by Alice Gaines
“Then sit and have some coffee.”
He took the chair across from her and filled the empty mug from the carafe. Then he sat, sipping it, and let his mind run through what she might be planning with this stunt. There’d be no more sex, if that was what she was thinking. He didn’t do command performances. And if she thought this was some way to restart their former love affair, that ship had sailed a long time ago.
Okay, bad analogy there, but he wasn’t about to give her his heart again after what she’d done last time. And he was still going to sink her father’s company. She had plenty of money to live on without it.
“So, tell me,” he said. “Do you kidnap all your lovers?”
“All my lovers?”
“You had a box of condoms. I have to assume you’ve brought other men here.”
“Did you happen to count the number of condoms in the box?”
What kind of a stupid question was that? “I was a little distracted at the time.”
“If you had, you would have noticed the box was almost full,” she said.
What, exactly, did “almost” mean? That she’d used fewer than ten of them? Never mind. It was none of his business. Why did he have to keep reminding himself of that?
“I’m not a saint, but I am careful,” she said. “I noticed you had protection with you, too.”
“I never claimed to be celibate.”
“I would never believe you were,” she said. “If I had any doubts, I could follow your exploits in the media.”
So, he wasn’t the only one feeling possessive. That put them on equal footing, more or less, although none of that mattered at the moment. What did matter was getting the hell back to his normal life.
“Ah, that will be breakfast,” she said.
She got up and went into the stateroom in response to something he hadn’t heard. He’d been too busy fuming. When he went inside, a young man in a crisp white uniform was wheeling in a table with several covered dishes on it. The man didn’t react to seeing Adam half naked. Maybe there were half-dressed men in Nicole’s stateroom all the time.
The man grabbed a chair from the desk, set it next to the table, and pushed it in for Nicole as she sat. Adam took his own chair and waited for the guy to leave.
Breakfast turned out to be omelets, hash browns, and a mound of bacon, plus more coffee and orange juice on the side. Nicole sipped her coffee and toyed with her food, pushing it around more than eating it. She always thought she needed to lose weight, when her body looked great just the way it was.
She picked up most of her bacon and gave it to him. “I remembered how much you like it.”
“Almost as good as sex,” he said. “Almost.”
“About last night…”
“Don’t tell me you regret it.” Add another item to his list of irritations.
“No,” she answered quickly.
Thank God for that, anyway.
“It’s just…I didn’t kidnap you, as you call it, to use your body.”
“Good, because that’s not happening,” he said.
If he’d upset or disappointed her with that remark, she didn’t show it. She’d reverted to being Maurice Westmore’s daughter—proper and dignified. Her father had schooled her well.
“I deceived you because I want to show you something,” she said.
He stopped eating his bacon and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “And that would be…”
She straightened and set her hands on the table near her plate. It was probably her idea of looking professional, but it seemed stiff. “I’m building a resort on McKee Island. I want you to see what I’m planning.”
“Why?”
She didn’t speak for a moment. She had to know he had more than a business interest in acquiring her father’s company. It would have been sweeter to steal the old bastard’s company out from under him while he was alive, but Adam would still get a lot of satisfaction in removing the name Westmore from the resort world.
“I thought that maybe, if you could see what I have planned, you’d realize I have a legitimate place in the resort business and stop your plans to shut me down,” she said.
“Why would you let a competitor in on your business plan?” he asked.
“There’s no secret about what I’m doing. You may not know all the details of my resort, but I’m sure you can come up with plenty of your own.”
“I do have a few successful hotels.” In fact, he’d decided on going into the hospitality industry while still in business school. He’d been toying with the idea, anyway, because old man Westmore had made so much money at it. Once he’d learned the two of them had rejected him as being inferior to a prince, going into Westmore’s business and beating him at it had seemed the perfect way to get back at both of them. Vivian and her plot to put Westmore out of business had come later.
“You can’t open up next to me in competition, because I’m taking up the whole island,” she said. “So I don’t see what harm there is in showing you the resort now. You could always send a spy to check it out after it opens.”
There was more going on here. Businesses didn’t normally give their competitors a sneak preview of their new releases. He rested back against his chair. “What do you hope to gain?”
She toyed with her napkin, twisting it between her thumb and forefinger. “I hope we can call a truce and you can stop hating me.”
He’d been lifting his coffee cup to his mouth but now put it down with a clatter. “I don’t hate you.”
“Then why are you trying to destroy my company?”
“It’s your father’s company.”
She slapped the tabletop hard enough to make plates rattle. “It’s my company.”
He got up from the table and went to stare through the sliding glass door at the sea. He didn’t hate her. He had hated what she’d done to him. Anyone would have. Her father had been behind it, though—finding her royalty to marry. The old bastard had made it clear to Adam that he wasn’t good enough for his little princess. Then Westmore had reinforced Adam’s sense of inferiority by finding a man of the highest social echelons for Nicole. Adam Morrow, with the absent father and alcoholic mother, didn’t measure up. Well, he’d been a fighter his whole life, and he’d been in the process of fighting for Nicole when she’d announced her engagement to Prince Holst von Hohenberg.
“Why can’t you be reasonable?” she asked.
“Reasonable?” He turned and gestured. “You got me here under false pretenses.”
“Not so very false.”
Then another realization struck. “Did you go to that reception to seduce me?”
“Oh, please. You sound ridiculous.”
“You knew I was going to be there,” he said.
“And I went to confront you about my company,” she said. “What did you have in mind when you joined me on the empty balcony? A game of cards?”
He could seethe, if he wanted, but the honest answer to that question was that he’d deliberately made a sexual move on her. So he didn’t say anything.
“My freckles, of all things,” she said. “You made this easy for me, so I took you up on the offer.”
“All right.” He held his hands up in surrender. “How long do I need to stay on McKee Island?”
“As long as you want. I won’t hold you. I just want a chance to talk to you without interruptions.”
“No cell phones or internet there, either?”
“We have a cell tower and wifi,” she said. “You’ll be able to communicate.”
“Good, because people will start missing me.” He’d check his calendar as soon as his phone came back online, but he didn’t have any meetings in the next few days, so there was nothing to reschedule. He’d stay in touch with the office about what he needed to do and return to Manhattan when necessary. Yeah, he’d go with her. Why not?
“More than a few women will miss you, I imagine.” She said the words with absolutely no expression on her face, which meant some
thing was definitely stewing beneath the surface. Good. Let her stew.
“All right, Nicole. I’ll see your resort.” And maybe they’d have more sex, too. He’d make up his mind about that later. “But it won’t change my plans.”
…
Nicole’s heart almost burst with pride every time she visited her resort. It was her baby and her means of returning Westmore Hotels to their place of prominence in the industry. Her father had sheltered her her entire life, and then, suddenly, without giving her any training, he’d put her in charge of his company. With the help of his longtime coworker and friend, Peter Baxter, she’d learned to run the business well. This beautiful facility, which she’d named Savvy, would be her breakout project.
Now she was showing her accomplishments to a rival, who was also a big name with his own chain of luxury resorts. Adam might not admit outright that Savvy had impressed him, but the expressions on his face gave him away.
“Savvy, huh?” he said as he put his hands on his hips and stared up at the main building. They hadn’t left the dock, and she hadn’t shown him any of the rooms, and still, he admired her work.
“You have one called Lit, so I don’t see how you can criticize Savvy for a name,” she said. “Shall we?”
They walked along the pathway through live oak trees. Sand dunes and grasses made up much of the landscape near the ocean. The place would be a paradise for birders, with various types of herons and plover. Though the weather was warm, breezes off the ocean kept the air cool.
“So, what are we going to eat while we’re here?” he asked. “Do I have to catch fish with my bare hands and climb coconut palms?”
“We don’t have palm trees here,” she said. “The freezers in the restaurant kitchens are fully stocked, and the crew from my yacht has already brought some perishables ashore. We won’t starve.”
“And who’s going to cook?”
“I will.”
He stopped walking. “When did you learn how to cook?”
“A long time ago. My father’s cook, Annie, taught me.” Annie had been one of the good ones. She’d tolerated Nicole in her kitchen and spent hours answering Nicole’s questions and teaching her about sauces, baking, and even how to make her own pasta. But then Annie had left, just like everyone else. That didn’t matter. Nicole could take care of herself.
“What do you know?” he said. “The princess can cook.”
“I’m not a princess. I’m a woman, as you very well know.”
“What would you be if you’d married that Holst fellow?”
“Okay, so yes, I would have been a princess, but I didn’t marry him. Now, can we drop the subject?” she said.
They approached the main building, which was surrounded by gardens featuring native plants. Although the structure was completely new, she’d had it designed to resemble great houses of the late nineteenth century. Built of granite, terraces ran along all four sides. There were some spaces for al fresco dining, others for sunbathing, and others for simply staring at the ocean.
“What did all this cost you?” Adam asked.
“It’s an investment.”
“A pricey one,” he said. “This is a huge risk you’re taking.”
“I have to take risks to succeed.” She’d gone over this in her mind many times. The old ways her father had used no longer worked. She needed something new and unique. And if she wanted to attract people who had money to spend, she needed to make everything scream luxury.
“Who’s your target audience?” he asked.
“Young and young-ish people who can pay a steep price to be pampered,” she said. “For now, no one under eighteen. Later on, I’ll open another resort for families.”
“And what are you going to give them that no one else can?”
“You mean you?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I am your competitor.”
“There’s room in the market for more than one chain of high-end hotels,” she said. “Your niche is a bit different from mine.”
“How so?”
“You go for excitement over luxury,” she said. “I’m striving for both—fun and complete and total pampering.”
He appeared to mull that over for a few seconds. She might be newer to this business than he was, with Savvy as her first personal project. Yes, she’d worked for her father for a time, but he’d brought her along slowly. Then his sudden death had propelled her into the CEO spot. She’d had a steep learning curve, but she was managing it.
Despite her age and inexperience, Adam didn’t seem to have written her ideas off as silly or unworkable. He was honestly listening, and that filled her with even more pride than his original admiration.
“I’m charging enough for everything to be included—room, food, and drinks,” she continued. “The guests won’t even have to worry about tips. Furthermore, I’m paying my employees enough to keep them with me for years.”
“Wise choice.”
“Each will undergo training in how to anticipate guests’ needs and desires. Everyone who stays here will feel as if Savvy is run to cater to him or her personally.”
“Where did you learn all this?” he asked.
“From some of my father’s executives,” she said. “And from being a guest in a lot of hotels.”
“It’ll be interesting to see if you succeed at this.”
Which meant he had doubts. She couldn’t really blame him there. She had plenty of doubts of her own. Savvy could fail utterly, and she’d go back to being a little rich girl with no goal in life. In the end, she’d lose her company. Adam might even end up with it, despite her best efforts. But at least she’d have tried—and that meant something to her.
“This way,” she said as she led him down another gravel path toward where they kept the golf carts. They were housed in a garage until the resort opened, but her keycard gave her entrance to everything on the island. Once they’d climbed into a cart, she started it up and headed toward her cottage on the cove. “Now let me show you the ultimate in privacy for guests who demand it.”
The cove wasn’t so far from the rest of Savvy that they couldn’t have walked, but if she wanted to impress Adam with having thought of every way to pamper her guests, she’d take a golf cart. It also made it easier to get to the remote part of the island where William McKee had hidden his pirate ship. The barrier islands off South Carolina were the perfect place for a coastal resort—removed enough from the humdrum existence of everyday life to create a paradise of natural beauty and beaches everywhere.
The cove had a narrow but deep inlet from the ocean and was ringed by white sand beaches. Here she’d had five cottages constructed. Although each lay only yards from the water, natural rock outcroppings and trees kept them separated from each other. She’d stayed in one when overseeing the construction and outfitting of Savvy, and she might just keep it for herself.
Adam’s gaze went everywhere when they arrived. To the beach, of course, with a firepit for each cottage. Then to the cottage itself, with the wooden porch complete with a double hammock and chaise lounges. When they climbed the steps and she let them in with her keycard, he first examined the sitting area with the polished hardwood floors and then the kitchenette and dining area.
“Check out the bedroom and bath,” she said as she pointed in that direction.
He did, and she followed him. Light spilled into the bedroom through the sliding glass doors. Past them lay a patio with wet bar, barbecue, and hot tub.
“Of course, no one has to cook,” she said. “The staff will come and pour drinks and barbecue for guests, but if they want privacy, they can do their own thing.”
“And I suppose they can either dine in one of the restaurants or have food delivered here,” he said.
“At no extra charge.”
“And the bathroom?” he asked.
“A skylight so each has a collection of plants, including orchids. Mountains of towels. A sunken tub and huge shower with multidirectional
spray.”
“You really have gone all out.”
“Wouldn’t you want to stay here?” she asked.
“I am going to stay here.” He approached her, casting a glance over her shoulder toward the bed. “We only have to figure out how we’re going to spend our time.”
Chapter Four
Margaritas on the beach with no one else around—talk about luxury. Adam sipped his and had to admit Nicole knew her way around a blender. If she cooked half as well as she made drinks, he’d probably gain weight while he was here. The swim trunks they’d liberated from the hotel shop’s inventory for him might get tight for an entirely different reason any minute, though, because she sat in the chair beside his, wearing a bikini that showed off every curve. He had a huge bed and hot tub for sex play—maybe even more opportunities in the bathroom. And they could run around naked the whole time they were here if they wanted.
“Enjoying it so far?” she asked.
“What’s not to enjoy?”
“We don’t have maid service. We might have to make the bed and wash the dishes.”
“Do you do those things, too?”
She smiled, but her cheeks colored. “Not very often.”
“Not very domestic.”
“Only for the fun parts.” She lifted her margarita toward him.
“You never married.”
“Don’t make it sound like it could never happen,” she said. “I’m not that old.”
“Still…”
She toyed with the stem of her glass. “Holst turned out to not be very nice.”
Adam sat up straight. “Did he hit you?”
“Once.” Her jaw went tight. “He wanted sex, and I wasn’t ready to go that far.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“It was enough to convince my father to call the marriage off.”
He finished his margarita and set it down beside his chair, burying the base in the sand so it stood upright. “Did you hear what you just said?”
Her eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “What?”
“Your father called the marriage off.”
“Well, he did.”
“What about you?” he said. “It was your marriage to call on or off, not his.”