by Amelia Judd
“Oh, how wonderful.” Ann clasped her hands together and rose from her chair. “Thank you. It’s so nice to have friends you can count on.” She turned to Sage. “Will you be a dear and walk me to my car? I don’t like navigating the winter sidewalks on my own anymore.” Ann slipped her arm through Sage’s and led her from Will’s office.
Sage walked with her in silence until they reached the lobby. “You jog outside four times a week in the winter. And you’re one of the best skiers I’ve ever seen. I’m surprised to hear sidewalks with more salt than fast-food French fries suddenly concern you.”
“I sometimes forget how well you know me,” Ann said with a bemused smile.
“So why do you really want me to go to Costa Rica?”
Ann pulled her to a stop near the bank’s front doors. After glancing around to make sure their conversation wouldn’t be overheard, she took both of Sage’s hands in her own and squeezed them.
“I need to know if my son is happy.”
“What?”
“If Paxton left Silver Bay simply to avoid his father—to hide from Richard’s expectations—then it’s time for him to come home.”
“I’m not sure—”
“But,” Ann interrupted gently, “if he is truly happy in Costa Rica, if he has built a good business and a good life there, then I’ll be happy for him no matter how much I’d rather he was here with us.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if you spent the week there instead of me? Or maybe Kat? You both know him much better than I do.”
“I promised Paxton I would never visit him in Costa Rica without an invitation.” Frustration edged Ann’s voice. “I’ve dropped many hints, yet my stubborn son has never asked us to visit. And Kat hasn’t been herself since moving home from DC. She’s even more unpredictable than usual,” she said on a sigh. “I need you to spend the week with him. Evaluate his business for your bank like you are being sent to do. When you return home, I’d simply like to hear what his life there is like.”
Sage stepped back, shaking her head. “I can’t do that.”
“I don’t expect you to act like a spy or dig for details. I’d just like someone I trust, someone I love, to check on him for me.” Ann squeezed Sage’s hands again. “Please. I need to know he’s happy.”
Jeez-o-Pete. Sage blew out a sigh of resignation. What kind of person would she be if she refused to help after everything Ann had done for her over the years? “I’ll do what I can.”
“That’s all I ask.” Ann released Sage’s hands then began looping a red scarf around her neck. “How are things with Will? Is it going to be hard to leave him for the week?”
“No.” Sage laughed. “We aren’t stupidly, madly in love. We’re both approaching this relationship as adults. In fact, Will likes to say that we make a smart couple.”
Ann raised a well-groomed eyebrow. “Just be careful. Unlike ventures in business, ventures of the heart are rarely logical and never clear-cut.”
“I think a fortune cookie told me the same thing last week,” Sage teased with a wink.
Laughing, Ann pulled Sage in for another hug. “Safe travels, dear.”
Sage watched the older woman cross the parking lot and climb into her streamlined luxury SUV. Ann might not value logic when it came to matters of the heart, but Sage intended to make well-thought-out, safe, and, yes, logical decisions in all areas of her life. Spending time with the only man ever capable of pushing her past the point of logic would be challenging but not impossible.
She could keep her cool around Pax for one week. If she wanted her future to continue down the right path—the smart path—she didn’t have a choice.
Chapter 2
Pax paced the confines of his office for the hundredth time in the last hour. He needed to be tiling the bathroom of the new villa or replacing the warped floorboard on the deck of the popular oceanfront unit. Hell, he’d rather be doing office work than waiting for Logan to return from the Daniel Oduber Airport with Ms. Wetherbee. Entertaining a loan officer wasn’t his idea of a good time.
It still pissed him off he had to ask Pembrock for the loan. He tried to limit ties to his hometown. Unfortunately, the first five banks had rejected his request, saying he didn’t have enough cash to put down on the deal. Unless he could come up with a large down payment, the banks felt he wasn’t invested enough personally in the success of the resort.
That still burned. For the past twelve years, he’d devoted his life to La Vida de Ensueño. He considered the Guanacaste region and the small, environmentally friendly and socially responsible luxury resort as his home. From hiring staff, to linen selections, to the construction of the property’s new villas, he’d either made or approved every major decision at the resort since the beginning. That sure as hell felt invested to him.
At first, both Pax and the resort’s owner, Charlie Applegate, had been enthusiastic about La Vida’s bright future. Over time, however, Charlie had moved back to California, and his interest in the resort had waned. Less than a month ago, he’d informed Pax a large hotel chain had made an offer to purchase the resort. The chain’s management was opening a new line of boutique hotels, and they thought La Vida—minus its unique social outreach program—would be a great fit.
No way would Pax let his resort turn into a lifeless clone without a fight. He planned to match the offer and buy La Vida himself. Unfortunately, every damn bank kept saying no.
His last name was the only reason Pembrock had agreed to even consider his loan. After spending half his life trying to be more than Richard Bennett’s son, Pax had used that status to force the bank’s hand. A knot tightened in his chest. Maybe that made him a fraud—maybe he wasn’t anything more than a rich man’s kid. But he would play whatever card he had if it saved La Vida.
He cursed again and shoved a hand through his hair. Logan should be back by now. He’d texted Pax over an hour earlier from the airport that the loan officer was smoking-hot and even offered to seduce her for the cause if necessary. Pax knew his friend meant it as a joke, but he needed this loan so badly he might take him up on the offer if it were serious. Logan’s Casanova tendencies had caused enough problems in his role as one of the resort’s adventure-tour guides. It might be time to put his talent of charming the ladies to good use.
Finally, Pax heard the low hum of the Land Rover’s engine and the crunch of gravel beneath its wheels as it pulled to a stop in front of the hacienda. He charged from his office, through the lobby, and strode out the arched double-door entry, ready to greet the loan officer with his friendliest smile.
Logan hopped from the driver’s seat and hustled around the front of the SUV to the other side. He shot Pax a grin that usually meant trouble and opened the passenger door. As the loan officer reached back inside to gather her things, Pax got a view of a great ass wrapped snugly in a light-gray skirt and long, trim legs balanced on a pair of shiny black heels.
His mood started to lift, the week ahead suddenly seeming more enjoyable than he’d anticipated. Then the loan officer turned from the car and locked her cool green eyes on him, knocking the smile from his face and the air from his lungs.
“Hello, Pax. It’s good to see you again,” Sage Somerset said in an icy tone.
And with those frigid words, karma kicked his ass and blew his dreams into a million tiny fragments.
•••
Sage might have actually enjoyed the horrified silence if she weren’t so stressed out about seeing Pax again.
His mouth hung gratifyingly open for a full five seconds. Then he ran a hand through his black hair, and memories of those hands pulling her firmly against his body washed through her. She’d never wanted anyone the way she’d wanted him. Which was probably why his rejection had hurt so damn much.
He was bigger than she remembered, not taller, just more muscular. His shoulders were so wide they stretched the limits of the charcoal cotton shirt that fit him snuggly enough to reveal his sculpted arms and chest but hung loosely ove
r the waist of his well-worn jeans.
His hairstyle hadn’t changed. Straight and silky, his hair was still long enough for him to run his fingers through—his favorite gesture of annoyance—but too short for a ponytail. He hadn’t shaved this morning. She’d expected him to be clean-shaven and dressed in business clothes. She should have known Pax would do things his way. Dressing to impress a loan officer wasn’t in his DNA.
Logan, the man who’d driven her from the airport, cleared his throat. His gaze darted between them. “You two know each other?”
She looked at Pax and raised her eyebrows in silent inquiry.
Pax took a deep breath. “Sage is a friend of my youngest sister. She’s spent a lot of time at my parents’ house in Wisconsin over the years.” He paused. “Our paths have crossed a few times.”
She narrowed her eyes but didn’t respond. His explanation wasn’t wrong, only heavily edited.
“Alright.” Logan made no attempt to hide the amusement in his voice. “I’ll take Ms. Somerset’s bags to her villa.”
“Please, call me Sage.” She smiled at him, purposely turning her back to Pax. “Honestly, with your accent, you could call me anything and I wouldn’t mind. Where are you from, Australia or New Zealand?”
Pax grunted behind her. Good. He should know she found plenty of other men attractive.
“Australia. Beautiful country, but leaving was the best thing I ever did for my love life. American women are very receptive to my accent.” He opened the back of the SUV and lifted her bags out. “Let me know if there’s anything you need during your stay, Sage.” With a quick wink and a devilish grin, he carried her bags effortlessly into the lobby and out of sight.
Sage smiled. She didn’t get the vibe he meant anything by his flirting. Contrary to Pax, Logan seemed relaxed and easygoing.
“I’ll give you the tour.” Directly behind her, Pax’s smooth, deep voice sent sparks of electricity shooting through her.
Ugh. From the day she’d met him, he’d had that effect on her. Even the embarrassment of his rejection hadn’t killed her unwanted response to him.
Schooling her features, she turned to face him. “Oh, Pax. I forgot you were there.”
“It’s good to see you, Sage.”
She smiled coolly at him. “Lying to your loan officer isn’t a great way to start this evaluation. Can we just get this over with?”
A pained expression crossed his face. “Okay.” He gestured with his left hand toward the resort’s entrance. “I hope you’ll be impressed by what you find here.”
Sage took in the man Pax had become. He’d always been gorgeous, and six years had only improved his looks, chiseling his features and deepening the intensity in his golden brown eyes. If his appeal began with rock-hard abs and ended with shampoo-commercial worthy hair, there would be no problem. Unfortunately, his passion for making the world a little better place and his complete lack of self-importance were the real kryptonite to her defenses.
But no way would she let Paxton Bennett get to her this week. Never again would she allow a man to push her past the point of logic, no matter how attractive she found him.
“Let’s do it,” Sage said crisply as she strode past him toward the entrance to the resort. “But you should know, I’m not as easy to impress as I used to be.”
Chapter 3
Sage walked through the arched doorway and nearly oohed at the sight. Okay, she was impressed. Not that she would tell Pax or anything crazy like that, but, holy buckets, this place embodied tropical perfection.
“Welcome to La Vida de Ensueño, or La Vida for short,” Pax said.
“What does the name mean?”
“The dream life. La Vida simply means life.”
She remembered Ann’s request. “Have your dreams come true here?”
“Enough of them,” he responded. “It’s best if not all dreams come true.”
She snorted, then quickly tried to turn it into a cough. She knew full well that many dreams—and in her case, every dream that had starred the man standing in front of her—were desires that didn’t play well with reality.
“Let me show you the hacienda,” Pax said.
Sage was happy to focus on her job. After all, Ann had only asked her to report back about Pax’s life, not question him.
Pax explained that the open-air, high-ceilinged lobby served as a gathering place and the center of the resort’s activity. The large room held a deep-seated couch, multiple smaller cushioned seating arrangements, and a number of scattered café tables with wrought-iron chairs.
To her immediate right sat an elegant desk and a small reception area for arriving guests. Farther into the room, a bar made of dark wood displayed a variety of fresh juices in iced carafes. In the evening, Sage imagined guests would gather around the elegant bar to enjoy a cocktail and share stories from their day.
While the room itself was lovely and very inviting, the feature that struck her most was the complete lack of an outside wall on the opposite side of the double-door entry. With only a few pillars supporting the roof, the entire room looked over an elegant infinity pool and then down the gentle slopes of the hillside to the Pacific Ocean below.
Pax mentioned the hand-carved bar and the infinity pool as two of the guests’ favorite features, then led her to the kitchen through an arched doorway off of the main room. Dark wood cabinets, light stone countertops, and expensive-looking stainless appliances filled the space. An oversized wooden table, which could easily seat twelve, sat along an open wall overlooking the pool and the ocean beyond.
“Hola, Susanna,” Pax greeted a matronly Latino woman working at the kitchen island. “Sage, this is Susanna. She’s a gifted chef who demands complete control over the kitchen and our menu.” His teasing smile countered any harshness in his words. “Susanna, this is Sage, our newest guest and an old friend of mine from the States.”
The chef’s head snapped up and her hands stilled on the plantain she was cutting. Sage tensed as Susanna scrutinized her, looking her up and down with a scowl. “Welcome to La Vida,” she said in a reserved voice.
“Thank you. It’s nice to be here.”
Okay, that wasn’t true, but the chef’s frosty welcome had thrown her off. Susanna’s short, round frame practically vibrated with a protective territorialism.
“I’m hungrier than a cowboy at a vegan restaurant,” a voice boomed behind them. “Susie, what kinda grub you got for me to snack on?”
Sage turned to see a husky man in his fifties round the corner into the kitchen. He had buzz-cut brown hair, deeply tanned skin that had likely never known sunblock, and the thick neck of a former athlete.
“Sorry, ma’am. I thought all the guests were out for the afternoon. I’m Brick, La Vida’s best guide.”
Sage shook the meaty hand he extended to her. “Brick?”
“I didn’t choose it, ma’am,” he said in an unmistakable Southern accent. A smile crinkled the corners of his brown eyes. “My family started calling me that when I was still in diapers ‘cause I’m built like a brick. ‘Course my daddy said it was ‘cause my head is thicker than a brick. Either way, the name stuck.”
“Brick leads many of the adventure activities we offer,” Pax said. “In fact, tomorrow morning he’ll be in charge of your horseback tour.”
“I’m here to work, not play. Anyway, I don’t ride.”
“There’s nothing to worry about.” Pax gave her a calming smile, addressing her like she was a skittish colt. “All of our activities are perfectly safe.”
Sage crossed her arms. She was surprised he didn’t offer her a carrot or a sugar cube. “I’m not worried. I just don’t see why it’s necessary for me to participate in any excursions. I’m not on vacation. I’m here to assess your financial viability.”
“La Vida is set apart from other resorts by our unique selection of activities. Not only do we have a full range of adventure excursions, we also give guests the opportunity to take part in our social outreach
program.”
“Social outreach program?” Sage questioned.
“Yes, ma’am,” Brick interjected, enthusiasm etched on his face. “There’s nothing else like it in the region. Pax and Logan have been busier setting up that program than a cat trying to bury poop under a marble floor.”
Pax grimaced. “We could’ve lived without that visual, Brick.”
“Sorry, boss.” Brick turned to Pax and lowered his voice. “I was going to say busier than a two-dollar trollop on nickel night, but ladies are present.”
Sage bit back a grin at the pained expression on Pax’s face. “So what does the social outreach program actually do?” she asked.
Pax shot her a relieved smile. “It allows guests to get involved with the community around them. They can spend the morning reading to local school children or working on one of the projects La Vida funds in the community. We’re about to landscape the playground of an elementary school. You’re helping there later in the week.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m fine with volunteering, but I’ll pass on the adventure excursions.”
“You could have reviewed all of our financials in your office in Wisconsin,” Pax said. “There was no need for you to travel here simply to look at our books. I’m sure you realize the importance of having more than just a theoretical understanding of a business. Until you have a hands-on experience of what La Vida can offer, how can you adequately evaluate her?”
Damn. He had her there. “Fine. I’ll go along with Brick on the excursions to observe, but I am not a fan of adventure. I may or may not participate.”
“That’s your choice.” Pax dipped his head in concession. “How about I show you to your villa? It’s on the beach.”
After brief good-byes to Brick and Susanna, Sage and Pax walked from the kitchen to the sunny pool deck surrounding the serene bay-shaped infinity pool.
“We’re walking?” she asked.
Pax gestured toward two stone paths on either side of the pool leading down the hillside. “All the villas are within easy walking distance of the hacienda. To reach yours, all you have to do is follow me down the right path.”