He’d come to Belleza for a vacation from his family and had sworn off women, all because of Stephanie Sawyer.
He’d been casually dating Stephanie for the past few months because he’d been trying to stop his parents from pushing him toward the altar. His parents expected Jaxon to do as they’d done. When he’d reached thirty, his father, Charles Dunham, had agreed to an arranged marriage with Claire Butler, who was of his same class. Since Jaxon was now thirty-two years old, his parents wanted him to do the same. Stephanie’s from a good family, his mother had said, and you need to settle down and start a family.
So at his mother’s constant urging, Jaxon had finally agreed to start seeing Stephanie. From the outset, he’d explained to Stephanie that he had no intention of marrying, but he’d thought if they dated, his family would get off his back. He’d thought Stephanie had been cool with the no-strings-attached arrangement. At least until two months ago.
Over dinner with both the Dunham and Sawyer families present, his mother had announced their engagement. Jaxon had been furious and he’d thought Stephanie had been, too. He’d been wrong. The next morning, when their engagement was announced in the society pages, Jaxon had gone to Stephanie’s place to figure out damage control. And that was when he discovered that Stephanie was in on the whole thing.
“Getting married is a great idea,” she’d said. “Haven’t I shown you how good we can be together?”
When he’d disagreed, she’d attempted to entice him into the engagement by getting him into bed. When that didn’t work, she’d threatened to sully his reputation in the media. Stephanie knew how important the Dunham family image was. They’d been a long-standing family in the Beverly Hills community for half a century and he wasn’t about to let her ruin that. Jaxon had pointed out that blackmail was no way to begin a partnership and he wouldn’t let her, his family or anyone force him into marriage. When he was ready, he’d choose his own wife. He wouldn’t have an arranged marriage like his parents. Instead, it would be one of mutual love, passion and respect. Stephanie had vowed revenge, but he hadn’t cared.
Furious with his parents for getting him into this debacle, he’d packed his bags and left the family estate in Beverly Hills. At first, he’d thought about leaving the country, but then had thought better of it. Why not hide in plain sight? He’d been hearing great things about the Belleza from research his family had done for an upcoming gala, so he’d decided to give it a try.
He’d been at the Belleza for the past three weeks under a false name. Everyone at the resort believed him to be Jack Scott. They had no idea he was really Jaxon Dunham, member of the über rich and powerful Dunham family of Beverly Hills. He was glad they didn’t, because they treated him like a regular person instead of someone born to privilege.
Even though he was wealthy and considered by some to be born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Jaxon didn’t shirk his duties to the family business. The Dunhams had made the bulk of their money in financial investing through Dunham Investments, and forty-five years ago, his grandparents had formed the Dunham Foundation to help those less fortunate.
Finance was Jaxon’s specialty at Dunham Investments and the Foundation, which coincidentally allowed him the chance to work remotely instead of having to work on-site at the corporate offices in Beverly Hills. He could conduct business from his laptop or iPad and lay low with no one being the wiser. Until the brunette!
Thinking about how those cream-colored pants hugged the caramel beauty’s toned behind stopped Jaxon from focusing on his iPad and the society page of the Beverly Hills Times. Stephanie had been airing their dirty laundry to whomever she could get to listen to her rants. Couldn’t they see she was a jilted woman? No, they wanted to sell newspapers and the Dunham name made for good fodder. He could easily sling the hash back at Stephanie, but what would that accomplish except fuel the flame?
He would stay here at the Belleza until the dust settled. But something told him he wouldn’t be alone for long.
* * *
Kimberly tried focusing on the girls’ conversation, but her mind kept wandering back to Jack Scott. There was something about the mysterious stranger that was appealing.
She looked in his direction again and once more her gaze collided with his and she quickly looked away. She hadn’t expected to be caught checking him out again.
“Looks like someone’s got it bad,” Robyn teased.
“Who?” Her eyes grew large with wonder.
“You.” Robyn laughed. “I saw the way you were looking at Jack Scott like you wanted to sop him up with a biscuit.”
“Robyn!”
“You’re talking about the superhot guy who checked in a few weeks ago, but has been primarily keeping to himself?” Gabrielle asked.
“The very same,” Robyn said. “And Kim here has been unable to stop staring at him since we sat down.”
“That’s not true.” But her denial sounded weak.
“Is too,” Robyn countered.
“A girl can look, right? Given our no-dating-guests policy, there’s nothing to worry about.” Kimberly attempted to act as if she was unaffected by the handsome and mysterious guest. The truth was, he was by far the most attractive man she’d seen in ages. In her position as general manager, she rarely had time to date, if at all.
“Are you sure about that?” Robyn asked. “Because you’re not the only one doing the admiring.”
“What do you mean?” Kimberly was afraid to hazard another glance in Jack’s direction for fear he would find her out.
“He’s not looking at me or Gabby,” Robyn responded. “He hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you.”
A flurry of butterflies swarmed in Kimberly’s belly. He had been looking at her. She hadn’t imagined it.
Kimberly cocked her head to one side. “Well, he can look all he wants, but you know I don’t fraternize with the clientele.”
“I agree. The rules are in place for a reason,” Gabrielle said. “They prevent us from being put in a bad spot.”
“I don’t know, Gabby,” Robyn replied. “If any rule was made to be broken, it would be for a date with that fine specimen of a man.”
“You needn’t worry,” Kimberly replied, “because I will not be breaking that rule. The policy is in place to preserve our reputation and I’m not just talking about the resort. People come on vacation looking for a fling and I won’t be another notch on the bedpost.”
“It’s too bad he’s a guest,” Gabrielle said, “because maybe it might loosen you up some.” She patted Kimberly’s arm. “When was the last time you got laid?”
“Gabby, you’re incorrigible!”
“But she also hit the nail on the head. When was the last time?” Robyn pressed.
Kimberly didn’t answer. Couldn’t. It had been a long time since she’d had a date, let alone got intimate with a man. She’d been so focused on reinventing the Belleza to the exclusion of all else that her love life had dwindled to next to nothing. Ben Lawson was the last man she’d dated and her friends knew that hadn’t ended well.
Ben had accused her of being a workaholic and too self-involved to put someone else, him in particular, first. His words had hurt, but his departure from her life hadn’t. Kimberly hadn’t been shattered by his disappearance. In fact, she’d just worked harder, striving for success to prove to her brothers and the Belleza staff that her parents had made the right decision in putting her at the helm of the resort. But in the back of her mind, Kimberly had always wondered. Could Ben be right? Was she too selfish to consider someone else’s needs above her own?
“You should go talk to him,” Robyn urged.
“I