Chapter Six

 

* ZACH *

 

I tugged at the hem of my short sleeved button down and tried to think of a way to get out of this. But I had already paid the cab driver, and he was driving away toward the coastal road in a cloud of dust lit up by the early evening sun. If I wanted to call another cab back I’d probably have to stand here outside Joe’s Sandbar like a fool for at least fifteen minutes. That didn’t sound like my idea of fun. Not that going into the local bar for beers with my brother sounded like fun either, but Logan had insisted. I would much rather have gone to one of the resort bars.

But Logan wanted me to see some of the local businesses for myself, and I guess he thought the local bar was a good place to start. He told me it was a good place to meet the locals on their turf, and show them that I did care about them.

The problem was that I wasn’t sure that I did actually care about them. I didn’t wish them ill, but I didn’t see how becoming all buddy-buddy with them was going to help my business any. I had to admit that Logan’s plan to improve local business and resort reservations at the same time had been going quite well. But that didn’t mean that I had to personally become best friends with everyone on the island. In fact, I didn’t think it was possible to become best friends with everyone on the island. They all hated me just for being a good businessman.

Whatever. Here goes nothing.

I knew my brother was already here. His bright yellow Lamborghini stood out in the parking lot full of old trucks and beat-up sedans. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of it. Logan had never been one to care much about money or to flaunt his wealth, but he did have a weak spot for cars.

I took a deep breath and stepped into the bar, surprised by how full it already was. It didn’t look like there were that many cars in the parking lot, but perhaps people carpooled. In any case, the place was hopping.

The place also looked pretty fun, I had to admit. The ceiling was decorated with fish nets and oversized seashell and starfish figurines. The tables were all of rustic wood and rustic chairs that looked like they might actually have been made from the driftwood that Driftwood Island was so famous for. A long bar top had plenty of room for bar stools, and for a long line of beers on tap. I squinted to try to see what the beers were, but I couldn’t read any of the tap’s labels from this far across the room.

Off to my right, a large dance floor shone in the long rays of late evening that streamed in through the windows. No one was dancing yet, but it looked like they would be soon. A band was setting up on the stage across from the dance floor, tuning guitars and banging out an occasional rhythm on their drums. I couldn’t help but smile. This place looked like exactly the sort of place Logan and I might have hung out in together back before we were billionaires. Back before life got busy and we both worked so much that we never saw each other anymore.

I felt a pang of guilt as I scanned the room again, looking for my brother. It had been too long since I’d made time to see him. But I had so many resorts to travel to and check on that making it out to Driftwood Island always got pushed to the bottom of the list.

“Zach!”

I turned to my right and noticed for the first time a small area where the floor was raised a few feet higher than the rest of the bar. There were a few tables set up there, and Logan was sitting at one of the tables with a mug of beer in front of him. He had the perfect vantage point of the entire bar, and he must have seen me the moment I walked in. I’m sure he’d been enjoying watching me gaze around the bar in awe.

I gave him a small wave and walked over to sit beside him. He rose from his chair and pulled me into a big bear hug as I approached, which put my mind somewhat at ease. I had half-expected him to be a bit put-out with me, and I wouldn’t have blamed him. I’d made it difficult on him to schedule time with me, even once I arrived here on the Island. Not to mention I still hadn’t met my seven month old niece, Maisie. I’d sent her plenty of gifts, but I knew that was a poor substitute for meeting her in person. It had been easy to make excuses to myself for being a piss poor uncle when I was halfway across the world, drowning in business meetings. But it was much harder to tell myself I hadn’t been an asshole by not making time for family when I was staring my brother in the face.

Logan had never been the type to hold grudges though. Lucky for me, because I’d given him plenty of reasons lately to hold grudges. Somehow, the fact that he wasn’t mad at me only made me feel guiltier and more apologetic.

“Look, I’m really sorry things have been so crazy lately. I promise I’m coming over to the café to meet Julia and Maisie first thing in the morning.”

Logan winked at me. “Good, because I already told Julia you were coming. Now, what are you drinking?”

“Um, what’s good here?”

“Driftwood Ale. You’ll love it.”

I shook my head, thinking back to Abby’s Driftwood Hurricane from last night. “Why is everything here named after driftwood?”

“Because it fits. Hang on a sec and I’ll be right back with your beer.”

It wasn’t much more than a minute before Logan was back. I was impressed at how quickly the bar was running despite being relatively busy. I toasted my brother and then took a sip of my ale. He was right. It was really good. I took another long sip, both to have another taste of it and to delay my need to speak for a few more moments. I had never felt so awkward around my twin brother, but he seemed so grown up now. He had a fiancée and a baby daughter, and he had settled down in a little beach house on an idyllic tropical island. I was still playing the bachelor billionaire game, picking up a girl for the night whenever it struck my fancy.

Thinking of picking up girls for the night instantly made me think of Abby. Not that I hadn’t been thinking about her all day anyway. She’d gotten under my skin like no one else ever had, and I had been toying with the idea of setting up a romantic dinner for her in my suite tomorrow night. But I always came back to the question of “then what?” I could woo her for a week while I was here, but it was pretty clear that she loved her career, and her career required her to be here. I wasn’t going to do a long distance relationship, so that meant that Abby could only be mine for a week at most.

In other words, not long enough. I’d never cared enough to be sad about leaving a woman, but I already felt sad at the thought of leaving Abby behind.

“Everything alright?” Logan asked, breaking into my thoughts. “I haven’t seen a frown that big on your face in quite a long time. Of course I haven’t seen you at all in quite some time.” He winked at me, and I knew he meant the comment in a good-natured way, but I still felt a fresh pang of guilt.

“Everything’s great,” I said. “Just mulling over some…problems with my travel schedule that recently came up.”

Logan’s sigh was barely perceptible, but I still saw it. He thought I was crazy for continuing to travel and push myself to the brink of exhaustion. We’d made our fortune, and neither of us had to work again another day in our lives. Why not do work we enjoyed?

But I did enjoy my work with the resort. Besides, what else would I do? I’d been doing the resort thing for over ten years, and it just fit. I don’t think I remembered how to just sit in one place and relax, and I wasn’t sure why that was such a bad thing. I got stuff done efficiently. That made me a good businessman, and I’d always wanted to be a good businessman.

I was about to turn to Logan and make some sort of lighthearted comment about how someone had to keep the family business running, but then the front door of the bar opened and the person I saw walking in stopped me in my tracks.

It was her. Abby Reyes, and she looked even more stunning than she had at the resort bar last night. Her hair was down tonight, and the way her thick, brown curls bounced wildly around her face made me want to rush over there and run my fingers through it. Her eyes sparkled even from across the room, and her shimmering lip gloss accented lips that I wanted more than anything to kiss until there was no lip gloss left on them.

Best of all, she was wearing the dress I’d left for her. And just like I’d suspected, it looked incredible on her. The fabric hugged her curves in all the right places, and the deep pink color accented her tanned skin. She’d paired the dress with a delicate seashell necklace that drew attention to her long, slender neck. It was all I could do not to groan out loud right then and there. But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t let on in front of my brother that an island girl had caught my eye. I would never hear the end of it.

But it was too late to hide my feelings from my brother. He’d apparently noticed, and was quick to jump in and interfere.

“Well, well, well,” Logan said as he punched me in the arm. “I see now what the problem with your travel schedule is. It requires you to travel away from her.”

“What? No! You’re being ridiculous.”

“Uh-huh. Then why are you staring at her?”

“I’m not staring. I’m just noticing that she’s a beautiful woman. Can’t a guy at a bar appreciate it when a good-looking chick walks in?”

Logan only smirked at me in response. Then, to my horror, he raised his hand and started waving it. “Abby!” he yelled. “Abby, come on over here for a minute. I want to introduce you to my brother.”

Abby, who had been talking and laughing with another girl who had just walked in behind her, froze in place and looked over at Logan. Then her eyes met mine, and I could see both confusion and deep, passionate hunger in those eyes, even from all the way across the bar. Abby’s friend poked her in the arm, pointed at me and asked something. Abby nodded reluctantly, never taking her eyes off of me. The friend gave her a push forward, and that’s when I realized that Abby must have told her friend all about me.

I wasn’t sure whether that was a good or bad thing. After all, most of the town hated me. Abby’s friend probably hated me, too. Then again, if the friend was pushing her toward me, maybe she was actually on my side?

I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. A few seconds later, Abby approached our table and timidly sat down. “Hi, Logan,” she said, drumming her fingers nervously on the table.

“Hi Abby,” my brother said. Then he nodded at Abby’s friend, who sat down next to Abby. “Hi Kelsey. Have you two met my brother, Zach?”

Abby made eye contact with me, and I could feel the electricity in her gaze. It was all I could do not to reach out and pull her face toward mine right then and there, smothering her with a kiss she would never forget. But I kept my composure and smiled as calmly as I could.

“We’ve met,” I said. “Abby is planning my friend Bruce’s wedding. I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Kelsey, though.”

I turned toward Kelsey and extended a hand for a handshake. The woman stared down at my hand like I had leprosy until Abby must have kicked her under the table. Kelsey jumped, then smiled and shook my hand, politely mumbling about how it was nice to make my acquaintance. Logan sat there looking incredibly amused during the whole scene. I had a good mind to give him a good hard kick under the table, but I knew that the more I let on how much he was getting under my skin right then, the more he would keep at his antics. So I kept my feet to myself and took another long sip of my beer.

“How’s wedding planning going?” Logan asked Abby as he leaned back casually in his chair.

Abby grimaced. “Okay. But to be honest I’ll be glad when Bruce’s wedding is over. It’s been a lot more stress than usual. Speaking of weddings, when are you and Julia going to officially tie the knot? You know I’m eager to plan for you guys.”

Logan shrugged. “It’s up to Julia. I think she wants to wait until Megan and Trent are ready for a wedding, too, so that she can have a double wedding. That’ll be a while though, since Megan is pregnant now and wants to wait until after the baby gets here.”

Abby shook her head. “I can’t believe Megan’s having a baby now too. Everyone is so grown up.”

Logan nodded. “Indeed. So when are you jumping on the marriage and baby bandwagon?”

Kelsey coughed uncomfortably at the question, and Abby’s face turned bright red. That’s when I knew for sure that Abby had talked to Kelsey, and likely confessed that she had deeper feelings for me than just a one night stand. I had a suspicion that Logan realized it too, and I realized I had to stop him before he made things even more awkward. The band had just started playing its first song, so I stood and quickly offered Abby my hand.

“Would you like to dance?” I asked. “This band sounds pretty decent.”

Relief flooded her face and she nodded, happy for the chance to get away from my brother’s questions. I followed Abby to the dance floor, making a point to turn around and give my brother one last glare. He only smirked and raised his beer glass to me.

I knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to force Abby and me together so that I’d fall for her completely and start thinking crazy thoughts like “Maybe I should stay on Driftwood Island.”

And damn it, his plan was working. As I put my hands on Abby’s waist and stepped up to her on the dance floor, I found it hard to imagine ever leaving her. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to steady my thoughts. What was wrong with me? I had a billion dollar resort empire to run. I didn’t have time to be falling in love.

And yet, I knew I was falling. When Abby looked up at me and smiled, I felt the tough walls around my heart starting to melt away. It didn’t help things when she put her hands up on my chest. The fire and heat I felt from her touch went all the way down to my cock, causing it to stiffen up. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to last very long in this bar without finding an excuse to take Abby somewhere a bit more secluded and make love to her like my life depended on it. The hunger she stirred up in me was all consuming.

“My brother is quite a character, huh?” I said. I was desperate to talk about anything that would get my mind off of the steel rod between my legs and how much I wanted to ram that rod deep into Abby.

Abby laughed. “He is a character, but the whole town loves him. Which, unfortunately means that they now blame you almost entirely for the horrid Evans Resort.”

“Ugh! It’s not that bad! It doesn’t take up that much space and it’s not like any of my expansion plans have worked out anyway.”

Abby laughed again. “Hey, calm down cowboy. I’m not saying everyone is completely justified in hating you. I’m just saying that your brother is the favorite around here. Sorry.”

She shrugged and winked at me, and the teasing in that wink set my insides on fire all over again. It was no use pretending I didn’t want her. My whole being was consumed with her. I leaned down until my face was inches from hers, our eyes locked together, and I asked her with a low growl, “And what about you? Who is your favorite around here?”

She looked up at me through her impossibly long eyelashes, all traces of joking and teasing gone. “You. You’re my favorite. But I think you already knew that.”

I growled again, and pulled her closer to put my lips on hers. I half-expected her to resist. I knew that half the locals of Driftwood Island were watching us right now, and I knew that most of them would judge her just for dancing with me, let alone for letting me kiss her.

But she didn’t resist. Instead, she let out a soft sigh, and then put her arms around my neck, drawing me closer. My dick hardened even more as I felt her breasts pressing against my chest, and I started to wonder how I was ever going to be able to walk out of here in a straight line.

Then, the song switched and the music picked up to a faster tempo song. Abby pulled back and grinned at me. “This is one of my favorite songs! Do you know how to do a country two-step?”

“Uh, no.” I had learned quite a few dances over the last decade. As part of trying to integrate myself into the world of the ridiculously wealthy, I’d taken all sorts of classes on etiquette and on things that rich people should know, like how to make your way around a dance floor. But the dances I’d learned had been more formal. Nothing like the somewhat crazy two-step that was now unfolding around me.

Abby laughed with delight and grabbed my hand. “Well, tonight, you’re going to learn.”

I couldn’t have thought of many better ways to embarrass myself in front of the Driftwood Island locals than to try to learn a new dance in front of them. But Abby was determined, and she spun me around in a dizzying array of steps, squealing gleefully every time I got something right. At first, I might as well have been dancing with blocks of lead tied to my feet. My movements were clumsy and slow. But eventually, I started to get a bit better. The song changed and changed again, but they were still fast songs and everyone on the dance floor was hooting and hollering as the band kept the pace going for several more songs. When the song eventually changed to a slow tune again, Abby dragged me back toward Logan’s table. Logan was still there, but he was debating the merits of some recent bestselling novel with Kelsey. Abby rolled her eyes.

“Kelsey is the town’s librarian,” she told me. “Only ask her for her opinion on a book if you want to spend the whole night stuck in a heated debate about literature.”

Logan glanced over at me and shrugged, and I shrugged back.

“At least he has a good excuse to leave whenever he wants,” I said. “All he has to do is say he needs to get back to Julia and the baby.”

“Oh, that baby is so cute!” Abby exclaimed. “But of course you must think so. You’re her uncle after all.”

“Uh, yeah. She’s adorable.” I didn’t want to admit to Abby that I hadn’t actually met my niece yet. I’d only seen pictures, but at least from the pictures I’d seen I could say that she was adorable. I excused myself to get us another round of drinks, and by the time I got back, Logan was doing exactly what I’d said—he was making excuses for needing to get home to Julia and Maisie.

“But we barely got a chance to talk,” I told him.

He grinned at me, then leaned over to speak into my ear so that only I could hear. “That’s alright. Keep going like you’re going with Abby and maybe you’ll end up moving here. Then we’ll have all the chances in the world to talk.”

I glared at him, but he just laughed as he made his way toward the front door. A few moments later, Kelsey made up some excuse for wandering off, but clearly her motivation was to leave me alone with Abby.

“Your friend doesn’t seem to hate me,” I said. “At least not totally. She was a little reluctant to shake my hand, but otherwise she treated me like a human being instead of a monster.”

“Yeah. Well, she doesn’t want everyone to think that she’s supporting the expansion of your resort, so she’s a little wary of being seen as friendly toward you. But…I told her you weren’t that bad and she trusts my judgment. Actually, I think you’ve earned a lot of respect from the locals tonight with all your dance moves.”

I groaned. “All my horrible dance moves.”

“You improved a lot!”

“That’s not saying much. I was pretty awful to begin with. But tell me, Abby. How do you feel about being seen with me? Aren’t you risking social ostracism by hanging out with me here all night?”

Abby shrugged. “I’ve always marched a bit to my own rhythm. I’ve never hated the Evans resort as much as everyone else. And once I met the handsome owner, well…”

She trailed off and gave me a look that made me want to find a secluded spot and undress her right then and there. Then she leaned in and kissed me, and everything around me disappeared. All I could see was her.

“Let’s go back to the resort,” I growled. “I’ll have as many Driftwood Hurricanes as you want delivered to my room, and we can make our own hurricane, if you know what I mean.”

She leaned back in her chair and looked at me with love-drunk eyes. I had already started to extend my hand to her when she shook her head no.

“I can’t, Zach. I have to get up super early tomorrow to take care of wedding stuff.”

“We’ll go to sleep at a reasonable hour, I promise. And I’ll make sure you get a good breakfast tomorrow.”

But now she was shaking her head even harder, and a sad look had come over her face. She glanced around, and I got the feeling that she was looking for Kelsey to come save her.

“Abby, seriously? What just happened? Everything was going great and then in a split-second you’re looking around for your girlfriend to come make an excuse for you to leave?”

Abby looked guilty. “Look, Zach. I had a great time with you tonight. But there’s no way anything between us will ever work long term. And I can’t keep giving away pieces of my heart like this.”

She barely gave me time to process what she had just said before she stood and rushed out of the bar. I sat there for a few moments in total confusion.

Then the anger came. Now I was here by myself in a bar full of locals who hated me. My brother had left, and then Abby had hightailed it out of here moments after kissing me. Why? Just because I suggested coming back to my room? It seemed like a perfectly reasonable suggestion. After all, she’d seemed to enjoy herself plenty last night. And the way she’d been acting tonight had indicated she was interested in more of the same.

With an angry growl, I downed the rest of my beer and slammed the glass down. Then I stormed out the front door, already on my phone to grab a cab. This was why I could never get involved with a woman. Besides my travel schedule, they were all crazy.

Well, whatever. It was better this way. I would have only had a few more days with Abby, tops. I might as well spend those days relaxing instead of stressing over whether there was any possible way to make something between myself and a Driftwood Island local work. The bottom line was that I knew the only way it would work was if I moved here, and that was never happening.

I would put in my time here, seeing my niece and attending Bruce’s wedding. And then I would hightail it out of Driftwood Island and not come back for as long as possible. I didn’t need distractions like Abby Reyes.

No matter how beautiful of a distraction she was.