Page 57 of Canapés at the Beach House Hotel
“Welcome to The Beach House Hotel,” I said.“We’re so happy you’re here.”
“I’m Bud Bradbury and this is my wife, Abby, and my son, the groom, Nate.”
“I think you’ve got a perfect weekend for the wedding.No storms,” I said as I led them up the front steps and into the lobby.
“Nate!”Audrey cried, running across the lobby to greet him.
He swept her off her feet and into his arms as if she weighed nothing, and I realized he must have been active in sports.
His parents laughed as Nate swung Audrey around before setting her down in front of them.
Nate’s mother hugged Audrey, and they stood aside while his father registered them at the front desk.
“Where are you having the Rehearsal Dinner?”I asked.“I know it’s not here at the hotel.”
“We thought we’d decided to go to a French restaurant in town but then we got a special invitation from Osteria Arno to have our dinner there,” said Abby.
“Really?”I asked, wondering how Osteria Arno had gotten the names of our wedding group.
“They gave us an excellent price and said since they were new in the area we’d get special service,” said Abby.“They even offered a post-wedding brunch.I told them they’d have to contact the bride’s parents for that.”
“I see.”I worked hard not to give away my frustration at Osteria Arno’s attempt to poach my guests.
Bernie arrived to greet the family and I said quietly, “We need to talk.”
I went to my office to consider what, if anything, we should do about the situation.I called the wedding planning office to see if the wedding breakfast was still on.
“Yes,” said Lauren.“Everything is in place.”
“Let me know right away if there are any problems.”
Bernie knocked on my door and opened it.“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes,” I said, waving him inside.
He took a seat, and I filled him in on the conversation I’d had with the groom’s mother.
Bernie shook his head.“It undermines the way we in the state restaurant association have agreed to cooperate.I’ll try to get to the bottom of this and get back to you.”
“How do you think they got the information about the groom’s family?”I asked.“Do you think someone here at the hotel is cooperating with them at Osteria Arno?”
“There are ways for them to find out, but we’ll want to check on that too,” said Bernie.“It happens.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The next morning, I decided to take my walk on the beach before the activities of the hotel prevented me from doing so.I’d spent a restless night worrying about the wedding, wondering how the rehearsal dinner had gone at Osteria Arno.In the years since Rhonda and I opened the hotel, we’d never had any problems with any other hospitality members in business.But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wedding was a test of how things would be going forward with Jonny and his crew.
Catarina saw me and waved.
I waved back and went to meet her.
“What a beautiful day,” I said.“I’m glad to see you out here enjoying it.”
“It’s a beautiful place to think,” she said smiling at me.
“For me, too.How did it go with the house you viewed?”I asked.
Catarina’s eyes lit with pleasure.“I’ve put a bid on the house the agent thought I’d like.It’s perfect.It’s in Rhonda’s neighborhood.Just a couple of doors down.”
