Corked by Cabernet Read Online Free PDF

seen either of them in a while.”
    “I’m sure you’ll see them soon.” He kissed her cheek. “Better take care of queenie.”
    She watched him walk out of the lobby and sighed. Life was pretty good. Then she glanced down at her notes, full of unfinished business for the day. She picked up the phone and called Housekeeping, asking them to redo sheets and towels in room twenty-two. Marie from Housekeeping complained that the room was finished and ready for the new guests. “Just do it!” Nikki hated being demanding, but she had no time to explain. She slammed the phone down and started reading off her notes.
    “Breathe. Just breathe.”
    Nikki looked up from her papers to see a balding gentleman standing opposite her. A pleasant smile (that struck Nikki as a permanent feature of his face) and the kindest-looking, almost turquoise-colored eyes reminded Nikki of what Santa Claus might look like sans the hair and beard, and with fewer pounds. She blinked several times. The smile was still there. Was there a glow around this guy? Behind him stood an entourage of people, but she couldn’t take her focus off him. “Excuse me?” she finally mustered.
    He reached out a hand. “Alan Sansi, and you are Ms. Sands. Simon and Marco have told me wonderful things about you. It’s so nice to finally meet you. But you really must take some time to breathe.” He elongated the word, and then took a deep breath in himself for several beats and let it out. “Try it with me. No one or nothing is worth being stressed over. Life happens as it should. But you have to keep breathing for it to happen, and if you allow the stress to get to you—which is all a façade anyway, because there really is no stress—you will die. That is a fact. It is all in your hands and it is all your own creation.” He took another long breath. “See, four beats in, four held, and four on the exhale.”
    The luster wore off as Nikki realized she was in the presence of Mr. New Age shyster himself. “Mr. Sansi. Nice to meet you, too.”
    “Sansibaba.” Simon and Marco appeared from off the outside patio. Simon’s arms spread wide as if he were ready to take a curtain bow. He wore one of his designer T-shirts in his favorite color of lavender and a pair of yoga pants. Marco followed behind, always willing to let Simon be the center of attention. Marco was the opposite of Simon’s golden boy, blond image. He was dark, Italian, and the kind of man who was simply so gorgeous that it really should have been a crime. He also had more fashion sense than the yogin next to him, dressed tastefully in a pair of black jeans and white button-down. Nikki had coined them “the boys of summer” one summer a couple years ago and that was now the only way she could think of them—two boys, having way too much fun for their own good. This Alan Sansi character was another one of their indulgences, as far as she was concerned.
    “Hello, Simon and Marco. You can call me Alan, remember?”
    Was Simon blushing? “You two have perfect timing,” Nikki said, wondering if the boys hadn’t been lurking around the corner.
    “Everything is already in perfect alignment. There is nothing out of balance,” Alan commented, folding his arms across his chest.
    Oh boy.
    “Of course you’re right.” Simon clapped his hands.
    “We’re all right. All right?”
    The group behind Alan Sansi started laughing almost on cue when he laughed.
    Was this a sitcom Nikki was watching? She cleared her throat. “I have everyone’s rooms set. If you would step forward or have a representative of the group give me the names, I can direct you to your rooms. I have an itinerary that I worked on with Hayden.”
    “Of course, I couldn’t do anything that I do without my Hayden.” He turned and motioned for a young woman in a light pink knit suit—very Chanel, very springy. Nikki wanted it. She was surprised at the woman’s appearance. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but Hayden