“Better go,” Hannah said with a smile she totally wasn’t feeling. “Told you I have stuff to do. You don’t want to get me in trouble, do you?”
“Yeah. No. Fine.” He walked away, tossing over his shoulder. “Later, Hannah.”
Alexis smiled triumphantly, turning her nose up in the air.
Hannah had the urge to stick her tongue out at her.
She watched as Alexis linked her arm through his and tried to grab the paper from Drew.
“Nothing,” she could hear him say clearly. He shoved it in his pocket, and she frowned. Her IOU would be completely messed up now—thanks to Alexis.
A part of her was glad he didn’t let Alexis get her paws on that IOU, but a bigger part of her wanted him not to be with Alexis in the first place.
She frowned. What had Drew been doing here anyway? This stretch of the island was usually reserved for the people who worked at the resort, not the guests. There were no lifeguards or fancy chairs—and no one to take your drink or food order either.
She knew Alexis liked to come down here to flirt with Steven, who was an eighteen-year-old lifeguard, because he had a car and drove back to the mainland every night.
Maybe she could ask Drew tonight, after dinner service.
Quickly, Hannah gathered her things and started back. She let her mind wander back to the part of her day when Drew scooped her up in his arms and carried her out of the water. Of course, she made sure to delete out the part where she threw up half the ocean.
Still, it was dreamy.
He was such a hero. Her very own Prince Charming.
As she got closer to the pool, she spotted Drew, his younger brother Connor, their five-year-old little sister London, and their parents. Alexis sat a few feet over, arms crossed and mouth clearly pouting.
Suddenly, they all turned and disappeared inside the hotel. She stopped at the gate, wondering what was going on.
“He’s leaving,” Alexis said from her spot. “You ran him off.”
Hannah said nothing to that, just opened the gate and went inside. She wanted to run after him, but pool rules dictated she couldn’t. And she’d broken enough rules today as it was.
But when she walked inside the resort, she broke out in a run. She had to say goodbye to Drew one last time.
Her bag smacked against her side as she avoided crashing into people and service carts. She ran as fast as she could but by the time she’d gotten to entrance, the Montgomery’s SUV was nothing but taillights.
Skidding to a stop, she took a big breath and watched the SUV until she couldn’t see anything.
“Maybe next year,” she whispered.
Chapter Two
‡
Drew came back every year after that, and every year they fell into the same routine of skim boarding, crabbing, swimming, and fishing. He treated her like a sister while she was still desperate for him to notice that she was growing up.
But at fifteen, she knew she’d rather have him as a friend than nothing at all. She also knew that the girls Drew liked looked nothing like her. At all.
Except she thought she might be getting the better end of the deal. Those girls were like the summer season—they came, got him all hot, and went away while she was constant… like the moon.
She really had to stop reading Shakespeare.
It wasn’t until the summer Hannah turned seventeen that she noticed things had changed between her and Drew. It wasn’t fun being around him anymore. He was silent a lot, and when he wasn’t silent, he was short with her.
Like she was a pain in the ass or something.
She put up with him all summer, but now that Labor Day was fast approaching, she knew it was time to hash things out. She had a feeling that this would be Drew’s last summer here. Honestly, she was surprised he’d come at all since he was in college now.
“Let’s have a bonfire on the beach tonight,” she said as they fished in the surf. “Just you and me before you have to leave.”
Drew cast his lure and replied with a, “Whatever.”
Seriously? She glanced at the tub of shrimp that they were using as bait and bent down to scoop up a handful.
“I thought you liked bonfires,” she said. “You always liked them before.”
“Things change,” he bit out.
Jerk. She threw the shrimp at him, smacking him in the side of the face.
“What the hell?” He turned to her, his green eyes blazing.
“Sorry. It slipped.”
He gabbed the clump of shrimp that had landed on his shoulder and threw it into the waves. “It slipped? Yeah, right. Maybe we should cut this fishing trip short.”
“Maybe we should, since you can’t take a joke.” She tipped her chin in the air, wishing in vain that she were several inches taller. Drew was so tall now that he towered over his own dad. That had to make him about six two to her five two. Sadly, her boobs hadn’t grown either… not really.
“Maybe I don’t find you funny anymore,” he growled.
She threw her rod down and fisted her hands on her hips. “What’s wrong with you, Drew Montgomery? You’ve been an asshole ever since you got here.”
His eyes widened, and she glared at him. “Did you just call me an asshole?”
“Yeah, I said asshole. Asshole,” she muttered.
He dropped his fishing rod and took a step toward her, his face dark.
She took a step back, holding up her hands. “Okay, so maybe asshole was harsh.”
Saying nothing, he took another step toward her.
Hannah stepped back again. “Seriously, Drew. You’ve been a jerk.”
“First asshole, now jerk. Wow, Hannah, your vocabulary grew about as much as you have.”
This time, she didn’t take a step back. Oh no. She marched right up to Drew and shoved a finger in his muscular chest. “At least I didn’t grow up to be so ornery.”
He grabbed her wrist. “I’m not ornery.”
“You’re more ornery than my grandmother’s cat. At least he has a reason.”
His lips quirked. “And that would be?”
“She had him neutered.”
Drew threw his head back and laughed.
“It’s not that funny.”
He grew serious. “I’ve been a real pain this summer, huh?”
“Yeah, you have. I want the old Drew back,” she said.
“Does that mean I get the old Hannah?”
She blew out a breath. “I’m the same.”
His gaze roamed over her body, making her hyper aware of the bikini she’d worn to impress him. Although, until this moment, she had been positive she could have showed up naked and he wouldn’t have been impressed.
“No, you’re not.” His hot gaze met her eyes. “You don’t look the same at all.”
“I’m seventeen, Drew.”
“Don’t remind me.”
Here they went again. “I know, I’m soooo much younger than you, but geez, could you give it a rest this year? Don’t even know why we hang out anymore,” she grumbled.
“Because you mean something to me,” he said, and her jaw dropped.
“Did you hit your head playing water polo?” she asked.
He pulled her in closer and laid her hand on his chest, right over his heart. “I’ve been a dick to you all summer because, otherwise, I’d screw up what we have.”
“You have other options, you know. Like talking to me,” she said. “We used to talk all the time.”
“And say what?” He cupped the side of her face. “That I want you? More than a friend should. Yeah, that would go over really well.”
Her heart slammed against her chest. “What?”
“Never mind.”
He let go of her hand and face, but she didn’t move an inch. In fact, she pressed her palm harder against his bare chest. “You can’t say you want me more than a friend should, and then follow it up with never mind.”
“I can and I did.” His jaw hardened, and she got a gli
mpse of the man he was becoming—hard and unyielding. Stubborn.
Well, she could be stubborn, too. “Chicken.”
“Excuse me?” he all but bit out.
“I can’t believe you’re afraid of me.”
He gave her a look. “I’m not afraid of anyone.”
“Yes, you are.”
His heart beat faster against her palm. So cool on the outside, but inside…
“I still have the IOU,” he said. “Are you prepared to give me anything I want?”
Hannah knew she had stars in her eyes where Drew was concerned, and if he had asked her in any other tone of voice, in any other setting, she would have said yes. All because he had kept that stupid piece of paper.
“No.” It killed her to say the word, but the boy in front of her had turned into a guy she wasn’t sure if she liked anymore.
“There’s something I want to give you,” he said and grasped her shoulders. He dipped his head. “Have you ever been kissed?”
No. I’ve been saving my first kiss for you. “A billion times.”
“Liar,” he said softly.
She licked her lips. “A million?”
He grinned, and her heart flipped. In that grin, she saw her long-time friend. The boy she’d loved for years.
“Try again.”
“Zero,” she admitted.
“Good.” He brushed his lips across hers, and her toes curled into the sand. “That’s one kiss.”
“Are you going to give me a billion kisses?” she asked, all breathless.
“I couldn’t last a billion kisses,” he said right before he kissed her again. This time, his tongue licked at her bottom lip. “I don’t think I can last three kisses.”
“Try anyway.”
He did as she asked, pressing kisses so sweet to her mouth that she was pretty sure she’d have a toothache later.
“Let me in,” he whispered, his hands sinking into her hair.
She opened her mouth under his. Tentatively, at first. But then his tongue met hers, and she grew bolder. She followed his lead, did everything to him that he did to her, until he was groaning.
She slid her hands up his chest, touching him exactly how she always wanted, and looped her arms around his neck. One of his hands slid down her back, pressing her against him.
It was… amazing. Thrilling. Romantic.
The sun was setting. They were on an island, and the breeze blew in the scent of honeysuckle from the mainland.
How could a first kiss get any better than this?
Suddenly, he stopped, pressing his forehead against hers. She searched for his mouth again, but he turned away.
“Can’t. We have to stop. Shit.” He sounded as though he’d been running for miles. “I can’t keep this up.”
“I can,” she said. “You tell me what to do. Promise I’m a quick learner.”
He groaned and gently set her away from him. “That’s why I’m stopping.”
“But I don’t want to stop,” she cried.
Drew shook his head. “I don’t either, but I’m leaving in less than a week, Hannah. We probably won’t ever see each other again.”
“So?” That was exactly why they should keep kissing. Kissing Drew was a once-in-a-lifetime event.
“Hannah, I want to do more than kiss you.”
“Okay.”
“You’re so damn innocent.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know what sex is. Between my grandparents’ talks and tenth-grade biology, I got it covered.”
“That’s not what I meant.” He sat down in the sand. “Sex complicates things. You and I are not complicated. We’re easy.” He tilted his head to one side and looked at her. “Well, we were easy.”
“I’m very easy,” she said, plopping down beside him.
“Hannah.”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Oh, shut up. You know what I mean.”
“I do, but other guys wouldn’t. Worse, I know what you mean, and I still want more.”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “I do, too.”
Taking her hand into his, he laced their fingers together. “I can’t give you what you want, Hannah. I’d rather remember us like this.”
“Don’t I get a say?”
“In this, no. I refuse to go any further.”
“How nice for you,” she grumbled, lifting her head.
He turned to her. “Please, Hannah. I’m trying to do the right thing. I’m trying to remember that you’re my friend, not just this beautiful girl on a deserted stretch of beach.”
Beautiful? “Can’t I be both?”
“No.”
“I’m so confused,” she lamented.
“I’m not.”
They sat there in silence, their hands still joined, as the sky became darker and darker. The tide rolled out, waves crashing on the shore further and further away. Their fishing poles still lay in the sand, crabs wandering to the tub of shrimp to claim their prize before scurrying away. Sideways, of course.
Finally, Drew spoke, “Thanks for putting up with me this summer.”
“You’re welcome. You weren’t an asshole the entire time.”
He laughed. “Good to know.”
“Thank you for my first kiss.”
“Don’t thank me.”
“But I want to. I’ve been waiting for a long time,” she said.
“To thank me?” he said, all cocky.
She punched him in the arm with her free hand. “Not going to miss that.”
“I’ll miss you, Hannah Miller.” Drew kissed her forehead, unlacing their hands and wrapping his strong arms around her. “I won’t ever forget you.”
Chapter Three
‡
Ten years later
There was nothing Andrew Montgomery hated more than disappointing his father, especially when it came to business, but this—this new condition his dad just dumped on him was unacceptable.
“Married,” Drew repeated. “What does marriage have to do with taking over Montgomery Industry?”
“Plenty.” His dad smiled and picked up a cup of coffee. He took a sip and his time while Drew stewed.
“I’m all ears,” he said, eager to get this farce of a meeting over with.
“It’s simple, Andrew. If you want to control Montgomery Industry when I retire, then you have to get married.”
“You forgot the bit about staying married.”
His dad set the coffee cup down. “Five years is nothing in the grand scheme of things.”
“Then why not make it thirty years?”
“Either you want the company or not. I’m sure Connor could be persuaded… perhaps even London.”
“Connor doesn’t give a damn and would run MI into the ground in less than a year. London is barely out of high school,” Drew said flatly.
“Fine. Either you get married, or I sell the stock I own and give the proceeds to charity.”
“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?” Drew asked. “And it makes no difference at all that I’ve sacrificed everything to make MI what it is today.”
“I want grandchildren.”
“You can get those without marriage.”
His dad’s mouth thinned. “Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer they come after marriage.”
There were many things Drew would have liked to call his dad in that moment, but old-fashioned wasn’t on the list. “This is blackmail. Plain and simple.”
“No, this is an old man’s request.”
“Why don’t you remarry, then?” Drew asked, already knowing the answer.
“Because there will never be another woman like your mother for me,” his dad said, getting that familiar, faraway look in his eye. “Cecelia was one of a kind. When I started this company, we were living in a one-bedroom studio apartment with you and Connor, and eating ramen noodles for dinner every night so I could pour all our extra money into MI. She loved me before the money and success. And she loved me after, even when I was intolerabl
e.”
Drew didn’t have memories of that apartment, mostly because he had been two years old at the time. Six months after his dad started Montgomery Industry, he had landed the deal of a lifetime with the federal government. Nothing like a security breach at Area 51 to get them scrambling for private contractors.
“In any case,” his dad said, breaking into Drew’s thoughts, “you have forty-eight hours to decide.”
His jaw clenched, as did his fists. Damn his father for putting him in this position. “You can’t retire in forty-eight hours, and I sure as hell won’t be married that quickly.” Damn it. Who in the hell did his dad expect him to convince in that short amount of time—if he were to agree to this ridiculous condition in the first place?
“You’re right, but I can set things into motion. So can you.” His dad picked up the phone, letting Drew know that their meeting was over. “The ball’s in your court, son, and the paperwork is ready for both of our signatures.”
With a curse, Drew strode out of the office. He texted his business partner Blake York and asked him to meet at King’s for drinks.
God, did he ever need one.
William A. Montgomery, aka his father and head of MI, was obviously determined to see Drew settled and married. Once his dad made up his mind, there was nothing Drew or anyone else could do to stop him. He knew William would make good on his promise to dismantle MI share by share until there was nothing left but an empty shell of a building.
Drew couldn’t do that to the two thousand people they employed… not in this bear of an economy. Hell, he wouldn’t do that to MI’s employees in a bull economy like they had in the early 2000s. Yet another way of doing business his dad had drilled into his head. His economics professors had hated him for it and had done their best to change his mind. The bottom line must be maintained at all costs.
But Drew refused to budge on his dad’s school of thought. William’s line of thinking had worked since inception and twenty-seven years later, it was still working.
However, their competition certainly didn’t feel that way and at times, that had hurt MI’s bottom line. T&G Securities shed entire floors of employees more often than a snake got rid of its skin. Like Montgomery Industry, T&G Securities had diversified to include stock portfolios, venture capital, and Internet security. Unlike Montgomery Industry, the CEO of T&G didn’t give a damn beyond his bottom line.
Seducing the Billionaire's Wife Page 2