when she was labeled in this manner. Her mother’s reputation forever preceded her, singling her out as the only child of the ferociously famous corporate negotiator.
“The one and only,” she coolly owned, lifting her glass in salute.
He frowned, seeming to notice the subtle frost in her tone. “Lillian Reid as your mother. That must have earned you your fair share of therapy.”
She tried not to glower at him for this observation. Her attempts caused him to grin, and she felt a strange stirring in her stomach at the sight. “So you work for your mother, then?” he confirmed, getting back to the subject at hand.
She nodded.
“How long?”
“Straight out of college. You can’t expect me to confess how many years ago that’s been.”
Dane closed one eye and pretended to size her up. “Less than ten, I’d say.”
She laughed, her tension easing slightly. “They told me you could be charming.”
“Could be?”
“When you want to be.”
“Ah.” He paused. “So?” he prompted.
“So, what?”
“Am I right? Ten years or less?”
She rolled her eyes. “Twelve, if you must know. I’m thirty-three.”
He clicked his tongue. “So young.”
“As compared to your thirty-six years?”
“You have done your homework.”
She swirled the ice in her glass. “I should warn you not to underestimate me.”
He scoffed. “As Lillian Reid’s daughter, you’re probably right.” He frowned. “If you’re not taking a commission, there must be some other incentive. You didn’t come here just for the weather, after all.” His lips twisted into a smirk of disdain.
“No,” she admitted. “I didn’t.”
He returned to his seat and picked up his glass. “Not to sound arrogant, but...the salaries I’ve been offered would have provided a, let’s just say, substantial commission for you, should I accept the proposal. Any particular reason why you’re foregoing your percentage?”
She placed her glass back on the table and leaned forward. “Some things in life are worth more than money.”
He grunted in acknowledgment. “Well said.” He waited a few seconds more before querying, “You’re not going to tell me your reasons, are you?”
She leaned back in her seat but remained silent. Instead of responding, she swiveled the topic in another direction. Gesturing to the gardens before them, she observed, “It’s easy to see why you gave up what you did. The islands are beautiful.”
Relaxing farther into his seat, he followed her gaze. “This is your first trip to Hawaii?”
She nodded. “Travel comes with the job, of course, but I’ve never had the pleasure before this. You gave me a good excuse.” Her eyes returned to his, and when they met, she found herself inexplicably unsettled. Diverting her attention away once more, she tried to keep herself on solid conversational ground. Her research had prepared her for Dane Montgomery’s handsome features, square jawline and toned physique, but the reality of those liquid blue eyes and deep voice was something else entirely.
“How many employees do you keep on staff here at the inn?” she asked, anchoring herself to neutral territory.
“Three, in addition to myself. There’s a set of rooms on the other side of the inn for them. They live here with me.”
“And they’re all locals?”
He cocked his head. “Why do you want to know?”
She sighed. She had known he’d be difficult, but she hadn’t expected such open mistrust. She shrugged. “It’s an interesting endeavor—giving up the corporate life like you did, buying a coffee plantation and inn, and setting out on a new venture. I’m curious.”
“If you’ve done your homework, I’m sure you’ve read all about it already.”
“Still...reading about a legend isn’t quite the same as meeting one.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Laying it on a bit thick, aren’t you? If you’d bothered to compose a personality profile on me, you’d realize that flattery won’t get you very far.”
He had a point. She had made that very note in the margins of her paperwork during the flight over, and already, she had made the mistake of trying to play to his vanity. She had a flash of doubt as to her ability to accomplish this task. After all, she wasn’t the first recruiter to attempt luring Dane Montgomery out of retirement.
“I apologize,” she offered, “but before you turn me down flat, you should at least read the proposal.”
He sighed and looked away, off toward the mountains in the distance. She sensed a weariness emanating from him, and rather than take advantage of this vulnerability, she attempted to alleviate it.
“I have the entire week at my disposal,” she reminded him. “And I’m certain you feel a little ambushed by my arrival. Why don’t you take the afternoon to let the idea sink in, and I can present you with the proposal later?”
He turned his eyes on her, the warm blue going a shade darker with what she could only hope wasn’t loathing. “How considerate of you,” he noted.
She bit her lip.
Clearing his throat, he rose to his feet. “I’ll check on Pele, see how she’s coming along on your suite.”
A deep exhaustion had settled into her bones. She wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a nap before facing the initial round of negotiations. “Thank you,” she responded.
Dane turned to go, but then he lingered on the threshold of the lanai, frowning at her. She smiled cheerfully, though it felt tight and awkward on her lips. He did not return the gesture. As he stole away, Ophelia relaxed her face and rested a hand over her stomach, attempting to convince herself it was only the stress of the situation that had caused the restlessness inside her.
* * *
WHILE OPHELIA REID waited for her rooms to be readied, Dane found himself struggling to explain his dilemma to Keahi.
“She is not the first haole to try and lure you away from the islands,” Keahi, his plantation manager, pointed out as he flipped through a sheaf of paperwork in their shared office.
“No,” he conceded, “but she may be the prettiest.”
Keahi looked up from his task with sudden interest, and Dane wished he could withdraw his offhand remark. He’d meant to make a joke of it, as much to convince himself that Ophelia Reid’s unexpected beauty was of no consequence as to
