Dinner with her grandfather went well.
Of course, Sean had a hell of a time tearing his gaze away from Melinda long enough to concentrate on what Walter had to say. But then he had caught the older man looking at him with a knowing smile, and he figured Walter understood exactly what Sean was feeling.
Too bad he had the wrong idea about all of this.
Walter didn’t know that this was all temporary. That the marriage was a sham. There he sat, pleased for his granddaughter and all the while, Sean felt like some kind of rat-snake for deliberately lying to the man.
He gritted his teeth and told himself silently to suck it up. He had voluntarily signed on for this little game, and he didn’t have the right to bitch about it now. But it went against the grain, damned if it didn’t.
He shifted another look at Melinda, and she smiled at him from her end of the table. A curl of heat whipped through his belly, and Sean’s mind instantly dredged up an image of him and Melinda, na**d in the crystalline water, with nothing but the sand and the sea for miles around.
And just like that, he was ready to toss her over his shoulder and carry her to the nearest bed. He smirked a little at the realization that the one place he hadn’t had Melinda was a damn bed. Though the boat, he told himself, had been an amazing experience.
“What did you think of the boat?” Walter asked suddenly and Sean jolted—grateful as hell the old man couldn’t read minds.
“It’s a beauty.” Sean took a sip of his after-dinner coffee. “I can’t remember ever having that much fun on the water before.”
Melinda flushed. In the candlelight, she looked luminous, and Sean smiled a little watching her embarrassment.
“Glad to hear it,” Walter said. “I don’t get out on the boat much anymore. I’m happy to know you’re getting some use out of it.”
“Thanks. I’d like to take her out again soon.”
“Anytime,” Walter assured him.
Melinda took a long drink of her wine.
Smiling, Sean said, “I spoke with my brothers the other day. The cargo and some of our crew will be arriving next week. We’ll be ready to start on the hotel construction soon.”
“Wonderful.” Walter nodded thoughtfully. “A lot of people on Tesoro are excited about it.”
“What about you, Walter?” Sean asked quietly. “How do you feel about it?”
The older man took a long breath and thought about it for a moment or two. Then he smiled. “I’m looking forward to it. Change can be a good thing. Keeps a man young. Interested in the world around him.”
“You’ll always be young, Grandfather.” Melinda reached out and squeezed his hand.
“Hah!” Walter winked at Sean. “See that? How she sneaks into my heart so easily? She’s always known exactly what to say.” He lifted her hand and kissed it. Noticing the burn, he frowned. “You are not being careful, Corazon.”
“Corazon?” Sean asked. “That’s the name of your boat.”
“So it is. It means ‘heart’ in Spanish and that is what Melinda is to me. My heart.” Fixing his steely gaze on her, he added, “And when she is not being careful, she worries me.”
“Me, too.” Sean looked at her and saw her scowl briefly.
“So the two of you are going to gang up on me?”
“That’s what family’s for,” Sean said.
“Hmm.”
“She’s shown you her workroom?” Walter asked.
“She did. This afternoon.” Sean looked at her. “She does incredibly beautiful work.”
“It’s a nice hobby,” Walter agreed pleasantly.
Melinda rolled her eyes, and Sean hid a smile. Odd that despite the fact that the older man loved his granddaughter deeply, he had no idea what was in her heart. Her soul. That he could dismiss artistry as a “hobby” was insulting. But clearly, neither Walter nor Melinda saw it like that.
“Oh,” the man said, “I meant to tell you this before. If you need a place for your workmen to stay, I have another, smaller hotel not far from here. It’s not fancy, but I’m sure your men would be comfortable.”
“We appreciate that,” Sean said. “Melinda was telling me that you once thought to build on that lot.”
“I did.” The older man sat back in his chair and lifted his coffee cup. “But when I lost my wife and Melinda’s parents, I decided to stay in the hotel. A man raising a child alone needs all the help he can get, I’m not ashamed to say.” He glanced at Melinda, and she gave her grandfather a smile. “She was treated like a princess by everyone here.”
“I can see why.”
Walter gave Sean a proud smile. “I’m glad you see what I do when I look at her.”
He saw all of that and a lot more, Sean thought. Which was beginning to worry him. Somehow, the seduction of Melinda was working in the opposite way, too. He was being seduced right along with her, and he was going to have to find a way to pull back.
Or the end of this temporary marriage could get very messy.
“Okay, that’s enough of the wonders of Melinda stories,” she announced suddenly and stood up. “I’m going upstairs. You two behave yourselves.”
“You do look tired,” her grandfather said. “Probably too much sun.”
She flicked Sean a glance. “Yes, that’s probably it.”
And all of the sex, Sean thought.
He watched her go and as she left the room, Walter leaned over and said, “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?”
“Yeah. Yeah, she is.” Sean looked over at the older man. “But she doesn’t know your hotel’s in trouble, does she?”
Walter pursed his lips, tapped his fingers against the table and finally heaved a long sigh. “You’re too clever, Sean. How did you guess?”
“Little things,” he said quietly. “Chipped paint. Frayed drapes. The bar’s understaffed and the main dining room only serves lunch and dinner. When a business starts making cuts, letting the small things slide, there’s usually a reason.”
Nodding, Walter smiled ruefully. “So there is. But to answer your earlier question, no. Melinda doesn’t know. And now that you have guessed the truth, I will expect you to keep my secret.”
Sean didn’t get that. This family had more secrets going on. Melinda wouldn’t let her grandfather know about the marriage deal. He didn’t want her to know that he needed money. She didn’t talk about Steven and the old man seemed no different.