How quickly he dismissed everything she’d accomplished. Her chauvinist grandfather didn’t have enough confidence in her to realize she could run her own hotel business without the help of a man.
“If you intend to sell Marathon anyway, then sell it to me. I can give you a hundred thousand down by tomorrow.” It’d be tight, but some decent investments combined with her inheritance would cover it.
Edward clasped his hands together and smiled. “I’ll do you one better. Marry Perry, move back to Boston and I’ll sign Marathon over to you as a wedding present. You can play with it in your spare time. Bring your children down here for vacations.”
So, the truth finally came out. He interpreted her hard work building up this resort as playing. Watching the two men exchange self-assured grins, she steamed. The conniving rats expected her to just fall in line with their conspiracy.
“You and Perry could make a good life together.”
Perry eased behind her desk and took both her hands in his. “We were young. I was stupid. Any way you could find it in your heart to forgive me? Give me another chance?”
She pulled her hands out of his grasp and shot him a go-to-hell look. Did he actually think she’d fall for his preposterous act? She wasn’t the naive coed she’d been six years ago. Dimples and an expensive suit wouldn’t fool her again.
Leaning close, he nuzzled her ear. “Don’t be like this, darling. We’ll make a great team, both personally and professionally. Just like we planned.”
She flinched at his touch. The only thing Perry was interested in was getting to the top. He didn’t care whom he had to use, step on or obviously even marry to get there.
A quick tap on her office door drew her attention. Without waiting for an invitation, the local Casanova strolled into the room. “Hey, Charlie, we got a problem. My boat’s on the blink again.”
Today was turning into a real winner.
“Charlie?” Edward sputtered. “You allow employees to call you Charlie? How can you run a resort of this caliber without respect for management?”
She bit her tongue to keep from snapping back. At least they were in agreement about one thing. Only Aaron Brody would enter her office unannounced and only Aaron called her Charlie. The man had no concept of propriety or manners. It was a miracle he managed to keep his charter business afloat. Literally. This was the third time in two months he’d had to cancel a tour because his boat wasn’t running.
Ignoring her grandfather’s comments, Aaron folded his tanned arms across his chest and winked at Charlotte.
She did a double take. What was up with that? Did he realize what he’d walked in on? She studied his face. She’d never been able to decipher the strange workings of his mind. Mr. Brody was a law unto himself. She’d long since given up on him behaving properly.
The first time she’d seen Aaron Brody, he’d been working on his boat. That situation hadn’t changed much over three years. The image of his sweaty tanned chest and long legs dusted with sun-bleached hair was seared in her memory.
Cocky, independent Aaron would never get caught in a position like this. He’d probably tell Edward to go straight to hell.
As she studied him, an idea took form. Would Aaron go along with it? Either way, she wasn’t about to lose this resort without a fight. But marrying Perry Thurman to keep it wasn’t an option.
Trying not to act awkward, Charlotte sauntered up to Aaron and slipped her arm around his waist. She stared him straight in the eyes and smiled. “Aaron isn’t an employee, Edward.” Please let him follow her lead. She turned her head to watch the expression on her grandfather’s face. “I’d like you to meet my fiancé, Aaron Brody.”
Edward’s jaw dropped.
She deliberately didn’t introduce Perry as she beamed at her speechless grandfather. She tried to present the picture of calm confidence, but inside her stomach lurched. What now? Aaron surely thought she was a lunatic.
Edward glanced at her bare ring finger, leveled his pointed glare on Aaron, and demanded, “Is that true? Are you planning to marry my granddaughter?”
Locking gazes with Aaron, she silently pleaded with him to back her up. His eyes matched the murky green of the gulf right before a storm and were just as dangerous. She’d heard rumors of wild nights and wilder women. Hopefully he was crazy enough to take the challenge.
His body was a granite statue beneath her arm. Wiping her sweaty palm on the back of his shirt, she continued to hold his stare.
“Why would Charlie lie about a thing like that?” Aaron asked without looking Edward’s way. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
Before she had time to register relief, he bent his head, slid a seductive hand inside the collar of her blouse, and caressed her bare neck. He leaned close, rubbed the tip of his nose against hers, and covered her lips with his.
She felt every thump of her heart, but her lips parted, following his lead. His tongue slowly traced the shape of her mouth. She gazed into his eyes and her body temperature rose ten degrees. His mouth was warm and intimate, nibbling and sampling as if her lips were a delectable slice of key lime pie.
As quickly as he’d swept her into his arms, he loosened his hold. A corner of his mouth twitched and a mischievous twinkle lit his eyes. “You left before I woke up this morning. You know I don’t like that.”
Charlotte reminded herself to close her mouth. She couldn’t think of an appropriate response.
Perry paced across the room. “You can’t be serious about throwing your life away on this…this…”
She turned her back on him and flashed Aaron a grateful smile. “I have no intention of throwing my life away.” Hopefully this “engagement” would buy her enough time to send Perry packing.
Edward ran his gaze over Charlotte before focusing on Aaron. “Is that the way you dress for work?”
She glanced at Aaron’s dirty khaki shorts and road-stripe-yellow T-shirt. His sneakers sported holes and engine grease stained his shirt and nails. Tufts of sun-streaked brown hair stuck out from under a battered khaki baseball cap. Typical dress for the Keys, but not her grandfather’s idea of proper business attire.
Aaron shrugged and pointed to the faded green words, Brody’s Charters, stenciled on the front of his shirt. “You got a problem with free advertising?” The two men never broke eye contact. “This is the Keys, pal. Not Boston.”
“So, when’s the wedding? Should I postpone my flight?”
She couldn’t move. She should have expected Edward to call her bluff. She squeezed Aaron’s waist. “We aren’t planning a big ceremony. Spring break is about to hit. Maybe after that we’ll go to a JP.”
Edward frowned. “A justice of the peace?”
“Charlotte, please don’t do this.” Perry sounded truly pained.
She took a breath and pretended Perry wasn’t in the room. Not too difficult with Aaron massaging the back of her neck.
He rubbed his stubbled chin with his other hand and eyed Edward. “You know, Charlie, since your grandfather’s in town, maybe my pal Johnny could marry us on his boat. He’s a captain. We could get married as early as say…tomorrow.”
Tomorrow? Her throat tightened. What was he doing? Did he think she was actually going to marry him?
Aaron flashed an innocent smile. “What do you say, Charlie?”
She felt like a swimmer trapped in a pool of circling male sharks. She offered her grandfather what she hoped was a pleasant smile. “Aaron and I need to talk. Could you give us a minute?”
She