When she wanted to order a simple chicken salad, Ty intervened and made her try something a bit more daring on the menu. She ordered the Kahuna, a burger loaded with teriyaki sauce and grilled pineapple and told him after sharing those hot wings appetizers to be satisfied, because that was as bold as she was willing to go, right now. As she nibbled on her burger, she watched him eat Kalua Pig, a shredded pork sandwich piled high with cabbage and sautéed onions, another of the local main fares.
They walked along Front Street after lunch and spoke of nothing important. She liked that they’d seemed to have a silent agreement, no last names and no personal histories to mar the time they spent together.
She found him exciting and fun and full of surprises. When he took her back to the Wind Breeze, he walked her into the lobby and spoke in a sexy low voice near her ear. “I’d like to explore your ‘bold as you’re willing to go’comment a little more. Have dinner with me tonight.”
She wasn’t here for romance. She’d come to this secluded resort to get away from the press and memories that would have surely haunted her much more had she stayed in Los Angeles after the wedding fiasco. Normally, she wasn’t one to sit still, but a broken heart had a way of sucking the joy out of everything. She was here to recover from her emotional injuries, she reminded herself, yet she could use a diversion.
A handsome, attentive diversion.
“Will I be expected to have more Ono Pupus?” she asked with a little smile. “Because my mouth is still burning up from lunch.”
His attention riveted to her lips. “I can promise you no more hot wings, Laney.” Then he added in a thrilling whisper, “But I’m afraid I can’t make any promises regarding your mouth.”
A shot of heat rivaling the Ono Pupus coursed through her body and she decided that Ty was good for her torn-up ego. Why shouldn’t she have dinner with a fascinating man? Why not have more than dinner with him? She’d played by the rules all of her life and look what that got her?
She’d been persuaded by her well-meaning father to enter into The Royal hotel business after college, when all she really wanted in life was to become a photojournalist. And when her father had given her a three-month reprieve to study and tour Europe with her camera, hoping she’d get the camera bug out of her system, she’d met a vacationing Justin Overton in a little French café.
Justin had been smooth and charismatic and she’d been so naive. She’d found that he’d deliberately sought her out, following her from her native California home, playing on her love of photo galleries and the stunning French countryside. They had so much in common, it seemed, and before long, she fell in love and they’d gotten engaged quickly.
Laney thought she knew Justin well, until her father went against her wishes and had him investigated. And just before they were to speak their vows, her fiancé had been exposed as a fraud and a con man, only interested in Royal money.
He’d duped her, broken her heart and made her look like a fool. That wouldn’t happen again with any man, much less an appealing stranger she met today on the beach. Thanks to Justin, she had trust issues now. She would guard her heart well.
So why not have a little fun? Let go and enjoy the rest of her time here, instead of trying to wrap herself around a New York Times bestseller thriller. Or pretend to enjoy the sand and surf, when her disillusionment weighed her down like an iron anchor.
“If you’re married or engaged, I’ll personally hunt you down and have your head on a platter,” she said, only half-jokingly.
Ty’s laughter filled the lobby and an appreciative gleam entered his eyes. “That’s not in the cards for me. I’m single. I can make you that promise.”
“Okay then,” she said, “I’ll have dinner with you.”
He glanced at his watch, then cast her a steamy look filled with other promises. “I’ll pick you up at eight. Be ready to have some fun and be bold.”
He left her standing there, untouched. By the hungry look in his eyes, though, Laney knew that might all change tonight and she debated—for about two seconds—whether or not she should have dinner with him after all.
“Find out everything you can about Elena Royal, Brock. I need this info yesterday.” Evan spoke to his brother on his cell phone as he drove along the Maui coastline toward the run-down but potentially profitable Hotel Paradise on the western tip of the island.
“Elena Royal?” Brock questioned quickly. “From what I understand, she’s made herself as invisible as a person who bears the Royal name could. Except for her recent marriage collision, she’s kept herself out of the limelight. What could you possibly want to dish up about her?”
“She’s here on the island. We’ve met and she doesn’t know who I am.”
“So?”
“So? She’s Nolan Royal’s only child, only daughter. She’s worked for him on and off the past few years.”
“She’s quite a looker, Ev. I’ve seen her picture somewhere. Where are you going with this?”
“She’s bound to have knowledge of the old man’s business. If that hotel chain is truly in trouble, I need to know. I’ll make it my mission to find out while I’m here.”
“I’ll find out what I can right away. How is it, I’m up to my ears in paperwork and you’re sunning yourself at an island resort with a gorgeous woman?”
Evan pulled the rented Porsche into the drive leading to the ramshackle hotel and parked the car. He made an instant assessment. Good location. Great view. In need of major renovations. He’d have to do a thorough appraisal before deciding to add this hotel to the Tempest chain, the Tylers’ hard-won hotel corporation.
“Someone’s got to do it, Brock,” he said, amused at the image of his youngest brother sitting behind a desk, knee-deep in work. Brock wasn’t one to sit still very long. “I’m one who doesn’t mind mixing business and pleasure. They’re one and the same for me.”
“You know, rumors about the Royals have been floating around for months.”
“Precisely. I plan to find out if there’s any truth to them. Call me when you have details.”
Evan clicked off the phone and got out of the convertible, leaving the car right in front of the porte co-chere. No valet. He made a mental note before entering the establishment to tour the hotel with the owner.
By seven forty-five that evening, Evan had showered in his cottage suite at the Wind Breeze, dressed in a black suit and had gotten all the details he needed about Elena Royal. He had to admit, the woman hadn’t been dealt a fair hand. She’d been courted by a con man and he’d almost succeeded in landing a place in the Royal family. Nolan had been cagey and going against his daughter’s wishes and risking their relationship, he’d had the guy investigated completely, almost too late.
That only showed the hotel baron was getting soft in his old age.
Evan straightened his gray silk tie, combed his hair and grabbed several condoms from an unopened box in the dresser, sliding them into his pocket with ease. He hadn’t met a woman who’d intrigued him more than Elena Royal in months and he didn’t plan on letting her get away. There was keen intelligence in her eyes. She had a quick wit and an uncanny sense of humor. He’d make sure the lady didn’t know another moment of boredom.
At precisely eight o’clock, Evan knocked on her cottage suite and was nearly knocked to his knees when she opened the door.
She went for bold.
“Wow.” His