“True.” Hayden chuckled. “But still, Adam will be so impressed.”
“You think?” Emily scanned the room. It looked beautiful, but the entire resort was a thing of beauty. “Isn’t he used to this sort of thing?”
“Maybe, but this has been decorated especially for us. He’ll be blown away by what you’ve done.” Hayden’s gaze focused on a massive carved wooden “A & H” secured on the opposite wall. The wood was roughened, yet elegant and backlit. A friend of Adam’s had come by this afternoon to drop it off. “And the carving! Did Jaeg do that?”
Emily nodded. “He said the letters were a gift from him and his fiancée.”
Hayden shook her head slowly. “We had no idea Jaeg was making anything for us.” Her head tilted to the side. “I’m not certain how it will fit in our house, but I’m sure Adam will make room for it in the man cave.”
“Man cave?”
“Oh yes. The house I bought from my parents was too small, so Adam built a separate fun room in the backyard. His friend Lewis owns a construction company, and you’ve seen what Jaeg can do with wood. The man cave was supposed to be our spare bedroom, but with Adam in charge it turned into a huge living room with a fridge, the biggest television you’ve ever seen, and a leather couch with reclining chairs. I have to make appointments to visit him there, otherwise it’s occupied with his friends. Oh, and my dad. If my parents didn’t live in Reno, my dad would be over every day taking advantage of our dish.”
Emily laughed. “Can I visit? I wouldn’t mind a man cave.”
Hayden leaned in and lowered her voice. “Once a month, the girls take it over. Cali, Jaeg’s fiancée, left a box of tampons on the counter one time afterward, just to mess with the guys.” She cackled.
“That is brilliant. I don’t know Cali, but I already like her.”
“Adam never spoke of ‘the gift.’ Simply came inside the house and shook his head, smiling. His friends are way more territorial. I think because they don’t have a man cave of their own.”
They continued to chat while Emily helped Hayden bring in gifts for her bridesmaids. Soon Adam showed up in a dark navy suit. The man looked almost as good as Levi dressed up, but with a smaller build. Adam was definitely rocking the tall-dark-and-handsome look.
The Cade brothers could complain all they wanted about their father, but Ethan had given his sons phenomenal genes.
“Hello, beautiful.” Adam pulled Hayden into his arms and kissed her.
Emily looked away and busied herself, shifting candles that didn’t need rearranging. She’d never thought much about marriage. Only that one day she might like to have one, and maybe a child or two. The problem with that plan was finding the right man.
The men she’d dated weren’t commitment-phobes, butshe’dnever been able to see herself settling down with one of them. Her last boyfriend had been a jerk, which hadn’t helped. She’d never felt that strong connection. That she did for her boss was a real problem.
She checked emails on her phone to make sure the rest of the resort was running smoothly before the offices closed for the night—and that was when she felt Levi walk in.
The air had shifted, or the tension that existed between them had washed over her. Or dammit, maybe on some subliminal level a waft of his clean, manly scent had hit her—like crazy pheromones at play. In any case, she’d sensed him before she looked up.
Emily lowered her phone and caught Levi staring out at the room. His gaze slid to her.
He greeted Adam and Hayden for a moment, then walked over. “You did this?”
“It was Hayden’s vision.”
He nodded. “Good work.”
Her face warmed. No matter what stood between them, his appreciation meant a lot. “Guests will arrive soon.” She glanced at his suit and noticed his tie had been done. “Did the girls at Peak Attire do that for you?”
He looked down and touched his tie. “I did it.” A boyish smile flashed across his face—the lighter side of Levi she’d come to know. “Learned how on YouTube.”
Emily laughed, and God it felt good. Levi was smiling too. But then she remembered their interaction earlier and that not everything was okay. Far from it. Her smile faltered. “Did you talk to Samuel?”
His jaw tightened and he looked away, his expression hard. “No. I spoke to our accountant. Now that I know what to look for, it turns out Samuel also embezzled money from the company. Probably to pay for his investments in other companies. It wasn’t easy to connect the dots, but my financial director thinks one of the conference accounts we lost can be linked to Miller.”
“Holy shit.” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “I mean, crap. Are you serious? Is that why the resort has been losing money?”
“Miller didn’t have time to take a lot. Maybe a hundred thousand. Not enough to put us in the red, but the revenue we lost from the clients he stole and sent to Blue—and, if my guess is right, to other hotels he’s invested in—wasenough to hurt us.”
“He works here. Why not invest in Club Tahoe? Why would he have it in for you?”
This smile was cold and dangerous. “He doesn’t. It all comes down to business; it’s all about the money for him. It isn’t for us, though. Club Tahoe isn’t publicly owned. It’s split five ways—equal shares among my brothers and me.” Levi shoved his hands into the pockets of his suit pants. “Pisses me off too, because even though the business is for profit, we also give back. Ten percent goes to local and national charities, another twenty to property improvements, and a good portion of it goes into employee bonuses. Miller’s hurt the community, not just us.
