I will say this, being here is heavenly. No one knows who I am. That’s going to make it even better with Kandace.”
“Kandace? What is she, twelve?”
“Definitely not. So, have you heard from Danny?”
“Why do you ask that? He’s your friend.”
Solomon laughed; his friend had apparently chickened out. “He wants to take you out. He thought there was something going on with us, so I gave him the green light. He’s a good guy and you know, Carmen, you work too hard.”
She sighed into the phone. “I’d rather work hard until I get what I want.”
“Let me guess. You want the fairy tale and the house with the white picket fence. That’s cool, but you don’t have to limit yourself while you’re holding out for Mr. Right.”
“I already met Mr. Right. He’s just not ready to commit yet,” she admitted.
“If he doesn’t want you now, why should you wait for him?”
“He’s worth it,” Carmen said.
“Does he know how special you are? Because if he doesn’t, he’s not worth a damn.”
“He’ll know soon enough that he can’t live without me and we’ll be together. But enough about me. What’s up with your latest piece?” Carmen asked.
“Nothing yet. She’s different, not the typical woman. She doesn’t seem that impressed with me, but that’s going to change soon enough,” Solomon said confidently.
“Hmm,” Carmen said. “Be careful. I heard southern women can get pretty clingy.”
“I’m not worried about that. But if you go out with Danny, make him take you to the Blue Water Grill.”
“You don’t have a problem with your friend going out with me?” she asked. “What if I find him to be a jerk?”
“You guys are adults and anything that happens between the two of you is between you two,” Solomon said.
“All right. Well, if he calls, I might go out with him. By the way, Richmond called me. He’s very upset about your name being linked to Heather Williams and her recent depression.”
“Tell him that he has other things to worry about and this latest news story isn’t going to do anything but put more bodies in our hotels.”
“I tried to tell him that, but he’s not happy at all,” Carmen said.
“If he calls you again, tell him to take it up with me when I return,” he said. “Don’t let me hold you up. We’ll talk later.”
“All right,” she said. Solomon hung up the phone and decided to head back to the grotto in case Kandace was there to relax. If he saw her again tonight, he’d get more than a kiss.
Carmen knew something was different. Something was going on with Solomon and this woman, Kandace. First of all, Solomon didn’t work for any woman and he seemed to be willing to chase after her. Why can’t he chase after me? How can he not see that I’m the woman for him? He needs someone who can match him on every level, not some country bumpkin.
Carmen called the front desk manager at the hotel. “Good evening, Frances,” she said. “This is Carmen De La Croix from Crawford Hotels.”
“Yes, ma’am, is there a problem?”
“No, I just need to check our guest registry. Please e-mail it to me. I hear that things are going really well in North Carolina.”
“Yes, they are. We’re at ninety percent occupancy and all of our themed suites have been rented.”
“That’s good. I’m really proud of the hard work that the staff has put in down there,” Carmen said.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Frances said. “You should have the guest registry in your in-box by now.”
“All right, Frances. Thank you for your help.” Carmen hung up the phone and checked her e-mail. She scanned the list for Kandace’s name and Solomon’s. She smiled when she found his alias, Steven Carter. I should’ve known he was using this name. I guess he didn’t want the staff to know he’s staying there. Kandace Davis…who is this woman who can afford the Wonderland Suite for two weeks?
Just as Carmen was about to type her name into Google, her cell phone rang. “What?” she snapped.
“Is this Carmen?” a smooth male voice, which wasn’t Solomon’s, asked.
“Who is this?”
“This is Danny Jones, Solomon’s friend.”
Carmen rolled her eyes. “Oh, hi. Solomon told me that you might call. I wish I could talk, but I’m in the middle of something.”
“Then let’s meet for lunch,” he said.
“I’ll call you back,” she said, then snapped her phone shut. There was no way she would go out with Danny. He wasn’t Solomon and she wasn’t going to settle for second best.
If Kandace had been honest with herself, she would’ve admitted that the only reason she’d headed out to the grotto again had been because she wanted to see if Solomon was there. Now that she knew who he was, she knew how to handle him. But the truth of the matter was, she was curious about him and wanted to see what the fuss was all about. Granted, she didn’t follow celebrity news closely, but she’d heard a few stories about Solomon Crawford and his exploits with some of Hollywood’s finest. That kind of news wasn’t the sort of thing Kandace and her friends paid attention to. His kiss, though, had gotten her attention, and the wanton part of her wanted more. She knew Solomon Crawford wasn’t going to be satisfied with just a kiss. And if she was honest with herself, she’d be able to admit she wasn’t either.
Kandace pulled on her freshly laundered bathing suit, grabbed her Uggs and robe, then headed out to the grotto. As soon as she made it to the entrance of the hot tub, Kandace thought about turning around. What was she doing? It was starting to snow, a sign that she should be sitting in front of her fireplace reading rather than trying to accidentally on purpose run into Solomon. Kandace dropped her hand from the doorknob and turned to head back inside.
“You’re not leaving already, are you?” Solomon asked. She hadn’t noticed that he’d crept up behind her.
“If I wasn’t, I am now, Solomon,” Kandace said.
“Oh, so you do know who I am,” he said.
She shook her head. “Don’t flatter yourself. It just so happens that your mug was all over the television this afternoon. Once I found out who you were, it put your attitude into perspective.”
“And what perspective do you have now?”
“Obviously, you’re bored and you think I’m an airhead actress or model you can impress with your money.”
“Something tells me you got your own money. And besides, I’m not interested in
