Paradise by Design

by Barbara Barrett

  A text pinged on Keegan’s phone. Clay. “Everyone ready to go? Clay’s on his way.”

  Clay Walker waited for them on the stone path outside the villa in a six-person golf cart, since other vehicles weren’t allowed past the main parking lot. The guy had barely aged since the days they’d hung out at each other’s off-campus digs, sharing notes from various profs. He still sported that tawny mane of long hair and earring, although sometime along the way, he’d added more ink to his body.

  Keegan and Clay embraced man-style, then Keegan introduced the rest of the team, who shook hands with Walker. “Welcome to Casa Blanca Resort & Spa, folks. We take great pride in what we’ve put together here. You should find lots of fodder for your show.”

  Keegan joined Clay in the front seat of the cart. “We haven’t seen much, since we got in late last night. But your VP of Marketing made sure we had everything we needed.”

  “That’s Emma. Sorry I couldn’t be here when you arrived, but I had a late night meeting. You’ve got me now, though, so let’s do a quick spin around the property to get you acclimated.”

  Though he hadn’t seen Clay in years, meeting up with him now was like time had stood still. Yet much had happened to both of them in the interim. While Keegan built his career as TV host, Clay had established his own architectural firm, married and now had a small child while his wife, Lacey, ran this boutique resort. Although Keegan had his own firm, which his partner oversaw while Keegan traveled the world, the other two milestones could have been his as well, if…Don’t go there. Must have been seeing Drew earlier that was sending him down “What If” Lane.

  Keegan turned to the most pressing question. “What’s Drew doing here?”

  Clay kept one hand on the steering wheel as he responded. “Yeah, about that. Lacey—you two have to meet while you’re here—handled the booking. She had no idea of the history between the two of you. I only recognized the name on the list of registrations from reading the hundred or so blissful emails you generated prior to…”

  “The wedding that never was. Guess I might have gone a bit overboard sharing my, uh, happiness, back then.”

  “I didn’t understand how a smart guy could get so sappy until I met Lacey. Anyway, hope Drew’s being here at the same time as you won’t be a problem. This was about the only time we could get you in for several months.”

  Keegan waved off the potential conflict. “No. Of course not. I was surprised to see her, that’s all.” Like the wind had been knocked out of him. Instead, he recounted how he’d been greeted when he tried to convince the villa guest or guests to let them film inside. “You didn’t answer my question. What’s she doing here?”

  Clay raised his shoulders. “Something about needing Casa Blanca’s peace and quiet so she can complete some project for her dad. He’s here too.”

  Keegan blew out a breath, relaxed the balled fists at his sides. She wasn’t here on a honeymoon, although she could still be married. Not that he cared, of course. Would be good to know, though, one way or the other.

  “I’ll ask Emma to talk to her. Surely Drew would be willing to take a break from her project if offered a complimentary spa treatment. Who could resist such an inducement?”

  “Thanks. But don’t push. I’m sure there’s plenty more potential shots without her villa. By the way, you did a great job with this place, Clay. Should’ve told you right away, but I was bowled over with the scope of what you’d gotten to do. Needed time to soothe my ego and tamp down the envy.”

  Clay angled his head. “Good to hear, especially coming from you. I value your opinion.”

  “Maybe someday I’ll be back in the game full time, competing with you for projects.”

  Clay pulled up to their first stop, near the beach. “I welcome the challenge, although what more could you want? You’re a celebrity who travels the world enjoying only the most exclusive retreats. I’m just the lowly architect who designed one of them.”

  Chapter Three

  “Did I hear someone at the door?” her dad asked, finally making an appearance.

  “That was Keegan.” Drew’s voice sounded normal. She could have sworn she’d stopped breathing.

  “As in Keegan Bock, your former fiancé? What did he want? Why is he here at this resort?”

  “Yes, Keegan Bock. As for the rest, I have no idea. I was so surprised to see him, I, uh, closed the door on him.”

  “Just like that? You haven’t seen him in years and you just sent him on his way?”

  His words echoed the question she was asking herself. “So I’m a coward. I’d no sooner told you I didn’t want to open the door on that part of my life again and there I was, literally opening the door to him. I had a split second to make up my mind what to do, and all I could think of was my earlier statement.”

  Tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks. She attempted to swipe them with the heel of her hand to no avail.

  He handed her a tissue. “Here. Your body’s trying to tell you something.”

  “Damn! I vowed I’d never shed tears for him again. I’ve moved on. My life is just fine the way it is.”

  Honeywell studied her. “I hear you, sweetheart, but are you sure about that last statement? You’ve been pretty down lately.”

  She busied herself pouring a glass of water in the kitchen. “Not now, Dad. I’m freaking out. Maybe tomorrow, or when we finish your project, we can talk about the state of my life.”

  “How can I help? Should I try to track him down and see what he wants?”

  “No. Stay here with me and answer the door if he returns. Tell him I don’t want to see him.”

  He sighed. “I hope you know what you’re doing. This could be life giving you one more chance to get it right.” That said, he drifted back to the patio. She hoped he was using her sunblock liberally, as much time as he was spending around that pool.

  One more chance to get things right. Could life be that forgiving?

  Why had Keegan gone away and not insisted she see him? Because that’s what you told him to do, dummy. Damn, why did he have to be so compliant? Just like when she returned his ring. Didn’t true love mean you fought for each other? But if that were the case, had she really fought for him?

  Of course not. Instead, she’d let the small minds at the fashion house and outside world get to her. As the Honeywell name appeared more frequently in the local headlines in a less than positive light, Drew’s boss removed her from the credits of the spring showing, explaining it as a “business” reason for distancing Drew’s designs from the family name.

  Then a reporter asked if Drew wasn’t concerned the embezzlement charges facing Burgess Honeywell might affect the already sagging political fortune of Roger Bock, Keegan’s father. Though Drew hung up, the potential damage she might have done to the Bock family unnerved her. When her wedding planner called later that day to ask whether Drew and Keegan had considered putting off the wedding “until things settled down,” Drew lost it, first firing the planner and then calling off the wedding entirely.

  Some fighter she’d been. A real warrior.

  Drew massaged her temples. The numbers and letters on the screen refused to focus. Rehashing the past and second-guessing the present were a waste of energy. She drifted over to the window. The gentle waves of the ocean offered hope that brighter days were ahead. Maybe Dad was right, that she’d put her life on hold long enough, and it was time to emerge from the gloom. Time to get back to her own dreams.

  She sought out her parent. “I need some air. Thought I’d explore the beach.”

  He gazed up, offered a parental smile. “Good idea. Want company?”

  “I’d prefer to go on my own. Not that you’re bothering me,” she quickly added. “I just have some thinking to do.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ve gotten engrossed in this mystery.”

  Instead of setting off toward the water, though, she went the opposite direction, toward the main building where staff offices were located. Fifteen
minutes later, she had answers to some of her questions. Lacey Walker referred her to the resort’s marketing guru, Emma Solomon. “We fiercely guard our guests’ right to privacy,” Solomon told her. “When you said you didn’t want a film crew to shoot the interior of your villa because you were here to work, we didn’t push. Mr. Bock, although he’s certainly charming, and his television show quite popular, should have respected your decision.”

  So that was what brought Keegan to her door, to sweet-talk the recalcitrant occupant into giving them access. He hadn’t known she was the occupant, which meant he hadn’t come in search of her to let bygones be bygones. The realization hit her almost as hard as finding Keegan at her door. “Oh,” was about all she had been able to respond. Unwanted bile in her throat made her want to gag.

  Why the disappointment? She’d already announced she didn’t want him back in her life. But Lacey and her staff had been so accommodating, reducing the room rate for the Honeywells, consenting to the filming was the least Drew could do. Or so she told herself.

  As Drew neared her villa, she continued toward the beach. She hadn’t planned to go there, but she didn’t want her dad to know she’d been checking into Keegan’s presence on the island or he’d jump to conclusions he shouldn’t. They’d hashed out her broken engagement enough for one day.

  Brightly colored blooms, palm trees and various shrubs bordered the path, their sweet fragrance attempting to overcome her uneasiness concerning her former fiancé. The gentle sea breeze increased the closer she came to the water. The area was pretty much deserted, except for four men and a woman some hundred yards away. A tall, hunky blond seemed to be pointing to something in the distance. A second man, just as tall, only dark-haired, angled his head to follow the first guy’s directions. Keegan.

  Drew backed up to the opening from which she’d just emerged so she could observe them unseen. They seemed to be having a good time as they laughed and chatted. The lone woman, willowy and auburn-haired, rested an arm on Keegan’s shoulder and seemed to share some private joke with him. Drew was too far to hear, but they seemed to be a twosome. Drew’s insides imploded. What had she expected? Keegan did not go unnoticed by the ladies. How he had remained unmarried all these years was a mystery.

  Drew retreated farther up the path, running the rest of the way to her quarters.

  “Changed my mind about the beach,” she told her dad. “Instead, I discovered what Keegan is doing here.”

  “And?”

  “He’s filming an episode for his TV show. I should’ve realized. Casa Blanca is the type of place they spotlight. I wound up giving my permission for his crew to film inside our villa.”

  He raised a brow. “You’ve seen his show?”

  “No.” Was her response too quick? “But every so often I’ve read things on the Internet.”

  “Oh. Sure.” He paused, seemed to debate if he should continue. “Then, uh, he wasn’t here to see you?”

  She shook her head, forced a noncommittal expression. “He must have been as blown away to see me as I was to see him. I shouldn’t have sent him away.”

  He rubbed his chin, scrunched up his eyes. “That’s some admission.”

  “I suppose it is. I should at least talk to him. Tell him I hated hurting him, but I thought I was sacrificing our happiness to save his family. After his dad lost the election and after Mom died, I tried to make amends. But I lost my nerve when I saw him.”

  “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

  “It was for the better, I guess. He appeared to have moved on and seemed okay with his life.”

  “He told you as much?” His tone sounded skeptical.

  “Well, no. I saw him from a distance. In a restaurant. He was with another woman.”

  “You based your conclusion on that?”

  “He seemed to be enjoying himself. I didn’t want to interfere.”

  “I’d say you got cold feet when you saw him with someone else and ran.”

  “No, I didn’t.” Yes, she did. And she’d just given a repeat performance.

  “Okay, guess that was your decision.” He paused, appeared to think through his comment. “On second thought, your decision or not, it’s time for me to speak my mind. I’ve kept silent ever since you fell on your sword for me, but running into him again is too providential to hold my peace. This is your chance to reconnect with the man. You don’t have to get engaged again, but at least make things right between you.”

  She’d been about to do that when she spotted Keegan on the beach. Then that woman had thrown herself all over him and Drew lost her nerve. Was she afraid of being rebuffed? No, of course not. She’d have to want to reestablish their former relationship to fear being rebuffed, and that’s not what she was after. Was it?

  Chapter Four

  They were finishing their tour of the resort when Ainsley pulled Keegan aside. “I just received a text from Emma Solomon. I don’t know what you said or did, but your former fiancée, one Drew Honeywell, has changed her mind about giving us access to the villa.” She lifted a brow. “Thought you said she wouldn’t talk to you.”

  “She wouldn’t. Must’ve been Solomon who changed Drew’s mind.”

  Once their exterior shooting got underway in the next hour, he continued to wonder what happened, though he tried to present the appearance of having dismissed anything having to do with Drew. Did he dare hope she was ready to mend fences?

  For better or worse, he had Drew to thank for this hosting gig. If his gut hadn’t been so raw from the emptiness following his broken engagement, he wouldn’t have considered the offer when the call came. He’d been angry and at the same time crushed that she’d decided on her own to end things. No warning, no opportunity to persuade her they could withstand whatever troubles came their way.

  He’d tried to get her to change her mind. At least at first. But after that, during those first few months on the road, he’d been overwhelmed learning his new trade and exhausted at the end of each day of filming. It was all he could do to find his bed and collapse for a few hours of sleep. The glitz and glamour part of the job didn’t occur until later, when his hosting duties became more routine and the show’s ratings increased.

  “Keegan? Are you okay?” Bo’s voice sounded in the background.

  What the hell? Keegan blinked only to discover he’d walked into a palm tree. “Huh? Uh, yeah, I’m fine.” He spotted a cluster of purple blooms within arm’s reach. “Just admiring the flora. Thought we might get some footage of the various flowers around here.”

  “Uh, sure, boss, although we don’t usually pay much attention to this kind of thing.”

  “All the more reason to do so now.”

  Bo shot a glance at Ainsley, who was checking something on her notebook, even as they walked. “Those are hibiscus,” she said. “They’re all around the place. If you’re serious about focusing on the flora, we should catch the specimens by each of the villas, since each villa is named for some flower or plant native to North Africa, like Rockrose or Bay Laurel.”

  Perhaps the flower hadn’t been the best way to camouflage the fact his mind had been on Drew. Now he’d added more work to what was already turning out to be an overly ambitious shoot.

  Sure enough, thanks to his latest brilliant idea, they didn’t get back to their villa until late evening, and they still hadn’t finished filming the exteriors. If this weren’t typical of the ebb and flow of their shoots, he might feel guilty to have kept the other three from enjoying the amenities.

  As they were finalizing the next day’s schedule, an alarm sounded on Ainsley’s cell. “Uh-oh.” She glanced up after checking the message. “A storm out in the Gulf has shifted direction. It’s heading this way.”

  Keegan sprang from his seat and clicked on the TV. “I don’t doubt your weather app, but I need more details. When’s it supposed to hit and for how long? It’s hurricane season, you know.”

  Ainsley attempted to fill him in, but he focused on the TV screen instead.
The upshot? The rains would begin in the middle of the night and continue throughout at least part of the next day, perhaps even the day after. Just what they didn’t need, although there’d been no mention of the H word.

  “We just replace the exterior shots we planned to finish tomorrow with interior shots instead,” Ainsley said.

  Keegan continued to eye the screen. “We’ve done this before, guys. We’re prepared for these conditions, other than it may take a little more time to set up and break down at each location.” He put a more positive spin on it than he felt. “Ainsley, you’d better get with Emma Solomon right away to rearrange things with the guests. She may have to make alternate arrangements for where they’ll spend their time, although if we’ve got the releases in place, we could probably do the interviews at that time too.”

  Ainsley headed off to her room to follow through while Keegan and the two technical experts set to work refining plans for the indoor shots.

  When Ainsley returned, her expression was less than thrilled. “Okay, this will all work out, but the availability of the interiors we’re filming requires some creative scheduling. One of the guests is a late sleeper so we can’t go near their villa until the afternoon. Another will be deep sea fishing but really wants to do the interview. Just not tomorrow. The third is available and only needs an hour’s notice.

  Keegan considered the lineup. “So, of the three, we can only do two tomorrow, and one has to be in the afternoon.”

  “Correct.”

  “What about the fourth?” Bo asked. “Keegan’s old girlfriend.”

  Keegan gritted his teeth. Drew was not his old girlfriend. She was his former fiancée. But he didn’t correct his cameraman. Right now, they needed to focus on revising their schedule.

  “Emma Solomon left that one ’til last, because she hadn’t brought up the interview yet.”