"I can't believe this," Arjan repeated yet again. A glance at the wall clock showed that hardly two minutes had passed after they'd previously checked the time, and that noon was now only thirteen minutes away.
"You'd better," his father said. "Surely you didn't expect that anyone would let this opportunity pass? And what're you doing back here, anyway? Go to welcome everybody with Loren!"
"Exactly, you're both hosts here and not just Loren!" joined in Reonn, who looked almost unrecognizable in his neat, sand-beige suit, curly hair somewhat tamed. "So, shoo!"
Arjan decided to take their advice. He strolled to stand next to Loren at the inner doors, just in time to welcome the estate agent who right then entered the room and flashed them a broad smile.
"This place looks absolutely stunning, I tell you!" The man shook their hands enthusiastically. "Congratulations, I was expecting a lot but this exceeds even my wildest dreams! I can hardly wait to see it all for myself…"
Plenty of people were already milling about in the ballroom, glasses of punch in hand. They were peering out of the windows, admiring the scenery outside and the workmanship inside, marveling at the mural – with Karos hovering nearby and trying hard not to preen too visibly – and eyeing each other with some curiosity. Quite a few of them were artists dressed in their Sunday best, but also some business suits could be spotted in the crowd.
The door to the kitchen was firmly closed. They had unanimously agreed that there was no reason to include the kitchen or the owners' private apartment in the tour. This decision was just as well with Samiel and his assistant Dinn, who didn't want their world to be disrupted anyway; they had quite enough to do with the planned lunch.
Still more people were arriving, and Arjan used the few quieter moments to take a quick headcount. When he got roughly the same figure twice, he very nearly whistled to himself. Unless he was very badly mistaken, only some half dozen invitees had not showed up. Was that really possible?
He frowned a little and began counting for a third time, but a nudge to his side startled him. "Uh, what?"
"Sorry to interrupt," said his father who looked at the same time very pleased and uncharacteristically flustered, "but you're about to have a very special visitor. Rhagamiss Midell an-Renaolyn is here."
Arjan quickly suppressed his surprised gasp and saw Loren's eyes go wide, then they both turned towards the door. They hadn't been at all certain whether the famously reclusive nobleman would show up at all. The invitation they'd sent to their biggest single shareholder had contained a unique option: the rhagamiss would be welcome to choose the day and time of a private tour in Old Rose, and they'd both been sure that the man would either use this opportunity or politely decline altogether. In any case they hadn't expected to see him at this hour!
And yet Karos was right now hurrying to meet a serious-looking, medium-height man who walked in through the small entrance hall and greeted the artist with a smile and a nod. Arjan had never seen his boisterous father behave quite so reverently before, but then, Karos had always known how to deal with good customers.
He gave the man a quick, assessing look. The man had pleasant but in no way striking features, and was impeccably dressed in a style so simple and understated that it had to be insanely expensive. Arjan would've put his age in the mid-thirties and shrugged mentally; he'd been expecting an older gentleman.
Polite greetings and bows were exchanged. The rhagamiss seemed quite content to let Karos entertain him with some small talk, and the two young men retreated to take stock of the situation just as the clock struck twelve. Loren looked around, a touch of panic in his bright blue eyes.
"Just about everybody seems to be here," he murmured. "Holy shit."
"Even the rhagamiss!" Arjan hissed. "Could've knocked me down with a feather when dad came to say he's there."
"Me too."
"This sure seems to be a success," Arjan mused. "Yet another brilliant idea of yours, Loren!"
"It was your idea to start with," Loren said. He shifted nervously. "Arjan, are you now quite sure you couldn't speak?"
"No reason to be so nervous," Arjan chided. "Speak up, baby, I'll be there right beside you."
Loren swallowed thickly. "I can't remember a thing I was going to say."
"Yes you do. You don't have to speak long, just a few words. You can do it."
He shepherded Loren to the staircase and a couple of steps up, then kept his promise and stayed close when the blond, looking somewhat pale under his tan, cleared his throat.
The brief welcoming speech went down well, and when Loren expressed their heartfelt thanks to everybody who'd contributed to making this crazy dream come true, there was spontaneous applause and cheering. He then described what the people would find upstairs, reminded everybody that not all of the details in the rooms were completely finalized as yet, and led the eager crowd to do some exploring.
Arjan leaned his back against the door labeled 'Private' and smiled.
"That was a damn good speech," he said, listening to the happy murmur. "Short and to the point."
"I hope my voice didn't shake too much?" Loren looked worried.
"Not at all, and besides, I'm sure everybody understands if you're a little emotional on a day like this!" Arjan bravely fought the urge to hug and kiss Loren and just put a hand on his shoulder instead. "Sounds like the people like what they're seeing, don't you think?"
Loren was about to reply, when a group of enthusiastic artists emerged from around the corner and headed straight towards them.
"Impressive! No end impressive," declared three of them almost in unison. "So exquisite, oh and those color-themed rooms are a brilliant idea. Will they all be decorated like the first two?"
"Yes," Arjan said proudly. "I just concentrated on getting those ready so that we'd have something finished to show you."
"Well, let me tell you that if tourists visiting Saygorr don't find their way to this place, they are fools!" stated a very blond man with emphasis. "I for one will be spreading the word as best I can. Ahh, and what've we got here then?"
"That's where they live," snorted another man but the blond waved a dismissive hand.
"No, no, even I can read that much – no, on the other side. What a stunning view…"
He opened the door to the rounded balcony and stepped onto it, then spread his arms as if to embrace the scenery.
The others followed him, and Arjan grinned to Loren behind their backs. Yes, they knew already that the sea view opening over the kitchen roof and the still largely untouched garden was gorgeous. It was also exactly the kind of scenery to charm a group of artists, several of whom specialized in landscapes and outdoor scenes. Loren chuckled to himself.
"I wonder, should we start renting this balcony by the hour?" he grinned, then listened to noises from below. "Hey, I'll go to help Sami and Dinn with getting the lunch served. You could stay up here to answer any questions that our guests might have."
"Sure thing," Arjan agreed. "I'll stand guard, though they hardly need anything more than just Rose to keep them entertained!"
Indeed, downstairs the chef and his assistant had made their appearance. With Loren's help they got the buffet table ready just in time before the first visitors, lured by the delicious smell trickling from below, began to file down the stairs. Their delighted exclamations quickly attracted more attention, and before long the entire restaurant was filled with happy sighs and the clinking of cutlery as everybody settled down to enjoy Samiel's seafood soup.
Several hours later the ballroom was empty once more – or not quite, as Arjan observed as he peered questioningly from the kitchen door. Loren was standing in the middle of the large room, leaning on a tall broom, a dreamy smile playing on his lips.
"Hey," Arjan called. "What's that goofy look?"
"I'm happy," Loren said simply.
"You're also standing in a heap of rubbish," Arjan observed and stepped in. "Sami's gone for the day, me and Dinn have taken care of the dishes, and it's time to sit back and feel good."
"Must get this place cleaned first."
"It won't happen that way. Let me."
Arjan confiscated the broom, finished sweeping the floor, then pushed the broom into a corner behind the shining new reception desk.
"C'mon, baby."
Loren didn't resist as he was walked across the room and into the 'lounging corner' they'd made on one side. There Arjan pushed him into one of the comfortable sofas that had been arranged beneath some large potted plants, so that the mural garden seemed to continue seamlessly into the room itself.
"So you're happy," Arjan said softly and plopped down on the sofa as well. "You know what? So am I."
"I can't believe that we're already this far," Loren sighed. "And that today was such a howling success."
"Everybody loved the place, and Sami's food." Arjan smiled mischievously and couldn't help adding: "Oh, and rhagamiss Midell also seemed to be quite smitten by you."
Loren groaned. "Stop that, will you?"
"Why should I? He was smitten and no mistake!"
"Arjan, please…"
"Sorry." Arjan pulled Loren close and hugged him. "But hey, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. He may have a crush on you but he knows you're a no-go. And quite frankly, could you imagine that someone like him would do anything ungentlemanly?"
"That's no guarantee," Loren snorted. "Don't you read papers?"
"Sure, but that's not what I meant. It was just the – the whole aura of about him." Arjan thought for a while. "You know what? I think he's just terribly shy, and that's why he's so mysterious and whatnot."
"Mmm." Loren cuddled closer, then laughed under his breath. "At least he wasn't too mysterious to have another helping of the soup."
"Dinn was totally flustered," Arjan said with a grin. "Rhagamiss Midell had thanked the kitchen for a delicious experience, and asked if the recipe would be on our menu."
"He did?" Loren turned to stare at him. "Does that perhaps mean that he plans on visiting another time, too?"
"Sounds suspiciously like it." Arjan was nearly purring with satisfaction. "Anyway, Samiel had assured him that it's going to be a regular feature, probably on a certain day of the week."
"You know what this means?"
"Tell me," Arjan said, fingers twirling in Loren's hair.
"It means that we're ready to roll. The inspection will be on the day after tomorrow, and once that's over…"
"Old Rose will open its doors," Arjan completed the sentence. He grinned devilishly. "Do you know what that then means?"
"Huh?"
"It means," Arjan said, "that we'll most probably be really busy. And that we don't have that much more time left if we want to have sex here."
"Uhh… do we want to have sex here?" Loren looked at him suspiciously.
"At least I do," Arjan elaborated. "I've been dreaming of having sex in this room ever since we got that wall ready."
"But Dinn –"
"Has left by now, he only had the tabletops to wipe. I told you, we got the kitchen taken care of. You've locked the doors yourself. There's nobody in the house."
"Then why don't we go to bed? What's wrong with our bed, now that we finally have a bed and not just mattresses on the floor?"
Arjan groaned; apparently Loren still wasn't ready to go down without a good fight.
"Nothing wrong," he said. "It's a very comfortable bed and I like having sex in it. But look, we can get wild in our own bed whenever we like. Whereas, after a while, it will not be possible to get wild on this side of the house any more, and I for one would really like to try it at least once while it still is possible! Surely you're not telling me to do it alone?"
His hands had found their way inside Loren's shirt and were quickly taking care of the blond's last defenses. With a little growl Arjan kissed his lover, a kiss that quickly turned into a playful wrestling match and then into yet something else.
Even in the heat of the moment they still somehow had just enough presence of mind to use their partially discarded clothing to protect the sofa – something that Loren was immediately concerned about, once his head cleared sufficiently. He sat in Arjan's lap panting, hair tousled, shirt open, and inspected the furniture with worried albeit somewhat hazy eyes, then let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness we didn't get this dirty," he breathed and shook his head. "I don't believe this…"
"What then?" Arjan rolled his hips and grinned when Loren shuddered on top of him.
"This. Us. You fucking me, here in the restaurant, right in front of that window!"
"Well, it's only been there all the time," Arjan pointed out. "In fact there are windows all around us, if you haven't noticed."
"There's also the garden all around," Loren concluded. "And the hedge, and the fence. But still, Arjan. I always thought you were a careful sort of guy."
"I am, but you know what? I guess I want to really feel that this place is ours, just ours, before we'll be sharing it with everybody."
"You have a point there," Loren said thoughtfully. "Next I guess you'll suggest having sex in each of the hotel rooms, too, before we open up."
"Baby, the surprises you have up your sleeve!" Arjan grabbed Loren's waist and squeezed. "That sounds like a splendid plan!"
"I didn't mean –" Loren began, then his eyes rolled back and he bit his lip. "Ohh… damn, Arjan, stop doing that!"
"All right," Arjan concurred and helped Loren to sit next to him on the sofa. "But really, don't you think it'd be fun?"
Loren shot him a glare that soon transformed into a grin, and soon they were both almost giggling.
"You're crazy, Arjan, you really are."
"I know. But we wouldn't be here now if I wasn't, so I think you rather love me for it." Arjan gave Loren a slow kiss. "And hey, don't worry, I'm not suggesting that we try out the rooms tonight."
Loren swatted him and he added: "At least not all six of them. I don't think we'd be quite up to it."
"Hopeless, that's what you are," Loren concluded and fumbled for his trousers from the floor. "Come on, let's go to our own side now."
"Promise me you'll think about it, though?" Arjan asked hopefully as he was buttoning up. "Please?"
"I'm not sure if I'll be able to forget it now, even if I wanted to," Loren grumbled under his breath as he turned to go.
Arjan followed him, careful not to grin too visibly and trying to guess from Loren's tone of voice how many days it would take him to persuade the blond to carry out the plan.
