Spellbound

Original Edition: Thirty-One

Having no guests in the hotel for the past two weeks gave me even more time to decorate for Christmas. I had already gone overboard with the 10-foot tree in the lobby, but since that day, I'd wrapped garland and white lights around not only the banister of the grand staircase but on every other railing in the hotel. I bought wreaths, snowmen, hanging snowflakes, and played jolly, festive music over the stereo system.

It did little to keep my mind off the four things plaguing me—the fines, the damage to the basement, my family's impending visit, and Soren.

I'd decided not to tell my parents about the water leak and the evacuation. I'd wrestled with what to give them as the reason why no one else was in the hotel, and eventually I just decided to play the I thought it would be nice to have the hotel all to ourselves card and hope they'd think it was a touching sentiment. It was highly doubtful knowing my parents, but it was all I had to work with.

I'd found two thousand dollars in an old savings account of Hazel's, but I still needed eight thousand more to pay the fines, and that wasn't even mentioning the damage to the basement, for which the insurance claim hadn't been processed.

And Soren? We had hardly seen each other since the almost-kiss on the porch, and when we did run into each other, we shared an awkward wave or nod and moved on. I missed his company and sense of humor, but I just couldn't face him after he rejected me.

It was probably for the best; I shouldn't think about Soren like that anyway, not so soon after Archer, maybe not at all—I mean, wasn't the bro code like doubled when they are brothers, and tripled for twins? But still, that didn't keep me from picturing him at the most inopportune times—

"Good afternoon, Gemma!" My mother's voice was high-pitched and fake, and I cringed before turning around to see her Botox-filled face.

"Hi, Mom," I said, plastering a smile across my lips.

She stopped in the lobby, lowering her oversized sunglasses to the tip of her nose and adjusting the overstuffed Louis Vuitton purse on her shoulder. She scrutinized every inch of the Christmas décor, trying not wrinkle her nose at the perceived low quality of it. Or maybe all the fluids injected in her face made it impossible.

My dad fumbled in behind her with the three suitcases that matched her bag. "Libby, we are here for four days, was it necessary to pack the entire house? Hi Gem girl, the place looks good minus the empty parking lot. I don't think I've ever seen that before."

I chewed my lip and prepared to lie to my father. "Thanks, Dad. I just thought it would be nice if we had the hotel to ourselves for your visit, so I blacked out the days. Not that many people had made reservations anyway; Christmas isn't exactly our busiest season," I said with a grin.

Dad patted me on the shoulder. "You must've made out well from Halloween—"

"Excuse me? You closed the hotel down for four days?" Mom strode over to where Dad and I stood, her heels clicking on the marble floor. "What a waste of money, Gemma."

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. So much for finding the gesture touching. "I was just trying to do something nice, Mom."

"Well, next time, try to do something profitable instead," she said, her voice just snarky enough to make me want to flick her in her perfect nose.

Luckily at that moment, Trevor, Logan, and their families burst through the door, my little nieces and nephews running to shower me in hugs and kisses. "Hi, little friends!" I exclaimed, hoping my mother sensed my change in demeanor when I wasn't dealing with her.

"It still smells like moth balls and decaying wood," Raven scoffed, breezing into the lobby with her parents like she owned the place, her "holier than thou" attitude already off the charts. "Even the Christmas spirit couldn't mask the odor."