Family Bonds- Eli and Bella (Amore Island Book 6)

by Natalie Ann

  He reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a candy bar.

  “What’s that?”

  “Dessert.”

  He opened his palm and she saw the Kit Kat bar and started to laugh. “You saw the wrapper the other day in my suite, didn’t you?”

  “I did. It was hard not to. There was one bar on the counter not opened and another wrapper in the trash when I threw my napkin out.”

  She’d been upset and when she was upset she wanted chocolate. She didn’t want to order a dessert from the menu and went to the vending machine. She’d eaten both of them that night but was embarrassed he’d noticed it.

  “I thought this would be easier to carry than a fancy dessert.”

  And it told her what she needed to know. That he did put a lot more thought into this than she’d been giving him credit for. “Did you pack one for yourself?”

  “I did,” he said, pulling his out. Not a Kit Kat.

  “A Hundred Grand bar?” she asked. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “I’m not all that hard to figure out,” he said.

  She was starting to realize that.

  17

  Mr. Cranky Pants

  “Thanks for meeting with me last minute,” Hailey Bond said when she walked into Eli’s office on Monday afternoon. “I had to meet with a client in the office on the island this morning and figured I’d run these papers to you to sign.”

  “Not a problem. It’s always nice to see your smiling face rather than having papers delivered back and forth.”

  Hailey wasn’t always on the island. She had her main office in Boston with a gamut of staff. Then a smaller office on the island. Rumor had it that she used a big portion of her trust fund and a hefty contribution from her father to buy the law practice. She’d never been one to do things half-assed and said if she was going to have her own firm, she was going as big as The Retreat was on the island in terms of making a statement.

  And island living had never been her thing either.

  The Retreat was supposed to go to Hunter as per legal specifications that only a male Bond could inherit it. Charlie Bond, Hailey’s father, never believed in it and would have found a way around it, but Hailey had never been interested. Eli supposed that Charlie felt helping Hailey with the firm was his way of balancing the scales.

  Something Eli knew his parents would have done too.

  “This island isn’t for me. I’m too claustrophobic.”

  Eli laughed. “That’s an odd description of an island that is over eighty square miles. Boston is just shy of ninety...where you live.”

  “But I can leave Boston in my car.”

  “And you can leave Amore Island too.”

  “Not without putting my car on a ferry. Like I told Hunter once. What if I want Starbucks at midnight? There isn’t one on the island and the ferries aren’t running then.”

  “Then you get one at the casino,” he said.

  “What?” she asked. “You’re opening a Starbucks in the casino? Why don’t I know about this? I do all your legal contracts.”

  He laughed at the expression on Hailey’s face. As if she was being left out of the loop when she probably knew the most of any business on this island.

  “It’s in the works. A small kiosk along with a few other fast food establishments. I’ve got space for three to four venues and I’m working them all out. I’ve received a letter of intent for Starbucks though. The rest are still in the proposal phases.”

  “Get the Starbucks one up and running and maybe I’ll consider staying here more.”

  Eli shook his head. Hailey was joking and he knew it. It wasn’t just the Starbucks. It was the feeling she couldn’t come and go when she wanted. Maybe part of it was her job and the clients. Or the fact that she wanted to be different than others.

  Hunter and Hailey grew up in Boston and only visited on the weekends and summers. She’d never wanted to live here permanently and didn’t even have a second home here. If she stayed, it was at her parents’ home, her grandfather’s, or The Retreat.

  “I’ll believe it when I see it,” he said, reaching for the papers. “Do I have time to look these over before I sign them or do you need to leave? I can have Egan bring them back to the offices on the docks tomorrow and courier delivered to your office.”

  “I’m starving. Do you mind if I order lunch while you read them over?” she asked. “It won’t take you long. You know the gist of it.”

  He opened the drawer to his desk and pulled out a few of the menus. “Be my guest. Tell them to have it delivered here if you want.”

  “Sweet,” Hailey said, taking the menu. “Do you want anything?”

  He looked at his watch, noted it was after one. He’d been up since seven and working since nine. The weekend was normally spent with him working nights, but Sunday he tried to get back to his place at a reasonable hour. Nine was later than normal, but he found he couldn’t sleep with Bella on his mind last night.

  “Sure,” he said. “Get me a burger and fries. Just tell them it’s for me, they know how I like it done.”

  “I’m sure they do,” Hailey said. She placed the order and then went to sit on his couch with her phone. He suspected she was dealing with emails like he had to do often.

  Twenty minutes later, there was a knock at his door, Hailey jumped up to get it and took the food, then tipped the staff. “You do that, right? Tip him?”

  “Yeah. Thanks,” Eli said. “You moved faster than me.”

  “No worries. It’s the least I can do for you buying me lunch.”

  He grinned and flipped to the last page, signed his name and then put it back in the envelope to hand to her. “You think I buy lunch?” he asked.

  “You know what I mean.” She moved over to his table with the food and he went to join her. While she got her club sandwich out, she asked, “So how are things with Bella?”

  “What?” he asked. “What do you mean?” He had no idea she knew anything about Bella being here, let alone to question him.

  “Just asking. She seems nice and sweet. Not completely your type, but that is probably why your mother loves her so much.”

  “My mother has been talking to people about Bella?” he asked. He was going to strangle her. What happened to them keeping this all quiet?

  “Only last week when I saw the two of them out.”

  “Where did you see them?” he asked. “When they were shopping or at lunch?”

  Hailey put her sandwich down. “Oops. Seems I put my foot in my mouth.”

  “Then yank it out and talk to me.”

  “I can’t. Attorney-client privileges. I would have thought, considering the reason she was on this island and you are watching out for her, she would have told you we talked.”

  He closed his eyes. “No. She didn’t tell me you talked. But she told you why she was here?”

  “Relax, Eli. You know you can trust me to not say a word.”

  He did know that. But it didn’t matter. “Why did she want to see you?”

  “You’ll have to ask her,” Hailey said.

  “Don’t try to find Oliver Dubois. Please tell me you aren’t. If she told you the reason she was here, then I would think she would have told you he left instructions to not track him or it might put her in danger.”

  “She did tell me that. I’m not stupid enough to do something like that when I know Griffin is doing everything he can.”

  “I’m giving her everything she could need here. I don’t understand why she needed to seek you out.”

  “Sorry. Not talking. Or not talking about that appointment.” Hailey took a massive bite of her sandwich and chewed. “Damn, this is out of this world.”

  “I’ll give the compliments to the chef. Is Bella trying to find out about her family?”

  Hailey just kept filling her face with food. Damn her. He knew she wouldn’t say. “These fries are so crisp too.”

  “You think you’re so funny.”

  “Because
I am.”

  “Griffin has looked into her family,” he said, trying a different approach.

  “I’m sure he has. Griffin is thorough that way.”

  “There isn’t much to find,” Eli said.

  “That’s nice.”

  “You’re testing me,” he said, eating his burger.

  “I’m not trying to. If I told you anything, you’d think you can’t trust me. You know you can.”

  “Fine,” he said. “I’m just pissed Bella didn’t tell me she saw you. She could be putting herself at risk.”

  “She isn’t,” Hailey said. “If she was, I’d tell you. You know that. But I wasn’t aware she had to report back to you like that. She’s not your child. If you treat her that way then your mother is going to rip you apart.”

  “I don’t treat her like that. Bella knows her mind and what she wants.”

  “And you’re cranky about that,” Hailey said. “This is fun. Is she giving you a run for your money? Is someone not falling for your charm?”

  He narrowed his eyes at his cousin. “No comment.”

  “Ha. You think two can’t play at that game, but I’m more stubborn than you and you know it. What’s the matter, Eli? You seem troubled.”

  “I am,” he said.

  “If you are, then try to put yourself in Bella’s shoes. I’m not sure how she’s been able to do this for the past few weeks. I’d be going nuts sitting around with nothing to do.”

  “She has things to do. She spent time being on vacation. Then she’s been working and shopping. She’s been to lunch with my mother.”

  “Have you been trying to be romantic with her?” Hailey asked around a mouthful. “Are you striking out and needy and that is why you’re Mr. Cranky Pants?”

  “Very funny,” he said. “I’ll have you know I’m the perfect gentleman.”

  “Which means you’re trying and not getting very far.”

  “My brothers don’t even ride my ass as much as you,” Eli said, grabbing a few fries.

  “You’re so easy. I could never bust on Hunter like this. Or I did, but he wasn’t much fun. He tried to be, but it’s not the same.”

  “Hunter always felt like he had to be the perfect son,” Eli said. “He never let loose like the rest of us.”

  “That’s right,” Hailey said. “I loved that Kayla got pregnant before they were married. It finally let Hunter stand up for himself with my father. Since then, they’ve gotten along great.”

  Hailey had always been the wild one. The one that wouldn’t conform. She’d butted heads with her father for years, but they still loved each other.

  “People can change,” Eli said. “Or they find their backbone and take a stand.”

  “That’s right. Just remember that. Maybe that is what Bella is doing. And if she is, then give her space and talk to her before you get all worked up and accuse her of anything.”

  “I’m not worked up,” he argued.

  “Really?” Hailey asked. “Because the remains of your burger are squished in your hand. What a shame too. It looked tasty.”

  He glanced down and saw that he’d been holding his burger and almost clenching his fist at the same time. He tossed the smushed bread and meat down into the container and pushed the rest of his lunch away.

  “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

  “Yes, I do,” Hailey said, finishing up the last bite of her sandwich, wiping her hands, and picking up the envelope. “I need to get off this damn island so I can breathe.”

  He watched Hailey leave his office and then called Griffin to come down.

  “What’s going on?” Griffin asked ten minutes later. “You’re pacing. Did you hear something from Oliver?”

  “No. Hailey was just here. She said Bella was in her office last week with my mother when they were out.”

  “So?” Griffin said. “Did Hailey say why?”

  “No. She couldn’t tell me.”

  Griffin laughed. “Which means Bella hired her. Hailey isn’t stupid enough to look into Oliver, so are you thinking she is looking into Ben Kingston’s family?”

  “That’s my guess. You said everything was on the up and up there, right? Nothing major.”

  “Nope,” Griffin said. “Just law-abiding citizens. I gave you my report. There doesn’t seem to be any tie to Bella that I could find other than old articles.”

  “So then Bella must be trying to find out why her father was estranged from his family.”

  “And she didn’t tell you any of this?” Griffin asked.

  “Wipe that smirk off your face.”

  “Please. I love seeing you all twisted like this. What, nothing more came about from your picnic on the beach? She isn’t falling for your charm?”

  “I never said it was a picnic,” he said.

  “Please. I know you better than your brothers. You told me where you were going and I know your MO. You’ve got all these tricks up your sleeve you haven’t used in a long time. You found someone you want and maybe she isn’t interested.”

  He narrowed his eyes at his best friend. “She’s interested. I’m giving her time.”

  Griffin laughed. “Maybe she’s not the type to make that move.”

  Shit. Griffin was right. Bella was talking big, but if he didn’t make the move, she only went so far.

  This past weekend they’d both been busy working and just saw each other in passing. They texted or talked a few times, but nothing more.

  For a guy who said he cared about her, he probably wasn’t showing it by keeping his distance either.

  18

  Yanking My Chain

  Did she think Eli wasn’t that hard to figure out? She thought wrong when he started to bang on her door Monday afternoon.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, opening up fast after seeing it was him. Talk about her heart racing and fearing some kind of danger.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you met with Hailey?”

  “What?” she asked.

  “Hailey Bond. My cousin. The lawyer. Why didn’t you tell me you met with her last week?”

  “How do you know? Did your mother tell you?”

  “No. My mother would never betray you. Which is another thing I’ve got to take up with her. Her loyalty should be to me.”

  She wanted to laugh but decided it wasn’t the time. Especially because he was in such a snit over this. “Then Hailey told you?” she asked. “Or did you find out by the tracker on the car? Oh wait. Cody, the driver. Did he report back to you? If so, he’s a little remiss in his duties since it was six days ago.”

  Eli almost snarled at her when she’d said those words. “You’ve got a backbone all right.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “I heard it from Hailey.”

  She crossed her arms. “And what did she tell you?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “She wouldn’t. And she delighted in yanking my chain over the fact that I had no idea you were there.”

  “Yanking your chain? I didn’t know I had to report all my stops to you. Do you want to know exactly what stores I stopped in too?” Now he was pushing his obligations too far in her eyes.

  “No,” he said. “But you seeing a lawyer in what is a potentially dangerous situation that we are flying blind in and I’m supposed to be protecting you is not only stupid but careless. I expected better of you than that.”

  “Did you just call me stupid?”

  Eli actually took a step back. “What did you go to see her about?”

  “I want to know how you found out. Why did Hailey even tell you?”

  Was she wrong to have done that? She wasn’t purposely hiding it from Eli, but she was pissed off enough over his attitude that he thought she was.

  “She didn’t rat you out if that is what you think,” he said.

  “I’m not sure what to think at this point. It is your family. I’ve got no reason to trust them.”

  “You have every reason t
o trust us all. And the fact my mother and cousin didn’t tell me should prove that to you.”

  “You still didn’t tell me how it came up.”

  “I was meeting with Hailey today. She asked how things were going with us. I had no idea what she was talking about. I thought my mother was telling her about you.”

  “And you were ready to go read your mother the riot act over it?” she said.

  Eli was running his hands through his perfectly styled hair and sending it all over the place as if the wind whipped it around in a tropical storm. It was almost laughable at how disheveled he looked.

  Aside from the day he’d taken her shopping in shorts and the shorts he had on for their dinner last week on the beach, he’d always been impeccably groomed. Heck, even in his shorts he was a walking fashion statement.

  “I was. She knows how serious this is.”

  “So your mother didn’t say anything,” she guessed. “And you asked how Hailey knew about me?”

  “I did. She laughed over the fact I didn’t know you were there.”

  “Good for her.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t play with me. What is Hailey doing for you? Is she looking into your family? That’s what it is, isn’t it?”

  “Why does it matter?”

  “Bella. Everything has to be looked at right now. Not just your uncle’s life.”

  She knew that. “I know. Which is what I’m doing.”

  “Griffin already did it.”

  “And you didn’t think you could tell me that?” she asked. She was ready to start pacing enough to generate the wind to blow his hair around some more.

  “It was just a surface look at them. To see if there was any trouble or anyone could have found out about you.”

  “That’s a long shot. They don’t even acknowledge me.”

  “And that is what you want to know about, isn’t it?” he asked. “Why your father was estranged from his family?”

  “Don’t get all nice and caring now after you came marching in here ready to fire some insubordinate employee.”

  His mouth opened and closed. “Excuse me?”