by Jessa Eden
The first place Mrs. Thorngood stopped by was Beau’s office. “This is Mr. Shepard’s study. He uses it quite a lot, but it’s stacked with books if you want to borrow something.”
Black bookshelves were built-in along all four walls, which popped against the light blue paint. A simple black desk resembling a table sat in the middle of the room, while a rich cream marble with black diamond inlays ran along the floor, contrasting with the white coffered ceiling.
I ran my hand along the different books on a nearby shelf. Titles like Patriot Games, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and A Game of Thrones caught my eye.
Did Beau read for fun now?
I hoped so.
“Come along, dear,” Mrs. Thorngood called as she stepped out into the hall.
“Yeah, sure.”
She showed me around the rest of the house, each room more spectacular than the one before. His house had warmth and color, which was a far cry from the one he grew up in. I was glad to see him embrace a cozier vibe, even if it was dripping in sophistication and designed by professionals.
Mrs. Thorngood took me outside to show me the rest of his property. The grounds were immaculate with an orchard of trees growing oranges and mangos, while other plant life, such as palm trees and tropical flowers, popped against the terracotta color of the Mediterranean style villa.
His property was a good twenty-five acres. His nearest neighbor was across the cove from where his estate sat, with the mansion right on the beach. The warm, turquoise water lapped against the white sand, beckoning me to come play. I was definitely going to need a bathing suit.
After touring the outside, Mrs. Thorngood led me upstairs to a spacious bedroom. It was beautiful with a king sized bed, draped in a canopy of sheer white material hanging off each of the wrought iron posts. Very romantic.
My room faced the sea. I could definitely get used to waking up to that gorgeous view each morning. I was suddenly thrilled with my predicament. I couldn’t ask for more than a night in paradise.
“The chef is cooking up a nice Mahi Mahi fish for a late lunch. It will be served in about twenty minutes in the dining room,” Mrs. Thorngood informed me as she opened up the window and the sound of the ocean rolled in.
“That sounds delicious.”
“Yes, it is. Mr. Shepard always brings in the best chefs.”
She bid me good day as I stared at the beautiful water crashing into the shore. So beautiful.
I didn’t have anything to unpack, so I wandered into the stunning bathroom, complete with a claw foot tub, to see if I could freshen up. I found some toiletries like designer shampoo, conditioner, and soap, but that wasn’t going to cut it. I was going to have to get some more things for my stay.
My tummy rumbled with hunger, so I wandered downstairs and found my way into the dining room. It was quite charming with a Caribbean flavored design fused into the room with a couple of tropical ceiling fans and a lime green accent wall.
Beau was already there, sitting at the head of the long, rustic, wooden table as I arrived. He smiled, welcoming me in. He was acting different. Civil. Nice. I didn’t know what to think of his friendliness, but I was in too good of a mood to care.
I sat down and we were served an amazing spread of Caribbean fare as the chef brought out all the food. Every bite was delicious. I loved the jasmine rice and asparagus with the Mahi-Mahi.
“When are you planning on heading back?” I asked Beau as I put my fork down after finishing off my food.
“A couple of days. I don’t get down here very often and I have some pressing business to attend to.”
“Oh.”
He shot me a big smile. “That doesn’t mean you can’t play. The house and staff are at your disposal. You can come and go as you please.”
It was tempting to stay that long. I hadn’t had a vacation in a long time.
“What about clothes?”
“You can go shopping later this afternoon and pick up what you need.”
“What about a toothbrush?”
“We have plenty.”
“I bet you do,” I said, thinking about the many women who had probably shared his bed down here.
He read my thoughts. “Nothing like that, Marla. I’m just a man who’s prepared for anything.”
I didn’t know whether to believe him or not, but I would give him the benefit of the doubt. “Good to know. I guess it wouldn’t be horrible to spend some time in paradise. It’s been awhile since I had a vacation. Owning my own business hasn’t left me a lot time to get away.”
His blue eyes filled with understanding. “I know the feeling...work, work, work.”
“Yeah, what do you do for fun these days?”
He shot me a mischievous look, which reminded me of when he was a teenager. “Well—“
“Wait, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know. Let’s just call it a truce for the time we’re away. You can go back to hating me when we get back and I’ll pretend to be cold and distant.”
He stared at me for a long moment. “I’ve never hated you, Marla.”
“Really? You’ve sent some pretty strong hate vibes my way the last several weeks,” I said, picking up a little spoon to eat the raspberry sorbet Reeves slid onto my plate.
“Trust me, I don’t hate you.”
I was kind of surprised. “Oh, glad to hear it.”
He shot me a warm grin, disarming whatever reservations I had left. “How’s Emma doing? I haven’t seen her in a little while.”
I beamed, always super proud of my sister. “She’s so good. She’s busy with her new family, the salon, and the foundation. But she couldn’t be happier.”
His blue eyes were soulful and bright. “You were a good mom-sister to her,” he admitted unexpectedly.
My cheeks colored. “Thank you. Emma was a great kid, though. She made me look good.”
“No, you had a hard job and you did it well.”
His compliments made me all gooey on the inside. I didn’t know what his angle was, but he had found one of my soft spots.
“Would you like some more wine?” he asked as he signaled for Reeves to refill our glasses.
“Why not? I’m on vacation,” I claimed, holding out my goblet. “How do you get used to it?” I asked, as the butler left the room.
“Get used to what?”
“People waiting on you all the time.”
“They make my life run efficiently. These people are well paid and well treated to see to what I need. Everybody wins in this situation.”
“You do have a point. I guess you do your part to keep the economy going.”
“I guess I do,” he offered with a twinkle in his eye.
“So do they bathe you, too?” I teased, seeing if he would show his sense of humor.
His blue eyes danced with mischief. “No. That I take care of on my own. Unless, of course, you’re offering to do it.” He shot me a wicked grin.
“Hmm…very tempting,” I said, playing along. “But I think I’ll let you shower alone, tonight. Unless, you know, your harem of women are tucked away somewhere to keep you company.”
“Sorry. Fresh out of harems. Plus, I like my women willing and hot.” His stare turned dark with desire.
My pulse quickened. “Glad to hear it. I like men willing and hot, too,” I let out, picking up my wine glass and bringing it to my lips.
Crackle.
Sizzle.
Sizzle.
That fiery connection we had from long ago came roaring back to life as he held my gaze with a smoldering stare.
Oh, boy.
This trip might get complicated.
Real complicated.
He was going to be hard to resist, especially as he reeled me in with one hot sexy glance. It was best to end this conversation while I still could. Otherwise, I might throw myself into his big strapping arms and let him do all kinds of delicious things to me, like hold me down and make love to me.
Whoa, Nelly.
H
e was so damn dangerous to my self-control.
I cleared my throat, trying to cool down my hormones. “If I’m gonna stay a couple of days, I should make some phone calls. Will you excuse me?”
“Sure. Tell Emma I said hello.”
“I will.” I managed to scoot my chair back and walk out of the room.
My cheeks were flushed and my body was in overdrive, wanting something I couldn’t have. Only Beau could make me feel so much with a few words and a sexy stare.
He still wanted me.
God knows, I wanted him.
Ignoring my body’s demands, I headed back to my room. Grabbing my phone out of my purse, I called Emma as I walked through some French doors out onto a beautiful stone balcony located outside my bedroom.
“Hey, Sugarpop!” I greeted as the fresh ocean air caressed my cheek.
“Hey, where are you?” my sister’s sweet voice asked.
“Um…that’s a very good question. I met up with Beau to talk about Charlie and now I’m in a bit of a pickle. I have a huge favor to ask of you.”
“What is it?”
“I need you to cover for me at the salon because I’m currently out of the country.”
“What? Where are you?” she asked with barely contained excitement.
“The Bahamas.”
“What are you doing there?”
“Beau had some papers for me to sign for Charlie’s trust.”
“What kind of money are we talking about?”
She was still bold in her questions.
“Why are you always concerned about that stuff?”
“I don’t know. I just wanna know.”
I sighed into the phone. “It’s more money than Charlie could spend in a lifetime.”
“Wow. How do you feel about it?”
“I don’t know. I worry he won’t make anything of himself and just live on his father’s money floating through life.”
“Maybe you could put some conditions on his trust.”
“Like what?”
“Like he has to give back to the community.”
“Oh, I like that idea. Charlie does have a heart to help people.”
“He does and this will keep him attached to his roots.”
“You’re right. I’ll talk to Beau.”
“How are things going with him?”
“Okay,” I answered vaguely, even as my cheeks flushed red.
“Mm-hmm...I bet they are,” she teased.
I couldn’t get anything by her.
We talked a little longer and she promised to change my appointments as we said goodbye. I was glad I had a sister I could rely on.
After I got off the phone with her, I turned my attention to buying supplies for my stay. I was going to have to head into town for those. I wasn’t sure where to go, so I tracked down Beau in his study to see if he could tell me where to shop.
When I found him, he was staring intently at his laptop as he sat at his desk. I was so glad he had overcome his reading issues and become the confident businessman he clearly was. He never ceased to amaze me. It was one of the many things I loved about him.
“I’d like to talk to you about the conditions on Charlie’s trust,” I said as he glanced up from the screen.
“What about the conditions?”
“I don’t like the idea of handing him money. I want him to be old enough to handle the responsibility, help in the community, work and further his education.”
“It’s already done.”
“Really?”
“You didn’t expect me to write a check for a hundred million dollars, did you?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never considered the responsibility of having so much money before. How do you do it?”
“Carefully. I earned it the hard way, through good old-fashioned hard work. I don’t intend to blow my fortune. That’s why I have a diverse portfolio with different investments.”
“God, you sound like such a business man.”
“That’s what I do, Marla. I’m all about business.”
The way he said it, kind of made me sad. He seemed to throw himself into his company and all of his businesses, but nothing else made him happy.
It occurred to me he needed to have some fun. He had taught me that once. Maybe I could return the favor.
“I’m glad we’re on the same page. Now that Charlie’s trust is settled, wanna go on a walk through town with me?” I asked, coming further into his study.
He sighed. “I’ve got a ton of work to do. I don’t think so.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be this international playboy? And you won’t go on one little walk with me into town? What will become of your reputation?”
He grinned as I tried to persuade him. “I don’t really care about my reputation.”
“Then, come on. It’s a beautiful day, we’re in paradise, and I want to get out and enjoy this fabulous island.”
“You can go without me.”
“I could, but it wouldn’t be as much fun. Come on, Beau. Let’s enjoy this moment fate has given us.”
“Fate, huh?”
I could see his resistance weakening. “Fate. Good old-fashioned fate has brought us together on this beautiful day. We would be remiss not to enjoy it.”
“Remiss...really?” he let out with another smile. “I see you still like to use big words.”
“I do and you never know which one I’ll use next.” I arched my brow. “Are you comin’ or not?”
“Let me wrap up this email and I’ll meet you on the back veranda.”
My toes curled in my Keds as I resisted the urge to break out into my happy dance. “Sure. Sounds good. See you in a bit.”
I managed to stop myself from skipping out of his study, but it was a fight to do so.
It wasn’t much, just a walk, but it gave me hope.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Beau:
When I wasn’t with Marla, I raged against what she had done to me.
But when I was around her, a funny thing happened. She blasted me with good energy, soothing the wild beast inside.
It didn’t make sense.
I tried to remind myself she was treacherous, but it didn’t seem to do much good.
I craved her attention.
So I had the bank conveniently be tied up in other legal matters as I pretended to call my lawyer. Really, I wanted more time to loosen her up and ply her with fresh air and luxurious accommodations to get into her pants.
Things were progressing nicely. She seemed thrilled I was being nice to her.
I was just biding my time.
I let her come to me and set the pace.
It didn’t take long.
She wandered into my office after a late lunch. “You wanna go into town with me?”
Her smile was extra bright, her eyes burning with hope.
She was so beautiful; I had trouble reconciling my feelings whenever she was present. It wasn’t in the plans to go on a walk with her. I should have said no, but I couldn’t resist her sweet plea.
I confess I had a better time than I expected.
We meandered into town, about a mile and a half from my house. We weren’t saying much, but Charlie was on my mind and I decided to ask her about him.
“So what’s he like?” I asked as we walked along a dirt road lined with tall grass and palm trees.
“Are you asking about Charlie?”
“I am.”
Her pretty face lit up with pride. “Our son is an awesome kid. He got the best of both of us. He’s book smart, but he has your sense of fun. He’s always done well in school, although he has gotten in trouble from time to time. When he was seventeen, I caught him running a craps game in the back alley of the public library.”
I chuckled. “Enterprising spirit...sounds like me.”
“Yeah, I found a wad of cash in a pair of his cargo pants, which made me very suspicious and I had to break him down to get him to finally confess to the truth. I’m
just glad it wasn’t drugs.”
“Me too. What else?”
“Let’s see. He went to Baltimore University, earned his degree, and he’s been working at the salon, keeping our books. He’s been close to Emma and looked out for her when she needed it. You should have seen what he did to Micah when he was trying to win Emma back. I almost peed my pants when he told me the story. That boy has no fear, I tell you. He must get that from you.”
I smiled, thinking about Charlie’s antics. “I heard what he did. He pulled something similar on me.”
“No! Really?” Her glance was bright with delighted disbelief.
“Yeah, he dressed up in a tiger speed skating suit and acted like he couldn’t skate. He rolled around, telling me how much fun he was having as he tried to make snow angels on the ice. He would’ve kept it up if Micah hadn’t shown up.”
She let out a beautiful laugh as she threw her head back. “That kid! He’s a corker! I’m glad Micah was able to let you know about his tricks.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, it was good thing because as soon as Charlie realized the gig was up, he started skating beautifully and acting normally.”
“That’s classic Charlie. Total goofball, but all heart.”
“Yeah, I wish I could have seen him grow up.”
“Me, too, Beau,” she agreed quietly.
Her compassionate tone made me want to be honest. “I don’t know, Marla. I’ve missed so much. It feels kinda weird to play catch with my grown up son.”
“Beau, there are no rules or expiration dates to this. It might look different from when he was ten, but follow your instinct. Grab a pizza or take him surfing. He’ll love that.” She gave me a comforting grin. “Don’t overthink it. It’ll be okay. You may need some time to work out the relationship details, but I know my son and he has a desire to connect with you.”
“So you’re cool with us hanging out?”
“Of course I am. I’ve always wanted that for both of you.”
“Did he ask about me growing up?” I asked, my glance swimming in doubt.
She smiled reassuringly. “He did when he realized other kids had a dad around and he didn’t. He would ask me questions every few years and I would tell him as much about you as I thought was appropriate.”
“What was appropriate?”