Nicola slipped off her sunglasses and looked out over the pool to the Pacific Ocean. She was an adult, in her thirties, but every time she called her mother, she felt as if she were thirteen years old and getting caught breaking curfew.
“Are you going to at least take some time off, Nicola?” her mother asked.
Nicola sighed. “Yes, Mama.”
“You work too hard.”
What she meant was Nicola had not given her any grandchildren. Nadia McCann was ready for grandchildren, and she didn’t mind telling Nicola every chance she got. She still hadn’t told her mother about Serenity’s pregnancy. That would probably end badly for Nicola. Her mother would start discussing how much younger Serenity was than Nic.
“But will you have time to relax?”
“Yes. In fact, Jensen is going to Maui next week. I’m staying here and I plan on poolside relaxation and probably a massage or two.”
“Good. You know working like you do could lead to other issues.”
She didn’t respond. Her mother was being a little pushier than usual. And that was saying something. Her mother emailed every crackpot report about fertility she found.
“Nicola.”
“Do you have something bad to tell me? Are you and Dad doing okay?”
She noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. It was Jensen walking across the lanai toward her. He had a massive cup of coffee in his hand. He was dressed down for the islands, or as dressed down as a Wulf would get in public. His tropical shirt was subdued in colors, but it had flecks of green within the design. His khaki pants were expertly tailored—no Wulf wore off the rack. He looked like a damned model. And, he looked...well, yummy. Dammit. Not yummy. No. He looked good. Good. And delicious. She wanted to take a big bite out of that perfect ass of his.
Dammit.
“Nicola, are you listening to me?”
“What? Sorry, Mama.”
“I said your father wants to go to a couples-only retreat.”
She blinked. The tone her mother used struck her as odd.
“I heard they are nice.”
“Nicola. I know you do other things in your sex life that I do not.”
Damn, she sometimes regretted telling her mother so much about her life. Too much maybe, but because of her childhood, her mother had been her best friend.
“I have no idea what you are talking about. Why are you opposed to couple’s retreats?”
Jensen had walked out to look out over the ocean, but he turned and looked back over his shoulder. She shrugged.
“I am not into that.”
“Into what?”
“Swinging.”
She pulled the phone out from her ear and looked at it, then returned it to her ear. “Excuse me?”
“These retreats are for swinging, switching partners, yes?”
Her mother had acclimated to western life so easily after moving to the US, but she was a little naïve.
“No. It’s just a place where there are no children. You have to be eighteen and older for most of them.”
“Oh. No swinging?”
“No. He just wants to take you some place romantic and relaxing. That’s all.”
“Hmm. No wonder he looked hurt when I yelled at him.”
She bit her lip trying not to laugh. She didn’t want to hurt her mother’s feelings. “Tell you what. Go talk to Dad and make up. Jensen is up so we can chat about all the work we have to do.”
“Hello, Mrs. M,” he called out.
“Tell him I said hello.”
“Mama says hello. Go find Dad.”
“Okay. Make sure you relax.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you.”
She hung up just as Jensen settled in the seat across from her. “So, what was going on with your mother?”
“My father booked a weekend at a couples’ retreat.”
“I got that much.”
“She thought it was some kind of swinging couples’ thing.”
He didn’t say anything for a second, then threw back his head and laughed.
“It isn’t that funny.”
“I just love that your mother has been in this country over thirty years and just does not seem to be sullied by it. She remains almost innocent.”
“Stop talking about my country that way,”
He gave her what she called his little boy smile. It was lopsided and he rarely shared it with anyone outside of the family.
“Oh, you agree with me on some accounts.”
She sighed. “Yes, especially when it comes to relationships. But then, my mother met my father after being in the US for less than six months. They were married three months later. Before that, she never dated.”
“Your mother never dated? She was what—twenty?”
“Twenty-three. Remember, all she ever did was skate for Czechoslovakia. You didn’t have a personal life then.”
“She was singles, so no partner like you had?”
She nodded. “All right, are you ready to work?”
But as soon as she finished her sentence, Marta stepped out on the lanai, a tray filled with food in her hands.
“Ah, here is Marta to save me from the grindstone.”
“We can work over breakfast.”
“Only a heathen American would suggest that.”
Marta set the tray down on the table. “Good morning, Mr. Jensen.”
“Good morning, Marta. This looks scrumptious,” Jensen said. He plucked something off the plate. “Scones. Brilliant.”
Marta blushed on que. All women did that when he used that tone with them. It was what got them through so many negotiations, it worked when handling interviews, and probably got him more than one beautiful sub for the night. When she realized she had fisted her hand so tight around her teaspoon that her knuckles had turned white, Nicola pulled herself back.
What the hell was that about? But even as she asked it, she knew it was jealousy. Stupid, completely useless jealousy over a man she was barely attracted to. Okay, more than barely. A whole lot attracted to.
God.
“What’s wrong?” Jensen asked. He had removed his sunglasses and was studying her.
“Sorry. Still kind of off from the flight over.” She smiled at Marta. “This looks fabulous. Mahalo.”
She smiled at Nicola. “Do you need anything else?”
“No, I think we’ll be fine.”
She left them alone. When Nicola picked up a plate and started to fill it, she ignored the silence from the other side of the table.
“Nic, you want to tell me what that was all about?”
She glanced at him, then back to gathering her breakfast off the tray. “What?”
“You looked ticked off.”
She set her plate down and looked at him across the table. “Nothing’s wrong, Jen. I said, I was just tired from the trip.”
“No.”
She frowned. “No? I did say I was tired from the trip.”
To demonstrate it to him, she poured herself some more coffee. “See.”
“No. You told me once you acclimate well. All the traveling for competition taught you how to deal with extensive travel. I remember it particularly well.”
Jensen had one of those minds that never forgot anything. To prove his point, he had to tell that story. Again.
“We had just landed in LA three years ago—you remember, right after you started working for me. And I got sick. Stomach was all topsy-turvy and you told me to suck it up. You said you were a woman and you dealt with it. Learnt it from your days on the road as a skater. Remember?”
Of course, he remembered that. He remembered everything.
“How was I to know that you had food poisoning?”
He grunted but didn’t continue berating her. Instead, he gathered up enough food for a small army and started to eat.
“Good appetite,” she commented.
“I always have a good appetite. Well, except when I was using.
”
“Hmm.”
He looked up from his plate and studied her again. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s nothing wrong.”
“There is something off this morning. Did your night go badly?”
She shrugged. “Not really. Had a fabulous time. Serenity is expecting.”
“Expecting what?”
She rolled her eyes. “She’s pregnant.”
“Oh, hmm. Is that your reason for feeling off?”
“Why would that make me feel off?”
“She’s younger than you...and now having a baby. You know?”
“No. I. Don’t.”
Jensen was usually better at handling her anger. Granted, many times she knew he did it to get a rise out of her. Now though, he seemed to genuinely be acting like an asshole.
“The old baby ticker has to be ready to ring sometime soon.”
She felt her temper rise. It didn’t happen that often. In fact, Oliver had often said she was cold as the ice they skated on. When her temper got going, that ice could shatter.
“The baby ticker? Oh, right. All women are just dying to have children because we aren’t real women without them.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“No?” She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “Why don’t you tell me what you meant?”
“I don’t think I want to do that. And I truly don’t like your tone.”
“Then you shouldn’t be such a total jackass.”
Irritated with him and herself, she grabbed her coffee and rose out of her chair.
“When you are through with breakfast, I’ll be inside working. Something I like to do...mostly alone.”
She stomped off across the lanai and into the house. She was better off in the cool air of the house than dealing with Jensen.
Jensen watched Nicola as she made her way to the house. He had done it on purpose. He’d been raised better than to say rude things to a woman in the manner he did with Nicola. It was the only way to put distance between them. If she was angry with him, she’d be cool to him. No more fun banter, sexy smiles, and maybe—just maybe—he’d be able to fight this need that kept building inside of him.
He’d walked outside just a few seconds ago thankful that he had relieved himself of the tension that had been growing. All he had to do was hear that warm tone in her voice and the calm he’d created had slipped from his fingers in a matter of seconds.
One more glimpse of her rounded backside before it disappeared into the house along with every other luscious inch of her. With a groan, he shoved his hand through his hair. This was just not going the way he thought it would. Worse, he felt like a perv. Nicola might forget it sometimes, but she worked for him. He was not some bloody sexual predator. It had never been his thing to seduce a woman who worked for him or for his company. It was just not done by Wulfs.
All of that didn’t seem to matter because he wanted her. More than was good for him or her. He’d learned control, but with her, this woman who coordinated everything in his life, he couldn’t seem to control himself around her. He was sure a psychiatrist would have a field day with that one.
He rolled his shoulders and decided he needed to buck up and be a man about it.
Now he just had to persuade his cock not to stand at attention begging for a pet every time he was in her presence and he would be right as rain.
4
After their skirmish on the lanai, if one could even call it that, they settled into work without a problem. Nicola knew their one issue being there would be the hours. Their sleep patterns were off, and it left both of them cranky. She thought it might have more to do with Hawaii itself.
From the first time she had visited the islands, she had been in love. She could never live in the climate all the time. She still loved snow and cold weather, but there was something beyond special about Hawaii. Beauty surrounded you no matter if you were in the swankiest hotel or the humblest of homes. There was no denying that Hawaii had one of the most breathtaking vistas. It helped that her best friend in the world lived here.
“It’s not like you to stare off into space.”
She blinked and focused on Jensen. He’d behaved himself the rest of the morning, but that was how it went with him. She knew from his case history that he had acted out that way with drugs also. He’d get pissed and strike out, but the way he did it in those days was by getting high. Now he said inappropriate things. Most of the time he directed it toward other people, but lately, he’d increasingly zeroed that acerbic wit in her direction. And that led her to think about her future beyond the Wulfs.
“Nic?”
She shook her head. “Sorry. It’s Hawaii. It makes me want to just lay around.”
“Hmm, I can understand that. Something about the air I think. It’s heavy and sweet.”
She nodded. “So, you are ready for your meeting next Monday.”
“Tell me again why you aren’t coming?”
“Pool. Me. Not moving.”
He looked over his glasses at her, and she was sure most people would find the move condescending. Instead, it turned her on. Heading into his very late thirties, the bad boy turned into the very naughty professor with those glasses on. Like right now as he gave her a look of disappointment. It made her want to do all kinds of naughty things to him.
“Instead of spending time with me on Maui, you want to sit here by the pool?”
“I also have a friend coming in on Monday from my old days of skating.”
And, as soon as the words left her mouth, her phone vibrated on the table. She saw it was Jeff.
“Give me a sec.” He nodded. She clicked on the phone. “Why are you calling me?”
“I love you, too,” Jeff said.
“State your business or I’ll hang up.”
“I have to go back to the mainland, so I was wondering if we could meet up next weekend.”
“I think I can find the time for lunch, especially if you’re buying.”
“Always the mercenary. Okay. We’ll be there late Saturday. How about we do lunch on Sunday?”
“That sounds brilliant.”
“Watch yourself, cowgirl. You’re starting to sound British.”
“Oh, bite me. So, next Sunday, around one?”
“Sounds good. Text me a place to eat and I’ll meet you there.”
“Bye.”
When she clicked off her phone, she set it down again and looked up to find Jensen studying her.
“What?”
“Who was that?”
She wasn’t accustomed to Jensen being so nosey about her personal life. He usually went on his way, doing whatever, and left her alone. Lately, though, he had become interested in whatever she was doing. It was a bit unnerving.
“Jeff.”
“The bloke with the reality show?”
She nodded. “We were on the circuit at the same time. He was singles.”
“Ah. And he just called you out of the blue?”
“Why are you so interested in this?”
He gave her one of those shrugs that irritated her. But she would not fall for it. She wasn't going to get into another argument with him before he left the island.
“Just am. I thought it odd that you're hooking up with him and you're in Hawaii.”
“He and Ben are on Maui right now. They wanted to see me, but they have to make a trip back to the mainland for a bit, so we’ll be meeting up next weekend.”
He nodded but made no comment. Dammit. How did he do that? He could garner information from her even when she knew that was what he was doing.
“So, do you want to go over this family? I know that you like to have a background of everyone you're going to be dealing with.”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
Inwardly she sighed with relief. With a plan in place, she pulled up the information she had and started at the top of the family.
“First you have Robert. He's the patriarch and raised most
of the people working in the leadership positions in the company.”
“So, a bit like ours. A family business.”
“Yes. And they are a tightknit family.”
“I know that's why Mother liked them. They take care of their employees.”
She nodded. Lillian Wulf might be considered upper class in English aristocracy now, but she had grown up poor. She had worked her way through college before gaining a position with Wulf Industries. She knew how important their employees were.
“Okay, tell me about the rest of them.”
“Are you sure you want all of them?”
“No. Just the ones I have to deal with.”
And that was what was important to him. Not that she faulted him for it. This wasn't a big merger in the whole scheme of things. In fact, it was one of their smaller ones. There was little money to be made, in fact. But for some reason, his mother was acutely focused on it, and Jensen was ready to make sure that she got what she wanted.
“Under Robert, his son Michael is Vice President. The two of them are very close. Then there is Lana. She is very important to the company, even if she doesn't have a big job title.”
“Like you.”
She glanced up at him. “Don't patronize me.”
“I'm not. You keep things running smooth and that is very important.”
“Well, thanks. Now, onto Sam. He's Michael's younger son. He's the manager of the resort.”
“The one to blame for the problems then.”
“Not really. His hands have been tied a bit. The family sustained some damage when Tropical Storm Gail came through last season. It was at a time when their funds were running low and they didn't have the capital to put up. Therefore, they had to borrow. Then they had a few problems here and there that caused even more issues.”
“Problems?”
“They had always been known for having the best workers on the island. Their staff was praised. The other resorts did not miss that fact.”
“They poached.”
“Yes. Sam is well-liked, but he is seen as kind of a follower.”
“And not good for running a company.”
A Little Harmless Faith: Wulf Siblings Trilogy, Book One Page 4