Barefoot Bay: Hold On To Forever (Kindle Worlds Novella) (4 page)

He was about to argue with her again, but that would be stupid of him. Not when everything she was saying was exactly what he needed her to think.

“So we both agree that delaying law school is a mistake,” he said.

“Sure, but what can we do?”

“We can knock some sense into them, that’s what we can do. Mitch listens to me, and I know that Nicki looks up to you.”

“You make it sound simple. I have to warn you, Nicki can be pretty stubborn. I’m not sure there’s anything I can say that would make her change her mind.”

He drained the rest of his drink. He didn’t want to do this, but he had no choice. It was time to go into his asshole cross-examination mode. “I know your PR firm is in trouble. You haven’t been honest with Nicki about that, have you?”

“
How
…what do you know?” she asked sharply.

“I know you inherited a perfectly good business three years ago and now that business is almost on the verge of closing down. I’ve checked out your website and your clients. It doesn’t take a math genius to put two and two together.”

“So things have been a little tough. They’ll turn around soon.” But her body language wasn’t as confident as her words.

“But maybe not soon enough.” It was time to seal the deal. “The last time we met you pitched your PR firm to me. I admit, I should have stayed and listened. You help me convince Nicki and Mitch to go to law school as planned, and I’ll give you a nice slice of Martinez and Martinez’s advertising budget.”

She stilled. “You think you need to
bribe
me to talk my sister out of doing something I already don’t agree with? Suppose I did think deferring law school was a great idea? Do you really think my company means more to me than my sister’s happiness? What kind of person do you think I am?”

Now she was insulted. Maybe he should switch tactics. But it was ingrained in his DNA to go in for the kill. “The kind of person who pitches her company over a drink.”

She flushed. “It wasn’t
that
kind of drink.”

“How do you know what kind of drink it was?”

“Because I was there, remember? You weren’t…you aren’t interested in me in that way.”

He laughed, but it wasn’t a nice laugh. “Glad to know you have me all figured out.”

“Are you saying…” She shook her head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” He could practically see the wheels in her brain spinning with new possibilities. “I don’t want a freebie. My PR firm is good. And I guarantee you, we can come up with something better than ‘Watching out for The Little Man.’” She tried to cover up her disdain, but it wasn’t hard to tell what she thought of that tagline.

He schooled his facial features to stay neutral, the same way he did when he was bluffing an opponent. He was trying to win her over, not alienate her, although at the moment he seemed to be having more success with the latter. It didn’t matter really. Not as long as she helped him get what he wanted.

“All right,” she said. “I’ll help you convince Nicki and Mitch to stay the course on law school and you allow me to make a proper presentation to your firm. But not just to
you
. I want to pitch all the partners. And if my ideas are no good, then I don’t want the account. I only want it if I earn it fair and square.”

“Deal.” He automatically extended his hand to her.

She stared at it, as if contemplating whether or not to take it. Just then a slight breeze off the gulf caused that lone strand of hair to loosen again and fly across her cheek. Before she could fix it herself, he leaned across the table and tucked it back behind her ear. His fingers lingered a few seconds longer than necessary over the delicate skin behind her earlobe.

She sucked in a harsh little breath and froze. This time there was absolutely no mistaking the physical cues. A surge of satisfaction—male and primal—shot through him.
His initial impression of her had been correct.
Felicity Reed was just as aware of him as he was of her, and it wasn’t platonic.

She blinked, then leaned back, out of his immediate reach and crossed her arms over her chest. “I bet women throw themselves at you all the time.”

How was he supposed to answer that without sounding like a jerk?

“Not all the time.”

“Wow. Good to know there’s no shortage of ego here.”

“Why did you say yes when I asked you to have a drink with me that night? And be honest.”

She glanced around the now empty pool area before answering. “I accepted your drink invitation because I thought you were
nice
. And because I thought I was getting a…vibe from you. But then we get off alone and you seemed kind of off, so I thought, all right, it’s not an I-want-to-get-to-know-
you
kind of drink, it’s an I-want-to-get-to-know-the-family-of-the-girl-my-brother’s-dating kind of drink. So put yourself in my shoes, Mr. Rich Fancy Lawyer. I’ve got the head of the biggest law firm in the state right in front of me and my PR firm isn’t doing so great. So I do what any sane business person would do. I try to pitch you. But what do
you
do? Listen and then turn me down like anyone else might have?
No
. You have to cut me off mid-sentence and walk away.”

She had thought he hadn’t been interested in her
? He racked his brain trying to remember exactly what went down that night. He’d been politely restrained only because the situation in which they’d met called for it. He’d assumed that his asking her to stay for a drink spoke for itself. But how was she to know that?

He mentally kicked himself. She was right. His ego was out of control. The fact was, women did throw themselves at him. But he wasn’t such a narcissist that he thought it was all about him. Money was a powerful aphrodisiac.

“Are you finished?”

She nodded.

“For the record, it
was
an I-want-to-get-to-know-you kind of drink. Maybe the reason I cut you off was because I was mad at myself for thinking that you knew it too, but that you weren’t interested.”

“So you’re saying that—”

“I’m saying that after that drink, I would have bought you another one. And then we would have stayed a couple more hours talking, and maybe you’d have given me your number. Or maybe we would have just given in to the inevitable and you’d have gone home with me that night.”

“
Ha
! In your dreams!” She stood up to leave.

He shouldn’t do it. But he couldn’t help himself. Not while she looked at him with that smug disbelief on her face.

He got up and pulled her toward him, all the while telling himself that he was only doing this to prove a point. “Or maybe we would have just kissed. Like this.”

Before she could say anything, he brought his mouth down over hers. Not hard. But not gentle, either. It was supposed to be a statement. But then her lips trembled, so slightly that another man might not have picked up on it. It wasn’t fright. Or disgust. It was desire.

He pressed on, waiting patiently. When she finally opened her mouth to let him inside, he felt like laughing. Not because there was anything funny about this kiss. But because it felt like a victory and he wanted to shout out in triumph.

She tasted both sweet and hot at the same time, and if they weren’t out in the middle of the resort where anyone could see them, he’d have sat back on the chair and pulled her into his lap. But this wasn’t the time or the place, so he reluctantly ended it.

She looked as dazed as he felt right now.

“I’ve been waiting two months to do that,” he whispered roughly.

“We…we can’t do that again.”

Oh, they were definitely going to do that again. And a whole lot more. She might not want to admit it, but he was pretty certain that she knew it too.

“You’re going to be my—”

“I’m not going to be your anything, Felicity. We’re two grown adults. Nicki is going to be my sister-in-law and Mitch is going to be your brother-in-law, but there’s no label between us. We can be whatever we want to one another.”

“It still wouldn’t be right. It would be too weird. And even if it wasn’t, there’s no way I’m going to get involved with someone I hope to do business with.”

Weird wasn’t the word he had in mind, but she had a point. At least for now, he would quit while he was ahead. “You’re probably right.”

“Of course I’m right.”

“So we have a deal?” he asked.

This time she was the one who put her hand out. “Deal.”

* * *

Jack was surprised to find his dad still awake and rummaging through the kitchen when he finally got back to the villa. It was after midnight, way past the old man’s bedtime these days. “Everything okay?” Jack asked. “You’re not feeling dizzy, are you?”

“When are you going to let go of that? It was just a little episode three months ago.”

“It was a mini-stroke and the doctor said if you didn’t take care of your high blood pressure, you were going to have another one.”

“I’m taking my medication,” Dad grumbled at the same time he reached into the refrigerator to take the last slice of cheesecake.

Jack took it from him and placed it right back inside. “You don’t need that.”

“I don’t know who’s worse. You or Ellen.”

“She loves you and neither one of us wants to see you end up back in the hospital.”

“That isn’t going to happen. Besides, your mother has convinced me to cut back on work. Starting the Monday after the wedding I’ll be out of the office by three every afternoon. Happy now?”

“Yeah, actually I am.”

Dad glanced outside the kitchen toward the front door to the villa. “Is Mitch with you?”

“He and Nicki went for a walk. You mean he isn’t back yet?”

“Not yet. Not that I blame him. Nicki is a sweet girl.”

“Yep.”

“So where have you been? Out for a walk, as well?”

“Something like that.” After their talk by the pool, he’d walked Felicity to her villa next door, then opted for a jog along the beach. Their kiss had left him hard and needing to blow off some steam.

“Jack, I know you’re the managing partner at the firm, and I trust you implicitly, but why didn’t you tell me Felicity had already pitched her PR firm to you? And under the circumstances, why in God’s name did you turn her down, son? It couldn’t have been that bad. Surely, we could have worked something out.”

“No worries. I’ve already offered her our business. But she wants to pitch the firm again with all the partners present. Says she wants to earn the business fair and square.” He couldn’t help but respect her for that. A lot of people would have taken the deal, no problem. But not Felicity. It was just one more thing he liked about her.

Dad seemed relieved, and Jack felt a moment’s guilt. He didn’t want his father stressing out over anything having to do with the business. That was Jack’s job now. Even if he didn’t really want it. Speaking of which…

“What did you think of Mitch’s announcement?”

“I was just as surprised as you were. Your mother, however, seemed to be in on this little scheme.” He shrugged wearily. “Maybe it’s the right thing for Mitch. He’s not like you and me. He wasn’t born with the law in his veins. But the two of us? We’re natural born fighters.” He slapped Jack on the back. “With you at the helm at Martinez and Martinez, Ellen and I can rest easy. Hell, maybe we’ll take that world cruise she’s always trying to get me to go on.”

“That sounds terrific, Pop.”

“Good night, son.” His dad looked longingly at the closed refrigerator door one last time before heading back to his room.

With you at the helm at Martinez and Martinez, Ellen and I can rest easy
. And there it was. Spelled out for him by the man he admired most in the world.

He’d been a fool to think he could change things. Even if he could convince Mitch to go to law school, it would still be three long years until he graduated. Then there was the bar exam to get through, and a few more years to teach him the ropes. It could be six, even seven years until Mitch could take his place at the firm. By that time, Jack would be hitting forty. Not too late to strike out on his own, but the thought of seven more years at the Miami office made him feel bone weary. And that was only if Mitch was willing. Hell, his baby brother could still do law school and decide the family firm wasn’t for him.

He tried to look at it from every angle, but there was no way around it. Jack was stuck exactly where he was. And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. But like Dad said, he was a fighter, which meant that as impossible as it seemed, he still had to try.

Chapter Four

Felicity had spent the night tossing and turning, and as a result, had woken up late. Now there was barely time to think, let alone get a word in with Nicki before they were scheduled to leave the resort for the bridal shop in Naples.

Why had she let Jack kiss her? Yes, he was wildly attractive. But she didn’t like him. He was much too…moody for her taste. Hot one moment and cold the next. The only logical reason for that kiss was that he’d taken her by surprise. And of course, there had been all that champagne and then the gin and tonic. She hadn’t been drunk, but she’d let her guard down. If she’d known what he’d intended to do, she would have certainly put a stop to it before it had gone so far.

She grabbed her purse and headed out for the resort lobby. Nicki, Ellen and Abuela were waiting near the entrance, along with an attractive woman with honey blonde hair whom Felicity assumed must be one of the wedding planners. She was almost all the way across the lobby when Jack grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into a secluded nook near the entryway to the spa.

She snatched her hand back from his grasp. “What are you? Some kind of ninja? Where did you come from?”

“Have you had a chance to talk to Nicki yet?”

It was the first time she’d seen him dressed casually. He wore khaki shorts and a white T-shirt that stretched across his broad chest. Flip flops and a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses hanging on a chain around his neck completed the picture. He looked more like a tourist now than the man-eating shark of a lawyer he appeared to be in those billboards.

A very yummy tourist
.

She tried not stare at his mouth. Why did he have to be so good looking? It would make everything so much simpler if he was a troll.

“Not yet. How about you? Any luck with Mitch?”

“I tried to wait up for him but I fell asleep. I heard him come in around three. Figured it was too late to have the talk then.”

“Three? Then Nicki must have come back during the fifteen minutes of sleep I got last night. What in the world were they doing skulking around the resort till three in the morning?”

He grinned. “I know what I’d be doing if I were them.”

“You mean…” She felt herself flush. Of course Nicki and Mitch were having sex. Felicity wasn’t naïve. It was just weird thinking of her baby sister doing the dirty. In a lot of ways, Felicity felt more like a mother than an older sister to Nicki. “They’re getting married in four days, you’d think they could exercise a little more control,” she muttered.

He looked at her as if she were crazy.

“What?”

“Haven’t you ever been in love?”

“Of course I have.”

He came in closer. Instinctively, she backed away. He smelled good. Clean with just a hint of aftershave. She hated when men doused themselves with expensive cologne. It was like they were trying too hard. But Jack Martinez didn’t have to try too hard at anything.

“I’d like to hear about it.”

“Hear about what?” Her pulse was zigzagging out of control. Last night’s kiss had been a huge mistake. It had made her too aware of him as a man. Not that she hadn’t been aware before, but now that she knew the attraction was mutual…

Not gonna kiss him again
…
Not gonna kiss him again
…
Not gonna kiss him again
…

As long as she kept chanting that to herself, she should be all right.

“About this great love of yours,” he said.

“I didn’t say it was a great love. It was, you know, the typical high school thing.”

“High school? You haven’t been in love since high school?”

“What do you care?” she asked.

He blinked. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter.” He glanced away, then speared her with those eyes again. This time instead of the usual cold green, they were warm with interest. “So why did you only get fifteen minutes sleep last night? It didn’t have anything to do with our kiss, did it?”

“As a matter of fact it did. I spent half the night on the computer Googling whether or not I could get cooties from it.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “I probably deserved that.” He quickly got back to business. “So, we’re sticking to the plan here. Right? You’re talking to Nicki and I’m talking to Mitch.”

“Right.” It occurred to her to ask him why he cared so much. On the surface, it seemed his intentions were completely in sync with her own. Sticking to the law school plan was the best career choice for both Nicki and Mitch. As their older siblings, it was natural that they both wanted what was best for them. But Jack’s interest in Mitch going to law school seemed to go beyond just brotherly concern. It seemed almost…personal. Like it was going to affect him directly. Which didn’t make sense, really.

“There you are!” Abuela popped up behind Jack. She looked between the two of them, her brown eyes twinkling with mischief. “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

“Just talking wedding plans,” Jack said smoothly. He bent to give his grandmother a kiss on the cheek. “You look beautiful as always.”

“Watch out for him, Felicity,” Abuela said, giving Jack an affectionate pat on the arm. “He is a smooth talker.”

“Oh, I’ve already figured that out, thanks.”

“The wedding planner says we have to leave now or we’ll be late for our fitting,” Abuela said.

“Sure, let’s go.” She turned to Jack. “I’ll talk to you later about those plans we were discussing.”

He nodded and their eyes met, and she was once again hit with how different they looked now from the way they looked on those billboards. It was almost like he was two different people, and she couldn’t help but wonder, which one was the real Jack Martinez?

* * *

Gussie DeMille, one of the wedding planners with the Barefoot Bay Brides, guided them through the labyrinth of what Felicity was coming to think of as the wedding maze. Gussie was newly married herself to world famous photographer TJ DeMille. She was around thirty with honey blonde hair that she wore loose around her shoulders. It wasn’t long after they’d started their day in the sweltering July heat that she’d clipped up her hair, revealing a scar at the back of her scalp. The area around the scar was bald, but Gussie didn’t seem self-conscious about it. Nor should she be. She was beautiful and Felicity immediately liked her. Her warm professional attitude was keeping the morning schedule (and all the personalities involved) running smoothly.

After a leisurely breakfast, the group split in two with the women inside the bridal shop and the men next door getting fitted for their tuxedos. “So, ladies,” Gussie said, “I’ve left the men in capable hands. We, however, have the more challenging task of finding the perfect dress for our gorgeous bride. Once we get Nicki done, then we’ll concentrate on everyone else.”

Although their choice of available dresses was limited due to the lack of time before the wedding, Nicki quickly found two dresses to choose from.

“I like the first one you tried on,” Ellen said, pointing to the sleek, form fitting dress on the hanger. “You looked stunning in that.” Felicity had to agree, it had fit Nicki beautifully.

Not one to hold back, Abuela immediately gave her opinion. “Not me. I like the one she has on now. You look just like Grace Kelly.”

Nicki stood in the center of the room on an elevated platform while they all sat around in plush velvet chairs drinking champagne. The dress she was currently modeling was ivory colored with short cap sleeves and a flared skirt. Felicity also had to agree with Abuela. Nicki looked radiant and as lovely as a real life princess in this dress.

Her throat tightened. It was so unfair that dad hadn’t lived to see this day. He should be here to walk Nicki down the aisle. It had been over three years since his death, but sometimes it felt more like only three minutes. One day they were in his office mapping out a new ad campaign and the next day he was gone from a quick and massive heart attack that had taken everyone by shock. People always said time healed all wounds, but grief was its own separate kind of pain. Sometimes it snuck up and pulled you down before you even knew what hit you.

“What do you think, Felicity?” Gussie asked. “You’re our tie breaker.”

“That one,” she said automatically, pointing to Nicki.

Abuela nodded, satisfied that Felicity was on her side in this.

“I guess I’m outnumbered,” Ellen said. “Although it really doesn’t matter what any of us think. It’s up to Nicki.”

Nicki twirled around a few times, checking out her reflection in the mirror from all possible angles. “I like them both, but, I have to go with Felicity here.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want my opinion to sway you if you’re set on the other dress.”

“You’re my big sister, of course I’m going to listen to what you say.”

“Well, that’s that!” Ellen said, taking a chug of her champagne.

“We can look at hair styles and head pieces after we settle on the rest of the dresses,” Gussie suggested. “Felicity, why don’t you help Nicki out of this dress while I go find a few pieces for Ellen and Lola.”

Felicity followed Nicki and one of the saleswomen into the private changing area in the back of the shop. After the dress had been carefully put away, the saleswoman left them alone in the room.

“You really do look stunning in that gown,” Felicity said. “Dad would be so proud of you right now.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I know so.”

Nicki slipped back into her clothes. She hesitated before asking, “What do you think he’d say about law school?”

Felicity took a deep breath. The timing on this couldn’t be more perfect. And she hadn’t even been the one to bring it up. “Honestly? I think dad would have wanted you to go to law school.”

“Really?”

Nicki looked, for lack of a better word, lost, and for a second, Felicity felt guilty. Invoking their dead father seemed almost unfair, but on the other hand, she was confident she was doing the right thing. What parent wouldn’t want their child to follow through with a pragmatic plan like law school? After graduating, if Nicki found it wasn’t for her, then she could do something else, but she’d always have the law to fall back on. Plus, if Nicki was so sure of herself, why bother asking Felicity’s advice? No, she was definitely doing the right thing here in swaying Nicki toward law school.

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe it. Think about Mitch. You want what’s best for him, too. Right?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then I don’t see the problem. Look, I get it. You’ve just finished four years of a tough undergrad program and now you’re looking at three more years of school. But you’re also getting married, and as much as you and Mitch love one another, that’s probably stressing you out too. Say you give law school the thumbs down and then in a couple of weeks after you and Mitch have settled into your new lives, you both come to regret it. By then, they’ll have given your spots to someone else and you’ll have to wait and reapply again.”

Nicki frowned. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Look, just concentrate on the wedding. This isn’t the time to be making any big decisions. Stick to what you’ve been planning. I guarantee you won’t regret it.”

Nicki pulled her into a tight hug. “What would I do without you?”

“You’re never going to have to find out,” she said, squeezing her sister right back.

After another two hours of going through the available inventory, Abuela was fitted in a simple dove grey below-the-knee dress with a short-sleeved jacket. Ellen opted for a more dramatic cocktail dress in a deep silver with sequins around the collar.

Felicity didn’t find it as easy. After trying on what seemed like half the store, she still hadn’t found the perfect dress. She was standing in the dressing room cubicle in her bra and underwear when Gussie handed her another outfit to try on. “This is the one,” Gussie said. “I can feel it.”

Felicity took the dress and drew the curtain back in place, but it was thin enough that she could hear the women mumbling on the other side.

“I hope this is it, because I’m hungry,” Ellen said. It sounded more like a joke than a complaint, but…

“It’s the last dress left in her size,” she heard Gussie say in a low voice. “If she doesn’t like this one, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Crikey
. She hadn’t meant to hold everyone up. Normally she wasn’t so fussy. But this was her sister’s wedding and she wanted to look good. So far everything she’d tried on had either made her feel frumpy or had shown too much cleavage, but this was getting ridiculous. Gussie had excellent taste. If she felt like this dress was the one, then that was good enough for Felicity.

“I’ll take this one,” Felicity said in a loud voice.

“Hooray!” Abuela said. “I say we go to the Mexican place and start on the margaritas.”

“Great idea!” Now all she had to do was make sure the dress fit. Felicity slipped the lime green cocktail dress over her head and smoothed it down over her hips. She stared at herself in the mirror.
Oh no
. Absolutely not.

“Go ahead without me. I’ll…meet you there in a few minutes,” she shouted. She was going to have to stay back and figure out what to do. Because there was no way, no how, she was going to wear
this
in public.