He dropped his hands abruptly. “Oh, yeah. I don’t want the lines blurring between work and play.”
Then you’d better not kiss me again, Kristy thought.
“And acquiring my resort is still on your agenda.”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I’ve found there’s usually a way to make everyone happy in the end, if the lines of communication—and negotiation—are kept open.”
Which meant what? Kristy wondered, upset. Had his praise of her efforts to revitalize been disingenuous, after all? Or did he now have some other business scheme in mind? Something he thought she might actually cotton to?
Deciding she didn’t need—or want—to know, since she had no plans to sell Paradise Resort anyway, Kristy merely smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said dryly, walking away.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised.
Kristy didn’t reply, wave, or in any way acknowledge what he’d said. She just kept walking and let her actions speak volumes.
“WE’LL TRY AND STOP IN briefly on the way home to Raleigh,” Maude said as she and Kristy’s brother carried their suitcases out to the car the next morning.
“Sounds good,” Kristy said. Doug hadn’t mentioned seeing her kissing Connor the evening before, but she knew from the way he and her mother were looking at her that they were both aware she had made a misstep in judgment. And both were taking that as yet another sign that she was slowly but surely going off her rocker, in the wake of Lance’s death.
Kristy loved her family and didn’t want them worrying about her, but she didn’t want to be put in the position of defending her every action to them, either. Darn it all, she was an adult, with the freedom to venture out of her self-imposed little world whenever she wanted to, for whatever reason. Even if it was, as it had been last night when she was wrapped in Connor’s arms, an exceedingly foolish and impetuous one.
“Maybe then we can talk more about Connor Templeton’s offer to you,” Doug said soberly, appearing to believe that the sooner they got her out of South Carolina and back home to Chapel Hill, the better.
“I’ve made up my mind about that,” Kristy said firmly but pleasantly, as her brother opened the back of the station wagon. “I’m turning him down.”
Doug made a soft harrumph.
“I think you might want to talk to your father and his accountant about it before you make a definite decision,” Maude said.
No, Kristy thought, just as resolutely, she did not. Because they would look at the sum Connor and Skip Wakefield were offering her and realize that after she had paid off both the first and second mortgage on the resort, she would still have a good two million dollars to bank. Managed properly, she and the girls could live off the interest on that for years. And while it was a tempting thought, to know she would never have to worry about money again, Kristy knew it was also the easy way out. Plus she’d be guaranteeing the demise of the resort her aunt Ida had spent her life taking care of.
“Aunt Ida bequeathed Paradise Resort to me because she trusted me to take care of it and bring it back to its former glory.”
“Ida would also understand that you are waging a losing battle here,” Maude said gently.
Doug nodded. “You have to face it, Kristy. You can’t compete with the fancy places that have sprung up along the coast.”
“I don’t want to compete with the golf and tennis resorts,” Kristy retorted, beginning to be irked again at the lack of understanding and support she received from her family in this regard. “I want to offer a different kind of place for a different kind of vacation.” And if they didn’t understand that…
Maude and Doug sighed.
Deciding there was no use in rehashing the same old argument, or continuing to make her case that there was a place for many kinds of resorts along the South Carolina coast, Kristy glanced at her watch. “You’d better be hitting the road if you don’t want to get caught up in rush hour traffic.”
To her relief, Doug and Maude took the hint. They said their goodbyes, thanked her for the hospitality and drove off.
The twins, having “forgotten” about the math work sheets that were due that morning, were sitting at a table in the dining room, busily working the multiplication problems that had been assigned to them.
They finished about five minutes before the bus was due. Kristy made sure they went to the bathroom and had their lunches, then walked out to the end of the driveway to wait for their bus with them.
About the same time, Connor pulled into the drive. Kristy’s heart gave a little leap at the sight of him, even as she reminded herself sternly not to get caught in the unexpected chemistry between them. Or spend any time at all remembering the warmth of his arms or the heart-stopping nature of his kiss, or the fact that he had made her feel like a woman for the first time in a very long time. Bottom line, he was here for one reason and one reason only—to buy her out. And, she reminded herself sternly, even when her body began to tingle as he got out of his Mercedes and strolled confidently toward her, holding her eyes all the while, she had to remember that. Because another kiss, another few hours of letting down her guard with him, was not something she could afford.
Not that Connor Templeton seemed to accept that fact, Kristy noted. As he deliberately closed the distance between them, he looked as if he was ready to pick up exactly where they had left off. With her wrapped in his strong arms, his lips fastened securely on hers…
Eyes twinkling, he leaned over to brush a light, careless kiss—a Southern-style greeting—against her cheek. “Morning.”
Only because the twins were there to witness her behavior did Kristy resist the urge to glower at him. As she sought to get a handle on her soaring emotions, she could feel the blood rushing to her face. Passing up the chance to lightly kiss his cheek, too, she forced a cheerful smile and stepped back a pace. “Good morning, Mr. Templeton.” She spoke as if he were a casual acquaintance she’d happened to see on the street.
And he wasn’t buying it for a second, Kristy noted.
He knew she was thinking about the way they had kissed last night, just as he was….
Unlike yesterday, however, this morning he was dressed in jeans that made the most of his tall, muscular frame, and a T-shirt that did similar things for his broad shoulders and flat abs. He had recently showered and shaved, and Kristy tried hard not to notice how good he looked and smelled so early in the morning.
“You gals off to school?” Connor asked the twins cheerfully.
Susie and Sally both nodded.
In the distance, they could hear the rumble of the school bus stopping and starting as it picked up children at various stops along Folly Beach Road. Abruptly, Susie elbowed Sally. Sally elbowed her back.
“What’s going on?” Kristy interjected. The twins had stubbornly insisted they hadn’t been fighting about anything in particular the previous afternoon when they got off the bus. Kristy had suspected the reverse was true, but unable to prompt them to confide in her any further, she had let it ride, figuring they could talk about the unprecedented catfight this afternoon.
Sally unzipped the pocket of her backpack and pulled out a crumpled envelope with the Folly Beach Elementary School insignia on it. “We forgot to give you this,” she said, as the school bus lumbered up to the end of the lane. Both twins heaved sighs of relief and started to bolt. Another bad sign. “Hold on just one minute there,” Kristy ordered, latching on to both her daughters before they could take off. She quickly opened the letter, saw the words parent-counselor conference. Lifting a hand, she signaled the bus driver to go on. “I’m taking you two to school this morning,” she said firmly.
“But Mom…!” Susie protested unhappily, even as Sally leaned