life, he supposed, which worked well in business, since his opponents were never ready for him to turn on them. But as far as women were concerned, most of those he knew would never think of describing him as nice, for God’s sake.
Nice was … nice. He wasn’t. Not at the heart of him. And usually it didn’t take long for people to pick up on that.
She shrugged a little. “The point is, you looked like a man I could talk to about all of this. When I found out you were coming to Tesoro personally, I decided to take a stand.”
“By lying to your grandfather.”
“Not a lie,” she argued quickly. “We actually will be married. So it’s more of a colorful representation of the truth.”
He fought back a smile. Seems Melinda Stanford had her own rules to play by. Well, Sean could admire anyone who set out to do something and didn’t let anything get in the way. He could even take a step back and see that from her point of view, he actually was the perfect temporary husband. The question was, could he see it from his point of view?
Their dinner arrived before he could say anything else and, for a few minutes, they each focused on their meals. The food was excellent, the atmosphere even better and the beautiful woman across from him was just the capper.
He’d rarely met a woman who didn’t find it necessary to fill every silence with some kind of inane chatter. He found himself relaxing. The silence stretching out between them was companionable somehow, as if they were already a team.
He frowned to himself at that thought, since he hadn’t decided a damn thing yet.
“You’ve lived here your whole life,” he said into the quiet.
“Since I was five, yes.” She turned her head to look out over the water. The tide was out, and a handful of couples strolled the beach in the moonlight. “It’s a lovely island. The town is small, but the hotel is a big draw. Most people prefer coming here because Grandfather’s never allowed the cruise ships to stop. So, our guests tend to be very wealthy and very into their privacy. But they spend plenty of money in the village and the shops usually make enough money to last them through the off-season.”
“I know.” He gave her a quick grin. “The Kings do research, too.”
“Then you already know that Tesoro is the perfect spot for the resort you want to build,” she said, setting her fork and knife down.
“Agreed.” It was more than perfect. Like it had been designed specifically for the plans Rico had in mind. Rico’s hotel in Mexico was top-of-the-line, modern, beautiful and plush. But for the resort on Tesoro, things would be different. Rico wanted to go with island elegance. To make this the most talked-about destination spot in the world.
And with King Construction behind the building and design, it would be. Sean was itching to get started. The plans were already drawn up, the equipment ready to ship to the island. All they needed was the old man’s go-ahead and things could start rolling.
“It would be good for Tesoro, too,” she told him. “We have a small construction company on the island, you know. My grandfather started it twenty years ago. They do all the building and would be a big help to your company.”
“Uh-huh.” He knew that, too. Of course the Kings would bring in some of their own men because they’d worked with them for years and trusted them. But using island labor would not only move things along quicker, it would make for good relations with the locals.
It would all be perfect—if he didn’t mind getting married to accomplish it.
Melinda’s eyes shone in the candlelight and her smile curved her lips just to the point where he thought about leaning over the table to have a taste. Her teeth chewed at her bottom lip again and he felt an answering tug inside him. Sean was tight and hard and going to damn well embarrass himself if he had to stand up anytime soon.
“Are you listening to me?”
“What?” He grinned, grateful for the distraction. “Sure. Construction. Can’t get enough of that.”
She frowned and huffed out a breath. “I’m just saying that this could be a good deal for all of us, Sean. You get the land, the island gets a hotel that will create jobs and bring in money to the locals—”
“And you get your trust fund.”
“Yes.” She picked up her wineglass and took the last sip. When she’d finished, she asked, “Well. What do you say? Do we have a deal? Will you marry me?”
Those four words sent an instinctive chill down his spine, but Sean ignored it. Sure, he had vowed to never again make the mistake of getting married. But this was different.
The first time he had said “I do,” he got screwed, in more ways than one. This time, he would get something out of the deal beyond a quickie divorce. This time, he would be the one in charge. The one to say when it was over. The one to walk away.
And this time, his heart wouldn’t be involved.
Nodding, he held out one hand to her. “I think you’ve got a deal.”
That smile of hers widened and nearly took his breath away. She took his hand and, just like their first touch hours ago, the instant their palms met, there was a quick flash of heat that seemed to zing straight up his arm to bounce around his chest like a crazed ping-pong ball. Sean had been hoping to hell he had imagined that sizzle between them. But if anything, it was stronger this time around. Damn it. If she felt it, she didn’t show it, so neither did Sean. He willed his body into submission and fought against an attraction that was more powerful than he’d expected.
“There’s just one more thing,” she said as she pulled her hand free of his.
Sean laughed. “You’ve already swept me off my feet,” he said wryly. “What’s left?”
“No sex.”
Well, that got his attention. He stared at her for a long minute until she finally shifted her gaze from his nervously.
This was an entirely new experience for Sean. Most women were downright eager to get close to him. Hell, he usually had to fend off women trying to fling themselves into his bed. He’d turned down a lovely woman only an hour ago in the hotel bar. But her blond hair and brown eyes hadn’t done a thing for him since he had been too preoccupied with thoughts of Melinda Stanford.
The woman who wanted to marry him—just not sleep with him.
He stared her down and she didn’t flinch. That steady blue gaze never wavered.
What was going on? He wasn’t imagining the sizzle of heat that leapt between them whenever they touched. He hadn’t missed the flash of something interested in her eyes. And he for damn sure wasn’t wrong about his own desire for the woman who had turned this trip upside down inside of a few hours. If he’d met her somewhere else, he would have tried to seduce her into a long weekend—and he had no doubt he would have succeeded.
So what was the problem?
“No sex.”
“That’s right.” She took a long breath and looked back into his eyes. “Why
