He pulled his cheeks in and shook his head, anger flickering in his dark gaze. “She has no right.”
“She’s concerned about her friend. Your brother, Antonnis, had a love-’em-and-leave-’em relationship with a local. You and Joe troll the resorts for women to party with, and your father–”
Harm held up his hand just to the side of her face. Really, the man had no concept of personal space. “Stop right there. She has this all twisted.”
“So Joe isn’t planning to toss Sass over for someone else as soon as the wind changes?” Her pulse thundered. The relationship had gotten serious so fast, she felt the need to protect her best friend.
“As much as I’d like him to, I think I’m stuck with Sassy.”
Holly let out a breath, tension easing from her shoulders. “Why don’t you like her? The two of you fight like brother and sister.”
“She’s a spoiled brat who thinks the world revolves around her.” He reached into the pocket of his black board shorts and pulled out his sunglasses.
“She’s one of the sweetest, most genuine people I’ve ever known.” Her shoulders tightened. She was going to need a massage just from talking to Mr. Sex-on-Legs.
He slipped his thumbs into the waistband of his board shorts, settling them even lower on his hips. “Says the woman she convinced to move to the Caribbean.”
He had her there. “I’ll be in New York most of the time once I know you’re not trying to tempt Joe into his old ways every time Saskia flies away.”
He pursed his lips, shaking his head again. “Is that what Janny said? She has no right to interfere in Joe’s life.”
Holly shrugged. “You’ve both earned your reputations. Decent women don’t find that kind of philandering the least bit attractive.”
“I guess that makes you indecent.” His gaze poured over her body like warm honey and a heaviness settled into her breasts and between her thighs. He slid on his sunglasses and the mirrored lenses blocked her from reading anything from his dark eyes. “There are two problems with this plan of yours.”
“I’ve bruised your ego and blocked your game? I’m sure you’ll have no issues finding someone willing to make it all better. Someone who doesn’t need to appear flawless in Sassy V beachwear.”
He shook his head. “No one tells me what to do, and I’m not playing a role in your soap opera.”
Her phone chimed to life. She stepped back and reached into her handbag for it.
“We’re still talking.” His voice grated like asphalt on bare knees.
She held up her hand as she answered the call.
Her assistant’s voice rang with excitement. “Wake Up America! Friday. They want Sassy V for their swimwear show. And the Ricki Rivers show too. You have to come right back.”
“Carly, honey, slow down.” Her pulse raced as fast as the words hitting her ear and exploding in her mind. The biggest morning program and hottest talk show? She had to turn off the Kermit flail going on in her head and turn on the businesswoman brain that had made this happen. “It’s Wednesday, and we have a photo shoot for the rest of the week. Reschedule with them for next week.”
“I tried, I swear. But Wake Up’s producers have the segment planned. They’re only adding us in because they saw the swimsuit edition cover. The same thing with the Ricki Rivers show. We don’t have anything for sale on the Mendelssohn’s website. But we can’t say no to this kind of coverage, right? Even though we don’t have anything to sell?”
Oh, they’d have pre-orders available. She’d make sure of that. “This will be a lot of work, but it will be worth it.”
Harm shook his head and circled the truck. Holly took it as her cue and climbed in, barely getting her seatbelt fastened before he took off down the narrow road. “Book a ticket for Sass. I’ll have to stay here and run the shoot myself. Find out if they are providing models and how many. We need to know how many suits to showcase, as well as cover-ups. Email me all that info. I’ll handle Mendelssohn’s and pre-orders. Oh, and send a press release of the new appearances to the people at Music Channel. They have a couple of our styles as alternates for their spring-break bikini contest next week. This should get us on the show.”
She got off the phone feeling like she’d won the lottery. No, better, since she’d started this snowball of success rolling.
“That was rude,” Harm grumbled beside her. “We were in the middle of a conversation.”
Holly looked up at his stern profile and shook her head, refusing to let him bring her down from cloud eight. Nine would be when she pulled this off. “I’m sorry, but it was very important. One of Saskia’s designs made the cover of the swimsuit issue that comes out this month.”
“You should know better than to answer your phone when you’re already talking to someone.”
“I wasn’t confirming a manicure appointment, Harm. This is a huge opportunity. I’m not going to let it slip through my fingers. Would I rather have taken the call back in New York? Of course. Do I wish these interviews could be done next week when I don’t need Saskia’s input on the photo shoot? You bet. But I don’t have the luxury of selecting the time frame.”
“That’s a weak apology.” He laid the annoyance on thick and kept his eyes on a road that should have been repaved a decade ago as they rambled past sandy paths woven between scrubby bushes and grassy patches where goats grazed.
Though she tried to focus on composing urgent emails, his disapproval and threat to the project loomed larger than his oversized presence. She’d been on a cotton-candy cloud, and he’d managed to darken it. She refocused on creating a list of things she’d have to delegate, because his opinion should not matter. But the part of her that found it hard to say no, the part that needed to make all the people happy all the time, fidgeted and squirmed until she had to put the phone down.
The tension climbed higher in her chest, tightening her neck until it choked out a confession. “I can’t afford for anything to go wrong this week. Without Sass here, I’m going to need your help.”
“I’m not interested in helping someone who thinks that manipulating people is the best way to get what she wants.”
“Okay, I probably deserved that.” She shifted in her seat, turning towards him. “Wasn’t there a time when you were starting out that you would do almost anything to stay on the path to success? It’s so close for us. I can’t risk even the smallest thing going wrong. Sassy V was supposed to do a soft launch this year, let us build some brand recognition before a major push next summer. But with the swimsuit issue everything is fast tracked. When you’re moving this fast, speed bumps can cause you to fly off course.”
He nodded. “I’ll help because it’s important to my brother and godfather that Saskia’s business succeeds. But that means having me around. And I don’t think you can tell everyone the truth about jumping me at the dock. It makes you sound like a nut job.”
She had to bite her tongue to keep from trading insults. She’d need all the help she could get, and the only other person she knew on the island was Saskia’s old salt of a dad, Dutch. Even Janny was away doing a medical-school rotation.
“I only see one way out of this for you.” His deep voice rumbled through her like a bass.
She tucked her hair behind her ears, ready for anything. “Do tell.”
Chapter Five
“He’s already at it!” Saskia stomped into the guest bedroom Holly had claimed at Harm’s villa and threw herself backwards onto the king-sized bed, white pillows jumping and settling with the dramatic motion. “We haven’t even unpacked and Harm had his tongue down one of the models’ throats.”
“Which one?” Holly looked away, her stomach tensing as she knelt on the polished teak floor in front of one of the open trunks. Sass had styled each suit with shoes and accessories and packed them together. Thank goodness, because Harm’s proposition had knocked her off-kilter.
“I don’t know.” Sass propped up on her elbows and sighed. “I overheard some talki
ng, but they hushed as soon as they spied me.”
“I’ll handle it. Don’t you worry.” She couldn’t let Sass in on her strategy, or Harm’s proposal. The game they played would keep Sass from being able to concentrate on her interviews. She needed to be her sparkling self, not a preoccupied mess.
“I can’t possibly go to New York and leave you to deal with him. He’s going to ruin everything. It’s what he does. You should go do the interviews. You’re better at that stuff.”
“You’re the face of Sassy V, my dear. No one can sell the brand better than you. They’re not going to talk numbers or marketing strategy. They want shiny, happy, pretty. And that is you, honey.”
Sass got up from the bed with a sigh and started unloading the second trunk, laying outfits on the bare floor in the oversized room. Everything in Harm’s house seemed as deceptively simple as he was. Stark-white furnishings, an open-air design that seemed sleek and modern, yet intricate woodwork could be found in the details. Elaborate patterns in the inlaid teak floors, a carved headboard depicting a beautiful garden and a wardrobe so beautiful she hadn’t dared open it lest a lion appear.
“Sometimes I feel bad that I get all the fun and you wind up with most of the boring work.”
Holly smiled up at her friend, appreciating the recognition. “For the record, I’d rather poke myself in the eye with a crochet hook than design a string bikini. Enjoy the interviews. I can handle Harm. He’s done nothing but help us so far.”
Sass slapped her bare thigh, a mark immediately forming on the pale skin below her shorts. “Helped himself to one of our models! Holly, really, you don’t know who you’re dealing with. Janny wasn’t kidding about the crazy love cluster that ended in three models all out brawling on Shoal Beach in the middle of a photo shoot. You-know-who had her weave snatched straight off her head. The story wound up on those checkout-stand rags. Is that where you want to see Sassy V?”
“Honey, I’m telling you, I’ve got this.” She turned her attentions back to the outfits, reworking which should be in the sunset shoot tonight so they could be sent to New York with Sass. “And you-know-who will do anything for publicity. Remember the story where she threw her shoe at the paparazzi? That was all to get the shoe website exposure. We can’t believe everything we read, or the gossip we hear.”
“Janny isn’t a gossip. She wouldn’t bother telling us if she wasn’t concerned.”
Holly pulled in a deep breath of sea air and stared out the open door at the ocean lapping at the rocky shore. Much of Anguilla’s coastline was sandy beach, but the shoreline from Harm’s villa was a tangle of craggy rocks and sea vines. Beautiful and dangerous, much like the man himself.
There was something about Harm’s reaction to learning it was Janny who had exposed his exploits that had her wondering if there weren’t more to the relationship. She was glad he’d agreed to play along, but he had his own agenda in wanting to show the gossipmongers he was more than the ultimate tourist attraction.
“Sass, are you sure Janny doesn’t have some kind of grudge where the Prinsens are concerned? She really seemed to have a hate on them. She even hates Joe.”
Sass tilted her head to the side, red hair pouring over her freckled shoulder. “She’s wrong about Johannes being a womanizer. I don’t have some idea that he was a saint before we got together, but he’s not a user. Not like Harm.”
“But she could be wrong about Harm too. I’m not saying he’s a hero, just that he has helped us. The only reason we can afford the extra day of shooting is because he’s letting us use the bungalows for the crew and putting us up here at his house.”
Sass dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. “He’s doing that for Johannes. He’s an ass, but he loves his brothers. Hell, he’s probably just doing it for easy access to the models. They are right next door this way.”
“I’ll be sure to booby trap the doors so I can hear him sneaking out at night.” Holly chuckled and reached into the bottom of the trunk for the crocheted skirts and dresses they hoped to have time to photograph. Their brand licensing agreement was for beachwear. But nothing kept them from developing clothing on their own, or expanding the deal to an exclusive lifestyle brand, for a price.
“Holly, this isn’t a joke. Harm is a heartbreaker of the first order. A lethal lothario.”
“Did you just say lethal lothario?” The giggle started in her belly, bubbling out as she tilted to the side and crashed into the trunk. “He’s like a comic book villain. Caribbean Casanova, the lethal lothario.”
Even Sass couldn’t resist the infectious laughter. “Faster than a bullet with fresh batteries, stronger than Anguilla rum punch.”
“Able to seduce bikini models with a single wink.” She gave her best wink and sneer. “How you doin’?”
Sass fell over, taking Holly with her. Laughter filled the room, surrounding them and easing the nerves the way it always did.
Three sharp knocks on the open door caught their attention and they scrambled up and tried to rein in their amusement. The Prinsen brothers stood in the doorway, Joe smiling as deep as Harm scowled. Saskia started laughing anew, which really didn’t help matters as Holly tried her best to fight the mirth. But really, they stood there all chiseled and shirtless, looking like happy Superman and angry Bizarro.
Having eight brothers might have taught her about men, but she also wound up with an obscene amount of comic book knowledge. She could hold back the giggles, but not the grin. Apparently, that was Harm’s blue kryptonite, because he turned on his heel and left without so much as a word.
Chapter Six
“Twenty minutes and I’ve lost the color.” Jason adjusted a giant light reflector and motioned for his assistant to do the same with the others.
“No problem.” Holly sounded calm, but her heart was racing faster than her feet as she made a beeline over the powdery sand towards the bungalow.
The models had better be ready, or she’d crop off their heads. Brutal, but on a schedule like this she’d decapitate those who got in her way. Just call her Henrietta the eighth.
“Slingshots in the sunset, you’re on,” she called as she made her way inside to the make-do makeup room and froze. The trio in barely there suits looked perfect, but Harm leaning against a wall marred the image. If Saskia had walked in on him leering, she might never make it to New York.
Holly cleared her throat. “Ladies?”
They turned one by one, the Barbie look-alike facing her last. It shouldn’t bother her that they flirted so openly with Harm, and yet it did. Not in a jealous way of course, but it was downright disrespectful. For all they knew she and Harm were a serious couple.
“Harmannus was just telling us about a great restaurant.” Barbie reached out and touched his biceps.
“He does know all the best spots, don’t you, baby?” She shot him a smile she hoped sent the cease-and-desist message loud and clear.
He had the nerve to wink. “Maybe we should take everyone out for rum punch to celebrate a great first day.”
Rat bastard. He might be gorgeous and sexy and used to having his own way, but she wasn’t about to let him rattle her. “We have to be on the boat to Rendezvous Bay at dawn. I think we’ll save our celebrating until after the shoot is wrapped.”
He shrugged, which must have reminded Barbie to remove her hand.
“We need to get these shots in before we lose the sunset.”
He targeted his dark gaze on her, his penetrating stare utterly erotic and more than a little unsettling. “Careful with this one, ladies. She cracks a mean whip.”
“Don’t you forget it.” Why did everything have to be innuendo with this guy? “Ladies, shall we?”
Holly followed the trio to the beach, wondering just how much time a bikini model had to spend in the gym to get her ass to perk up like that. She felt Harm’s hedonistic presence right behind her, surely studying the models with much less scrutiny.
Holly stopped and watched as the photographer pose
d the models and Saskia primped and tugged the material to cover the naughty bits. Really, a slingshot suit was nothing more than a thong attached to a scarf. It hid their muffin and berries and absolutely nothing else. No wonder Harm was tracking them like a bear fresh out of hibernation.
What was she supposed to do with such a determined predator? His devil-may-care attitude could seduce a nun. Irritation niggled her like an itch, knowing that no matter what she tried, he still had the ability to upend her plans.
“We agreed you wouldn’t try seducing the models.” She spoke to the sea, not having to look behind her to know he stood right there. Vitality pulsed from him, making even her logical mind think of sex. Lethal lothario indeed.
“If I’d been trying, none of them would be wearing those costumes right now.” He stepped up to stand beside her, his biceps brushing her bare shoulder as he crossed his arms over his chest.
She didn’t doubt it. The ocean breeze caressed her skin, now tingling with the awareness of the near-naked man beside her. Only a pair of shorts covered his muscular frame, and those rode so low on his hips there was no doubt what kept them from falling.
Harm cleared his throat. “Your manners need some work.”
She faked a laugh. “As does your sense of decorum. Do you own a shirt?”
He turned slightly, angling himself towards her. “You can’t play the prude with me. I know better. Women are not born knowing how to kiss the way you do.”
She went ahead and rolled her eyes at that one. And at the way his praise flattered her. “We’ve barely kissed. Your infamous reputation is based on quantity, not quality. Maybe you should be more discerning. And you need to stay away from my models.”
He stepped to the side and blocked her view of the beach. “You know, I’ve had about enough of this. The world doesn’t revolve around you, sweetheart. You bring a dozen women to Anguilla and assume I have nothing better to do than chase tail. Sassy tells me I can’t sleep with them. You tell me I can’t touch them. Which I have no intention of doing because I don’t need this kind of drama. But if you think you can tell me I can’t enter a house that I own because your models happen to be in it, you’re not just on the bus to crazy town, you’re driving it.”
Caribbean Casanova: Under the Caribbean Sun, Book 2 Page 2
