she offered in a slightly accented voice, her tone disparaging.
Ophelia’s smile felt strained after her long flight. “That would be the one.”
The woman huffed and folded her short arms across her more-than-ample bosom. “Where’s your husband?” she demanded.
Ophelia’s mouth dropped at this question. “I don’t have a husband.” She winced at this statement, thinking of her longtime boyfriend, Cole. The two of them had broken things off shortly before she’d boarded the plane to Hawaii. The possibility of her moving to Paris had ignited an argument between them that could reach no satisfactory conclusion, and she had ended things after four long years of dating.
Her statement only served to heighten the woman’s suspicions. “What sort of haole woman books the Liliuokalani suite only for herself?”
“Haole?” Ophelia repeated, suspecting she had just been insulted.
“Foreigner. White,” came the clipped reply.
Ophelia flared her nostrils. “I will have you know that just because I am a single woman does not mean I cannot enjoy a luxury suite! This is the twenty-first century, and women are entitled to...to—” she flagged as she mentally cataloged her list of feminine rights “—to stay in luxury suites by themselves!” she lamely finished. “If they want to,” she added.
The other woman looked Ophelia up and down. “Maybe you’re single because you’re too skinny. A man wants a woman who can feed him. That’s the problem with you mainland girls. You starve yourselves and think that’s what a real man wants.” She reached out and pinched Ophelia’s bare arm to demonstrate her point.
Ophelia gasped in indignation, jerking her arm beyond her criticizer’s reach. “I can cook!” She automatically defended herself and then considered the relative dishonesty of this statement. “When I have to,” she tacked on to the end.
This elicited another harrumph from the Polynesian lady. “Microwave dinners don’t count. Neither do reservations at fancy restaurants.”
Frustration and fatigue churned madly in Ophelia’s stomach. “Are you going to show me to my room or not?” she demanded.
The irritating woman unfolded her arms to rest them on her wide hips. “The rooms are not ready. You’re too early to check in.”
“What do you mean the rooms aren’t ready? My assistant made the reservation on Friday. She was assured I could check in as soon as I arrived”
“I said—” the little woman amplified her voice by several notches, as if this might impart understanding “—the rooms are not ready!”
Ophelia felt pinpricks of tension shooting along her nerves. She had never been treated so abominably when trying to check in to a room. Except that one time in Paris when Holly had booked her at the wrong hotel. But even the most snooty of French concierges didn’t compare to the feisty lady before her. “Well...what am I supposed to do in the meantime?”
The woman shrugged, as if this was a matter beyond her concern. Despite her upbringing, where appearances were everything, Ophelia suddenly wanted nothing more than to sink to the porch of the inn and cry with aggravation. It had been a long flight to the islands with a combined travel time of over twelve hours on two planes, and she had not expected to encounter such a greeting upon her arrival in this tropical paradise.
“Pele? Is there a problem here?”
The woman turned toward the voice at her back. Ophelia’s weariness suddenly evaporated at the appearance of the man behind her tormenter. Six feet, two inches tall with a scruffy jawline, russet-colored hair and the most startling blue eyes she had ever seen, Ophelia immediately recognized the singular presence of Dane Montgomery. Her stomach jerked with what she could only assume was relief at the presence of the very man she had been sent to find.
“Mr. Montgomery.” She smoothly extended a hand. “I’m Ophelia Reid.”
This poised introduction caused Dane to hesitate for a fraction of a second before slipping his hand into hers. His grip was firm, cool and brief, his expression guarded.
“I’m sorry. Did we...have an appointment?”
Pele answered for her. “This haole woman booked the Liliuokalani suite...for herself.”
The sight of Pele’s eyebrows, arched with meaning, stung.
Ophelia fought the blush threatening to stain her complexion. “There seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding,” she explained.
Dane looked from Ophelia to Pele and back to Ophelia again. “My apologies. You’re one of our guests?”
Ophelia nodded, trying to keep the pleasant this-isn’t-bothering-me-at-all smile stuck to her lips. “The Liliuokalani suite,” she confirmed, taking pains to pronounce the name correctly.
“I apologize,” Dane repeated and attempted to nudge Pele’s considerable girth from the doorway’s entrance. “Won’t you come in?”
“She has no husband!” Pele reminded him. “And the rooms are not ready!”
Dane carefully cleared his throat and steered Pele aside. “Well, then, why don’t you see about making the rooms ready, Pele?” he suggested, and Ophelia noted he spoke the words through clenched teeth.
The stout woman glowered. “She wants the suite all to herself,” Pele persisted.
“Which is absolutely not a problem.” Dane directed these words to Ophelia with a contrite look. He continued to prod Pele toward the stairs, no easy feat considering she appeared to be digging her heels into the rug as Dane pushed her along.
“This is what comes of girls starving themselves,” Pele muttered direly as her foot landed on the first step. “They lose all their senses!”
Her mumbling continued the entire length of the stairway until she disappeared onto the landing above. Dane turned with an expression of relief.
“I’m sorry we weren’t able to greet you properly. My receptionist has the day off, and Pele is our housekeeping staff. The Liliuokalani suite is usually reserved by honeymooners. Pele must have misunderstood. She can be quite...set in her ideas of propriety.”
Ophelia waved a hand to brush off the mix-up. “It’s not a problem.” Now that she had finally been allowed entry into the inn’s foyer, she took some time to survey her surroundings. The furnishings were exquisite: beachscape paintings in rich hues of cerulean blues, aquatic greens and ivory sand, a teak reception desk with track lighting, tropical plants dotting the end tables and a woven area rug covering the hardwood floor. Paradise kept looking better and better.
While Ophelia had been studying the main reception area, Dane had slipped behind the desk to consult the records.
“Here we are, Ophelia Reid. Liliuokalani suite. Paid for one week in advance.” He glanced up at her. He seemed to consider querying her further on this before remembering his manners as the inn’s owner and host.
“As you’re well aware, the suite is not quite ready for you yet. Perhaps you’d like to take some refreshment on the lanai?”
Ophelia nodded with relief. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”
He led her toward a set of glass-and-wood doors opening up onto a patio overlooking the gardens. She breathed deeply, once again enjoying the perfect weather.
“Would you like me to bring in your bags?” he questioned.
She shook her head. “They’ll be fine in my rental car for now.”
While Dane stepped behind the bar, Ophelia used the opportunity to regain some of her scattered composure. She tried to recall the speeches she had formulated on the flight from New York to LAX and then on to Kona International airport. She was good at this—a crack negotiator and a talented recruiter in her trade. But this was different.