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“Skip would never do anything like that, either,” Connor stated firmly. They didn’t have to. Not when they were ready, willing and able to pay top dollar for any property they were interested in acquiring and developing.
Another silence fell between them, even more potent and full of chemistry. Connor was just getting ready to say good-night and leave when he saw a flash of movement in the window behind Kristy. “Don’t look now,” he murmured.
“What?” Kristy’s chin angled up defiantly.
“We’re being observed,” he murmured. “By your brother.”
Kristy groaned and raked both hands through her hair. “I really wish he would mind his own business,” she muttered beneath her breath, still not looking at the window.
“Well, I can think of one way to make him turn away,” Connor said.
Aware that he had never wanted to possess a woman more than he did Kristy at that very moment, he put one arm around her waist and slid his right hand beneath her chin. He had the advantage when her lips parted in surprise. Knowing it wouldn’t last, he lowered his mouth to hers, and then did what he had wanted to do since the first moment he’d laid eyes on her.
Just as he’d expected, her lips were warm, enticingly feminine—and once again tightly closed. Aware of their audience, and his mission to rid them of it, he persisted anyway, letting her know he could be just as stubborn and reckless and impulsive as she was. He parted her lips with the pressure of his and his tongue swept inside, drawing in the taste of her, the softness. Kristy made a sound—half pleasure, half protest—low in her throat. Not one to be content doing anything halfway, he continued kissing her, long and hard and deep, stroking her tongue with his, tenderly coaxing a response from her even as he tasted the sweetness that was her, until she began to melt against him. The softness of her body giving new heat to his, he used the arm anchored about her waist to bring her closer yet, and show her what they could share, given half a chance. As their bodies fit together, softness to hardness, woman to man, Kristy trembled and uttered another breathy sigh. Her arms curled around his shoulders, and she began kissing him back every bit as passionately as he was kissing her. Satisfaction pouring through him, Connor swept a hand down her spine and continued caressing her, until their hearts were thudding rapidly and they were both completely caught up in the moment, yearning for more.
Which would have been fine, Connor noted, had they been anywhere else. But they weren’t. So at least for now… With a sigh of regret, he halted the tempestuous kiss and lifted his head.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she looked into his eyes and demanded irritably, “What was that for?”
“Our audience,” Connor replied matter-of-factly. Keeping his arms around her, he glanced at the windows. “Yep. Just as I figured. Your brother’s gone.”
“Good.” Trembling all the harder, Kristy splayed both her hands across Connor’s chest. “Then you can stop kissing me,” she said.
She didn’t look or act as if she wanted him to stop kissing her, Connor noted. “I don’t think so,” he replied dryly.
Kristy blinked. “What?”
“The first kiss was to get rid of your pesky brother. This one,” he said, “is for me.”
Chapter Three
Kristy hadn’t been kissed in a long time, and she didn’t think she had ever been kissed quite like this. As if she was someone precious and rare, someone he couldn’t quite resist. And the truth was, as she surrendered to the strength and warmth of him, loving his taste and feel and scent, so dark and male and sexy, she was feeling just that. She wasn’t sure what it was about Connor Templeton. Whether his kiss was so searing and sensual it took her breath away and sent emotions swirling through her at breakneck speed. Or that he had persisted when others would have walked away, and that he seemed to see so much more in her than everyone else. All she knew for certain was that he had identified a need within her that even she hadn’t been aware of—the deep yearning need to be close to someone again, to feel wanted and respected and understood. She wanted to forget, just for a second, all the demands upon her. To ignore the unprecedented risks she was taking, and her worry over the future, and just live in the here and now. Not as someone’s mother or sister or daughter, but as a woman. A flesh-and-blood woman with passionate needs and desires.
But like it or not, Kristy thought, as Connor deepened the kiss even more and stroked his tongue intimately against hers, she was all those things. And as such was required to keep her wits about her even when that was the last thing she wanted to do. Because she had responsibilities that were not going to go away.
She laid a hand on his chest and broke off the wonderfully evocative kiss, as slowly as it had begun. “Well,” she said, reluctantly stepping back, and doing her best to behave as if he hadn’t just turned her whole world upside down—with just one kiss! She drew in a deep, stabilizing breath. “I guess you’ve proved your point.”
His brows knit together. “And what would that be?” he murmured just as softly.
Kristy’s pulse pounded when she realized he looked as if he still wanted to kiss her. Aware it was all she could do not to give in to impulse and let him take her in his arms again, she countered equably, “That I’m just as human as everyone else.” She turned her back to him and pretended to study the resort’s ailing palmetto trees.
Connor rested both hands on her shoulders. He ducked his head so his mouth was close to her ear. “Ah, but you’re not like everyone else, Kristy. If you were, I would have been able to say good-night without mixing business and pleasure.”
She turned to face him. “I take it that’s forbidden,” she said lightly.
He dropped his hands abruptly. “Oh, yeah. I don’t want the lines blurring between work and play.”
Then you’d better not kiss me again, Kristy thought.
“And acquiring my resort is still on your agenda.”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I’ve found there’s usually a way to make everyone happy in the end, if the lines of communication—and negotiation—are kept open.”
Which meant what? Kristy wondered, upset. Had his praise of her efforts to revitalize been disingenuous, after all? Or did he now have some other business scheme in mind? Something he thought she might actually cotton to?
Deciding she didn’t need—or want—to know, since she had no plans to sell Paradise Resort anyway, Kristy merely smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said dryly, walking away.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised.
Kristy didn’t reply, wave, or in any way acknowledge what he’d said. She just kept walking and let her actions speak volumes.
“WE’LL TRY AND STOP IN briefly on the way home to Raleigh,” Maude said as she and Kristy’s brother carried their suitcases out to the car the next morning.
“Sounds good,” Kristy said. Doug hadn’t mentioned seeing her kissing Connor the evening before, but she knew from the way he and her mother were looking at her that they were both aware she had made a misstep in judgment. And both were taking that as yet another sign that she was slowly but surely going off her rocker, in the wake of Lance’s death.
Kristy loved her family and didn’t want them worrying about her, but she didn’t want to be put in the position of defending her every action to them, either. Darn it all, she was an adult, with the freedom to venture out of her self-imposed little world whenever she wanted to, for whatever reason. Even if it was, as it had been last night when she was wrapped in Connor’s arms, an exceedingly foolish and impetuous one.
“Maybe then we can talk more about Connor Templeton’s offer to you,” Doug said soberly, appearing to believe that the sooner they got her out of South Carolina and back home to Chapel Hill, the better.
“I’ve made up my mind about that,” Kristy said firmly but pleasantly, as her brother opened the back of the station wagon. “I’m turning him down.”
Doug made a soft harrumph.
“I think you might want to talk to your father and his accountant about it before you make a definite decision,” Maude said.
No, Kristy thought, just as resolutely, she did not. Because they would look at the sum Connor and Skip Wakefield were offering her and realize that after she had paid off both the first and second mortgage on the resort, she would still have a good two million dollars to bank. Managed properly, she and the girls could live off the interest on that for years. And while it was a tempting thought, to know she would never have to worry about money again, Kristy knew it was also the easy way out. Plus she’d be guaranteeing the demise of the resort her aunt Ida had spent her life taking care of.
“Aunt Ida bequeathed Paradise Resort to me because she trusted me to take care of it and bring it back to its former glory.”
“Ida would also understand that you are waging a losing battle here,” Maude said gently.
Doug nodded. “You have to face it, Kristy. You can’t compete with the fancy places that have sprung up along the coast.”
“I don’t want to compete with the golf and tennis resorts,” Kristy retorted, beginning to be irked again at the lack of understanding and support she received from her family in this regard. “I want to offer a different kind of place for a different kind of vacation.” And if they didn’t understand that…
Maude and Doug sighed.
Deciding there was no use in rehashing the same old argument, or continuing to make her case that there was a place for many kinds of resorts along the South Carolina coast, Kristy glanced at her watch. “You’d better be hitting the road if you don’t want to get caught up in rush hour traffic.”
To her relief, Doug and Maude took the hint. They said their goodbyes, thanked her for the hospitality and drove off.
The twins, having “forgotten” about the math work sheets that were due that morning, were sitting at a table in the dining room, busily working the multiplication problems that had been assigned to them.
They finished about five minutes before the bus was due. Kristy made sure they went to the bathroom and had their lunches, then walked out to the end of the driveway to wait for their bus with them.
About the same time, Connor pulled into the drive. Kristy’s heart gave a little leap at the sight of him, even as she reminded herself sternly not to get caught in the unexpected chemistry between them. Or spend any time at all remembering the warmth of his arms or the heart-stopping nature of his kiss, or the fact that he had made her feel like a woman for the first time in a very long time. Bottom line, he was here for one reason and one reason only—to buy her out. And, she reminded herself sternly, even when her body began to tingle as he got out of his Mercedes and strolled confidently toward her, holding her eyes all the while, she had to remember that. Because another kiss, another few hours of letting down her guard with him, was not something she could afford.
Not that Connor Templeton seemed to accept that fact, Kristy noted. As he deliberately closed the distance between them, he looked as if he was ready to pick up exactly where they had left off. With her wrapped in his strong arms, his lips fastened securely on hers…
Eyes twinkling, he leaned over to brush a light, careless kiss—a Southern-style greeting—against her cheek. “Morning.”
Only because the twins were there to witness her behavior did Kristy resist the urge to glower at him. As she sought to get a handle on her soaring emotions, she could feel the blood rushing to her face. Passing up the chance to lightly kiss his cheek, too, she forced a cheerful smile and stepped back a pace. “Good morning, Mr. Templeton.” She spoke as if he were a casual acquaintance she’d happened to see on the street.
And he wasn’t buying it for a second, Kristy noted.
He knew she was thinking about the way they had kissed last night, just as he was….
Unlike yesterday, however, this morning he was dressed in jeans that made the most of his tall, muscular frame, and a T-shirt that did similar things for his broad shoulders and flat abs. He had recently showered and shaved, and Kristy tried hard not to notice how good he looked and smelled so early in the morning.
“You gals off to school?” Connor asked the twins cheerfully.
Susie and Sally both nodded.
In the distance, they could hear the rumble of the school bus stopping and starting as it picked up children at various stops along Folly Beach Road. Abruptly, Susie elbowed Sally. Sally elbowed her back.
“What’s going on?” Kristy interjected. The twins had stubbornly insisted they hadn’t been fighting about anything in particular the previous afternoon when they got off the bus. Kristy had suspected the reverse was true, but unable to prompt them to confide in her any further, she had let it ride, figuring they could talk about the unprecedented catfight this afternoon.
Sally unzipped the pocket of her backpack and pulled out a crumpled envelope with the Folly Beach Elementary School insignia on it. “We forgot to give you this,” she said, as the school bus lumbered up to the end of the lane. Both twins heaved sighs of relief and started to bolt. Another bad sign. “Hold on just one minute there,” Kristy ordered, latching on to both her daughters before they could take off. She quickly opened the letter, saw the words parent-counselor conference. Lifting a hand, she signaled the bus driver to go on. “I’m taking you two to school this morning,” she said firmly.
“But Mom…!” Susie protested unhappily, even as Sally leaned against Kristy in defeat.
The bus driver waved in acknowledgment and drove on down the road.
“Is this what you two were fighting about yesterday afternoon?” Kristy demanded.
Susie looked at Connor hesitantly before turning back to her mom and saying, “I wanted to give you the letter last night, but Sally wouldn’t let me. She said we ought to wait until this morning. ’Cause otherwise you would just worry about it all night long. And we didn’t want you to worry, Mommy.”
They had been doing enough of that already, Kristy noted, not sure whether to be unhappy with her daughters for keeping something from her, or proud that they had tried—in their own convoluted, eight-year-old way—to protect her from suffering any more grief. The only thing she knew for sure was that this had to be dealt with—now.
“Did you two get in trouble?”
They exchanged worried glances and shrugged in tandem. “We didn’t do anything,” Sally said, rubbing the toe of one patent leather dress shoe across the path. “Which is why it is so unfair that you have to go in and have a conference about us.”
“Well, something must have happened to prompt this,” Kristy said, frowning and glancing back at the letter. Otherwise the school counselor wouldn’t have requested that Kristy make arrangements to meet with her privately as soon as possible.
The girls shrugged again, looking as mystified and out of sorts as Kristy felt.
“This looks like a bad time,” Connor said.
Kristy glanced up at him. She had been so wrapped up in what was going on with the girls she had almost forgotten he was there. “Actually, yes, it is,” she said, deciding she had enough on her hands trying to deal with her twins’ current calamity without wrestling with her feelings about him, too. Glad that Connor seemed to understand and be okay with that, she rushed back inside, where she spotted Harry Bowles in the lobby. “I’m ready to get to work,” he announced.
Kristy wasn’t surprised to see the British butler looking as handsome and tidy as ever. What did shock her was that he was dressed in a formal-looking suit and tie. Which was not what she needed from him this morning.
Belatedly, Kristy realized she should have gone over that with Harry when she hired him. But it, too, would have to wait until later. “Harry, do you have some old clothes?” she asked.
Harry peered at her peculiarly. “Old clothes?”
“Like what I’m wearing,” Kristy said, pointing to her clean but paint-stained blue chambray work shirt and loose-fitting shorts.
“Uh, no, actually, I don’t have anything like that,” Harry said. And he didn’t look particularly eager to get some, either.
“Well, can you find something to wear that won’t be a great loss if it gets ruined?” Kristy asked. Able to see the myriad questions in Harry’s keen eyes, she promised, “I’ll explain later. I’ve got to run the girls to school. They’ve missed their bus.”
“Very well, madam. I’ll do my best,” Harry agreed cooperatively.
He strode cheerfully out to his luxury sports car parked in the employee lot at the end of the driveway. Connor was still standing there, talking to the twins about flying kites on the beach. “Okay, girls, let’s go!” Kristy said, opening up her minivan. She slung her purse into the front seat and opened the back for the twins.
The girls climbed in, Sally being careful not to muss up her pretty dress and matching crinoline, while Susie hopped in like the complete tomboy she had gradually morphed into since her father’s death.
Harry turned to Connor. “Do you know where I might find some ‘old clothes’ similar to what Ms. Neumeyer is wearing?” she heard him ask.
Connor directed him down the beach to a discount store, and Harry got in his sport coupe and drove away as Kristy put on her sunglasses and seat belt. “We’re going to be late,” Susie said.
“No, we’re not,” Kristy stated. Confident she had plenty of time to get the girls to school before the bell, she slid her key into the ignition, turned it and got…absolutely nothing. Kristy stared at the steering column and the driver panel, and tried again.
Nothing. No groan from the motor, no spark as the ignition tried to catch. Just silence.
“Oh, no!” Susie moaned from the back seat.
“The van won’t start!” Sally sounded panicked, too.
“Problem?” Connor appeared at Kristy’s window.
Kristy scowled, already calculating how long it would take to get a cab out here. The answer: way too long. “My van won’t start.”
“Want me to have a look under the hood?” Connor asked.
The girls grew even more agitated.
“There’s no time for that,” Kristy said, getting out. She had so much to do today. She really didn’t need this. “I’ve got to get the girls to school.” And she had very few options, unless she wanted them to miss half an hour or more of their school day. She looked at him, hating the position she was in, but—for her kids’ sake—not too proud to ask. “Can you take us?”
“Sure. You’ll have to direct me.”
“No problem.”
They piled into Connor’s Mercedes, and Kristy directed Connor to the elementary school. Unfortunately, there was a traffic snarl at two of the intersections, and by the time they reached the school, the bell had already rung and the grounds were deserted.
“Now I don’t want to go at all,” Sally grumbled from the back seat.
“It’ll be fine. I’ll go in with you and explain what happened at the office,” Kristy said.
“Do you want me to go inside with you or wait in the car?” Connor asked, willing to do whatever was best.
“You can just wait here if you don’t mind. It should take me only a minute to sign them in,” Kristy promised.
“EVERYTHING OKAY?” Connor asked Kristy when she finally emerged from the school some twenty minutes later and climbed into the car beside him. It didn’t look as if things were okay, he thought. In fact, she looked pretty upset.
“No.” Kristy lowered her glance and pressed her fingertips to her forehead.
