Page 10 of Hargrave Health Kick
“C’mon, Roni. I’m hoping to live vicariously through your imminent romance.” She speared a bite on her fork. “Jump him. Just once. For me?”
Veronica couldn’t believe this. Worse, she couldn’t believe how eagerly her mind rushed toward the edge of that cliff. Nope. Not a chance. She reeled in her wayward thoughts. That would be a catastrophic mistake. “Brayden and I are now, and have always been,friends. Full stop.” Veronica leveled a glare on each of her sisters. “I mean it. Full. Stop.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Nat gave her a snappy salute.
“If you need romance, go find it for yourself,” Veronica said to her older sister.
Celeste grunted and dug into her second helping of breakfast. “As if.”
“As if what?” Natalie poked at Celeste. “You’re never too old for a new romance.”
“Who said that?” Celeste asked.
“Someone important probably,” Natalie admitted. “And me. There’s no way you can sit there and tell me you’re done with relationships.”
Celeste cupped Nat’s face. “I am done with relationships.”
Natalie swatted at her hands. “What a load of crap,” she declared.
“Shut up. Quiet!” Veronica’s heart pounded as she watched Susannah on her phone screen. She swore. This couldn’t be happening.
“What is it?” Natalie snatched the phone and turned up the volume, putting it on the center of the table so they could all watch.
The celebrity chef’s voice filled Veronica’s kitchen with harsh words and lengthy complaints about the Hargrave Hideaway.
“We’re not in a third-world country, am I right? This is coastal South Carolina. A touristtown. I mean, look at this kitchen.” Susannah spread her arms wide. “I came here for the kitchen. Instead, there’s been one problem after another.” She ticked off her points on her fingers. “Good grocery stores do not exist. We had an entire wildlife ruckus the other night. And this morning when I stepped outside there was araton the patio. We all know rats don’t travel solo. I’m just floored. I booked the Hargrave Hideaway for a luxury getaway and this is the nonsense we got instead.
“Brookwell is lovely and there are other B&Bs on the island. None of them with a private beach. But I can’t say it’s been worth the tradeoff.” She did a slow pan around the kitchen. “There is good news. This gorgeous kitchen has inspired me.”
The camera zoomed in as she held up a breakfast cookie and broke it in half. “Look at this amazing goodness. Chock full of nourishing ingredients. Yes, there’s a little sugar but everybody needs some now and then. Did you know that’s what they say down here? ‘Give me sugar’ is a phrase when someone’s asking for a kiss or affection. Isn’t that the sweetest?” Susannah laughed at her own pun.
Hearts and comments flowed in as she kept rolling. “We had an incredible soup last night, too.”
Veronica exchanged a look with her sisters. Maybe this was where the chef would give them a little bit of credit? But it wasn’t to be. Susannah claimed the recipe as her own, rambling about how easily it went together and how soothing it was when she’d been a little queasy earlier in the trip.
“Unbelievable,” Veronica muttered.
Celeste grabbed the phone and muted the feed. “We took those things over as a gift,” she murmured. “It was her decision how to use them.”
“Go you,” Veronica snarled. “I can’t be as generous.” She shoved back from the table to pace the kitchen like a caged cat. “I know it was a reach thinking maybe there would be an opportunity to chat. The minute I saw her condition I knew that wasn’t a great idea, even if she’d been pleasant.
“But this?” She flung a hand toward her phone. “This is over the top. She’s flat out stealing an idea, calling it her own and then trashing us in the process.”
“Not us, the Hideaway,” Celeste soothed. “We can’t ignore her valid complaints about the rat and wildlife issues.”
“She showed the picture of the dead rat to the world. There must be issues,” Natalie said.
“Well yeah, that’s not great,” Veronica admitted. “There’s no telling how that rat got there. I didn’t even know there was a rat problem on the island.”
“There isn’t,” Natalie said. “I mean, sure, rats are everywhere, but they shouldn’t be on the patio.”
“Then how?” Veronica wondered. Her stomach twisted at the idea of losing the business. They’d been doing so well. Their visitor satisfaction ratings were sky high. And it was gone over something beyond their control. “This is going to require serious finagling to avoid cancellations.”
“Leave all that to me,” Celeste said. “You need some distance. Natalie, you’re in charge of keeping Roni away from Susannaand her team. Give me Marley’s card. I’ll give it back,” she said when Veronica hesitated. “But I’m taking over for the rest of this booking.”
Veronica wasn’t sure changing the liaison at this point would make a difference. The chef was behaving as if everyone beneath her was interchangeable. “I can’t sit here doing nothing.”
Celeste relented. “Call Nash. Ask him why nature is suddenly acting up at our place. For that matter, call Jess too. Maybe the cameras or the security team noticed something weird last night.”
