Paradise Point

by Dana Volney

  “What’s up?” She leaned back on the counter. “I’m ready to soak up all your knowledge today. Just go easy on me.”

  “You haven’t heard?”

  “Heard what?”

  Eddie nodded toward the bar. “Adam’s back.”

  Was he back to claim his half? What in the world was she going to do now?

  Her stomach knotted as she leaned forward to peer into the bar area. His head was down as he wiped off the bar with a white rag. She squinted to make sure.

  Adam was her new neighbor and business partner.

  She thumped her coffee down and hurried into the bar.

  “You’re Vam’s grandson?”

  He raised his head and she stared into big, almond-shaped eyes. They widened for a millisecond when they locked onto hers. If she didn’t dislike him so much, she might’ve melted into his muscled arms that stretched over his T-shirt. She might have even let herself admire his hard body and his compelling brown eyes. Instead, she resisted her urges and set her facial expression to pissed.

  A slow smile crossed his face as he smirked. “Hello again.” He stuck out his hand. “Adam Lark. You must be Liv Barnette.”

  She glanced at his hand. She wanted to bat it away and throat punch him. “You could’ve told me last night who you were.” She slid her hand into his larger one and shook it defiantly. Once. I can’t believe we used to play naked together in a baby pool.

  “I didn’t know who you were, Barnette.” He held her hand a moment too long for her liking.

  “I clearly knew Vam. You could’ve identified yourself and sidestepped the whole issue.”

  He threw the rag into the sink behind him. “You were on a roll. You could’ve minded your own business and there never would’ve been an issue.”

  “You are unbelievable.”

  How in the hell am I going to work with this guy? This must be the other shoe to drop.

  • • •

  Adam watched Liv fume. Her oval face, set in anger, showed off her stunning green eyes. Or were they blue? No, they were green, with half moons of blue on the bottom. He’d never seen such attention-getting eyes. He didn’t let his stare loiter on any part of her for too long; he didn’t want her getting the wrong impression. He didn’t want to get to know her, he didn’t want to date her, and he didn’t want to sleep with her.

  “You seem to be right at home.” Liv scowled at the clean bar and back at him.

  “I know my way around this place. I know how to work the gas docks, cash register, and front counter … all of it.”

  Her expression started to soften. Adam stifled a grunt. He hated pity.

  He squared up with her. She was too high and mighty for his tastes. “This is, after all, my grandma’s place”—he paused—“or was.” He regrouped, pushing away the familiar feeling of loss that now lay heavier. “What I can’t figure out is how you finagled a share.”

  “Maybe because I actually spent time with her,” Liv’s sharp tongue was quick to respond. “We were … friends.” Tears caressed the outside of her eyelid briefly before she blinked them away. “She listened to me and helped me. We had great times together.”

  Adam had religiously made return trips to the island throughout his time at college and even through his Army Ranger and combat diver days. Since he joined Wingfield Intelligence Group—WIG for short—as a team leader for his expert group specializing in tactical underwater infiltration, visits became sporadic. He’d found it easier to slowly distance himself. A fact that, in hindsight, he regretted. Liv might’ve inserted herself in his grandma’s life, but he wouldn’t let her do that to him.

  “So, you guys were BFFs for how long? A week?” he asked.

  His own intelligence operatives at WIG had dug up that Liv had great credit, graduated with a business degree from the local university, didn’t stay at jobs very long, never married, and was an only child. What he should’ve requested was her picture. If he had, then he’d have been prepared for what stood in from of him: a long-legged blonde who wore minimal makeup but still managed to be captivating.

  Adam should’ve guessed the woman who was buying the boat next to his grandma’s would also be the one she’d leave half his inheritance to. In his defense, Vam’s mentioning the woman once didn’t exactly seem like a leave-half-your-stuff-to-her kind of relationship. When he’d found out that Vam had changed her will about a week before she died, the whole deal became even more suspicious. Liv topped his priority list—he’d get to the bottom of Vam’s reasoning.

  “You’d know if you’d been around,” she snapped.

  “You know nothing about my relationship with Vam.”

  “How would anyone?” She steeled her fierce eyes. “If you’ll excuse me, I have … things to learn.”

  She whipped around but stopped abruptly when he spoke.

  “Whoa, babycakes. I’m training you.”

  It was cute how she thought they weren’t going to spend any time together. Adam intended to get to know Liv and then decide how to handle the situation. Not that he really had a choice—she had already signed on the dotted line for the marina—but he had his ways if he decided she didn’t deserve it.

  In the blink of an eye she stood facing him, closer than she had before. The scent of faint coconut and lime relaxed him until he realized its origin. And she smells great. Just wonderful.

  “You?” Her word dripped with annoyance.

  That fact made Adam smile. “Yeah. I thought it’d be a great way for us to get to know each other—”

  “I already know enough, thanks.”

  “—back when I thought this would be the first time we met,” he finished.

  Could this girl be any more high maintenance? Fuck me, what did Vam see in her?

  Adam let his frustration simmer on the inside. Outwardly, he maintained his cool and collected air.

  “Have you ever bartended?” he asked.

  “Define bartend.” She raised a daring eyebrow.

  “Serving drinks to others … professionally.” He watched the ends of her lips start to move upward.

  “Then no. My friends have kind of banned me from making drinks. Not the right ratios for their liking.”

  “We don’t want to serve weak drinks here. Bad business.”

  Liv’s index finger swirled counter-clockwise in the air. “Do I look like a lightweight? Other way around, babycakes.”

  “Well, we don’t want to lose money because you’re an alcoholic either.” He grabbed a glass to test her knowledge on the ABCs of liquor.

  Liv chortled. “You’re such an ass. I gather this means you’re staying around a while? I was hoping you’d be a silent partner.”

  His eyes met hers and she winked. A tingle swirled around his waist. She was pretty and he hated that. This entire scenario would’ve been a lot easier had Liv turned out to be a sixty-year-old, muumuu-wearing, walker-dependent woman.

  “You’re stuck with me.” Adam faintly moved an eyebrow up. “Just as Vam had intended.”

  Vam, apparently, had some sick kind of humor he had been previously unaware of, or her plan all along had been to force him choose to give up the marina instead of her making that choice for him. Classic Vam. It couldn’t possibly have been to saddle him with Liv. This too-cute-for-her-own-good smartass who stood hatefully in front of him had no potential to be a good partner. They were obviously oil and water.

  Or, maybe Vam intended he keep half the marina and be more grounded in life. That option sounded more like his grandma. She’d always respected his career decisions, but deep down he knew she worried. He wished he could talk to the one person who had put him in this mess, but no matter how often he reached for his phone to call her, she wasn’t there, nor would she be. That summed up his life: no family, just work and the good people in it.

  The bright orange belt on Liv’s khaki shorts caught his attention. “Are you ready for your first day of camp, Barnette?” he asked.

  She peered down, following hi
s eyes, and shrugged. “What’s wrong with orange? I’m not laughing at your couldn’t-care-less beach ensemble. What are you? Seventeen? You don’t present as an owner. You look like you just woke up in the sand.” She spied his half-finished beer and rolled her eyes. “No wonder.”

  “I drank that when I saw you walk in,” he lied. He’d just really needed the familiar taste at the crack of dawn after an exhausting couple of weeks.

  They were back in a staring competition, fighting for the alpha position. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone head to head with a woman, outside of work. They usually agreed with him and laughed for no reason, touching his bicep as they giggled. Why did women think overlaughing and grabbing at a guy’s arm turned men on? Maybe it did for some, but that didn’t work for him.

  Eddie walked up and broke the connection. “I see you two are getting acquainted.”

  Liv scoffed and he followed. More like learning all the reasons why Vam went crazy, he thought. Maybe I should contest her will. That idea had a nice ring to it. Good ol’ Eddie would manage the marina for him when he went back to work.

  Eddie continued in spite of silence. “There’s a customer at the counter who wants to speak with someone about a boat rental. Any takers?”

  “I’ll do it,” popped out of Liv’s mouth just as Adam said, “me” at the same time.

  “Okay. I’ll oversee things here. You two figure this out. She’s at the counter.” Eddie pointed to the main cash register.

  Liv stayed on Adam’s heels to the counter. Damn, woman, back off.

  • • •

  She was not getting bulldozed today. Not by this know-it-all who may, or may not, actually know it all when it came to Paradise Point.

  You’re the outsider here. Be humble, her inner voice advised. She’d already let some zingers fly that she’d instantly regretted. He just rubbed her the wrong way and put her on the defense. While he may not be acting like it, this had to be a rough situation for him, too.

  “Good morning,” Adam greeted the customer first.

  Liv stood beside him, so close she could almost feel his skin touching hers. A mixture of ginger, ocean, and a hint of sandalwood found its way into her air space. Damn him for smelling so good.

  She smiled brightly at the woman holding a rental brochure. She had listened a few times as Vam had gone over the rental rates and policies. She had this.

  “Can we help you with a rental today?” Liv asked.

  “What are the hours for a half day and full day for the pontoon boat?” the woman asked in an abnormally high-pitched voice.

  “Eight to noon or one to five for the half day, and eight to five for the full day,” Liv proudly rattled off.

  “Actually, we start the rentals at seven thirty—” Adam started.

  “No, we don’t,” she cut in.

  She was sure about the hours. That was the main question people had always asked Vam whether on the phone or in person.

  “Yeah we do.” Adam put his hands on his hips.

  “No.” Liv briskly swiped the brochure from the short woman’s hands, opened it, and pointed to the times under rentals. “We don’t.”

  Sure enough, it was printed in black and white. Liv turned her head slightly to him. She watched as Adam’s jaw muscles clenched, relaxed, and tightened again. I might not know everything, but I do know some things and I’m not an idiot. She didn’t need to say her thoughts out loud; she knew he saw the meaning in her smirk.

  She should’ve diverted her gaze, but she couldn’t. His masculine, dark eyebrows framed stunning brown eyes. Liv melted a little. Dammit. She was a sucker for the tall, dark, and handsome. She really needed to work on changing that preference.

  “Are you interested in renting one today?” Adam’s hands left his hips and he braced one on the counter to his right, crossing his right ankle over his straight left leg.

  Stupid how men could brush off their emotions so quickly. Liv noticed the customer hadn’t answered Adam’s question. The woman stared with eyes as wide as she could possibly make them without hurting herself, pursed her lips, and moved her eyes from Liv to Adam and back again. A large man, taller than Adam by what seemed like a foot, rolled up behind the woman.

  “What’d they say? Can we take it out today?” His deep voice made it hard to understand his words.

  “She just ripped the paper right out of my hands, Burt.” The woman swiveled her neck and looked straight up. “I have a paper cut!”

  Liv glanced at her hands clenching the paper in question. What’d you know—in her zeal to prove Adam wrong, she’d gotten a little caught up in the moment. Liv’s cheeks started to tighten and she knew they were growing pink.

  “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I didn’t mean to…” She held the brochure out for the woman.

  “I want to speak to the manager right now.” The man spoke directly to Adam.

  “You’re looking at him.” Adam’s tone didn’t change.

  How did he stay so even keeled? Adam didn’t even bat an eye at the bigger, taller, and probably stronger man.

  “Is this the kind of establishment you have here?”

  The booming voice made Liv recoil a millimeter.

  “I’m very sorry. This unfortunate turn of events can be fixed. How about a complimentary lunch while you two plan out your day?” Adam grabbed a book from under the counter. “We do have an available pontoon this afternoon if you’re interested.”

  “I should say not,” the woman said.

  “So you’re not going to do anything about this?” Again, the husband addressed Adam.

  This was not Liv’s day to get bulldozed by this jackass, either. She moved to stand right in front of the big guy.

  “Folks, I think we’ve been more than fair and I agree with Adam. Besides, we aren’t managers. We’re the owners.”

  “Well, then, you two deserve each other.” The Hulk shuffled his wife out the door.

  “We’re not together!” Liv called after them. They were crazy, and she didn’t appreciate the sexist one, but she really wanted that point to be clear.

  Adam was leaning more of his powerful body on the counter and folding his arms. “Way to go, Captain Awesome.”

  “Well…” She jutted her chin toward him. “I was right.”

  “At the cost of a customer.”

  “Touché.” What could she say? He was right. She shrugged.

  “All right. So you obviously picked up some things here and there about the job. That’s good.” He surveyed the area. “Let’s just start here.”

  Adam taught her the register, where goods were stored, and they discussed the boat rental situation a little more to make sure they read from the same page on the process. They moved on to the restaurant and then back to the bar with only moderate mêlées along the way.

  Liv sat up to the bar and her stomach rumbled. They’d been at it all morning and into the afternoon without a bite to eat. She’d manage to grab coffee, but now she needed food. Real food. Good food.

  She nearly glared at Adam, who busied himself behind the counter again.

  “Don’t you ever stop?” she asked.

  “Not when there’s stuff that needs to get done.”

  She loudly sighed. “Whatever. I need sustenance.” She glanced over her back at the restaurant and took in a deep whiff of grilling beef, ketchup, and fried potatoes. Heavenly. Maybe today she’d get back up on the cheeseburger-and-fries horse. “I’m gonna get a cheeseburger. Want one?”

  “Sure.”

  She stood, stretched, and closed her eyes for a moment. They’d gone over a lot of information and she hadn’t written down one thing. Damn her stupid pride. She’d paid attention the best she could, praying it all sank in. Any hope she had of retaining the instruction was based on her next meal. And more coffee.

  • • •

  Liv wiped her napkin over her lips after her delicious lunch and cleared her throat. “I’ve been thinking about updates.” She could feel the air
on Adam’s side of the bar cool.

  “Like?”

  “The sign, for one. The wood is rotting and the paint is barely holding on.”

  “Vam made that sign.”

  Note to self: hands off the sign. “The deck could use a good sealant, and I was thinking of redecorating.” She diverted her eyes to the placards and old liquor and beach decorations nailed to the walls and taped to the windows. “I like the feel, but I think a new type of look is needed. Make things a little fresher.”

  “This place has a feel. It’s called marina.”

  “Don’t you think some upgrades here and there would give it new life, though?”

  “I like the old life.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” Liv said.

  “Then what did you mean?”

  “I have a … nest egg, and I’d like to use it to spruce up the place. Make this the cool spot to be. Increase business. We could do some advertising. I was thinking—”

  “No.” Adam cut her off.

  “You’re not even going to consider my ideas?”

  “Nope.”

  “I own half, ya know.” She was not giving up on her newfound path in life.

  “I’m painfully aware,” he said.

  “We can’t let this place sit and get older and older. If money is the issue, I don’t mind using mine.” That was what it was for. She conveniently left out the part about it really being Vam’s money. One hurdle at a time. She’d taken out a loan to purchase the houseboat. She hadn’t touched one cent of the check yet. She didn’t feel right using the money on anything but the marina.

  “Maybe I don’t want you to put a dime in because I want to buy out your half.”

  “Maybe I want to buy you out.” Liv’s annoyance rocketed to levels on par with Mariah Carey’s screeching notes.

  “That’ll never happen.”

  “And you’re not getting my half either. So, since we’re stuck with each other for the foreseeable future, I have ideas I want to discuss.”

  “Nothing gets changed. Period.”

  She gathered her plate and glass, stood, and cocked her head. “Fine. Have it your way. We won’t discuss the changes I’ll be making.” She sauntered to the kitchen. I’ve got some great ideas. He’ll see.