“He’s not a stranger. I researched him.”
“Oh. Well then. My mistake,” Kathy told her and set the baby bottle aside when her son finished his lunch. Lifting the six-month-old to her shoulder she patted his back while looking at Melinda. “Instead of your grandfather selling you, you put yourself on the open market.”
“And got a better price,” Melinda told her, grinning when her friend sighed. “Look, it’s going to be great. I’ll get married, get my trust fund and then I’ll be single again and life will go on.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Sean has already agreed to it, even the part where I told him I wouldn’t be sleeping with him.”
“This just gets better and better,” Kathy murmured.
“Funny, that’s just what Sean said.” Melinda straightened the tiny yellow bow on the baby’s curls.
“Sean who? Who is this lucky groom?”
“Hmm?” Melinda smiled down at Danielle, then looked at Kathy. “Sean King.”
Kathy’s jaw dropped. “Sean King? The Sean King? The guy in all the magazines? The one with mega millions? The one with the black hair and blue eyes and great ass?”
Melinda put both hands over Danielle’s ears. Laughing, she said, “Kathy!”
“I don’t believe this.” She set her infant son into the bouncy seat beside them on the kitchen table. Instantly, Cameron started kicking, sending the little mobile of birds over his head into blind flight.
Kathy stood up and went for more coffee. She filled both of their cups, then set the coffeepot back down onto the stove. When she took her seat again, she looked at Melinda and said, “You know I love you, but you are asking for trouble with this, honey.”
“Kath, it’s gonna be fine.” Though looking into her friend’s worried eyes sent the tiniest spirals of anxiety unwinding through Melinda’s system.
It was natural that Kathy would react like this. She and her husband Tom loved each other like crazy. So of course she would look at a marriage of convenience like it was a prison sentence.
“Sean King could have any woman in the known universe,” Kathy told her. “Heck, we live on an island in the middle of nowhere and we know who he is!”
“Well yes, but—”
“He’s rich and gorgeous and probably arrogant, most men like him are.?…”
“Because you’ve known so many men like Sean King,” Melinda stated.
“I don’t have to know them to know them, you know?”
Melinda blinked. “Sadly, I understood that.”
Picking up her coffee cup, Kathy took a sip, then cradled the mug between her hands. “I’m just saying that you could be setting yourself up for something you’re not prepared for.”
Danielle squirmed on Melinda’s lap, so she set the little girl down and watched her toddle off to her play stove on the other side of the room.
Melinda and Kathy had been friends for fifteen years. Ever since Kathy’s family had moved to the island when her father took over the job as manager of the hotel. When Kathy married a man born and raised on Tesoro, Melinda had stood up for her, and she was godmother to both of their children.
Kathy’s house was always a chaos-filled sanctuary for Melinda. So different from the quiet elegance of the hotel and the owner’s penthouse suites where she had grown up and still lived, this cottage always felt warm and welcoming. As if it were alive with the love that saturated its walls.
There was a time when Melinda had dreamed about having a place like this—a life like this. With a husband who loved her and children to hold. But that dream died with Steven more than a year ago now and Melinda had buried it along with her fiancé. Now, what she wanted was her independence. A chance to live her life the way she wanted to, without the loving interference of a concerned grandfather.
“I know what I’m doing, really.”
Kathy met her stare and sighed. “I hope so.” Then shrugging, she asked, “So, when’s the wedding?”
Melinda grinned. “Next Saturday, and you’re the matron of honor.”
“Next Saturday?” Kathy’s jaw dropped and her eyes took on a horrified sheen. “I can’t lose ten pounds in a week!”
Still smiling, Melinda listened as her friend talked about manicures, shopping for dresses and who she could get to watch the kids for the day.
Worried or not, Kathy would be there for her, Melinda knew that. But as her friend’s warnings repeated over and over again in her mind, Melinda had to wonder if she was as sure about all of this as she was pretending to be.
The next few days passed in a blink.
Or at least it seemed that way to Sean. He didn’t see much of Melinda, but then why should he? This was nothing more than a business deal—though dressed up a lot prettier than most. And to keep his mind off the fact that he was about to get married, Sean spent his time exploring a bit of the island.
He had already spent a day or two with the Stanford construction team. It was a small outfit—but they knew the island and how to build. Sean was impressed with them and knew Rafe and Lucas would be, too. Having knowledgeable, on-the-spot workers around when the project got going would come in handy. Plus, using local guys would go a long way toward making the King invasion a welcome one.
On his own, he’d driven the circumference of the island, noting the differences in the land as he went. Some areas of Tesoro were practically barren while most of the island boasted forests and flowers and waterfalls. There was no airstrip on the island and Sean knew his brothers would want to build something for private planes. He’d spotted a clearing near the hotel that would do if they could talk Walter into it. Otherwise, as it stood now, the only way to reach the island was to fly into St. Thomas then take a boat to Tesoro. Granted, they were fast boats, but if the Kings could set up a private airstrip, that would make things even easier on the wealthy guests they planned on enticing to the hotel.
For now though, Sean was exploring the village, where shops stood ready to welcome the tourists who made up their economy. Tesoro was one of the bigger privately held islands. About three thousand acres, with beautiful beaches, forests and more flowers than Sean could remember seeing anywhere.
The village was so picturesque it was like taking a walk through a postcard. Every shop was neatly tended and each of them was painted a different, pastel color—blue, pink, yellow and green.
Brightly colored flowers tumbled out of terra-cotta pots lining the sidewalk. The view from above would be like staring down at a fallen rainbow. Windows glistened in the sun and doors stood open in welcome.