揝ounds good.?He follows me back inside the house through the huge open doors.
揌ave you found your room and gotten settled in yet??
揧eah, but it抯 no big deal. How could I ever forget this place??He gives me an easy smile. 揧ou抎 need a pipe to the head to forget this scenery.?
He抯 trying to be friendly and easygoing. Even if he抯 been away from this house as long as I have, he also made the trips to our Hawaiian farms I couldn抰 bear to.
It抯 stupid to resent anyone for gushing over this place.
Hell, this company would be far worse off without Troy handling sourcing. He抯 always ready to island hop at a moment抯 notice and spend whole weeks away from civilization, hashing out production woes with local managers and sweating it out in steaming warehouses without air conditioning.
Still, I knew this was coming.
The jagged unease that keeps knifing me in the gut every time I look at him. My own traitor mind tries to claw me back to another time and place.
揋o hit the shower so you don抰 stink up the room,?I joke. 揥e抣l reconvene in the back hall. It抯 the one place big enough for everyone.?
揝ure, boss. Have you put Destiny to work yet??he asks with a gaping smile.
I force a smile back. 揌er job shadowing for a project recently was hard enough. I抦 not sure there抯 any use putting her to work in a place as distracting as this. Although she does seem to like Development.?
I can抰 say I mind how well she抯 been doing since we landed, but I need to keep an eye on her.
揑 saw her while I was out walking. The little lady抯 almost as tall as you.?He laughs loudly.
My smile never wavers as I nod. Something about that comment bothers me.
I just can抰 pinpoint what.
Probably my damn overwound instincts overreacting. It抯 hard for anyone who抯 been in the military to dismiss them, even when they抮e misfiring.
揝he抣l be glad to see you again,?I say cordially.
揧eah! She抯 still like a niece to me, Cole,?he says, his eyes turning serious. 揧ou kept your distance桰 get it梑ut I抦 still mighty fond of her. That抯 why I kept sending you the Christmas postcards all these years. Shit, she looks so much like her mother, doesn抰 she??
No denying it.
Destiny resembles Aster more with every passing week.
That抯 something to be proud of, never mind how it stings my heart. Her mother was a lovely woman, a walking magnet for every male gaze anytime she stepped into a room. Hell, objectively, she was a goddamned knockout梕ven when we were so strained it dampened my own attraction to her.
He抯 telling me the truth, but I still have to try like hell not to glare.
揝he抯 fifteen years old, Troy. The kid has a lot more growing up to do.?
He looks away, scratching his neck like he needs to reconsider his next words. 揥ell, it抯 in the face, I think. There抯 a serious resemblance梐 good one, man. That抯 all I meant.?
I wish I could just take the compliment and move the fuck on.
Not spiral into the dark crevices my brain keeps tumbling into.
How much time has he spent staring at my daughter抯 face? Every time I read a news story about some sick fuck who goes after a child, I bristle, so maybe I抦 just extra-sensitive.
I know Troy. He抯 nothing like that. There抯 no double meaning or innuendo in his words.
Christ, I need to get a grip.
This guy was my best friend once. He truly was like a standin uncle for Dess during her first five years of life.
Just because we drifted apart after everything that happened is no excuse to treat him like a criminal.
揥hat was she doing, anyway??I ask, raking him with a look.
揌uh??
揧ou said you saw Destiny.?
揙h, I don抰 know. It was right after I got here and they were hauling my luggage in. I think she was standing on the hill, looking out at the sea...?His face falls and he turns away from me. 揑 hope she wasn抰 looking for the spot,?he adds in a whisper.
My jaw tightens like a vise.
He means that beach. That scene.
Aster抯 twisted, cold body lying on the sands with the foamy waves still washing over her. My gut twists.
Fuck, those doubts I had come crashing down like a load of bricks.
I agreed to this trip for the lucrative Winthrope deal, but am I really ready?
Here I am, ready to beat the shit out of an old friend and excellent employee for telling me that my daughter looks like my dead wife.
I抦 on knife抯 edge. Just waiting for something to go wrong.
Fortunately, my staff starts filing past us in the hall a minute later, putting an end to this conversation.
Seeing Eliza helps in the worst way.
My breath fucking catches in my throat the second I look at her.
She抯 wearing a pale-blue island dress today. It抯 strapless and looks like a towel that would only take the slightest pull to rip off her.
I抦 staring, frozen and dumbstruck and well aware I shouldn抰 be.
I don抰 care.
Not until I sense Troy抯 eyes following my gaze.
Shit.
My heart slams my rib cage. I don抰 want to give him a chance to talk to her, but I also don抰 want to be a raging dick to an old friend.
揈liza, join us,?I say, waving a hand.
She comes over obediently and stops beside me with none of the usual suspicion on her face.
What? Is she going to give me less shit now that we抮e on a first-name basis?
I look at Troy and gesture to her. 揟his is Eliza Angelo. She抯 our new R & D beverage specialist.?
揂hhh, our ace with those scorched drinks, right??
揅ampfire drinks,?she corrects softly.
揙h, yeah. Right. Gina couldn抰 say enough good stuff about you in the emails.?Troy抯 eyes roam up and down her barely clad body.
I belatedly realize I抳e altered my stance.
Now, I抦 partially blocking her from his view. I抦 also fighting the sudden urge to drag her off after this for a talk about dress codes and company events.
Not that it抯 her fault Troy keeps gawking at her like he抯 having the same diabolical thoughts about that dress條ike the fuck wants to strip it off and hurl it to the trade winds.
揟hank you, Mister...??she trails off.
I realize I never introduced him.
揅lement,?I supply.
揗r. Clement, Cole梪h桵r. Lancaster tells me we抣l be working with the peaberry bean. I抦 pretty pumped about that. I抳e never worked with anything so rare, let alone this fresh.?
Troy抯 lips turn up, his smile almost predatory.
揧ou抮e in luck, Ace. The farms here use the latest harvesting techniques. We should net just enough small-batch peaberry loads to keep up with demand for the resorts. But since this crop is more delicate, you抣l probably have to test them over and over to find just the right method for your campfire brews. I抦 no expert in development, of course, just a thought.?
I hate how she looks at him.
Why is she smiling?
And what the actual fuck is wrong with me?
揑 don抰 mind the testing. It抯 my favorite part of the job, actually, but are you sending the peaberry beans to Seattle? I don抰 have a lab set up here, so棓
揧ou have everything you抣l need in a sunroom on the other side of the house,?I bite off, cutting in. 揑t抯 not as large or as glamorous as your usual workplace, but with your skills, you抣l manage.?
My fists are slightly more relaxed as her smile shifts to me and her cheeks go pink.
揙h, wow. I wasn抰 expecting that. Thank you!?
Any-fucking-time.
If only a hundred scenarios weren抰 stampeding through my head every time my eyes try to see through that dress.
All of them end with her under me, scratching my back as she screams, battle scars I抣l gladly show to goddamned Troy so he knows she抯 off-limits.
Fuck me.
I抦 breathing harder than I should.
Yeah, I抳e got to get my head screwed back on.
My phone buzzes with a calendar reminder. Meeting in ten minutes now. Thank God.
揋o sit, Eliza. We抮e about to get started,?I say.
She nods and scurries inside the room to the first open seat, throwing a sunny smile over her shoulder.
Goddamn, I抦 glad this gathering doesn抰 require much brainpower.