Sisters in Bloom (Love in Bloom: Snow Sisters #2), Contemporary Romance (9 page)

The plane touched down, and Max and Chaz hurried through the tunnel with the other passengers, picked up their luggage, and went outside to hail a cab. Chaz couldn’t stop thinking about Kaylie. He felt guilty for leaving without first clearing the air about Lea, but she hadn’t exactly made an effort to talk, either. He turned his thoughts to Lea. Once past the initial distaste of being forced into going to Hawaii, he remembered what had drawn him to her in the first place: the sexy, confident tone of her voice, her legs wrapped around his waist, the way she—what was he doing? The sex was good. Lea was bad. He shook the thoughts from his mind. He was losing his sense of purpose. He was there to secure her sponsorship. The stress of not telling Kaylie must be messing with his mind. He had to concentrate.

“Welcome to sunny Hawaii,” Max joked.

Chaz groaned. The sun was too bright and he was hot. He’d envisioned himself in Hawaii with Kaylie, on their honeymoon, not with Max, and definitely not while meeting Lea.

He hailed a cab, thankful that he’d slept on the plane, and Max had made sure he was hydrated, waking him up every hour to make him drink water. He was far from bright-eyed as they rode toward the hotel, but he was functional, and maybe that would make dealing with Lea easier.

“What’s the plan?” Max asked.

Sitting next to good ol’ efficient and ponytailed Max helped Chaz feel more comfortable. Had she dressed up, or God forbid worn makeup, it would have made him nervous, as if Lea really was someone he should be worried about. If Max wasn’t too worried, then he wasn’t either. He preferred to think of Lea as a princess who turned into an evil witch, making it easier for him to forget her seductive side and see her for the person she really was—a manipulative, destructive bitch. He had to remember that transformation at all times. He’d been playing the meeting off as just another sponsor, but now, faced with Max’s question, he realized that beyond the witch image, he had no plan.

Max saw it in his eyes. “God, really, Chaz?” She sighed and pulled a stack of papers from her purse. “Study these. These are the events she’s sponsoring and what she’s getting in return. You can’t see this shark without a plan.” Max pointed at the beach out the window. “That’s gorgeous.”

“Mm-hmm. I have plan. I just haven’t figured it out yet.” He leafed through the papers. She was sponsoring six festivals, and the stakes were high. She had top billing on all of them, plus everything Max had already promised; and it looked like there were new benefits thrown in to the largest event. Chaz’s eyes opened wide. “A chalet in Colorado? Allure? What is this, some kind of joke?”

“Nope, that’s what she asked for, and Raindance Film Fest gave in. It’s apparently their chalet, an executive’s timeshare or something, but she gets three months of residency per year of sponsorship.”

“In Allure? Of all places, why Allure? Raindance isn’t even in Allure.” Chaz ran his hand through his hair. He was up against a wall. There was no way he wanted Lea in his sights for three months out of the year. What was she planning?

“There’s only one reason I can see that she’d want to be in Allure.” Their eyes locked.

“Jesus. No way. This is something else. Some mistake, or sick joke, or something.” He stared out the window, stewing over the gall of Lea Carmichael. What was she trying to pull, and why had she waited this long to do whatever it was? By the time they reached the hotel, his blood was boiling.

 “It’s one night, Chaz. You’ll be fine,” Max reassured him as they headed toward the front desk.

“It’s three months,” he fumed. He didn’t say a word to the peppy concierge or the front desk clerk, leaving Max to cover his unfriendly tracks.

Max offered to carry her own bag as they waited for the elevator. “I’m fine. It gives me something to do besides punch a wall.”

Max smiled. “You’re not a wall puncher.”

He laughed. “No, I’m not.” He looked at his watch. It was almost eleven. “When are we meeting her?”

“Two o’clock, in the Presidential Meeting Room.”

“Good choice.”

“She wanted to meet over dinner, but I figured if she wrangled you into dinner, she wouldn’t have far to go to wrangle you into a drink, and then…” Her voice trailed off.

“There will be no wrangling during this trip,” Chaz said firmly. “I’m gonna take a quick nap before we meet.”

Their rooms were three doors apart on the fifth floor. Max opened her door and Chaz followed her in, dropping her bag on the king-sized bed. She pulled the drapes open and took in the view of the water.

“Wow, Mr. Hilton went all out, huh?”

“Yeah, well, the Hiltons are known for their classy digs.” Chaz opened the balcony doors and stepped outside. The sea air filled his lungs. He stretched, feeling some of the day’s tension easing with the long draw of his shoulders and back. “Waikiki is beautiful, isn’t it?”

Max took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, with a curve to her lips. “I never thought I’d be in Hawaii, even if it’s only for a night.”

“No?”

Max shook her head. “I don’t live the life you do. I’m foreplay. I loosen them up for your wining and dining excursions.”

“Foreplay?” Chaz lifted his eyes.

Max blushed, then headed back into the room. “I guess there’s no need to unpack if we’re only here one night.”

Chaz picked up his bag. “I’m gonna go find my room and lay down for a bit. If you need me, I’m in—” He looked at his key as Max answered.

“Room 522. I’ll wake you thirty minutes before we’re supposed to meet her.”

Chaz’s room was identical to Max’s. He threw his bag on the floor beside the long dresser and opened the balcony door. The din of the people below melted into the street noises. Chaz took off his shirt and pants, and climbed onto the bed. He was out cold ten minutes later.

He awoke to a determined knock on the door. The room was dark and the clock read six thirty. He pulled on his jeans, cursing under his breath as he hopped on one foot to the door. “How could you let me sleep so long?” he said as he buttoned his jeans.

Lea stood before him in a black strapless minidress, her dark hair flowing in waves past her bare shoulders. Her lips were painted a deep shade of red and Chaz noticed, as she reached for him, that her nails were painted the same crimson shade.

“Chaz,” she purred.

Danica checked her watch and headed for her office, anxious to get over to her condo, where she was certain Kaylie would be holed up. She’d tried her cell phone and Chaz’s office phone. Why did Kaylie have to be a runner?
And where would she go if I moved in with Blake?

Sally met her in the hall. “I’ve got the waivers for teen night. Can you look them over?”

“Yes, of course.”
Business first
. Danica took the papers and went to her office. Sally kept pace with her.

“Hey!” a teenage boy yelled from the couch in the lobby.

Danica tried to place where she’d seen the boy before. Teens had flocked to the center from the first days after it opened, and the flow of kids had remained constant ever since. Less so during school hours, but this was summertime, and they were in full swing. She’d done a fair job of remembering everyone’s names, but this boy hadn’t been in before, at least not that she could remember, although he was familiar.

“Brad? Remember?” He stood.

“Right, Brad. I met you with Michelle last year at the café. Wow, you’ve gotten tall. How are you?”

“Great. I heard that Michelle works here. Is she around?”

Sally elbowed Danica.

“Yeah, somewhere. Did you try the game room? She’s overseeing that area today. I just saw her.” She pointed toward the hall that led to the game room.

He waved a thank-you as he walked away.

“Hmm.” She and Sally went to her office.

“I think Michelle and Rusty are dating,” Sally said.

“What?” Danica sat back and mulled over the idea. Rusty had come a long way from the angry boy he was right after Dave died, and now that Michelle was living with her mother again, and working part time at the center, she was definitely coming out of her shell. Although she and Danica no longer went on weekly Big Sister outings, they still found time to talk every once in a while. It had been far too long, she realized. “She would have told me.”
Wouldn’t she?
Danica felt a pang of loss and made a mental note to catch up with Michelle again soon.

“Maybe. I don’t know. The way they text all the time. It makes me wonder if there’s something going on that I should worry about. I mean, I think Dave covered all the bases about sex, but still.”

“They cover sex ed in school, too. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if they were dating, would it?”

Sally wrinkled her forehead. “I guess not, but you know how these things go. They’re both working here. What if they break up? You know how bad teen breakups can be.”

“Oh, good point.” Danica made a mental note to pay closer attention to the two of them. “Oh no, poor Brad.”

Sally shrugged, that prideful, motherly, oh-well-my-boy-won-out shrug.

“How do you know they’re texting each other?” Danica asked.

“Every time I ask Rusty who he’s texting he says it’s Michelle.”

Danica swatted the air as they sat down at the table in her office. “They could just be friends.”

“Gage is doing great, isn’t he?” Sally asked.

Danica was so focused on the paperwork that she barely heard Sally’s question. “Mm-hmm. I think I’d change this to be more explicit.” She pointed to the release clause and noticed Sally ringing her hands. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” Sally feigned smile.

She leaned in closer. “Sally, it’s me. How are you really doing?”

Sally nodded. “Good. Really good. The therapist you recommended really helped a lot, and I even made amends with Trisha. She and I have dinner once a month.” After Sally’s husband, Dave, was killed in a skiing accident, she found out about Trisha—a woman whom Dave had dated as a teenager and who had given birth to Dave’s child. Trisha had never told Dave about their son, Chase, until a few months before his accident, when she moved back into town. He’d been in the process of getting to know Chase and building up the courage to tell Sally when he died.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I know it’s kinda weird, but she and Dave were together so long ago, and she is the mother of his child. Rusty is having a harder time accepting Chase, but for me, it’s fine. It’s actually kind of fun. She knew Dave when I didn’t, so she’s told me all about how he was in high school.”

“That really is weird. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. But it works.”

Gage walked into the office and Sally’s eyes lit up. “Private meeting?”

“Nope, come on in.” Danica waved him in.

“I think we’re all set with the activities for the event. Coordinating volunteers is a bit complicated, but Sally’s handling most of that.”

Was that a flirty smile he flashed at Sally? Is everyone in this office dating?

“I’ve got them covered.” Sally’s cheeks flushed, and she dropped her eyes to her lap.

“Great,” Gage said. “That’s all I have. Just wanted to keep you updated.”

He turned and left the room, and Sally let out a breath.

“Gage? Really?” Danica teased.

“I haven’t looked at another man since Dave’s death, and I never looked when we were married.” Sally covered her eyes, and when she dropped her hand, Danica read the unease in them.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s been almost a year, and it’s okay to move on.” She squeezed Sally’s hand. “He’s hard to ignore, isn’t he?”
An office romance?
Danica tucked away her worry.
Don’t borrow trouble—you’ve got enough with Kaylie.

“Ugh. I’m as bad as a teenager.” Sally banged her forehead on the table with a laugh.

With her hopes of an early retreat dashed, Danica returned phone calls and headed to the game room. Her curiosity was killing her. Rusty stood outside the glass window looking into the room. She sidled up beside him and crossed her arms. Brad and Michelle leaned against a pool table. Michelle looked shyly from Brad to her hands, then back again with a smile in her eyes.

“She looks happy,” Danica said to Rusty.

“Whatever.” Rusty walked away.

Danica watched them for a few more minutes before heading back to the lobby. She was proud of how far Michelle had come from the shy girl who thought of herself as a pariah. She’d been drawing and painting—something that Michelle attributed to her trip with Danica to the bookstore, where she’d purchased her first set of art books—and she was a responsible employee to boot.

She worried about Rusty’s quick retreat, but she couldn’t be roped into teenage angst. She had sisterly angst to deal with.

“I’m heading out.” She handed Sally a phone number on her way to the door. “Can you please just confirm the table deliveries one more time? I always worry about this stuff.”

Danica called Kaylie’s cell phone on the way out to her car. “Kaylie, I know you’re there. Turn your damn phone on.” When she reached her condo, she opened the garage door and found Kaylie’s car parked inside. She peeked into the windows and saw two big suitcases. “Oh, Kaylie.”

Chaz shook the confusion from his head. Lea stepped into the room and wrapped her soft, sinewy arms around him. He froze, fighting the natural desire that rose when the thin silk that covered her breasts pressed against his bare chest. “I…I expected Max.”

She lingered, with her cheek against his, and whispered, “I called Max hours ago and delayed our meeting.”

He shook the testosterone from his brain and pushed her away.

She peered around him into his room, her eyes trained on the unmade bed. “It looks like you’re all rested up.”

“Where’s Max?” he asked, heading back into the room just far enough to grab his shirt. He’d need full body armor with her around.
Damn it, Max, where are you?

“I asked her to save our reservations in the restaurant.” Lea watched him button his shirt with a coy grin on her face and an amorous look in her eyes.

He turned his back to her just long enough to look for his cell phone.
Damn it
. Max had stuck it in her purse when he’d fallen asleep on the plane.

“She was not pleased with me,” Lea admitted with a proud smirk. “I practically had to threaten her to get her to go downstairs.” She ran her eyes up and down Chaz. “I told her I wouldn’t do anything we hadn’t done before.”

“The reservations are held,” Max said from the doorway, out of breath and heading into the room.

“Max.” He spun around. Max wore a short black skirt, flats, and a teal-colored capsleeved top. Chaz had a hard time reconciling the beautiful, sexy woman before him with his bespeckled, low-key employee. Her hair rivaled Lea’s soft waves. Chaz hadn’t realized he was staring until she dropped her eyes and flushed.

In the next second, Max was all business, confident and even a little pushy as she stepped between him and Lea. “Sorry I’m late, Chaz. Lea postponed our lunch meeting, so I let you sleep. I was coming to get you when she showed up.
Forty-five minutes early
.” 

Shit
. As if Lea showing up unannounced wasn’t enough, seeing Max dressed like a girl—no, dressed like a woman—totally threw him off. “I need to shower and shave. I’ll meet you down in the restaurant in half an hour.” He opened his bag and began unpacking.

“I can wait for you here,” Lea said, reaching for his back with a seductive gleam in her eyes.

Max intercepted her hand. “Actually, I have some paperwork I want to go over with you, and it’s probably best if we do it now and get it out of the way.”

Chaz shot Max a silent thank-you glance as she guided a pouty Lea out of his room.

Chaz followed them to the door. “Max, my cell phone?”

“It’s in my room,” she said, and handed him the key.

Chaz found his cell phone in the side pocket of Max’s luggage. He pushed the button to turn it on, but the light remained dark.
Damned battery
. He plugged it into the charger and then picked up the hotel phone to call Kaylie. It was seven thirty in Hawaii. He calculated the time difference as he waited to leave a message, further distracted by the evening that lay ahead.

“Hi, gorgeous. I know it’s like one o’clock in the morning there, but, well, I really wanted to talk to you. My cell phone died, so I have no idea if you’ve tried to call me, but I have something I need to tell you. I’ll be home late tomorrow.” He hung up the phone and headed for the restaurant.