He climbed out and walked up to her door, feeling a bit uncomfortable in his shirt and tie. He’d gotten used to the more casual attire here in Moonbeam. His suit coat was in the back seat of the car, ready to slip on when they got to The Hamilton.
Donna answered the door and he took in a quick gulp of air. She was stunning in a simple black dress, a silver necklace, and her hair pulled back in some kind of simple silver clip with loose tendrils framing her face.
“You look beautiful,”he said admiringly.
Her cheeks flushed pink.“Thank you.”
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Stunning, that was the only word that kept running through his mind.“Um…are you ready?”
“I am.”She picked up a black evening bag from a small table by the door and came outside.
He walked her to the car and opened the door for her, admiring her long, tanned legs swinging inside before he closed the door.
They drove away from the house and silence settled over them. Donna turned to look at him, and he smiled.
“I’m a bit nervous about tonight,”she admitted.
“Nervous? Why?”
“I’m not used to these fancy things. This is more in line with an event Evelyn would go to.”
“Well, they aren’t my favorite thing either, but I do go to a lot of them for business reasons.”
“I don’t know what to say to these people.”
“Just talk to them like normal people. That’s what they all are. Most will be small business owners or managers from the surrounding area. You’ll do fine.”Of course, she would. She was friendly and used to talking to people all day long at Parker’s.
When they got to The Hamilton, he went around to open the door and help her out of the car. He reached into the backseat, grabbed his suit coat, and slipped it on. She took his arm—he liked the feel of her hand resting on his arm—and they walked in through the front door.
He’d never been to the Sarasota Hamilton before and the lobby was extraordinary. It was decorated in an understated elegance in light, welcoming colors.
“Oh, this is beautiful,”Donna exclaimed as she slowly turned around, taking in the whole thing.
“Delbert does a great job when he buys up these old hotels and remodels them,”he said as he too slowly turned to see the whole lobby, appreciating the architecture, the interior design, and the ambience.
He led her through the lobby to the large room where the event was being held. He snagged glasses of Champagne and waved to Delbert across the room.
“I should let you go mingle and talk to people.”Donna stood by his side looking uncomfortable.
He smiled.“Come on, let me introduce you to the few people I know here.”
He made introductions, and as he expected, Donna was soon chatting away with an owner of a boutique on Belle Island and manager of a bridal shop in Ft. Myers. Then a constant stream of other people.
She finally turned to him at a break in meeting new people and laughed.“Okay, this is better than I thought.”
He winked.“Told you.”
Delbert made his way over to them.“You two having a good time?”
“We are,”Barry said as he scanned the room.“Camille here?”She always seemed to be at Del’s side at events like this.
“She…ah…couldn’t make it.”
“That’s too bad.”Though it really wasn’t. He was still a bit ticked at her for hurting Emily’s feelings. Okay, quite a bit ticked.
“This hotel is beautiful.”Donna motioned to the wide wall of windows.“And so bright and airy in this room.”
“Thanks. I’m hoping The Cabot turns out just as nice.”Delbert laughed.“No, that’s not right. I’m hoping it turns out better. I really do have a special place in my heart for that hotel.”
