“I know. I’m sorry, Dad.”
“I never wanted you to run yourself into the ground, son. You don’t have to prove anything to me. I’m already proud of you.”
A lump welled in Jace’s throat; he took a moment to clear it before he simply said, “Thanks.”
“Everything is fine here without you. Frankly, I think Nancy could run the place perfectly well without either of us.”
Jace grinned at that. “I don’t doubt it. Hey,” he said as something occurred to him, “you should take a break here too, Dad. How long is it since you’ve been on vacation?”
“Flew up for Hamilton Race Week last year,” John answered promptly. “Might come up this year too. It’s only a few weeks away now, I’ve got several friends with yachts in the races. Maybe you’ll still be there?”
“I hope not. I’ll go stir-crazy by then with nothing to do!”
John laughed richly. “Go find some pretty girls to flirt with or something.”
Unbidden, Jace’s mind flew to Nessa. “Maybe,” he said unguardedly, then changed the subject before his father could ask any awkward questions.
Hanging up the phone at last, Jace found he felt almost light, as though a weight had been taken off his shoulders. The news Hunter Enterprises was ticking along just fine without him should have been a cause for concern, a worry he was replaceable. Instead, the knowledge was strangely reassuring. Was it a sign, he wondered? A sign maybe his future really didn’t lie in the company’s executive offices?
Well, he didn’t have to make the decision today, or tomorrow, or even next week. He had plenty of time to consider it, and where better than here, in this island paradise, with nothing else to distract the mind? Dropping the phone on the coffee table, he lay back on the couch, putting his feet up, and gazed up at the ceiling. The sunlight reflecting off the pool outside made little ripples of dappled rainbow light on the white paint. Gazing at them, Jace’s eyes slowly drifted closed until he was sound asleep.
Chapter Three
Nessa hadn’t expected to see Jace back at her bar, and certainly not so soon, but she was serving lunchtime drinks when he came ambling down off the hiking trail again. He looked a lot better today and better equipped as well, with a small pack slung over his shoulder. She guessed he had a water bottle in it. Too busy to do more than give him a quick nod in greeting as he slid onto a barstool, she took a few minutes to clear the order the waiter had just handed her for a dozen complicated cocktails.
“Hey,” she slid a coaster in front of Jace and smiled. “You look better today. Got some color in your cheeks.”
He smiled back. “I totally had a grandpa nap after breakfast. It was fantastic.”
That made Nessa laugh. “Good for you. What can I get you?”
“Haven’t had lunch yet, so I’d better keep it virgin.” He cocked his head at her. “Something long and cold. I brought water with me today, but it’s still pretty hot walking.”
She nodded and reached for a tall glass, shoveling ice into it before mixing orange, mango, and pineapple juices and topping it off with club soda.
“Looks great,” Jace said enthusiastically as Nessa placed the glass in front of him with a flourish. He took a long drink, eyes closing with pleasure. “Ohhh. Beautiful.”
“You’re welcome.” She set one of the food menus down beside his glass. “If you want to order lunch, I can put your order through here and the kitchen will send it out shortly.”
“Oh, you do bar food here?” He picked up the menu and looked through it with interest, seeing a wide variety of dishes, from pizza and sandwiches to Asian dishes and Spanish tapas.
“One of the resort’s restaurants is right over there,” she gestured to a large hedge to one side of the pool. “The kitchen’s just behind the bar. You can go in there for lunch, if you’d prefer.”
“No, I think I’d like to eat here,” Jace said thoughtfully. “Turkey and cheese focaccia with cranberry sauce sounds good, please.”
Nessa put the order through, poured two more drinks as her waiter returned, and then found herself leaning with her elbows on the bar. “Have you been here on Sunfish long?”
“A few days, but I didn’t really venture out until yesterday.” He smiled at her. “I’m planning to remedy that, though, and do some exploring. This place really is like paradise.”
Nessa smiled as she looked around, at the laughing patrons in the shimmering pool, the beautifully landscaped tropical gardens. “It really is. I get a bit blasé about it sometimes, but then someone like you comes along and makes me look at it through fresh eyes.”
Jace nodded, taking another sip of his drink.
“Do you snorkel, or dive?” Nessa asked then. “If so, you should, while you’re here. We’re right in the middle of the World Heritage part of the Barrier Reef; there’s no better diving anywhere in the world.”
“I haven’t for a long time, but I’d love to.” He hesitated, remembering her quick refusal of his invitation the previous afternoon. “Do you get much chance to?”
“I haven’t been in ages.” She looked a bit wistful. “I really should. It’s still fairly quiet this time of year, I could get a spot on one of the trips easily enough. In the high season, we’re supposed to leave them for paying customers, obviously.”
“Obviously,” Jace agreed, nodding. It was a sensible policy. He fiddled with the straw in his drink for a moment. Go on, bite the bullet. The worst she can say is no. “I was thinking of maybe going up to the main resort and booking onto one of the trips. If you’ve got a day off coming up, maybe you’d like to come with me?”
He hadn’t felt so shy asking a girl out in years. Nessa’s light amber eyes were serious as she gazed at him, and then her dimpled smile broke out, wide and startlingly white in her brown face.
“I’d really like that. I’ve got the day off tomorrow, actually, if there are any spots available on one of the tours.”
Jace had to suppress an inappropriate urge to punch the sky and whoop with victory. Play it cool. “Any preferences, snorkel or dive?”
“Snorkel. I’ve never been much of a diver, I admit. I get a bit claustrophobic.”
He nodded, perfectly happy with that. “Sounds good. I’ll walk over after lunch and check out what’s available.”
Nessa smiled and turned away to serve another customer. She couldn’t keep her lips from quirking upward, she found; the thought of going snorkeling with Jace had a squirmy, excited feeling building in the pit of her stomach. It’s a date, she thought, giving him a quick sideways glance under her lashes. His sandwich had just been delivered and he was thanking the waitress who’d brought it with a charming smile. The girl looked a bit dazed as she turned away; she caught Nessa’s eye and grinned, miming fanning herself with a backward glance at Jace.
He’s sexy enough to raise any girl’s internal temperature, Nessa thought. Add his physical attractiveness, charm, and money–at least, she assumed he was reasonably well off. Enough to move in the rarefied circles where a friend owned a private villa on Sunfish Island, at any rate. Although she supposed it could be a friend with rich parents; there weren’t many folks Jace’s age who had that kind of money.
Everything about Jace added up to the kind of man women threw themselves at. And he’d chosen to ask her out, not once but twice, making a second attempt when she’d turned him down the first time. It was flattering as hell, Nessa acknowledged, glancing at him again, taking in his clean-cut, preppy good looks. He’d shaved since yesterday, removing the scraggly beard, and though he could still use a haircut, he looked even more handsome than she’d originally thought.
She was still busy serving customers when he finished eating and headed off, though he did catch her eye to give her a little wave. Her heart sank unaccountably, but leapt right back up again twenty minutes later when he ambled back to the bar, waving a slip of paper.
“We’re booked on the all-day snorkel tour going out at eight-thirty,” Jace said cheerfully as N
essa gave him one of her blinding smiles.
“Sounds terrific. I’ll meet you at the dock?”
“Sure. They said the boat is equipped with everything we need, so all you need to bring is your beautiful self and your swim gear.”
“You’d better wear a T-shirt.” She pointed at him. “And we’ll slather you in sunscreen, or that pasty skin of yours is gonna go lobster-red.”
“Gotcha,” Jace agreed. “Well, I’d better head on back. See you in the morning, then!”
“See you,” Nessa said, and told herself not to be silly. It was ridiculous to be disappointed he hadn’t repeated his dinner invitation. She’d be spending the whole day with him tomorrow. That’d be plenty of time to get to know him better.
***
Nessa woke early the following morning. Butterflies churned in her stomach. She told herself sternly not to be ridiculous; she was hardly a teenager on her first date with a boy she liked! Still, she couldn’t quite tamp down the welling bubble of excitement as she headed to the staff cafeteria to get breakfast.
“Hey!” Her friend Olivia slid into the seat opposite her. “You’re up and about early. Don’t usually see you in here at this hour.”
“I’m going out on a snorkeling trip today,” Nessa explained. “Figured I should get in a good breakfast first; I’ll need the energy.”
Olivia shuddered dramatically. “You don’t get seasick? I never dare eat if I’m going out on one of the boats, in case I wind up feeding the fish!”
“…Thanks for that image.” Nessa looked down at the stack of waffles she’d selected, having second thoughts.
“Whoops, never mind me!” Olivia laughed, a blush staining her cheeks. “Shouldn’t have mentioned it. You just have a good day!” Nessa couldn’t keep the goofy grin off her face, and Olivia gave her a narrow-eyed look. “Why do I have the feeling this isn’t just a fun day off for you? Wait. You met someone!”
“What are you, a mind-reader?” Nessa dug back into her waffles. “Yes, I met someone,” she mumbled when Olivia prodded her.
“A resort guest?” Olivia’s eyes widened.
“No! Come on, you know me better than that. He’s staying at one of the private villas. It belongs to a friend of his.”
“Oh, okay.” Olivia nodded. “Is he cute?” Her grin widened cheekily.
“Well, I think so.” Nessa grinned back. “But paws off. You’re taken.” She pointed her fork at Olivia sternly.
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m more than satisfied with my catch.” Olivia looked like a cat licking cream off her whiskers.
“And where is Cory this morning?” she asked, referring to the resort’s activities manager.
“Oh, he’s taking the snorkeling trip out. He already ate and went down to help prep the boat. So don’t tell me, if you don’t want to, but be warned I’ll get all the juicy details out of Cory later. Can’t escape the gossip network, darling.”
Nessa wrinkled her nose with disgust and sighed. “Well, it’s a first date. So there won’t be much to tell.”
“Apart from the fact that your date will no doubt be eating you up with his eyes. Are you wearing your red bikini? You’ll knock his socks off.”
She already had it on underneath her light sundress. Living on a tropical island, she owned half a dozen bikinis, but she never considered wearing any of the others when she opened the drawer this morning. The red bikini was a halter-neck, framing and lifting her breasts, the fiery color a great contrast to her dark skin. Ties at the sides of the brief bikini bottoms were a wicked temptation, luring a man’s attention to her hips, making him think about tugging on the ties to pull them free.
Nessa wanted that kind of attention from Jace. She’d done a fair bit of soul-searching after impulsively agreeing to go on the snorkeling date with him. She wasn’t an impulsive person by nature, but in the end she’d had to conclude her subconscious had already decided. Jace was an attractive man. He wasn’t the only one to show interest in her recently, but he was the only one in a long time who’d provoked a matching response from her. She’d spend the day with him and see how things panned out, but at the moment she provisionally intended on taking him back to her place that evening. Or going back to the villa where he was staying, if he invited her. She’d never been in any of the fancy private villas and found herself curious about what they’d be like.
“Earth to Nessa!”
She blinked, startled back to herself. She’d drifted off into a daydream thinking about Jace. About letting him pull the ties on her bikini. He had nice hands, she’d noticed when he was at the bar, with long, capable fingers. She’d had more than a few thoughts about those fingers caressing her skin, finding her most sensitive spots.
“Sorry, I was somewhere else.”
“I could see that.” Olivia smirked over the rim of her coffee cup. “You’d better get moving, sugar, or you’re literally gonna miss that boat.”
“Argh!” A quick glance at her watch and Nessa abandoned the remnants of her breakfast, scrabbling under her chair for the beach bag she’d brought with her.
“Have fun!” Olivia called after her as she hurried for the exit. Nessa waved hastily and set off for the boat dock at a fast trot.
Chapter Four
She wasn’t coming. It was eight twenty-eight, and the boathand was preparing to cast off the lines. Jace bit down on his lip, wondering if he could ask them to wait five more minutes.
“We’re one short,” the tall blond man in resort-uniform polo shirt and shorts said, looking at the clipboard in his hand. “You’re Jace Weller, right?”
He’d given his mother’s maiden name as his surname when booking, not wanting anyone to clue in to his real identity. “That’s right.”
“And you booked for two?”
“Yeah, my friend should be here any minute--” He spied a figure hurrying along the path toward the dock. “Here she is now!”
“Hold off on that line, Ben.” The man took a half a step back. “Whoa, Nessa?”
“Hey, Cory,” Nessa grinned at him as she hurried up to the boat. “Hi, Jace.” To his pleased surprise, she went up on tiptoes and brushed a kiss on his cheek.
“I… see.” Cory blinked, looking from one to the other of them. “Okay, well, I guess that makes everyone, then.” He made a final tick on his clipboard. “Take your seats, everyone.”
There were several other guests on board and only a couple of seats vacant. Nessa sat down and Jace joined her; she dropped a bag at their feet and gave him a bright smile.
“You look beautiful,” Jace said impulsively. She was wearing a light cotton sundress in a turquoise blue which looked utterly amazing against her deep brown skin. Her long black braids were hanging loose to her waist, brushing against his arm; he suppressed an inappropriate urge to take one in his fingers and play with it.
“Thank you!” Nessa held his gaze, her smile widening even further. “You’re looking pretty good yourself. Like the threads.” She flicked lightly at the lapel of the loud Hawaiian shirt he was wearing.
“It’s not mine,” Jace confessed, “I think it belongs to… the owner of the villa. I found it in the closet.” He’d almost said my father then, but bit the words back just in time. He’d told Nessa the villa belonged to a friend. An uncomfortable feeling curled in the pit of his stomach; he didn’t like misleading her. But then, he rationalized, he wanted her to get to know him without knowing who he was, about his wealth, his family name. It was very possible nothing would come of this, that they would go their separate ways in a few days and she would never even need to know.
Still, as he looked into her smiling, carefree face, Jace had the sinking feeling things weren’t going to be quite so simple.
A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, making him jump. The boat had started moving, and he twisted around to find Cory had slipped into the seat behind them and was giving him the evil eye.
“Knock it off with the big brother act, Cory,” Nessa said, shoving Cory’s hand o
ff Jace’s shoulder. “I’m a big girl, y’know.”
“Just making sure he knows there are folks looking out for you,” Cory said, his tone perfectly amiable even if his eyes weren’t.
“I had no doubt of it,” Jace said with a friendly smile in return. “I’m sure Nessa’s the kind of person who inspires intense loyalty in her friends.”
Cory nodded, apparently satisfied with his answer. “Good. Well, in that case, have a good day!” He slid out of the seat again and strode up to the front of the boat, easily maintaining his footing against the sway, plucking up a microphone from the side of the pilot’s chair. “G’day folks! Let me tell you about the awesome day we’ve got in store for you…”
Jace and Nessa both listened with interest as Cory talked, telling the group the itinerary for the day, including snorkeling at three different sites and lunch on the world-famous Whitehaven Beach.
“With any luck we’ll see some humpback whales too, since they’re passing through the area at the moment on their annual migration,” Cory concluded, “so keep your eyes peeled.”
The other tourists started chattering excitedly as soon as Cory put the microphone down. Nessa looked at Jace, her eyes shining. “I’m really looking forward to this. Thank you so much for inviting me.”
“I’m looking forward to it too. The snorkeling… and your company.”
Small fingers curled over his. Startled, Jace looked down at Nessa’s hand, then up at her. She was still smiling at him. He turned his hand and laced his fingers with hers, feeling like a boy with his first crush finding out the girl he liked was interested in him, too.
They held hands the whole half-hour it took to get to the first snorkeling site, a secluded cove in the lee of one of the other islands in the chain. Cory informed them the island was completely uninhabited, a wildlife sanctuary, and they weren’t permitted to swim ashore.
The Reluctant Billionaire Page 3
