“Enough with the digs. She’s been nothing but kind to you.”
“Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe Shelly’s ever wronged you, but here you are disrespecting the girl I like.”
“It will be someone else next week.” He goes back to his computer screen as if this conservation is over.
“You can’t build near the nesting area. Just get the plans redrawn. If she finds out I work for Dream Developments and Construction, she’ll never talk to me again.”
“Have you lost your mind? It’s one thing to pay to get laid, but another thing to ruin a multi-million-dollar development for the sake of some girl.”
I stand from the chair and lean over the desk, resting my knuckles against the wood. “She’s not just some girl.”
“Come on, there’s plenty more fish in the sea.” He chuckles at his pun.
I take in a deep breath and count to ten. There’s no reasoning with him. Just like when I bring up the subject of my career. I tug at the knot in my tie and pull it from under the collar. “If you go through with this development, Iwant no part of it.” I ball the tie in my fist and turn around, stomping towards the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Anywhere but here. I need some air.”
“Son.”
I stop in the door, gritting my teeth.
“If you want me to take you seriously with this girl, maybe you should bring her to dinner.” He continues to stare at his screen.
I slant my eyes, wondering what he’s thinking. Does he just want to scope out the sort of woman he’s fighting, or is he genuinely considering going back to the drawing board?
“Delia and I have dinner reservations at the country club on Saturday. Shall I add two more guests?” He looks over the computer with one raised bushy brow.
“I’ll see if Shelly has plans.”
I enter the hut on the beach with three large canvases under my arm. Leaning against the wall of the small cafe and shop run by the Save Our Seas volunteers, I admire my turtle girl, bent over as she tidies the stuffed turtles on the bottom shelf. The frill at the hem of her pretty flowered dress floats around her thick thighs.
My chest swells at thoughts that she’s not wearing her usual shorts and t-shirt in an attempt to dress up for me. Not that I care what she wears. If I had my way, it would be nothing, but the thought that she wants to dress up for me gives me some hope.
She turns around and steps back with a jump. “How long have you been here?”
I walk towards her, sliding the canvases onto the counter. “Long enough. Just admiring the view.”
Her eyes widen as she tugs the hem of her dress down.
I slip my arm around her waist, bringing her close to me with a possessive need to claim my girl. “You look delicious,” I whisper in her ear.
Her body tenses in my arms.
“You didn’t have to get all dressed up for me, but I like it.” My nose grazes her neck, inhaling the scent of the ocean and a coconut sunscreen. “You smell delicious, too. I could eat you right up.”
Her chest rises against mine, her heart beating wildly against my rib cage. “I didn’t get dressed up for you. I got dressed up for me.”
“Whatever you say, turtle girl.” Biting back my smirk, I step away, leaving her with flushed cheeks. I want to see her laid out on my boat with that same flush on her chest, her thighs red from my stubble.
Tapping the canvases, I say, “I brought the paintings.”
She slips behind the counter and lifts one up. “These are going to sell like hotcakes. Do you have a minimum price to sell for?”
I shrug my shoulder. “Sell for whatever you can get.”
She asks her colleague to hang them on display before she grabs a straw hat and a large straw bag. “Ready to go?”
