Charlotte smiled warmly from her reclining position in the pool. “Nice to meet you. I love your suit. I’m kind of jealous because I’m going to be spending this summer with a big belly and can’t wear any of my cute suits.”
Hannah gasped. “But I love the one you’re wearing.”
And just like that, it seemed like Charlotte and Hannah were well on their way to friendship. He quickly realized that though he wanted to linger close to Hannah, he was definitely a third wheel. He chased after Addi and convinced her to go climb up and go down the water slide. Once they got to the top, they found Nate and Taylor there, enjoying the view of the gulf.
“You weren’t wrong, man,” Nate said. “That’s some decent surf for Florida.”
“Yeah, I think there’s a storm system coming in. It’s stirring up this whole area of coast line. From the looks of the radar though, it will pass by sometime tonight, so tomorrow should be a perfect beach day.”
Gesturing to the water slide, he said, “Well, this isn’t exactly a bad way to spend an afternoon. Is this your daughter?”
“Yeah, this is Addilynn.”
“Nice to meet you. This is Taylor.”
“Hey,” Taylor said, looking Addilynn over.
“Hello,” Addi said.
The two kids eyed each other for a minute. “So you live here, huh?” Taylor asked.
“I do now.” Addi said, nodding her head ever so slightly.
“Watch how fast I go down the slide.” With that, Taylor ran and launched himself down the water slide while Addi watched. She looked solemnly after him for a moment, then went down the slide after them. Carter watched them, so proud of his little girl for opening up, even that little bit. But then, he looked over to where Hannah had stretched out next to Charlotte. From so far away, she wouldn’t be able to tell what he was looking at, so he let his gaze linger on her. She sat in the shallows next to Charlotte, her long legs stretched out in front of her, leaning back on her elbows, her face turned to the sun.
“Nice view from up here,” Nate said, punching him in the shoulder. “And since I’m married to mine, I can look all I want.”
Carter stiffened, started to deny it, but then shrugged. “Do you ever wish you could go back in time and change things?”
“Sure. What would you change?”
“Hiring Hannah for one thing.”
“And for a second?”
“Inviting you down to witness my torment.”
Chapter Ten
The night had been long and loud with a powerful storm buffeting the house all night, but it had been Hannah’s dreams that had kept her awake. Visions of a bare-chested Carter looking down at her from a mountain top made her want to never wake up. There was no doubt that when she’d felt a funny sensation like someone was watching her in the pool and looked up to see him like a god on Mount Olympus, it had done crazy things to her pulse. And she might have sucked in her tummy a little in an effort to make sure he appreciated what he saw. But now, as she thought about seeing him again, and almost every day all summer, she knew she had to rein in this strange attraction that was starting to run away from her.
Again, why couldn’t he have looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy or Homer Simpson instead of the Prince of Perfect Pectorals?
But even if she could get past the fact that he was more like the evil land baron than the prince in this real-life story, she couldn’t forget that he was also her boss. And a freaking billionaire who undoubtedly had his pick of every celebrity, model, and heiress socialite in the country. What would he want with a crazy red-neck from Georgia who made a living playing with glue and finger paints and babysitting tourist kids? Then a thought hit her. How would he react if he ever found out she owned this house? Her stomach clenched. Well, she’d just have to make sure that did not happen.
Just as she was packing her bag for another day of entertaining Addi, her doorbell rang. She opened it to find Brant, sans shirt, crossing his arms to show off his biceps. “Morning, gorgeous. I’m here to move in. Can I have the key?”
“I told you the other day. I need a deposit first.”
Brant groaned and pulled a wallet out of his shorts pocket. He counted out some bills. “Fine. Here you go.”
Hannah counted it out, not caring if he was offended that she didn’t trust him. Because she didn’t. This time, though, he hadn’t tried to pull anything over on her. She reached around the door to the hooks where she kept keys. She handed one to him and said, “Keep it clean down there, okay?”
“Of course.” He turned to go.
“And I don’t just mean sweeping the floor. I mean nothing illegal or…” She was about to say immoral, but she doubted that was within her purview as landlord.
“Come on, babe! I’m not like that! Will I see you out on the beach with that little rich girl again today?”
Hannah had already been outside to find the ocean as calm as she’d ever seen it. “I’m sure you will. Although, I’m pretty sure your boss wants you watching his umbrellas and not me.”
“Eh. He loves me.”
“Doesn’t everyone?” Hannah shot at him as she closed the door on him.
Fifteen minutes later, Hannah walked over to the resort and waved at the receptionist as she went to the elevator. She was slowly getting to know all the staff at the resort since it was basically Addi’s playground. As she went into the condo, her eyes automatically searched for Carter, and her disappointment at not seeing him bothered her. “Stupid girl.”
“Oh, hey,” Carter said, coming out of his bedroom. “Did you say something?”
“No. You must be hearing things.”
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer as he focused on buttoning his cuffs. Anxious to smooth things over, she started talking, saying the first thing that popped into her head. “I would hate dressing up nice every day.”
He looked her over. “That doesn’t surprise me at all.”
Even though she saw a smile lurking at the corners of his mouth, she gasped. “Hey. What does that mean?”
He walked toward her and reached out, grasping the sleeve of her t-shirt. His warm fingers brushed against her arm, making her pulse jump. He tugged gently on the fabric. “Exhibit A.”
She glanced down at her reconstructed t-shirt and shrugged. “I took the scissors to it. It looks cool.” She had cut the sleeves off short and trimmed off the bottom hem and the neck. He hadn’t even seen the back of it yet, which was cut into narrow strings across her back, so maybe she’d just keep her back to him for now. With so much time at the beach, she wore her swimsuit under her clothes every day, but she wondered if he’d think this was too risqué for someone who was watching his daughter—even if it was basically just a cute cover-up.
“You took them to your jeans too,” he pointed out.
“Uh, everyone wears cut-offs around here.”
“Hannah, you’re here,” Addi called, coming out of her room.
Hannah turned to give her a hug, and Carter made a startled sound behind her.
“For the love of…What happened to the back?" Carter asked. "Did you get caught in a paper shredder?”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “I wish it was that easy. Hey, moonbeam, why don’t you sit at the table and I’ll get you some breakfast?"
“Can I have a hen-on-a-basket again?” she asked.
“Sure thing.”
Glad for something to do, Hannah got to work in the kitchen. She wasn’t used to sharing it with Carter though, and even though the kitchen was big for a condo and he was only making coffee, he always managed to be right where she wanted to be. After putting a skillet on the stove with a pat of butter melting in it, she turned to get a couple pieces of bread from the pantry and ran right into him.
With quick reflexes, he wrapped on arm around her and held his other hand out of the way to keep from burning her with his coffee. Some sloshed on the floor, but none of it got on them.
“Sorry,” she whispered, looking up at him. She c
ouldn’t say more since she was overwhelmed at being held so close to him with his fingers threaded through the cut strings of her shirt, pressing against her bare skin.
“I have to admit, there are some advantages to this style.” His voice was soft and rough.
She felt his fingers shift, sliding over her back. Looking up at him, she bit her bottom lip nervously, afraid that her super-charged reaction would show in her expression.
“Are you giving Miss Hannah a hug, Daddy?”
Addi’s voice hit them like a blast from a fire house. Almost jumping back, Hannah turned to find a paper towel to wipe up the coffee.
“Uh yeah. A surprise hug.” He took the paper towel out of Hannah’s hands. “Let me do that.”
As he worked, she took a deep breath and tried to remember what she was doing. Right, Addi’s breakfast. Looking over at the skillet, she saw that the butter was now brown and about to start smoking. She grabbed it and ran over the sink to rinse it out.
As she started over, she heard Carter go over to Addi. “Eat all your food and have a good day. I’ll see you later, okay sweetie?”
“Okay.”
When he was gone, Hannah fed Addi and got her to help clean up. By this time, it was almost nine o’clock. Over the last few days, Hannah had gotten used to the housekeepers coming in to clean every morning. When they knocked on the door, she let them in and greeted each of the women with a smile since she’d already made friends with them all.
Today, something about their cleaning routine struck her as odd. She realized they were changing the sheets on Carter’s bed again. That was just weird. It wasn’t like this was a hotel. The guy lived here all the time. Walking over to the bedroom, she stood in the doorway, not daring to take a step inside. “Marta, why do you guys change the sheets every morning?”
She shrugged expressively as she continued to work. “Orders. I don’t know. Rich people are particular about things.”
Hannah thought about it and realized that was true. And from things she’d put together, she thought Carter had always been rich. That would definitely create certain…eccentricities. In fact, she was pretty certain that if she hadn’t shown up in Addi’s life, the girl wouldn’t have ever known what a kitchen was for or that not everyone ordered three meals a day from room service.
“I want to go to the aquarium again,” Addi said, coming to stand by Hannah.
“No, not today. I can only take that every once in a while. Guess what though? The water is perfect today! And we can head down to the beach as soon as you want.”
“Is that boy going to be there?”
“From what his mom said yesterday, I bet he will.”
“Then I don’t want to go.”
Hannah shifted and looked down at Addi. She knew the girl loved the beach so it was pretty obvious she was trying to avoid hanging out with Taylor. Interacting with other kids would help Addi to loosen up and act like a normal kid, so this wasn’t something she was going to give in about. “Well, tough toothpaste. That’s what we’re going to do, moonbeam. Go get your suit on.”
Thirty minutes later, she had to hand it to Addi. She was a force to be reckoned with. Between wanting to change her suit three times, asking Hannah to braid her hair so it wouldn’t get tangled, and hiding her sandals so she could act like they were lost, she managed to delay going to the beach like a pro. Hannah wasn’t stupid though and knew what she was doing.
She hustled her charge out the condo door and through the lobby toward the back doors that led to the pools and the beach before Addi could think of any other diversions. Addi made one last ditch effort however. Half-way to the beach, she plopped down on the concrete and folded her thin arms. “I’m not going.”
Hannah looked down at her, trying to figure out how to deal with this. Finally, she shrugged and moved a few feet away to sit down under a palm tree. “That’s fine. If you want to sit there instead of having fun at one of the best beaches in the world, I’ll let you. I mean, there are worse things than getting paid to chill in the shade in a beautiful setting like this.”
Addi didn’t say anything, but after about ten quiet minutes, Hannah could tell she was getting bored and hot. Finally, Addi jumped up. “I want to go swimming.”
“Sounds great.”
Hannah got up and walked behind her, pleased with her victory. The wait had been more trying than she’d expected though, since her mind had kept wandering back to the memory of Carters’ fingers caressing her back. She needed to jump in the cool water as bad as Addi did.
Chapter Eleven
While Carter worked the rest of the day, he had a difficult time forgetting about Hannah that morning in his kitchen—the way she welcomed Addi with such sincere warmth, the way she didn’t take any crap from him, handed it right back when he teased her… the way her skin felt like silk to his touch.
That last part caused him to lose track of what he was doing more than once. When he was meeting with the real estate agents who were busy selling his condo units, reviewing budgets and marketing initiatives, or touring completed units to make sure they met his standards, he kept himself focused. Any time his brain had a moment to relax, however, like in the elevator, walking around the resort, or waiting for someone to answer his call, the memory of holding her would flash through his mind and carry him away again. He wasn’t sure what to do about it besides try to keep it all bottled up inside.
Later in the afternoon when he’d finished most of his urgent business, he stood at the window in his office. As he stared out at the gulf, he got a text from Hannah. It was a picture of Addi at the beach, standing in the gentle surf as it broke around her knees. Hannah had captured an expression of vibrant excitement and pure joy on his daughter’s face. He found himself smiling at his phone, grateful that of all the babysitters in the area, Hannah had somehow been the one Brenda chose. It was difficult for him in many ways to be in such close proximity to a woman he was so naturally attracted to yet couldn’t pursue, but it was worth it to have Addi so happy.
Putting his phone back in his pocket, he decided to get back to work. When he turned around, however, and saw his desk, he groaned out loud. He couldn’t work any more today… not when he could be at the beach. With Addi. But as soon as he made the choice to ditch work the rest of the morning, a heady sense of anticipation hummed in his veins. Again, because he wanted to see Addi.
Soon, Carter had changed into swimming trunks and a t-shirt and left the cool, air-conditioned resort. He walked down to the beach, glad that it was nearly empty. He wouldn’t enjoy that luxury often after next week when guests and condo owners began pouring in for opening. It didn’t take long to spot Addi still playing in the surf or Hannah stretched out on a beach chair watching her through dark sunglasses. Charlotte lay next to her, but under the shelter of an umbrella with only her legs sticking out. Unfortunately, Charlotte wasn’t the only one keeping Hannah company.
Squatting next to her chair was a tanned, shirtless, heavily ripped guy with wavy hair blowing in the breeze. Carter halted in surprise, then clenched his jaw and strode forward to take stock of the situation. Trying to look unconcerned, he walked around in front of Hannah, flicking his eyes over the guy next to her.
“Oh, hey!” Hannah said, sitting up straighter in her seat. Then she yelled, “Addi, your dad is here.”
Addi turned and waved but was busy chasing fish in the shallows.
“Looks like she’s having fun,” he said, trying to keep his voice casual.
Hannah grinned. “She has a lot more fun when it’s calm like this. I have to say, I’m enjoying it more too because I can watch her from here and work on my tan.”
“Where are Nate and Taylor?” Carter asked Charlotte.
Charlotte waved a lazy hand out toward the water. “They’re out there, paddle-boarding.”
Carter looked around and saw a man and a little boy on a paddle board about a hundred yards down the beach to the east. “I’ve been meaning to try that myself, but I
never seem to have the time.” Then he shifted his eyes to the guy who still crouched next to Hannah’s chair resting his elbow on the arm of it “I don’t think I’ve met you,” he said pointedly, holding out his hand.
The guy stood up quickly, shaking Carter’s hand. “I’m Brant Chessman. I’m the beach service manager.”
“Nice to meet you.” It wasn’t of course, but he could be polite even though he wanted to kick the guy off his beach. Too bad he was supposed to be there. An umbrella guy? Why was he so familiar with Hannah? It wasn’t surprising that they would know each other though since they were both locals, and he could hardly blame any man for wanting to be near her. Today she had on a red suit with a deep v-neck and cut-out openings on the sides. She still wore a profusion of beaded hemp bracelets on her wrists and ankles, but today, she also wore some sort of long, tasseled necklace that fell in the v of her swimsuit and nestled in her cleavage. Feeling a flash of resentment that she was so flagrantly unconcerned with how she affected him, he turned away.
Walking down to the water, he called out to Addi, “Hey, sweetie. Having fun?”
“Yeah. Look at all these fish. I want to catch some but they’re really fast.”
For the next little while, Carter played with Addi, helping her to finally get some minnows in her net. He stood in the water next to her, enjoying the cool water washing around his knees, facing the beach. He hoped his glasses were dark enough that Hannah wouldn’t be able to tell he was keeping an eye on the situation with Brant. The way the guy found every excuse to flex his muscles and flash his white smile at her was really starting to tick him off though. What really drove him crazy was the easy way Hannah accepted him, even laughing with him.
Even though he despised himself for doing it, he turned to Addi and said, “Hey does that guy talk to Hannah a lot?”
Addi turned and looked at the beach. “Oh him? Yeah. He’s here a lot. They were talking about how he moved in with Hannah this morning.”
The Trust of a Billionaire Page 6