HOOKED ON YOU (Paradise Cove) (14 page)

“Stay as long as you like. The cottages aren’t booked until next month, and that’s only for a week. Kayla’s wedding. All the out-of-towners will be staying with us, or at the Islander resort. Mostly Sean’s guests will be there. The hotel is much bigger than we are, and the property is gorgeous. Have a great restaurant too.”

“So do you.” Carole took a nacho chip, balancing a sliced black olive. “And bigger doesn’t always mean better. I love your cottages—they’re sweet.” She held up her sangria glass as if featuring the treats. “I bet they don’t have happy hours like this. Free drinks and wonderful appetizers every night.” She sipped. “I feel half-looped already.”

“Eat more,” Taylor answered with a nod at the loaded chip. “A day in the sun can make you light-headed.”

Especially when spent with a fun, gorgeous guy named Colt. She kept that thought to herself, wishing she didn’t think of him quite so often. She really did need a boyfriend—if only to get Colt out of her head.

* * *

Colt walked by Taylor’s Cafe each day as he parked his truck next door. He avoided looking into the window, as one sight of Taylor might weaken his resolve. The dirt parking lot was usually full, a sure sign her business was doing well. She didn’t need him. Taylor was living her dream—a steady stream of customers, a combination of locals and visitors to the area.

When he cut through her property to reach the marina he noticed that her outdoor deck was busy too. Miguel had included a long high-top table against the main wall where folks could plug in their devices and work while seated on wicker stools.

This morning he kept his head low, his hands in his pockets as he walked past the covered area. The sky was dark with thunder clouds, and Colt had no plans to be on the water. With Jamie and Raul at baseball practice, he’d use the free time to do a maintenance check on the Hatteras.

Colt didn’t see Taylor until he heard her laugh, then he looked up, his gaze zeroing in on her chatting with someone he didn’t recognize. Not a local—the dude was dressed too well for that. Nice shorts, a Tommy Bahamas short-sleeved shirt, with light brown hair trimmed around his ears. Not Jack. Another guy just passing through.

The stranger was on his laptop, drinking her coffee, and smiling at her like she was really something. Well, she was. They had that much in common. Difference was, Taylor had stopped smiling Colt’s way.

Taylor handed the guy a plate of something that smelled delicious—eggs, sausage and onion—better than his own burned bagel he’d had for breakfast, that’s for sure. He missed her breakfasts. And her lunches. Especially her happy hours. He missed her smiles, the sound of her laughter, the pretty crinkles around her eyes when she squinted up at him. He missed teasing her and seeing her blush.

Dammit, if she wasn’t blushing right now! That meant only one thing. This city guy, whoever he was, must be flirting with her. Colt’s ears fired up with jealous heat. The tightness in his chest had nothing to do with a clogged artery.

He unclenched his fingers, wanting to put a fist into the guys’ face, even though they’d never met. What was wrong with him these days? He was not a violent man. He was a peace-loving, easy-going son-of-a-bitch who wanted the one girl he couldn’t have.

His boat shoes scuffed the gravel as he stopped moving, staring at her. The bob of her ponytail down her back, the peep of calf below her sundress. She looked up. Saw him standing there like an idiot. She froze too. Then she did something totally unexpected—Taylor walked over to him with a warm smile that got his heart pumping big time.

“Hi Colt. You haven’t been around lately. I’ve missed you and Jamie. How’s he doing?”

“Uh. Fine.” Was this a trick? Was he dreaming? “He’s got a sailfish tournament coming up in a couple of weeks. Pretty excited about that. And school starts the following Monday.”

“Good for him. He’s probably ready to get back. Summers around here can be a little long.” She looked at him with dark brown eyes that could sparkle like diamonds one minute, or flash with warning the next. She was mellow and nice most of the time, but she could be fiery as hell too.

Today her eyes were welcoming, and brightened the gloomy day. She wore a pretty flowered sundress in a pale blue that left her lovely arms bare, and hugged her curves just right.

He wanted to hug her curves just right.

“So,” she tilted her head as she looked at him. “What have you been up to? You know that Carole and her mother are leaving this Sunday?”

“No. I didn’t know.” He shifted his feet, wondering if she was mad at him for taking Carole snorkeling. Couldn’t figure the woman out. Any woman for that matter.

“It might be nice for you to drop in before she leaves. She enjoyed the reef and got some great pictures.” Taylor’s small white teeth flashed in her tanned face. “Thanks for taking her out.”

“No problem.” That was more like it. He’d done something nice for one of her guests and she wasn’t going to give him shit for it.

“Why don’t you come around tonight or tomorrow? Happy hour. Bring Jamie. We miss him too.”

What did she mean by too? Did that include him in that too? Had to, right?

His hopes grew and he lifted his eyes to hers. “Sounds good. Want some fresh fish? You haven’t had any from me lately.”

“That would be nice. Not necessary. But if you have some, great.” She looked up at the sky. “You’re not going out today, I hope. Weather looks nasty.”

“I wouldn’t give you day-old fish.”

“Then forget it today. Next time you go out, drop one off.”

Ah. Next time. Things were definitely looking up.

“Will do.” He grinned, and ran a hand through his shaggy blond hair. Maybe it was time to get it cut. Around the ears like that other guy.

“How’s your mom?” he asked for no reason except to prolong the conversation.

“Good. Getting excited about the wedding. It’s in three weeks you know.”

“Really? That soon.”

“Yup. September 14th. You’re coming, aren’t you?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Miguel has some special plans for staging the wedding. He wants to go over them with us this weekend.”

“Now he’s a wedding planner?” Colt joked. “A jack of all trades.”

“Don’t mention that name to me,” she said with a pretend shudder. “Still haven’t thanked you properly for being around that night.”

“Sure you did. Unless you have a more special thank you in mind,” he said with a teasing wink.

She laughed. “You wish.”

“I do.” And yet he’d been right on the beach the other night. He didn’t have jack shit to offer her.

Her smile faded. “Yeah. We should talk about that sometime.”

“Why bother?” he asked, ignoring the sheer misery he’d been suffering without her the past few days. “Just let me know if you change your mind.”

“Sure.” She tilted her head. “And you let me know if you ever get tired of one-night stands.”

Touche! Strike one for Taylor. He stuck his hands in his front pockets. She was an amazing woman—a dynamite combination of wit and compassion.
What if I am pushing away the chance at something great, just because the timing isn’t right
? “How about tonight?” he countered.

“Didn’t Carole see you in Lorelei’s the other night? Buxom blonde clinging to your arm. Ring any bells?”

God. She had spies everywhere. Explaining the blonde wouldn’t help, so he shrugged. “That was the other night. In the past.”

“And today is the future?” She tapped her sneakered toe.

“Future has to start sometime, doesn’t it? Beginning precisely at 4 o’clock PM. Set your watch by it.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” She gestured toward the back patio. “Got to get back to work. Enjoy the present Colt. It’s all we’ve got.”

He winked. “Will do.” He strolled away with just one quick backward glance. She was talking to that guy again. But it didn’t matter. The stranger would be leaving soon, and Colt had a new future that looked much brighter.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Colt was particular about the maintenance on his Hatteras. He had a lot of money invested and wanted to get a good many years out of the boat. He’d just had a full vessel assessment at Islamorada Marine. All systems and components were checked and replaced when needed, but to keep the costs down, he preferred to do most of the work himself. Once every few months, he’d wash down the boat exterior, and inspect it for oxidation, cracks and blisters. He used Collinite’s marine wax for a protective finish. The interior required weekly maintenance to keep it spotless for his paying guests. All surfaces had to be washed down and treated. That included the upholstery, the vinyl, aluminum and plastic throughout the entire boat.

A stormy day was perfect for interior work, and strangely he looked forward to such days. He’d plug in some good music and scrub, polish and wax every surface until it shined. Toilets and showers gleamed too. Best of all, between singing and scrubbing, thoughts of Taylor were at a minimum.

He didn’t have to pick up Jamie and Raul until three. There had been an end of season picnic scheduled after their game today—because of the inclement weather, the kids would be at the Fish Bowl, which had an arcade to go with nine bowling lanes and pizza.

The party was just breaking up when he arrived, hot, dirty, smelling like lemon-foaming bathroom cleaner. He had hoped to finish in time to dash home and clean up, but the work had taken him longer than expected.

One mom spotted him the moment he found his group of little leaguers, and made a beeline for him. He still had one hour of present left in him so he gave her a smile, and a half-hearted hug.

Meghan Carter sniffed and wrinkled her tiny upturned nose. “Eeuhh! What did you do today? Don’t tell me.” She sniffed his neck. “You smell like body odor and Clorox. Rubbing down ‘Bait me’ again? I keep telling you there’s something better you could rub down.” Meghan gave him a sly smile. “You know how my man’s always out of town.” Batting her thickly lacquered eye lashes, she said, “Three months this time. And you haven’t come around lately.”

Jerry Carter was a private boat captain. Made a lot of bucks, had a big house and a wife who didn’t sit around waiting. Guy was a cuckold, or just didn’t give a damn, Colt figured. Perhaps he’d taken the job to get away from Meghan—hell if he knew what her husband was thinking.

Meghan was nice enough and probably deserved better. She was pretty in a too-bleached, overdone way. The kind of woman who tried too hard. Colt had serviced her a few times over the past year, but he didn’t like dicking another captain’s lady. And he liked his ladies with a little more class.

Or lady, in particular. Taylor. If he had any sense at all he’d take Meghan up on what she was offering, and have his own “happy hour” with her. But he’d told Taylor that he was going to reform. He didn’t want to let her down, anymore than himself.

“Hey, Dad. Whatcha doing?” Jamie grabbed him by the hand and began to pull him away. He didn’t like his dad talking to anyone other than Taylor. He was kind of sweet on her too.

He ruffled Jamie’s curly blond hair. “I was looking for you—Meghan was pointing me in the right direction. How was your day?”

“Good. Great. Had fun. Got a strike too.” Jamie grinned and dropped his head. “Three actually.”

“That’s my boy.” He winked at him. “You’re a natural born athlete. Proud of you, son. Where’s Raul? Is he here with you?”

“No. His dad picked him up an hour ago.” He sniffed. “How come you smell so bad?”

“Worked on the boat.” He swung an arm around Jamie’s shoulder and started walking him to the door. “You got anything you need to pick up before we leave?”

“Just some end of the year prizes. Coach Thomas has the stuff.”

Colt looked toward the coach and waved. “Well, you go on over and tell Coach I’m taking you home—and thanks. I’ll bring the car around. It’s raining hard.”

“Okay, Dad. We going home now?”

“Yup. Time to get cleaned up. Taylor invited us to happy hour. What do you say? Should we go or wait until tomorrow when the sky should be clear?”

“Dunno.” Jamie looked up at him. “Did you tell her we’d come?”

“Pretty sure I did.”

“Then we better go. Beside, it’ll be at the cafe instead of the pool. I like the sound the tin roof makes when it’s raining. It’s cool.”

“You’re pretty cool too.” He noticed Meghan had moved on, and was glad he didn’t have to extend his courtesy any further. He didn’t like to lie, or hurt anyone’s feelings. Just some things had to be done. He didn’t want to be her occasional bedmate any longer.

He was turning over a new leaf. There would be a new man about town. Might get himself one of those city hair cuts too.

* * *

Showered, dressed in jeans and a Henley, Colt ruffled his hair the rest of the way dry then tried to keep the natural waves behind his ears. He felt like a kid again, wanting to impress the popular girl at school. He hoped Taylor wasn’t regretting inviting him and Jamie to their happy hour. Not just because of the free drinks and good food either—he missed that hour or two when he could watch her mingle with her guests, casting him a smile when she’d catch his eyes on her. He missed so many things about being with her—the sound of her laugh, the way her eyes lit up when she looked at him, how her skin got hot when he touched her. And now that he knew how good her kisses tasted, he wanted a whole lot more of them.