Tim looked at him expectantly.
“She’ll need you to get her a cab and maybe help her find another place to stay.”
“She doesn’t like her room?”
“She no longer has a room and I get the impression she couldn’t afford one on her own.”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“She’s the owner of the pink suitcase,” he said, and chuckled at the image of it as it popped into his mind.
“I thought you said you had put her in a cab to the airport earlier.”
Oops. “It’s a long story.”
Tim chuckled. “Apparently.”
“Did Mr. Hollingsworth leave?”
“Yes, sir. I put him in the cab myself.”
“And did he behave while he was getting ready to leave?”
Tim chuckled again. “Define behave.”
Hugh laughed. “Unbelievable. I don’t understand some people. It wasn’t our fault his companion bailed on him. Maybe he should be taking a closer look at himself rather than putting the blame on us.”
“Well, in his defense, they were supposed to get married tonight.”
“What?” Hugh said loudly, then stepped closer to the desk and lowered his voice. “What do you mean?”
Tim nervously fidgeted with his tie. “Well…um…he and Miss Burke were the couple who were supposed to get married in the gardens tonight.”
Son of a bitch! And then it hit him—the white dress, the white negligee, the white bikini. Dammit! “So the bride got cold feet,” he forced himself to say, but his throat felt tight. “It’s still not an excuse to take it out on you or the staff.” His mind was reeling—he couldn’t believe Aubrey hadn’t said one word about it. “Did he…did he mention what happened?”
Tim studied him for a moment. “He really didn’t speak directly to us.”
“Oh.”
“However…I got the impression this was not a marriage based on love.”
“Why not?”
“Because he mumbled several times about how he should have asked Kristen.”
“Who’s Kristen?” Hugh asked.
“I don’t know, sir. Like I said, he really wasn’t talking to me. By the time we got to his suite, he was on the phone and David and I waited by the door for him.”
“Did you hear any of the phone conversation?” Hugh hated to sound like a fourteen-year-old girl, but he had to know.
“I could only hear part of it and…”
“And?”
“I feel really weird about this.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re gossiping.”
Hugh looked at him incredulously. “And?”
“And…it was you who trained us all to not gossip about our guests.”
Well…damn. Tim had a point. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be doing this. The whole situation really… It was all a little bizarre and dramatic and I guess I needed a distraction more than I thought.”
“If you’d like I can tell you what I heard,” Tim offered.
“No. No,” he said more firmly. “I’m going to my suite. If you can, have the kitchen send my dinner over in about thirty minutes.”
“Tonight’s special at The Vine is Blanquette de Veau. I hear it’s spectacular.”
Hugh shook his head. “It’s Thursday, Tim. Call the chef over at Lillian’s. He knows what to do.” With a smile and a nod, he turned and walked away.
* * *
Three hours later, Hugh’s mind was still reeling. Married. Aubrey had come here to get married and had essentially run away from her wedding. He snorted with disgust. It made perfect sense after meeting her fiancé, but something about the whole thing still didn’t sit right with him. And there was no way for him to get any answers because by now Aubrey was gone and he had no way of contacting her.
And really, he shouldn’t.
Or shouldn’t want to.
The thing was, finding Aubrey Burke climbing through his window—and flashing her spectacular ass at him—was probably the most exciting thing to happen to Hugh in months. He was in a rut. Stuck in his routine. And that’s the way he normally liked it. Only now…it felt sad. Empty.
Depressing.
“Fresh air. I need some fresh air,” he said as he rose from his sofa and stretched. The remnants of his spaghetti dinner were still on the table, but he didn’t have the will to care. He’d ditched his dress slacks and shirt earlier and was currently in jeans and a T-shirt. Casual. Comfortable. “And I’m not in a rut,” he mumbled, although he knew he was lying. While he didn’t always change into casual clothes at the end of the work day, it wasn’t completely unheard of.