Wendy Etherington - Breathless on the Beach

The temperature was ninety-one, the traffic was murder, a local politician had been caught in an illicit affair with his assistant, and Richard and Peter had played golf earlier in the week, which led Rich to tell his buddy about the new safe and the impending PR campaign.

Jared didn’t consider chasing a little white ball across manicured lawns an actual sport, but he recognized that more deals were made during such mundane silliness than were negotiated in boardrooms.

Standing in the corner, since he didn’t trust the structural integrity of Rose’s antique furniture, he bit into a cookie and realized one positive thing—Chef Shelby could cook.

He had no doubt Victoria was mad enough to chew nails, but she held her teacup and smiled indulgently as the golfing buddies recounted their round.

“Are they going to tell us about every stroke on every hole?” he asked Shelby, who had approached him with an offer of more cookies, which he gratefully took.

“Apparently.” Watching the pair demonstrate teeing off at hole fifteen, she angled her head, seeming to feel the same confusion Jared did. “Guys at home in Georgia brag about shooting animals in the woods and drinking beer.”

“Guys in Montana are pretty much the same.”

“Richard isn’t really going to hire that goofy suck-up Peter over Victoria, is he?”

“I’m not sure management is his strong suit.”

Shelby focused on Jared, obviously suspicious about how a ski and scuba expert understood corporate hiring. “Oh?”

“Not my specialty, either,” he said casually. He was going to have to be more careful what he said if he planned to pull off his disguise as a mere employee. “‘Course, I’ve made bad decisions myself. He once talked me into letting him parasail.”

“Sounds fun. How was that a bad idea?”

“He’s afraid of heights.”

“Which he discovered once he was a hundred feet in the air, I’ll bet.”

Jared winked. “You got it.”

“I can’t imagine what’s keeping Mother,” Richard said loudly, dragging Jared’s attention back to the rest of the group.

“Oh, gee,” Shelby muttered to Jared. “We’ve already gone through all eighteen holes?”

“Seemed like a lot more.”

As Shelby laughed, Victoria glared in Jared’s direction. What’d he do? Turncoat Richard got indulgent smiles, and he got the brunt of her temper? How was that fair?

He could use some fresh air. “I’m sure Rose’ll be down in a minute,” he said to the assembly. “While we’re waiting, why don’t we head outside? I’ll show everybody what we’ve got planned for the weekend.”

Setting their teacups aside, the group followed Jared out of the room.

“I’m not really good with animals,” Victoria said as she passed him at the back door.

Richard moved up beside her and slipped his arm around her waist. “Not to worry. The horses are upstate in a show. Jared has water sports set up—Jet Skis, fishing gear and scuba equipment. Something for everybody.”

She fixed her gaze on Jared. “All that, huh?”

He stared right back. “I’ll be happy to demonstrate anything you think you might like.”

Calla, walking behind Victoria, giggled, clearly getting the double meaning in his offer. Victoria ignored him and picked up her pace down the brick stairs.

She was going to fall and break her neck in those ridiculous shoes.

Before he followed the guests, he noticed Shelby and Mrs. K loading the dishwasher. “Come on, ladies. You, too. You can’t stay cooped up in the kitchen for four days.”

The housekeeper waggled her finger. “With all you’ve got goin’ on, Jared dear, everybody’s got to be properly fed.” Nevertheless, the two women followed him out the door.

Once there, Jared took a deep, relieved breath.

Hot though it might be in the sun, he’d been claustrophobic in the house. Crystal blue-green water dotted with white-caps brushed the pristine sandy shore. Clumps of sea grass bracketed the wooden dock jutting toward the ocean. Boating traffic was fairly light today, though by Saturday afternoon the waterways would be teaming with crafts of every shape and size.

When a man had this kind of view, why waste time looking at anything else?

Not to mention that kind of view .

He watched Victoria’s backside sway as she strolled onto the dock. Though her hand was tucked around Richard’s arm, Jared was confident he’d feel her touch soon enough.

Even out of his element, he had a fair amount of charm. And he couldn’t wait to use it to break through the reserved shell around Victoria Holmes.

Whistling, he joined the others on the dock. “Is this everybody?”

“Except Mother,” Richard said.

“And her gentleman friend, Sal,” Ruthie added. “He’s arriving around dinnertime.”

Rose had a boyfriend? Good for her. Plus, romance on as many fronts as possible could only help his cause with Victoria.

Especially since, at the moment, she seemed determined to monopolize Richard, for reasons that had nothing to do with passion.

Still, a little moonlight, a good meal, a stroll on the beach … Maybe Jared could get Victoria to set business aside for a while.

“How many of you have ever scuba dived?” he asked the assembled group.

Only Peter’s and Victoria’s hands went up.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” her colleague said smugly. “I’m an expert diver.”

Victoria pressed her lips together as if resisting the urge to contradict him. “I went on a couple of dives in college, if that counts.”

“It does,” Jared assured her. “It’ll come back to you. For everyone else who’s interested, I can teach you the basics in the pool in an hour or so. If you’re comfortable, we can go on a short dive. If not, there’s plenty of snorkeling equipment to use.”

As Jared explained all the activities available, the importance of not doing anything alone, and the tentative schedule he’d worked out, he discovered Peter was apparently an expert at everything. And yet Jared would bet his best saddle the guy didn’t know how to swim competently, much less that he’d dived at the Great Barrier Reef.

“Anybody want to hop on a Jet Ski?” he asked to stall Peter’s next overblown story.

As he’d expected, nearly everyone refused. He’d discovered city people had to gradually warm up to fun. This crowd would probably walk down the steps of the pool rather than simply dive in.

Calla, his only volunteer, ran up to the house to get her suit on, but the others wanted to unpack and get ready for dinner. Shelby and Mrs. K had to start making the meal.

“Steak?” Jared asked hopefully as he descended the ladder toward the Jet Ski floating there.

“Thai food,” Shelby called down. “Fish cakes, grilled pork satay, cucumber salad, baked shrimp with noodles, and chicken curry.”

Mrs. K clasped her hands. “Doesn’t it sound exotic? Shelby’s going to show me how to make everything.”

Climbing on the watercraft, Jared saluted. “Based on the cookies, I have full faith in both of you. But is there steak in my future?”

“Monday,” they said as one.

“For future reference,” Shelby added with a wink, “Victoria loves Thai food.”

Jared had no doubt she did. Exotic and spicy fit her perfectly.

He started the engine, then glanced up to spot Richard walking toward the house with Peter on one side and Victoria on the other.

Why the image bothered him so much, Jared wasn’t sure.

Instead, he focused on his job. He helped Calla onto the Jet Ski, and she held on for dear life as he streaked through the waves, jumped the crests and turned his face to the sun and salty spray.

The vision of Victoria’s stunning face wouldn’t go away, however. He compared the blue of the sea to her eyes. He remembered the startling black sand of Waianapanapa Beach in Maui, and how her hair would blend into it like an ancient exotic goddess merging with the land. He wondered how she’d fare on the open waters, unconstrained by obligations and ambition.