy, but I get it. I watch as the two hug. I can’t even remember the last time I was hugged. People just naturally avoid me like that. Our mother, Leena, married a scuba instructor fifteen years ago after a family vacation to the Bahamas. She just never came home again. She gave up her life as a socialite and runs a restaurant down there. She was invited to the wedding, of course, but she didn’t reply.
“You’re here. Hoyt can stop pacing now. He was afraid you’d come to your senses and not show up.”
“Never. I love him and I can’t wait to be his wife,” she tells her future mother-in-law.
“I tried to tell him, dear.” She hands Arina two room keys. “I have you and Ariana in the bridal suite.”
“Thank you.”
“Alright girls. Get settled in. Dinner in the Grand Ballroom is at six-thirty before we go out for drinks,” I tell them.
“Yeah. Rest up and get hydrated. Ariana promises tonight is going to be fire,” Arina tells them before grabbing my hand and leading me to the elevator. We take up to the top floor, and she goes into the larger bedroom. I take the smaller off to the right. On Saturday, I’ll move over to Hoyt’s room so that they can spend their wedding night together.
“How’s your room, sister?” Arina asks from the other room.
“It’s great. I’m going to take a shower and get ready.” She comes into the room and leans on the door jam.
“Me too. I love you; you know that right? Thank you for taking this journey with me. I know this isn’t your thing.” I smile at her.
“Oh stop. I love you too. You know that’d I’d do anything for you, Arina,” I tell her and pull her into a hug. Arina just stands there for a minute. I am sure I’ve shocked her with this display of affection, but after a few seconds, she finally hugs me back. “Now go and drink some water. You can’t be too drunk tomorrow. You’re the one who wanted to do everything all at once.”
“I know. See you later,” she says, bounding out of the room.
I drop my purse on the bed and wait while the bellhop unloads my bags; he has already unloaded Arina’s. Tipping him, I close the door behind him and flop on the bed. If I’m ever going to make it through this week alive, I’ll need sleep, and plenty of it.
TWO
ARIC
“We’ll be arriving in twenty minutes, sir,” my driver, Paul, says from the front seat. I finish off the email I’m writing and shut down my computer. One whole week of fresh air and freedom. Despite not wanting either of those things, I’m being forced to take a vacation that I don’t really have time for.
Working in the family business means vacation isn’t on the table, but my sister, Arissa, insisted. That’s how I find myself at the Mountain Ridge Resort. We used to come here every summer when I was a child but haven’t since I turned eighteen and started full-time at Holbrook Entertainment. My twin brother, Sam, also known as Savage, is on tour in Asia, and won’t be making it this week. Lucky son of a bitch.
Our production company is based in New York, but I travel worldwide to film movies as a director. My next project starts next week in England. It will star Jenna Dexter and Darren Sinjin. Thankfully, he was still available after that unpleasantness with Jonathan Pearson, but the show must go on.
“Great, thank you, Paul.” Paul has been my driver for ten years now. I trust him with my life. He’d be my friend, but he doesn’t like to mix business with pleasure. I can respect that.
After arriving at the lodge, I see a huge bridal party milling about the lobby, but I bypass them and head straight for the reception desk. The poor girl behind the counter looks in over her head, but she smiles.
“Good afternoon, sir. Welcome to the Mountain Ridge Resort. Do you have a reservation?”
“I do. Under Holbrook.”
“Yes, Mr. Holbrook. Here you are. Your sister took the liberty of checking you in earlier today. Here is your key. I have you upstairs in Suite 109, right by the bridal suite. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you, Natalie,” I reply after looking at her name badge and taking the key from her.