by Kira Archer
He left it at that and escorted Elliot’s mom from the dining room. Elliot gave them enough time to be gone from the hallway before marching out. So… He needed to come up with something better, more concrete, and soon. Or he’d be leaving the island and going home to the same old, same old. He couldn’t blame them for their stance, but that didn’t mean he liked it. The thought of being demoted on the board sent a wave of anxiety through him that was strong enough to make him nauseous. The charity was the only thing of any substance in his life. He wanted to truly make it his.
The sound of children’s laughter made him pause. He glanced in the windows of the big double doors he’d been passing and realized he was standing in front of the hotel’s day care center. He took a closer look. Damn. It would be fun to be a kid again if he could hang out in that place. It looked like a McDonald’s Playland on crack. Cleaner and more organized, maybe. But just as fun.
Then he saw something even better. Lena. Saying good-bye to Tyler. She must have decided to get a little alone time, after all. And he happened to be right here. It was fate. Hanging out with her would definitely cheer him up, if he could convince her to tolerate his presence for a few minutes. With that idea-centric brain of hers, she might even help him come up with something good enough to convince his parents to let him rejuvenate the charity.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t shoot him down the second she walked out the door. He’d never had to work this hard to get a woman’s attention. But there was something about the way she looked at him. She was interested. She was just trying to ignore it. He knew the feeling. But he couldn’t seem to ignore her.
Lena gave Tyler one last hug and started for the door. Elliot hurried over to stand on the opposite side of the hallway. Didn’t want to look like he’d been totally stalking.
She breezed through the door, and Elliot froze for a second, captivated by the sheer beauty of her. The couple times he’d seen her after the pool incident, she’d been tense and on edge. But now she almost bounced down the hallway with a naturally carefree gait that he loved. Her honey blond hair was twisted into a messy bun on the back of her head, and as far as he could tell, she wore no makeup other than a hint of mascara on her long lashes. Her sleeveless maxi dress left her toned arms bare to the sun, and when she lifted the hem to hop up the few stairs that would bring her into his part of the hallway, he got a delicious view of spectacularly muscled calves. She worked out. Or maybe it was from chasing Tyler around. That had to be a workout all on its own.
Whatever she did, it showed. She was natural, easy going, and totally unpretentious and somehow managed to be incredibly sexy even with that damn fanny pack around her waist. It was refreshing. Her cornflower blue eyes sparkled. The exact opposite of everything he usually found attractive.
His girlfriends ran more to the overly made up, designer, high maintenance end of the spectrum. And they generally tended to want him. Or at least his connections. Not something Lena apparently suffered from. For the thousandth time, he wondered why he didn’t go find some other woman who would be happy to hook up with him. But Lena was different. That’s what he was looking for.
She glanced up and caught his gaze. Her face lit up at the sight of him, and all his concerns flew right out the window. The happiness to see him lasted only a second before she seemed to remember she wasn’t supposed to be interested, but that moment was more than enough encouragement for him.
“Hey there,” he said, giving her the full Debusshere charm.
She smiled but her eyes skittered away, no longer meeting his gaze.
He wasn’t going to give her a chance to vanish on him. He started talking before she had a chance to make an excuse to leave. “So I guess your friend won’t be making it, after all?” he said, nodding toward the day care doors.
“No. Thank God the hotel has a day care center.”
“Definitely a plus,” he said, pleased. “I was hoping I’d run into you. I found this great spot I think you’ll really love.”
She hesitated. “Oh, that sounds fun but…”
“Don’t worry. It’s not near any water.”
She blushed and his heart rate kicked up a notch. She opened her mouth to object again, but Elliot pressed on. “I was actually hoping I could pick your brain a bit.”
Her eyes widened in what he hoped was interest.
“About what?” she asked.
He took her hand and drew her along with him. She didn’t pull away, and he resisted the urge to fist bump the air. He wasn’t free and clear yet. But she hadn’t run screaming down the hallway, either. That was a good sign.
“Well, I was thinking about all those cool ideas you’ve had.”
Lena blushed again. “Most of them aren’t worth anything. I mean, I think the concepts are good. Some of them, anyway. But either I have no way of actually getting things going or I come across some other issue. Nothing has panned out.”
“Hmm, well I might be able to help in that department. And I’m hoping you might be able to help me.”
A delicate blond eyebrow arched. “I don’t see how. I might have good ideas, but like I said, they never go anywhere. A good idea doesn’t mean much if you can’t follow it through.”
Elliot scoffed. “Don’t underestimate yourself. Maybe you just haven’t found the right business partner.”
The other eyebrow joined the first. Before she could say anything else, Elliot stopped.
“What do you think?”
She glanced around at the lush paradise surrounding them, her eyes widening the more she took in. Her mouth dropped open to form a little O, and happy pleasure zinged through Elliot. He’d done well.
“What is this place?”
“I found it last night when I was wandering around after dinner. The concierge said there are several of them hidden away around the resort.”
“It’s gorgeous. Really. Just incredible.”
Elliot was beaming like a fool, but he couldn’t help it. Being the one who put that amazing smile on her face gave him a buzz like nothing he’d ever experienced before.
He led her deeper into the small botanical garden. Opulent plants and flowers crowded all around them, small paths strung with twinkle lights zigzagged throughout. Exotic birds perched in a few of the trees, their song following them. Elliot led Lena into the heart of the lush mini-jungle where a few lounge chairs were set up. Two other guests lazed around, but for the most part, they had the place to themselves. Elliot ordered a couple drinks from a passing waiter, and within a few minutes, they were sipping on two very large tropical cocktails.
Thin pipes were camouflaged within the trees, and every few minutes they’d release a fine mist of water that was enough to cool without soaking the guests. Lena jumped when the mist first fell with a faint hiss, but then she turned her face up to catch the coolness with delighted pleasure.
“Is this okay?” he asked, though by the look on her face she was enjoying it.
She gave a little laugh. “Yes. It’s only bodies of water that make me a little nervous. Rain, showers, that kind of thing, don’t bother me.”
He could envision her standing in a shower all too easily and tried to steer clear of that particular distraction. He wanted to get to know her a little better, get her comfortable with him. Not pant after her like some horny teenager.
He led her over to the chairs and sat down next to her. Lena leaned back on her chaise with a happy sigh. “Okay, this I could get used to.”
Elliot took a healthy slug of his own drink and settled back. “Don’t get to relax much?”
She laughed. “Not often, no. Between Tyler and work, I think the last time I just sat down and did nothing was…” A small frown formed between her brows. “Huh. I honestly don’t remember.”
“That’s something that should definitely be remedied.”
She laughed again. “That would be nice. I’ll let my boss know.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m an office aide at Tyler
’s school. It’s great because I work the same schedule that he’s in school. But I’m surrounded by kids all day, which can get…overwhelming sometimes. This break is nice.”
“I bet. Well, if one of your business ideas takes off, you can spend all your time on a lounge chair and hire people to do everything else for you.”
Lena snorted. “That would be nice. Honestly, I would just love for me and Tyler to be able to get our own place, not have to rely on my brother so much. When I had Tyler, Oz helped out so I could stay home with him. It was actually cheaper than working and putting him in day care. Now that he’s in school, I’m willing to do anything, but my resume isn’t the most impressive. I like working at the school, but I still can’t afford to get us on our own. And there’s not much else I can do, though I’ve applied at enough places. If I could make enough money with one of these ideas… But like I said, my plans seem to be great in concept only.”
Elliot inwardly cringed at the rush of shame that hit him. It had never occurred to him how hard it might be for people to find jobs. He’d always assumed if people really wanted to work, they just needed to go out and do it.
From what he’d heard from Cher and Oz, Lena definitely had the brains to develop something that could really be successful. But there was more to making a profit in business than just having a good idea. Maybe that was some way he could help.
“I’m sure your ideas are better than you think. Tell me some.”
She waved her hand like she was trying to erase his words from the air. “You don’t want to hear those.”
“No, I really do. Come on. I’ve heard a couple of them already.”
“What? From who?”
“Cherice told me a few.”
Lena blinked, surprised. “She did? Why?”
“She was impressed with them.”
She snorted again, a sound that Elliot normally found irritating in other people. But Lena’s snort was a delicate sort of poof of air that sounded more like a wheeze than an actual snort. It was adorable.
“I doubt that. They’ve all been disasters.”
“Oh, come on. I’m sure they weren’t all that bad.”
“Really? You’ve already heard about the mug fiasco.”
Elliot laughed. “Yeah, but that wasn’t a bad idea. If you’d had the manpower and the right equipment, you might have made a go of it.”
“Maybe,” she said, but she didn’t look convinced.
“Come on. Tell me the worst idea you’ve ever had.”
“The worst?”
“Yeah. Get that one out of the way, and then we can go from there.”
She shook her head. “The worst was another mug idea. After the baked pottery ones fell through, I thought about making some out of stained glass. We were sitting in a church for a friend’s wedding one day, and I was staring at the windows, thinking how wonderful it would be to wake up to that view every morning. With an enclosed back porch or kitchen window or something with stained glass that I could enjoy while I sipped my coffee.”
“That does sound amazing.”
“Right? Well, then I thought instead of a porch or window, which I’d never be able to do, why not make the mugs out of stained glass. There are clear glass mugs, so I figured stained glass wouldn’t be that much harder.”
“Makes sense. I think it’s a great idea. They’d be gorgeous.”
“That’s what I thought. Until I talked to a glass blower.”
“And?”
“She laughed me out of the building.”
“Why?”
“Because stained glass has those little veins of lead running through it to keep the different panes of glass separate.”
“And…”
“She didn’t think it would be a great idea to give customers lead poisoning.”
Elliot’s eyes widened, and he barked a laugh. “I didn’t even think about that. Well, damn. But it was a good idea.”
“Yeah, but apparently not all good ideas are actually marketable.”
He laughed again. “Apparently.”
“The one that came the closest to actually making some money was my gift baskets.”
“Gift baskets?”
She took a sip of her drink and nodded. “I wanted to get a gift basket for one of my co-workers for her birthday one year. Went online to check out prices, and they were insane! I’m talking sixty dollars for a tiny basket that probably cost ten dollars to put together. If that. And then they tacked shipping and delivery fees on to it. So I figured if all those businesses could make money charging outrageous prices, I could make something just as good, and probably better, charge less, and still make a good profit.”
“Sounds like a great plan. So why didn’t that one work out?”
Lena shrugged again. “It did okay. I always sold the baskets I made, but I ended up having to severely drop my prices to do it. I guess when you are a new business, it’s hard to get noticed unless you are selling for peanuts. I sold what I made, but I was only making a few dollars profit per basket, and I wasn’t getting many large orders for multiple baskets or for the high-end gourmet ones. I sold at a few fairs, but for those I had to buy all the materials ahead of time, and I didn’t always have the cash on hand to take a really good selection. If I’d had more time or money, more marketing, help. Maybe…”
Elliot was impressed. “Well, maybe I can help you there.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyes watching him warily.
“I might not be great with ideas, but marketing and fundraising I can do. Apparently, it’s about the only thing I can do.” He injected the words with as much humor as he could to hide how much the reality stung.
“That’s sweet of you, but you don’t have to do that,” she said.
“I want to. It would be my pleasure to help you out.”
She shook her head, her lips pressed together. “I can do it on my own. But thanks.”
Elliot left it alone for the moment. He couldn’t force her to accept his help. But he could do his best to persuade her. Carefully, though, so she didn’t bolt on him with his first suggestion.
“You know, every idea I’ve heard from you, whether it’s worked or not, has been great. I haven’t heard one crazy idea yet. They’re good. You’ve definitely got a mind for this.”
Lena blushed and focused her attention on her drink. “That’s nice of you to say.”
Elliot leaned over and put his finger under her chin, raising her eyes to meet his. “I’m not just trying to be nice. I mean every word.”
She didn’t move away from his touch. He let his hand linger on her face while her gaze searched his. Whatever she saw must have made her happy because a bright, sweet smile spread across her face. He ran his tongue over his suddenly dry lips. He wanted nothing more than to close the few inches between them and capture that mouth with his. Her own mouth dropped open a little.
Elliot leaned forward, his hand gently trailing from her chin down the slender column of her neck. His heart thundered in his chest, a tangle of desire tightening low in his belly. He didn’t think he’d ever wanted anything so badly in his whole life as he wanted to kiss her.
Lena blinked, sucked in a quick breath, and pulled out of his reach. She fumbled with her drink, her cheeks flaming so hotly he was tempted to dig an ice cube out of his glass to see if it would melt on her skin.
She put her drink down and stood up. Elliot followed, hoping she wasn’t trying to make a break for it already. Things were going great. He was really enjoying talking to her.
“You want to walk for a minute?” she asked.
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Sure.” He offered her his arm, surprised when, after a brief moment of hesitation, she actually took it. He pulled her in as close as he thought he could get away with. Her faint coconut scent washed over him, and he inhaled deeply. God, she smelled good. Good enough to taste.
They wandered through the gardens for a few minutes, stopping every now and then to look a
t some exotic plant or another. The more they walked, the more relaxed she seemed. She kept hold of his arm, even drawing closer to him a few times. A faint hope that she’d follow through with her interest in him blossomed in his chest.
“So, you said you wanted to get some ideas from me. For what?” she asked.
A small bench was set back under some trees, and he drew her over so they could sit in the shade.
“I run my family’s charity. It does well, but I think it could do much better.”
“What kind of charity?”
“Well, that’s part of the problem. Right now, it’s kind of a general Help-the-Poor-Children-type charity. But we don’t do much with it. Every year we hold a big fundraiser, and we usually have a great turn out and make decent money, but then the money gets spread out to so many different organizations I’m not sure how much good it’s doing. I feel we need to focus it more. Make it bigger, better. Turn it into a foundation that can really do some good.”
“That sounds amazing. What do your parents think?”
Elliot scowled, his frustration with his family dampening his good mood. “They think things are fine as they are. The charity is making money for good causes, and they don’t really have to think about it much. That’s how they like it.”
“Surely they can see how much better it would do if it was expanded. Even if they are only doing it to look good, having a successful charity be even more successful would be nothing but good press for them.”
Elliot laughed. “I’ve never put it to them like that. I’ll have to lead with that argument next time. The main problem is getting them to listen. They don’t see the need to change anything, so they don’t even want to listen to my ideas. And to be honest, I haven’t always been as involved as I should be, so throwing ideas out at them with no real plan won’t work. Now, if it was Lilah with the ideas, this wouldn’t be an issue at all.”
“Lilah is your older sister, right?”
Elliot nodded. “She’s always been the golden child. Followed in Dad’s medical footsteps. Cherice is more like me. Fitting, I guess, since we’re twins. Mom and Dad have never really approved of her and her disadvantaged women’s boutique. But she didn’t care. Actually, I think your brother helped a lot there.”