by Ellie Hall
They stood toe to toe. She lifted her chin and he dipped his head.
He met those sparkling, beautiful eyes of hers. “I know this is unusual, unconventional, but Billie, will you do me the honor of marrying me?” he asked.
Then as though compelled, he opened the box.
Her eyes never left his. There was a question between them, but his answer was in his actions.
Was it crazy? Yes.
Was it rash? Sure.
Did he mean it? Absolutely.
His eyes must have said as much because hers lit up.
She took his hands in hers and said, “Yes, Rhodes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Chapter 7
Billie
It was true that Billie Fisher had never left Florida. She didn’t go to college. She’d had few experiences outside the ones provided by working at, then owning, a restaurant. But that was not to say she was dumb, naïve, or sheltered. But as she and Rhodes walked back toward town after saying goodbye to Memaw she felt a little punch-drunk.
The waves rolled softly to one side of Mansion Mile. A gentle breeze rustled the palm fronds overhead. The loose sand on the road crunched under their sneakers. It was an ordinary night, but something extraordinary had happened.
Billie felt elated, joyful, certain.
She wasn’t sure she liked Rhodes, but something unusual, deep, and inexplicable had passed between them that resulted in a feeling inside her that transcended like. And she had a ring on her finger to prove it.
Passing under a streetlight, she studied how it sparkled. Mesmerized, she let out a contented sigh much like the one that had escaped after she’d surrendered to Rhodes’s tickle attack. There was a moment afterward when they were slouched on the sofa, side by side, when he’d turned to her, when their lips had nearly connected. But maybe a kiss wasn’t necessary because they’d connected in an unbelievable, unexpected, and even deeper way.
The pair were silent as they continued, either both still under an enchanted spell of wonder and shock or not quite sure what to say. Billie was equally divided between both.
As they entered the town proper with its low buildings and strings of lights in the trees, a certain trepidation started to worm its way into Billie’s mind. Her steps slowed as they neared the Sandy Shore Inn.
“Can I walk you home?” Rhodes asked.
“Aren’t you staying here?” she asked, pointing at the white building with a wide front porch.
“No, I rented a house over on Cormorant Place while I’m in town.”
“I’m on Egret. Opposite direction.” She pointed.
“Well,” he said.
“Well,” she repeated. She couldn’t help it, but she extended her hand and admired the ring.
“Well, maybe we should get to know each other,” he suggested. “Considering—” He gestured to her hand.
“Well, I suppose that’s not a bad idea.”
“Do you know anywhere I can get a bite to eat at this hour?” His stomach grumbled. “It seems like Blue Bay Beach closes up shop pretty early.”
“It’s Sunday,” she said as if that was explanation enough.
His attention turned to a weathered wooden sign. “Hmm. Maybe somewhere with casual dining that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner like Coconut Cove Café. Too bad they’re not open. They have delicious Bimini bread. I happen to know that a really cute waitress works there too.”
“Cute?” she asked.
“I call her Cutey, but she’s more like beautiful.”
Billie’s cheeks flared.
“I wouldn’t mind having dinner with her there.”
Her lips quirked. “Yeah, I know the place. In fact, I own it.”
“So, my fiancé is a proud business owner. Good to know. By the way, sorry about thinking that you were a guy.”
“Happens all the time.” She gave him a forgiving smile.
“Do you bake the Bimini bread as well, making you a baker?”
She nodded. “I wear many hats. Also, it’s a secret family recipe.”
“As far as I’m concerned it’s a delicious family recipe and you look good in that hat, though I can’t say I’m a fan of the Riptide.” He jiggled the brim of her hat.
She ignored the comment about her favorite football team because once more, Rhodes was heating up the space between them. “Are you saying you like my Bimini bread? Because if so, I can overlook the, ‘I’m not a fan of the Riptide’ comment.”
“I really do like your Bimini bread.” He leaned back, resting his forearms on the rail at the end of the dock. The smile he wore was all kinds of flirty.
Her belly lifted and rolled like the waves on the nearby shore. “You’ve only had it a few times.”
He shrugged as if quantity didn’t matter so much as quality. “I might be addicted.”
“Then you have a problem.” Her pulse quickened at the intensity of his gaze, lingering on her, eating her up like she was a slice of Bimini bread fresh out of the oven. It was different than the long-held eye contact at Mrs. Thorpe’s and ignited a different but powerful sensation inside of her.
“I might have a problem. But if so, there are worse ones to have,” Rhodes said.
At the word problem, a sudden vision flashed before Billie’s eyes of the restaurant and the town at her back gone and in its place the Sand Dollar Resort. In all its quaint, sleepiness Blue Bay Beach was real, it was her reality, and the resort was a replica, a fake. It was like she was splashed with cold water.
“I have a problem too. It’s you, Rhodes.”
He tilted back as though the words were a blow to his large frame. Then he straightened. “Come on, don’t talk to your fiancé like that.”
“Rhodes, we’re enemies. This is all fake.” She waved her finger between them and the ring caught in the low light.
Confusion flickered across his features. “But you said yes.”
“How was I supposed to say no?” She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing the vision of the possible future hadn’t interrupted the magic that was exploding between them, but she had to face reality. No way was she going to be lured into thinking anything between them could work even though a big part of her wanted it to.
“How were you supposed to say no?” he repeated. “Like this.” He leaned in, closing the space between them. His hands landed on her jaw as he moved in slow motion like he wanted to give her a moment to anticipate his mouth meeting hers and what a kiss from him would be like. It was like he gave her time to say no.
But she didn’t.
Her eyes closed and she let him kiss her. It became all sensation: touch, smell, taste, sound.
His lips were softer yet stronger than she imagined. They were demanding yet generous. He was a giant of a man yet tender at the same time.
He alternated between little pecks and deeper, more intense kisses that tasted like peppermint and were somehow sweet.
They were like a nibble of a cookie and the whole thing.
It was like dipping her toes in and diving in.
There was the promise and the fulfillment.
The yearning for more and the delivery.
It was a drop of the ocean and the entire expanse.
Feelings, big and small, flooded her body.
She wanted more and Rhodes gave it as his hands moved to the space just behind her arms, drawing her closer. One moved to her spine and the other shifted to cradle the back of her head.
He kissed her with meaning and purpose.
With tenderness and devotion.
With like and love.
She hadn’t seen that coming when he’d sat down at her counter that first time.
Their foreheads tapped together as he pulled back for a moment, meeting her eyes.
“You can still say no,” he breathed.
She didn’t want to. She wanted to shout yes, but instead, she lifted her chin and kissed him back because maybe for them words were dangerous, false, but action told the truth.
Her
pulse raced and she could feel the thundering of the heart he hid in his chest, under his brawny, tough businessman persona.
Warmth spread between them as they clasped hands, as she pressed him against the dock rail, as her lips crashed against his, demanding more.
The waves crested in her stomach, rising like a tsunami, about to flood the village.
At the reminder of her town, she lowered onto her feet.
He was breathing hard.
She closed her eyes, trying, once more, to wipe away the vision of Blue Bay Beach decimated as she stood at the foot of the dock. It was like a crossroads.
“Are you good at everything you do?” she asked, hoping his answer was no. Despite being The Suit, maybe he was a terrible businessman and the deal would fall through.
He grunted at the same time his stomach growled, reminding her of her own hunger.
“Come on. You saved me from choking to death. I’ll save you from starving. Then we go back to being rivals.”
As she flipped on the lights inside Coconut Cove Café, an idea appeared.
It could’ve been the mystery or chemistry of attraction between two people, the moments she and Rhodes had shared at Memaw’s, her stories, or something else entirely, but hope flickered inside like the starlight glistening off the water in the distance. Perhaps if she showed him what Blue Bay Beach was like, things would work out.
“Engaged rivals,” he called to her.
The ring sparkled in the dim light.
She needed a moment to think and she did her best thinking on a full stomach. Good thing she was at the restaurant.
Chapter 8
Rhodes
Without a word, Billie disappeared into the kitchen of the Coconut Cove Café.
Rhodes found the washroom to freshen up then as he wandered back down the hall toward the main dining area, he paused in front of numerous photographs. The first group depicted the town in the 1950s then moved through time until the early 2000s. It was like watching a slideshow as the area grew, but somehow preserved the small town, old time charm. There was even a mint green Chevy, circa the fifties, in both the early and more recent shots.
As Rhodes continued down what must’ve been Billie’s family’s memory lane, he came to a couple labeled Frank and Priscilla. Once again, they aged as the town grew. There were photos of them with famous singers and celebrities who must’ve been guests at the café over the years. Then came a man holding a baby. The mother, Priscilla was not in any of the images after that. The man beamed at the little girl as she grew, but a sadness snuffed out the light that had been present in his eyes in earlier shots.
Rhodes shook his head, wondering what tragedy had befallen the Fisher family. Before he reached the most recent photos, footsteps approached.
“Trying to figure me out?” Billie asked, holding two plates containing sandwiches and piled with chips.
“That’s just it. I can’t figure you out, Billie,” he said, following her into the dining room. “You go from warm to cool, then cold, then warm, then hot, now cold again.” He moved his finger in the air as if to keep track of her many moods. “What made you soften all of a sudden then harden and then soften again?”
“My father was a very forgiving man and I try my best to be like him,” she said simply. She set the plates on either side of a small table by the window then sat down. “I figured since your grandmother likes a Rueben sandwich, you would too. Also, don’t blame me if it's terrible. I’m not renowned for my cooking skills.”
Rhodes was starved and sunk his teeth into the sandwich. He may not have been able to figure Billie out, but she was definitely an amazing cook despite her comment. It was the best, most delicious sandwich he’d ever eaten and that wasn’t because he was so hungry. “Don’t tell Memaw,” he said around a mouthful. “Best. Reuben. Ever.”
“Why shouldn’t I tell her? You heard her say that she orders one every week.”
“She used to make them for me when I was growing up. I claimed hers were the best. You’ve got her beat.”
Billie forced away a smile that he was desperate to see. She had the kind of smile that was like endless summers, like warm sunshine. It made him want to kiss her again. Maybe after he had a mint or piece of gum.
She hardly touched her meal. “So what are we going to do about the fact that we’re rivals?”
“Engaged rivals,” he repeated.
She rolled her eyes. “We live on opposite ends of the town you’re bent on leveling to the ground. I hardly think this ring will change that.”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I guess I do see that being a problem.” He’d meant it as a joke because he intended to show Billie how amazing the resort would be, how it would bring jobs and revitalize the area.
“A major problem, Rhodes.”
“Also, you’re a Miami Riptide fan,” he said, shaking his head with mock disdain.
She tipped her hat then waved her hand at his shirt. “And you like the Loser Bruisers.”
He pointed at his shirt with the Boston Bruisers Football team logo. “I’m originally from Massachusetts. It’s practically a birthright.”
“Oh, so you’re from one of those old money families like the Kennedys or—”
“Something like that. But what would you know? You’ve never left Florida.”
Her eyebrows lowered. “I’ll pretend that you didn’t mean that as an insult.”
“I meant it as a joke. If we were to get married and the resort gets built, we can travel the world.”
She shook her head slowly. “Does Memaw know about your grand plans? What’s going to happen to her house, or rather, mansion?”
Rhodes shifted in his seat because he hadn’t quite gotten to that part of the plan yet. In fact, he’d detoured from the plan, the map, or whatever it was that he’d used to successfully guide himself through all of his previous business transactions. Since arriving in Blue Bay Beach, or more accurately since meeting Billie, he felt lost, adrift, unsure. Rhodes could not afford uncertainty. Not when so much money was at stake. Not when he was finally going to make his father proud. At the same time, he wanted to see where the thing with him and Billie might go. He felt like there could be a future for them; he just wasn’t sure how.
“What are we going to do, Rhodes?” she asked as though reading his thoughts.
“I don’t know. Sometimes they say opposites attract or the stormiest relationships are also the most passionate ones.”
“Oh, come on. Please. You go from wanting to tear down my restaurant to asking me to marry you to wanting to dine at my restaurant. Just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you can have whatever you want.”
“No, you’re right.” He gazed out the window then at Billie.
Their eyes locked. If it were daytime, they’d match the surrounding water. He didn’t mind being lost in her. No, not one bit.
“But here’s the thing. I’m not sure what I want.” Part of the truth escaped his lips. It was a risk, he knew, but so was the kiss—the kiss that had blown his world apart and confirmed his feelings for her.
“That’s a surprise because you stomped into town pretty clear about what you wanted.”
“Seeing Memaw...” he said vaguely.
“She softened you to Blue Bay Beach?”
He shrugged. “Or you could give into the billionaire.” Until he figured out a plan, he’d stick with the original course of action.
Billie squawked a laugh. “What’s the offer?”
“Well, we’re already engaged.”
“We are not engaged.”
His eyes drifted to her right hand. “You said yes. You haven’t taken off the ring.”
She shifted her gaze to the sea, but she didn’t deny the truth with a response. “I’m using it as collateral.”
The spark between them was undeniable, despite what she said or didn’t say.
“It’s beautiful on you,” he murmured.
He felt caught in a trap, unsure how t
o resolve things and create a win-win situation for everyone—in business, that was what his grandfather had taught him. But whatever was going on between them wasn’t business. It wasn’t a game. He didn’t know what it was other than maybe, just maybe, something real. But it was as though neither one of them wanted to admit it.
“Mmm.” She admired the shiny band and glistening stone on the ring. “But you do realize how ridiculous this is,” she said with a bit of what sounded like apprehension in her voice.
“Much better than the fake one. Why were you wearing an engagement ring anyway?”
She sighed. “I guess to keep from people getting the wrong idea.”
“Which was?”
“That I was available. Before I started wearing it, I’d get asked out all the time.”
“No big surprise there.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by that?”
He didn’t need a guidebook for what he knew was absolutely true, what was plain to his eyes. “Because you’re beautiful. Big blue eyes. Your smile. That adorable little tooth there on the side.”
“My crooked tooth?” Her tongue grazed over it.
“It’s less crooked than you think. It’s adorable. Your eyebrows are very expressive. Your cheeks are very kissable. Oh, and your lips.” He smiled and his eyelids lowered. “You have a laid back, but ticklish look about you. Any guy would be nuts not to ask you out.”
“Any guy would be nuts to ask me to marry him.”
“Count me as crazy.” Rhodes chuckled.
“If that’s what you think then why, when we were at your grandmother’s, did you criticize me for being short, feisty, and what was it? Too big for my britches?” Her mouth twisted.
His lips quirked. “I needed to know if I could tell you how I really feel.”
“Is it that big a risk?”
“Big guys have farther to fall.”
“Are you teasing me about my height again? It’s not my fault you’re a giant.” She flung her arms in front of her chest.