“Still no joy in the pursuit of Mr. Rockaway?” Melody murmured after we left the guys and made our way through the vast lobby, whose wall of windows offered tantalizing glimpses of palms and pools.
“I’ve just about given up. He’s pretty distracted, anyway.”
“I know. I hope his grandfather turns up soon. But I still think he’s interested. It’s in the way he looks at you.”
“Or laughs at me,” I scoffed.
“He’s laughing with you!” Melody grinned.
We passed through double doors that led to the corridor on the second floor of the first long hotel building. It wasn’t so much a hallway as an outdoor walkway, open to the sky, and rooms flanked the endless passage. Occasional staircases led down to the first floor and the courtyard.
By the time we made a right turn for the next leg, I was out of breath.
“Here it is,” Melody said halfway down the second eternal stretch of concrete.
“Thank Dionysus.”
Astra barked as I dipped my card in the lock and pushed the door open.
“Hello?” I called. “Gina?”
“In here,” came a soft voice.
I left my suitcase and the crate by the closet and headed down the narrow entryway, which opened up into a nice, big tiled room with two queen beds and the usual hotel furniture. Gina, whom I knew only from a phone call and my business partner Jorge’s description, was sitting up against the pillows on one bed, legs outstretched, tapping away on a laptop computer. She looked up and smiled. She and her brother shared the same big, brown eyes that crinkled at the corners and the same long nose, but she was more slender. And younger, of course—the youngest of Jorge’s four Listo siblings—early twenties, I guessed, so maybe four or five years younger than me.
I really needed to get Jorge to one of these cocktail events, but co-owning Nola was about as wild as he got. He was an engineer at the space center, and apparently his sister had the same techie tendencies.
“You’re not supposed to be working. There are like three swimming pools out there.” I returned Gina’s smile and gestured to the sliding doors, where the inviting water sparkled under the palm trees. “I’m Pepper, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you in person. I just wanted to get a few things done before you got here.” She put the laptop aside and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She wore demure khaki shorts and a plain white T-shirt. “Is this Astra?”
“Sure is. She’s such a sweetie,” Melody said, popping off the dog’s pink harness. Astra bounded over to Gina and stood on her hind legs, putting her paws on Gina’s knees, demanding affection.
“Oh my goodness,” Gina gushed. Her long, brown hair hung in her face as she bent over to pick up Astra, who proceeded to lick her nose. “Oh gosh.” She held the dog away from her, just far enough that her tongue wouldn’t reach. “She’s so rumpled.”
“It runs in the family.” I unfolded the crate and snapped its walls into place. I pulled a blanket from the suitcase, fluffed it and stuck it inside the crate along with a couple of chew toys. I also extracted the dog food container and two bowls. “One of these is for water, one for food. She gets a scoop at breakfast and dinner. She will ask for more. Do not give her more. And don’t give her alcohol no matter how much she asks for it.”
Gina giggled. “She drinks?”
“She does not drink. At least not officially. I try to keep her away from my cocktails, but she sneaks a sip now and then. Mostly she enjoys chewing garnishes.”
“Oh, I don’t drink much anyway. We’ll get along fine.” Gina put Astra on the bed, and the dog leaned against her and gazed up at her with adoring eyes. “She’s so cute!” Then Gina wrinkled her nose. After a second, it hit me too.
“I swear the gaseous emissions will stop soon. Just remember how cute she is.”
Gina nodded and grinned, but she was waving away the fart cloud as she did it.
“She just peed,” I continued, “so if you take her out every hour or so, she should be good. Poo bags are in that dispenser on the leash. If you want to leave, she’ll be happy in the crate for a while. OK?”
“So you’ll be back late, then?” Gina asked.
I nodded. “Probably. Enjoy yourself. I’ll pick you up a wristband so you can sample all the pool party drinks starting tomorrow.”
“They’re going to be amazing,” Melody said. “We’re doing an afternoon shift, and there are bars from all over the world doing pop-ups.”
Gina looked kind of overwhelmed. “I’ll probably just work. You all have fun.”
“You sure you’re OK?” At her nod, I ducked into the bathroom, emptied out and freshened up, then gave Astra a kiss on the head and headed back to the lobby with Melody.
“She’s going to be in for a shock,” Melody said.
“Gina? What do you mean?”
“You’ve never done Hookahakaha before, have you?”
“No. Is it wild?”
“Depends on who you meet.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me, and I laughed. Melody always managed to meet someone fun. “It’s a party scene for sure.”
“Except we’ll be working the whole time.”
Melody wore a knowing look. “Oh, we’ll have a little time for fun.”
“This kind of work is totally fun for me anyway.” Making cocktails was my passion. “There are the guys.”
Barclay had joined Luke and Neil outside by the SUV. Barclay and Luke had changed into loud aloha shirts, and Neil had changed into a more modest one.
Like Luke, Barclay had tattoos—a dragon on one arm and what I’d learned were Korean characters on the other, reflecting a complex heritage he didn’t talk about much. Music notes and flowers swirled up Melody’s right arm.
Neil had no visible ink, and I still didn’t know if he was teasing when he’d hinted he had a tattoo. Mine was hidden, though he’d had a glimpse during a drunken moment. We hadn’t talked about that much, either.
Regardless, the guys all looked deliciously tropical.
“Hey, Barclay.” I smiled.
“Hey, dude,” he said. It was so cute, him calling me dude. “Hey, Melody.”
“Too bad we can’t all fit in the Beamer,” I said.
“I told you, it’s a Bimmer,” he teased.
Neil gave me the side-eye and beeped open the car doors. “Finally.”
I leaned over and glanced at Barclay’s vintage watch. “It’s been thirteen minutes.”
“Doesn’t matter. We’ve got to go,” Luke said. “Fizz Martin called.”
“And?” I asked.
“He sounded a little drunk already.” Neil opened his door. “He was yelling ‘I have the nuclear football!’ and said he needed us right away so he didn’t have to guard it by himself.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I clutched my bag and jumped into the co-pilot’s seat again, leaving Melody to join the guys in the back rows.
“I’m not sure.” Neil cranked up the SUV and pulled away from the curb, navigating the loop that would bring us back around to the road. “But we’d better go and find out.”