And I’d loved Griff. I sigh. “I can’t just let it go.”

  “Then…I’m not sure we have a reason to see each other anymore.” She looks sad at that prospect.

  I feel fucking wiped. “Not even to date?”

  “Do you really date? You don’t make time for the ocean that’s literally in your backyard. You’re preoccupied with business and one-upmanship. I can’t imagine you actually have time for me.”

  When she stands, I feel my guts drop to my toes. I hop to my feet. “Don’t go, Keeley. What about the money I offered you? That’s got to mean something.”

  She shakes her head. “I would never sacrifice my conscience to line my wallet.”

  Without meaning to, I’ve insulted her again. “I can’t say the right thing here…”

  “You can. You just don’t want to. You’re not ready yet. I’d offer to listen if you wanted to purge your feelings or guide you through some meditation meant to reduce anger—”

  I snort. I don’t mean to. It just slips out.

  A sad smile lifts her lips. “That’s what I thought, so I didn’t offer.”

  “I want to see you again, Keeley. I like you.” I swallow. “A lot.”

  That’s a pretty big admission for me. I can usually say I like a hookup’s tits. I might even say I like her laugh or her eyes or whatever. But I feel like I know Keeley in a way I probably shouldn’t after so little time together. And what I do know, I’m enamored with.

  “Somehow…I really like you, too. I wish things could have been different.” Her blue eyes fill with regret as she tries to sidle past me for the door.

  Of their own free will, my fingers wrap around her wrist. “Don’t walk out on me, too.”

  I can’t say precisely why I’m… What’s the word I’m looking for? I search my mental thesaurus and can only come up with one: begging. Sadly, that’s accurate. I have a sneaking suspicion my urge to have her near has less to do with repaying Griff and more to do with my desire.

  “I need to go,” she murmurs. “Give me your number. I’ll…think about it.”

  With most anyone else, I’d call bullshit. But Keeley has never been less than mindful and ethical and wonderful.

  I hand her a business card. My cell is listed on the front. She takes it without a word. Instead, she kisses my cheek, gives me one last look of regret, then shoulders her way past me and out the door.

  My head tells me that, Griff aside, it’s for the best. As Keeley pointed out, I don’t have time for romance. I don’t need someone so sentimental they overlook the practical. The chemistry between us would probably fizzle out in another night or two anyway.

  So why do I feel as if letting her go might be the biggest mistake of my life?

  Chapter 5

  Three long days drag by. I feel like I’m standing in slow motion while everyone is running in fast-forward around me. Rob and Britta are putting together amazing materials to wow the Stowe heirs. Dazzling marketing videos, brokerage tour concepts, and high-dollar-buyer party suggestions. Even a fucking slogan. They are brilliant, thank God.

  My brain is stuck.

  I’m going through the motions, wishing I could force myself to get my head in the game. I look at my phone again for the umpteenth time today. Not that I expect anything different, but Keeley still hasn’t called.

  She’s gone.

  I could track her down…but she has my number. If she wants me to find her, she’d tell me where to look. I feel antsy because I haven’t talked to her since the weekend. I even called Gus, the guy who owns the lousy sports bar. He couldn’t say if or when Keeley would be singing again. When we spoke, he sounded disappointed, too.

  “You okay, buddy?” Rob asks, briefcase in hand.

  I glance at the clock. Is it really six fifteen? “Yeah. Have a good one.”

  “Will do.” He hesitates, then looks over at Britta, still huddled over her desk in the far corner. “She all right?”

  Britta grilled me about why Keeley was answering my phone the other morning. I couldn’t tell Griff’s ex that I’d hatched a grand plan to make sure my brother caught a giant case of lust for the woman I put in his path. Britta would see that as a betrayal, whether she wanted to admit it or not. Instead, I told her that Keeley and I had been triaging my old family wounds. Not surprisingly, Britta seemed skeptical of a lounge singer in a cheetah dress giving me life coaching.

  “I think. You know Britta.”

  “Still touchy sometimes. What about you?”

  Have I been acting weepy or something? “Me? Sure.”

  Rob rolls his eyes. “Listen, I know I’m the last person who should give you romantic advice…”

  “Um, yeah.”

  My marketing manager is pushing forty and has never come close to marriage. Until recently, he’s always loved them and left them, then somehow convinced them to come back again so he can screw them once last time before casting them off for good. He makes me look like the poster boy for consideration and sensitivity.

  “Ha!” Rob rolls his eyes. “I’m going to give you advice. Get laid. You’ve let this chick mess with your head. Move on. Find another pussy you like.” He shrugs. “It usually works for me.”

  It would be a waste of my breath to point out that he’s practically living with Alania, a mortgage broker he met four months ago. I don’t expect it will take him much longer to realize that in terms of prowling like a bad boy, she’s moved him into the “former” column.

  I also don’t want to admit that I’m one step ahead of him. On Sunday night, I hung out at the hotel bar near my unit and hit the jackpot with a bachelorette party. Eight single ladies, all eager, all looking to make dreamy memories in paradise. Instead of zeroing in on one from the group and sharing a great night with her, I drank a scotch, nodded their way politely, and left alone.

  “Thanks,” I say, despite knowing he’s full of hot air.

  “Have a good one, man. Night, Britta,” Rob calls. With that, he leaves.

  My assistant stands and stretches, glancing at the time on her computer. “Oh, it’s later than I thought. I need to go get Jamie. You going to be okay here?”

  “Yeah. Do you need my help with anything?”

  “No. I think we’ll just have soup and watch a few cartoons before bed. You’re welcome to join us for dinner. He likes when Uncle Maxon drops by.”

  It’s been a while since I’ve seen the little guy, and I’ll bet he’s grown. I’m certainly not accomplishing much here. I open my mouth to say I’d love to. I’ll even bring dinner. But the door to the suite opens.

  My heart fucking stops when Keeley walks in. Then it begins to chug triple time. Damn, she looks good dressed in a black tank top, sexy cutoff shorts, and a pair of blingy flip-flops. Her pale skin stands out amidst all the Hawaiian tans. She looks like a pearl, all luminous and gorgeous. It’s no surprise I want her. Then again, I probably would have drooled even if she’d been wearing a sack.

  “Hi.” She gives me an uncertain smile. “Can I talk to you?”

  Does she really think there’s any way I’m going to say no? “Of course.”

  She glances at my assistant, hand outstretched. “You must be Britta. I’m Keeley.”

  I’m floored when my dependable, always friendly assistant fills her hands with work-related stuff and sniffs Keeley’s way. “I gathered. Stop messing with his head. He refused to track you down so he could set you straight about my ex because he’s a good guy. But I have no such qualms. Griff ripped us both apart. Stop being an AFAOE and actually listen to his side of the story.”

  “AFAOE?” Keeley frowns.

  “Don’t worry about it, sunshine.” I give Keeley a gentle push toward my office. “Britta is just tired. Cranky. Don’t you have PMS, too?”

  My assistant utterly ignores my heavy-handed hint to shut up. “It means a fucking authority on everything. That’s how you’re behaving. You waltz into Maxon’s life and want him to give up the biggest deal of his career—his lifelong ambition—over some high-minded ideal about being kind to the man who stabbed us in the back, then left us bleeding to die without a second thought. Grow up.”

  The room is utterly silent as she slams out the door. I have to close my eyes and shake my head. Could this visit start off any more awkwardly?

  “Sorry about that.” I show Keeley to a chair in my office, then loop around the desk to sit. Damn, she’s a sight for sore eyes. “Coffee?”

  “No, thanks. What did you tell her about our conversation?”

  I had to tell Britta something. I couldn’t think of another quick excuse to explain my moping and lack of focus. Besides, we don’t keep many secrets from each other. “I told you a bit about her life to help you understand my situation with Griff. Since I divulged some of her painful past, I felt as if she deserved to know a little about our conversation and…” I need to stop digging myself a verbal hole and shut up. “I told her the advice you’d given me.”

  “Clearly, she didn’t agree.” Keeley presses her lips into a grim line, then sighs. “Britta isn’t the reason I’ve come. Can we talk?”

  “Of course. I was hoping to hear from you.”

  Understatement of the century.

  “I’ve given a lot of thought to your request over the past few days.”

  To my request. Not to me. This isn’t exactly what I want to hear. Still, my palms get sweaty. My cock stands straight up. It’s all I can do not to drag her into my lap to see if I can work off those Daisy Dukes and get her in a compromising position. Maybe with her legs straddling my chair and her bobbing on my cock?

  “I’m listening.” Or I’m trying. My eager dick is making it really tough to hear.

  She clasps her hands in her lap and blows out a breath as if she’s come to a major decision and is simply working up the nerve to tell me. “I’m willing to take you up on your offer if it still stands.”

  “What?” I can’t have heard that right. Hadn’t she all but lectured me that my horrible, unscrupulous plan was an affront to her golden moral compass? “What made you change your mind?”

  While it would be most logical, everything inside me hopes she’s not merely here for the money.

  “A lot of meditation. I’m a big believer that things happen for a reason. When we first met, I admit I hoped you were the soul mate I’m meant to share my life with. But clearly that’s not the case. So I asked myself why our paths crossed. The only answer that made sense is that I’m meant to help you see you’re a bigger man than this—call it whatever you want—scheme. Maybe I’m supposed to show you that your plan won’t work and that you should just talk to your brother.”

  I stare at her, trying to absorb everything she’s said. But it’s like pops and buzzers. Nothing makes much sense. “So…after listening to terrible music and closing your eyes to focus on your breathing, you came to the conclusion your soul wasn’t born for mine”—I scoff. Who dreams this shit up?—“And that your cosmic purpose is to make me hate my backstabbing brother less?”

  She shakes her head. I can tell that, despite herself, she’s amused. “That’s not exactly how I would characterize it. What I meant was, I think my purpose in your life is to help you resolve the issues with your brother.”

  Before I can do something stupid, like question her sanity—because she obviously really believes this—I plaster on a smile. “So what’s my purpose in your life?”

  Keeley won’t have a comeback for this. Watch. She’s obviously thought about what she knows, what I don’t, and all the reasons I’m a dumb ass. Or… “Is this about the money? You want me to finance your future?”

  The cynic in me is sure of that, but the rest would rather not hear that I’m right.

  “Of course not. I told you I wouldn’t accept the money. I meant it.” She shrugs. “I think I’m meant to expand my understanding of business so I can succeed with my B and B in the future.” She raises a brow at me. “Then again, maybe you’re in my life merely to teach me patience.”

  I can’t tell if she’s kidding until she sticks her little pink tongue out at me.

  I don’t want to, but I find myself laughing. “Maybe. So you’re actually agreeing to help me distract Griff?”

  She nods but holds up a finger. “With conditions.”

  Of course. I sit back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest. If she’s ever negotiated a deal in her life, I’ll be shocked. I, however, have been doing this for damn near a decade. “Lay them on me.”

  “I’m not sleeping with Griff for you, not even if I’m failing. I’ll be friends. I’ll flirt. I’ll lead him on, even. But I won’t go to bed with your brother unless it’s something I want.”

  I’m good with that. I intend to make sure Keeley never wants to sleep with my brother. Ever. I don’t think I could stand it. “Agreed.”

  “Good.” She nods as if that little win has given her the courage to give me her next condition. “At a time and place of my choosing, you and your brother will sit down, face to face, and have a conversation of no less than one hour.”

  I lean in, brace my arms on the desk, and I laugh. “How are you going to make him agree to that, sunshine? Griff hasn’t talked to anyone from his former life except Harlow in three years. There’s no way you’ll force him into the same room with me.”

  “If I can’t, that’s on me.” She shrugs. “But if I’m able to persuade him to listen to reason, you have to sit down and talk. Agreed?”

  It’ll never happen. “Sure.”

  “Great. While I’m doing your dirty work, you’ll be mentoring me on how I can succeed with my business plan. You’ll teach me how to buy the property, how to find reputable contractors, how to advertise on the Internet, and whatever else I need to know. We’ll be exchanging…services. As such, we should mutually agree that we’re working together so we won’t be sleeping together.”

  She’s better at negotiating than I thought, but I only have one answer to that. “No.”

  “No to what? You won’t help me?”

  “I’ll teach you anything you want to know, sunshine. I’ll write up your bid. I’ll hand-walk your paperwork. I’ll do whatever I can to help you open the inn of your dreams. I will never agree to not having sex with you.”

  Keeley frowns at me. I see her reddish-brown brows draw together and a little vertical line work in between. “Fine. Because I won’t agree to have sex with you. So unless you’re going to force me…”

  I sit back, cursing under my breath. I won’t, and she’s probably ninety-nine percent sure of that, so she’ll take the tiny gamble. “Tell you what? I won’t stop trying to seduce you. Of course, you’re always free to say no. I’ll never push you to do something you don’t want…but I won’t give up trying to get you back into bed.”

  “Why? Because you like an easy lay?”

  “Damn it, that is not how I see you. I won’t stop because I want you.”

  “Whatever. Don’t touch me when I haven’t consented, and we’ll be just fine.”

  “All right.”

  It will be my mission in life to make her burn for me. In fact, I wonder if I can bend her in the next twenty-four hours. How can I stack the deck in my favor? Then I realize I have an ace up my sleeve. “Learning to distract Griff is a full-time job. If you’re going to do that, you need to give up everything but school.”

  “Then I can’t afford my rent. Are you going to pay it?”

  “No. You’re going to move in with me. I’ve got a spare room.”

  “I can’t break my lease.”

  I smile. “You can’t. But I can.” It’s been a while since I’ve looked through a lease for a loophole, but I’m sure I can find one. I scoot closer, move in for the kill. “Think of this as a money-saving opportunity. Free rent. Free food. Free clothes. Free business advice.”

  Keeley hesitates. “For how long?”

  “A month.” That covers the three weeks before the Stowe heirs lift their nose from their business, plus another one to make sure the job is good and done. “After that, I’ll help you find a place and negotiate a better rental agreement if you want. You’re going to come out ahead.”

  “You’re only offering me this option because you want to have sex with me again.”

  I choose my words carefully. “And because I want to divert my brother’s attention away from this mega listing. Until today, those two desires have been mutually exclusive. You’re giving me a way to have my cake and eat it, too. I’m merely agreeing.”

  “I don’t want to live with you, even in a separate bedroom.”

  I could tell her that’s the deal. Take it or leave it. The words are on the tip of my tongue. But I swallow them. “The ocean in your backyard every day. Meditating to the sound of the waves. I’ll even clear a space on the lanai for your yoga.”

  She bites her lip. I’ve tempted her. I tamp down a smile.

  “That’s ruthless.”

  “That’s what I’m good at. Yes or no?”

  Her lids slide shut. Her blue eyes are so readable, so being closed off from her is a disadvantage. But if I had to guess, she’s really considering my proposal. “I have a couple of events scheduled I can’t miss. I have two tests next week. I have to study.”

  Not a problem. “I have to work. You’ll prep for your exams while I’m chained to my desk. When I come home, you’re mine.”

  I’m really hoping we spend most of our time horizontal.

  “Since you work a lot, that should be fine. I also committed to teach a yoga class at a senior center near my place every Sunday at nine a.m. It only takes an hour. That’s a hundred bucks I could use.”

  “I’ll pay you for your time.”

  “I can’t let them down. I’ve been doing this for months. They really look forward to it. So do I.”

  What kind of curmudgeon would I be if I took exercising and socializing away from some old folks? I’m an asshole…but not that much of an asshole. “All right. An hour once a week.”

  “Next Wednesday night, I’m supposed to see my friend Cami. She’s a hairdresser. We trade out. She does my hair, and I help her with guided meditation.”