monstrosity?”
“A hotel?” Travis ducked his eyes. He was comfortable with her, but around others, he was still reserved.
“Hmm. Okay. Tell me your thoughts.”
“What?” Travis’s eyebrows almost hit his hairline. Odin, but her mate was adorable. And sexy. Waiting to claim him was getting harder by the day. In human days, that wasn’t much time, but for a Gargoyle waiting to claim the other part of their soul, it was an eternity.
“Trav, you’re a genius when it comes to building. If you think we should turn this place into a hotel, you’ve obviously given it some thought. I want to hear what that gorgeous mind of yours has come up with.” Travis blushed whenever Brynna complimented him. Or smiled at him. His cheeks were pink often. Clutching her coffee mug, she brought it to her lips. “Well?”
“I’m more familiar with the residential side of things, but to me, a bed and breakfast connotates somewhere smaller and more intimate. A building as large as this could be marketed as a boutique hotel. It would have the larger feel of a hotel but the intimacy of a B and B. The best of both worlds.”
“That’s brilliant. I knew—”
“Knock, knock,” Freyda announced as she and Gautum entered through the back door. “We’re not interrupting, are we?” The older female winked at Brynna before holding out her hand to Travis. “Hello, Travis. I’m Freyda, and this is Gautum.”
Travis stood and shook their hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”
“Likewise.”
Brynna grabbed Freyda and hugged her. “What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t think we were going to miss out on visiting, did ya? We wanted to meet Travis, so we came home. We’re all heading back out tomorrow. So, Travis, what do you think of this place?” Freyda asked, grabbing two mugs out of the cabinet and helping herself to coffee. Brynna had confided in the female, who had become a mother figure to her and Banyan, when she realized Travis was her mate. Freyda knew all about waiting forever to find a mate. To that day, she still hadn’t found hers, but she and Gautum were in love as well as the best of friends. It was as close as the female was going to get, or at least that’s what she told Brynna.
Gautum took the seat next to Travis after clapping him lovingly on the shoulder. “I’m interested in your ideas as well, my boy.”
Travis blushed again, but he turned to Gautum and explained his ideas. “I was just saying I think it has potential as a boutique hotel. The architecture is amazing. It would be simple enough to tear out the wall between the foyer and the sitting room to open the space and make that the lobby.” As Travis expounded excitedly, Freyda handed Gautum his coffee and took the empty chair next to him. “Brynna already has the interior changes in mind as far as décor, so it wouldn’t take long to make a few structural adjustments. The one major difference would be to the kitchen. If this were my hotel, I’d expand the kitchen to include the area where we’re sitting. Feeding that many guests three meals a day will require more equipment.”
Marcie turned from where she was cooking supper. “I think that’s brilliant, Travis.” She looked around the space, and Brynna knew the woman was envisioning where everything would go. Brynna had offered her friend the job as kitchen manager once Marcie insisted she wasn’t going anywhere. Brynna’s parents had treated Marcie as well as two royals treated any of the hired help, but Brynna and the human had become fast friends. Both Marcie and her brother, Lawrence, were now part of the family. Larry was a fantastic artist Brynna spent hours with touring the house and talking about the design changes needed to make the rooms more inviting. Brynna had commissioned Larry to paint the artwork that would be showcased in each room, replacing the staid paintings that had hung on the walls for centuries. His vision to incorporate some of the older paintings was no less brilliant than the ideas her mate had come up with to keep the history of the architecture while bringing the structure into modern times.
Marcie announced supper was ready, and everyone lined up to take a turn at the stove. Unlike their father, Banyan didn’t stand on ceremony. All the males waited for the females to fix their plates before helping themselves. They didn’t bother going into the dining hall. Instead, everyone squeezed