frowned up at him. “What the hell, Max—you gonna break out the hose and bright lights next?”
“Hey, I’m just trying to get things to add up. Like, if you knew that seven-day deadline thing going in, why aren’t you further along?”
“Uh, I might have spent most of it getting it on with Jenny.”
“Jesus, do not tell me stuff like that!” Max involuntarily shuddered. “It makes me wanna scrub my brain with industrial-strength bleach to get the image out of my head.” Until his half brother had come to town, he’d never once thought of Jenny as a sexual being.
Jake snorted. “Please. You’re just jealous because you’ve got no women to roll around with.”
Max’s mind immediately went to the woman in the little cabin nestled just this side of the woods in the back acre of the resort. Harper. Of the beautiful creamy light brown skin. Of those big olive-green eyes and dark spiral curls. That smoky voice. He’d give his left nut to roll around—
With a rough, impatient jerk of his head to shake her image out of it, he said, “Hey, I could get a woman just...like...that!” He snapped his fingers under Jake’s nose. Except he wasn’t interested in any of the ones he could get. He was fascinated by Harper Summerville, and had been since he’d first clapped eyes on her when she’d shown up at Team Photo Day with Jenny.
He scowled at his half brother. “Next time find somebody else to run your errands. You’re a dad, for God’s sake. Why didn’t you just order your kid to do it?”
“Would’ve if I could’ve, bro, but it’s summer, he’s fourteen and he’s off in his boat somewhere with Nolan and Bailey, and bound to be gone all day. Besides—” Jake shot him a sideways glance “—didn’t I carve some precious time outta my schedule to make coffee for you?”
“Big whoop.”
“Hey, I showed you my work. Shared the genius of my very efficiently taken-in-ten-days photographs with you. I don’t do that for just anyone, you know.”
“And it was real special.” He deliberately made his tone sardonic, but the truth was, getting to see his half brother’s talent in a behind-the-scenes way...well, it really had been a treat. It wasn’t every day a guy got to see hundreds of freshly downloaded photos taken in various locations throughout Africa by a well-known National Explorer magazine photographer.
He walked over to the open window of The Sand Dollar, the luxury cabin Jake had been renting on The Brothers Inn grounds since he’d come to town, and faked an interest in the eagle flying through the compound with a seagull and several crows hot on its tail. Watched as the summer breeze sent the heavy boughs to swaying in the evergreens that dotted the grounds.
Then he shoved his hands deep into his pockets and looked over his shoulder at his half brother.
Damned if even under deadline pressure, Jake didn’t look like Mr. Upscale with his expensively cut sun-streaked brown hair and his pale green hundred-dollar silk T-shirt the exact same shade as his eyes.
Max still found it amazing that he and Jake were developing an honest-to-God relationship after almost an entire lifetime spent hating each other’s guts. Who would have ever predicted that? Not him, that was for damn sure. Yet the fact that they were made it easier to turn around and admit, “It really was pretty awesome to see some of your process for winnowing down all those photos.” His eyebrows drew together. “Doesn’t mean you don’t still owe me, though.”
“Right,” Jake said in a tone that was desert dry. “It being so tedious and all, having to talk to a pretty woman.”
“She’s not pretty, you idiot, she’s beautiful. And have you forgotten the other two times you’ve seen me talk to her?” The way he’d lost all verbal skills when he’d found himself thrown in her company those times was nothing short of pathetic. He was a damn deputy sheriff—hell, a former marine, for God’s sake. He could usually talk to anyone.
Except the silver-spoon girls.
“Oh.” Jake sobered. “Yeah. You were really pitiful.” He gave a decisive nod. “Okay. I do owe you.”
“Damn straight,” he muttered. “Although I will admit I didn’t do as badly today. Which is a damn good thing,” he said drily. “Embarrassing myself like that again doesn’t bear thinking about. Not when I’ve got such ready access to an entire arsenal I could use to put myself out of my misery.”
Jake raised skeptical brows. “Get real. You and I both know you’re too much of a hard-ass pragmatist—never mind that law-and-order thing you’re so wedded to—to ever choose such a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” He shot Max a cheerful smile. “And look on the bright side, bro—you can only improve.”
“Hell, yeah,” Max said sarcastically, heading for the door. “How can I not, with faithful encouragement like that to prop me up? Get to work. I’ve got stuff to do, too—I can’t hang around here all day. I’ll see you at Jenny’s at seven.”
But as he loped down the staircase to the first floor, he thought, From your lips to God’s ear. Because improvement couldn’t come quickly enough to suit him. He let himself out the front door of The Sand Dollar, allowing the screen door to bang shut behind him. Not nearly quickly enough.
For he was sure as hell tired of acting more tongue-tied than a horny thirteen-year-old with his first crush every time he stumbled across Harper Summerville.
CHAPTER TWO
MAX SLAMMED HIS car door and hotfooted it across the little parking lot to the back of Jenny’s cottage. He took the stubby flight of stairs up to her mudroom in two big steps.
He hadn’t deliberately been late for her dinner party. After leaving Jake’s he’d gone out to Cedar Village, the group home for at-risk boys a few miles out of town. And he’d ended up staying longer than he’d planned.
Which was hardly a surprise, considering it was the same thing he did every time he went out there. At one time he’d been an angry teen himself. He knew what it was to get into his share of trouble, knew about having anger he didn’t quite know how to manage. So he liked volunteering some of his free time to work with the kids. He understood where they were coming from.
But he’d let the time get away from him. The boys had roped him into a vigorous game of basketball, and the demand that he join them had been the first sign of softening he’d seen from a couple of the kids. If he’d blown off the opening they’d given him, he would’ve risked having them never give him another. That hadn’t been an option.
He was already running late when he’d finally pulled himself away, but he’d had no choice but to go home for a quick shower and a change. Jenny, bless her heart, threw reasonably casual parties, but he was pretty sure she’d expect him to at least shave and throw on something a bit less scruffy than his day-off knock-around clothes. Especially when Jake, the love of her life, was one of those GQ-type dressers. And he didn’t even want to think about what she’d have to say if he showed up smelling as ripe as only a guy who’d pounded up and down a court with boys who could run him into the ground could.
He smoothed his hand down the navy T-shirt he’d tucked tightly into his low-slung jeans to get the drawer wrinkles out. Straightened the button placket of the
