Page 12 of Snow Good to Lose
The main hotel tower sat in the middle of the property with the beach and ocean as its backyard. Smaller buildings and villas peppered the rest of the property.
Caden and I entered the main lobby entrance.
“Chet, Tiffany, I thought you guys had the day off.” Janice, one of the ladies at the reception desk, perked up as we walked in.
“We did, but football.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head at Caden. He winked and grinned at Janice. She blushed. Her cheeks matched the color of the Santa hat on her head.
Management tried their best to give the place a holiday feel. Lights bordered every archway. They placed wreaths on every counter and door. Festive music played through the hotel speakers.
We walked through the breezeway to the right of the reception desk. It opened into the atrium, the center of activity in the main building.
Restaurants lined the perimeter. Whoever designed the place wanted this vantage point to have the desired effect. You had stepped into paradise.
People milled around; a couple strolled through the connected walkways. Guests grabbed a late dinner in the hotel restaurants. Local foliage lined the walkways.They grew continuously. The maintenance crew worked day and night to keep it under control.The blinking lights and decoration made their task harder.
Caden and I approached the open-air bar. The back side made easy access for the beach goers. He pulled out the wooden bar stool. I climbed in and placed my hands flat on the bar.
“Tiffany, what can I get you?” JJ, the bartender, asked.
“JJ,como ca va?” I smiled. “I’ll take a beer.”
“I’m good.” He flashed me the widest smile. “Coming right up. Chet?” JJ stared expectantly at Caden.
I elbowed him in the stomach. He grunted under his breath.
“Yeah, I’ll have one too.” Caden stood to my right with an arm on the back of my chair encasing me in his protective bubble. His gaze darted around.
“Will you sit down?” I patted the chair next to me. “You look crazy.” He answered me with a grunt and continued his threat assessment.
“I’ll be right back.” He kissed the top of my head. “Stay right here and don’t move.”
“Yes, sir.” I saluted. He gave me a pointed stare and disappeared down the path toward the security office.
When I first came to work at the spa, Caden would sit in the bar or the restaurants all day keeping a close eye on me. My coworkers thought he was a jealous boyfriend. One of the hotel managers confronted him, and they got to talking. Caden besmirched the resort's security measures and landed himself a job. The job provided him access to every employee and guest records.
Caden felt responsible for me.He held onto the burden of keeping danger away from me. He took my safety personally. There was no convincing him otherwise.
Having access to the security gave him some comfort. He knew how to find me wherever I was on property. And if I wasn’t on the property, I was with him.
JJ sat two beers in front of me.
“Let me know if you need anything else.” He twirled a towel and circled around to the beach side of the bar.
A group of Americans sat at the other end of the bar debating the merits of a referee call and pointing at the television screens over the bar. I sipped my beer and tried to follow their disagreement. I missed America.
Anytime Americans came into the spa, I hit them up for information. I made them tell me everything about where they were from. Last month, a family from Michigan stayed in the resort for two weeks. They came down to escape the weather, but they talked about the snow with a hint of pride. Like they survived it. I could relate.
A collective roar stopped the debate as one of the teams scored a touchdown.
“Tiffany.” I gasped and grabbed the bar.
“What are you doing here all alone?” Skip stepped up to the bar on my left and leaned into me.
I leaned back and looked up at him.
He had showered and changed into a button-down blue shirt and cargo shorts. His dark, slicked-back hair was full of product.
“Caden and I come to watch American football?”I pointed at the screen.
