Page 105 of Juniper Hill (The Edens 2)

She lifted a shoulder.

Weeks had passed with no word from her parents, not even a hint as to how they’d handled the blackmail situation. I checked the New York newspapers online each day. Memphis did too. There hadn’t been a mention of any member of the Ward family or Oliver MacKay.

The calls from Beatrice had stopped, so I assumed that Victor had paid, and in turn, they’d disowned Memphis once more. They’d left her in Montana.

But she wasn’t alone. Not any longer.

We reached the dance floor and I spun Memphis into my arms. “Dance with me.?

??

“I miss dancing.” She leaned her head against my chest as we swayed in the quiet room. “When I lived in New York, there was always an event or wedding or gala to attend. The dinner conversation was usually about business or who was buying a new yacht or where so-and-so was going in Europe. It was the same, every time. But I loved the dancing.”

“And who would you dance with?”

She tilted to meet my gaze. “No one important.”

“Good answer.” I let her go, twirling her once, then pulled her close. “Did Eloise ever show you pictures of what this room used to look like?”

“No. Why?”

“Ask her for them sometime. Then you’ll really appreciate the transformation.” The building had been empty and dark and musty. Its renovation had been mostly cosmetic to clean away dust and brighten the walls.

“Okay.” She smiled, taking in the room, her eyes dancing.

Memphis would get the same expression when she watched Drake play or studied me in the kitchen. But it was the first time I’d seen her light up for something here, in the hotel. “You love this, don’t you?”

“I do. I’ve always loved weddings. Helping with this has made me think . . . the bride has done all of the planning herself. She’s had to coordinate with the vendors and rental places. I asked her if she had a wedding planner but I guess there isn’t one in town.”

“There isn’t. When Winn and Griffin got married, Winn organized their wedding herself too.”

“What if . . .” She blew out a long breath. “What if I tried? I’d do it in my spare time. I don’t know if there’s a demand but I could organize any event. Corporate meetings or retirement parties or weddings.”

“Yes.” Whatever kept that look on her face.

“I see the way you love Knuckles. I want that too. If working means time away from Drake or you, I want to love it.”

“Do it. I’ll help with whatever I can.”

She blushed. “Then maybe I will.”

I spun her around again, then reluctantly let her go. “What’s on your schedule the rest of the afternoon?”

“Not much. With the rooms full, I’ve just been tidying up as people come and go. There’s a guest on the fourth floor who requested a late checkout, so hopefully that’s empty by now. The next guest who was supposed to check in called about an hour ago. Their flight got canceled so it’s actually an empty room.”

Empty rooms were a rarity this time of year. “What if we booked it? Just you and me. We could see if Mom wanted to watch Drake tonight. I bet she’d stay at our place. Then tomorrow I can get up, head to the kitchen. You can check on the wedding before you head home.”

She worried her lip between her teeth. “I’ve never left him alone at night.”

“Gotta be a first. If we don’t like it, we’ll go home.”

“Um . . .” She drew in a deep breath, then smiled. “Okay.”

With her hand clasped in mine, I dragged her to the front desk.

Eloise didn’t bat an eyelash when I told her I wanted the room. It was too late in the day to fill the reservation, and it had been ages since I’d stayed as an actual guest, something we all did from time to time.

“I guess I’ll go clean our room.” Memphis laughed when Eloise handed her the key cards.