rock-hard body. And those blue eyes...she could gaze into them all night. The man was absolutely breathtaking.
One of the brunettes pulled a small bottle of California Tan from between her breasts and rubbed the lotion into Rafe’s hand as she gave him a sensual smile.
Rafe tried to pull away.
Kelly’s mouth flattened into a straight line. Enough was enough. Rafe was hers. Well, technically he was her sister’s, but she couldn’t stand the thought of those women touching him.
They had to go.
Her plans to get rid of the annoying models conflicted, however, with the guilt nibbling at her conscience. Earlier, she’d listened to Rafe’s voice mail message. Believing he was talking to Mimi, he’d told her that something crazy had happened. He’d called twice and after getting no answer, he said he needed to go ahead and set the record straight so he wasn’t leading her on.
“You’ve been so kind to me the last few months,” he’d said earnestly in his message. “But the truth is, I’ve found someone who— Well, I really want to see where it goes. The woman, that part I would like to talk to you about in person. It’s complicated. I didn’t want to do this over the phone, but I’ve never been able to get a hold of you. Thank you so much for sending me here to Fiji. It’s turned out to be one of the most amazing trips of my life. I hope wherever you are that you’re having a great time. And thank you again for keeping my spirits up while I was in the hospital. Bye.”
Kelly had deleted the message and hugged herself. He was an honest and honorable man. She needed to be honest with him, too.
“We need to talk,” said Greg, her manager, interrupting her thoughts.
She sighed. He wouldn’t let up on her about returning to the circuit. She wasn’t ready yet, but he didn’t want to hear that.
“It’s a party, Greg. I don’t want to talk about business, and I haven’t changed my mind.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “I promise I won’t nag, babe. Just want to share some good news.”
Kelly narrowed her eyes at him. Greg wasn’t a bad guy, but the only thing he cared about was the bottom line. Of course, she was the last one to complain about that since his concern for the bottom line was one of the many reasons she never had to worry about money. She could live in paradise for the rest of her life if she wanted to. Still, even though she believed he had her best interests at heart, he didn’t understand the emotional side of what she needed.
That was something they’d both learned when they dated a few years ago. They were friends as well as business partners and he’d seen her through the good and the bad times. Then one day she looked at him and saw someone other than “the boss,” as she called him. She had the flu and he didn’t want her on the water until she was better. But it was one of the biggest meets of the year, and she refused to miss it.
She’d won the event but couldn’t even paddle in, she was so tired. He swam out to get her and carried her straight to the doctor’s office.
At first, she and Greg seemed like the perfect match. She so appreciated everything he was doing for her career, until she realized that crossing their private and professional boundaries meant that he would act as if he owned her. She broke up with him when he started to agree to things on her behalf without checking with her first.
She should have fired him, but she was loyal to a fault.
He motioned to the tables on the terrace overlooking the sea. “Fine, let’s talk.” But she frowned as she noticed the cloying girls circling Rafe.
She followed Greg to a quiet spot, impatient to get this over with.
“So,” Greg began, grinning as he set his beer glass in front of him. “Baywear wants you as a spokesmodel for their new clothing line and they are willing to pay big to make that happen.”
Kelly bit her lip. She’d wanted to be a Baywear girl all of her life. One of her surfing mentors, Roz Mazur, had been one. It was a sign that you had made it to the top. A dream come true. “What’s the catch?” she asked.
Greg shrugged. “There’s travel involved. You’d have to do their larger events at different tournaments, print and online ads and commercials. The contract they’re offering is for two million dollars, but you’ll be on the road at least eighty days a year.”
Kelly fidgeted in her chair. It made sense they’d want to get the most for their money. And eighty days was nothing compared to what she had done the past few years with more than two hundred days on the road.
“I’d have to find a full-time manager for the resort.”
“Yeah, listen, about that. I have an excellent buyer for you. He’s willing to pay three times what you did. Believe me, it’s probably the best deal you’ll ever get.” The blasé delivery coupled with Greg’s outright audacity delivered a one-two punch to her gut.
Glancing up at the sky, she fought to control her temper. “Why would you even mention selling my place? I told you I don’t plan on ever selling it. What is wrong with you? You never listen to me. It’s always about the money with you. I thought you cared about what’s best for me, but it’s obvious that you don’t.” Her raised voice was drawing the attention of the nearby crowd.
“What? I’m not supposed to tell you when some guy approaches me out of the blue and wants to buy your property? Whatever may have happened between us before, you’re wrong, babe. I always want what’s best for you.” He shook his head. “You don’t make it easy though. You could take that money and buy two more resorts, if you wanted.”
She growled in frustration. He always had an answer for everything. And getting angry wouldn’t work. He’d shut down and give her that patronizing look. The one that said he’d wait until she calmed down and became a reasonable human being.
She hated that look.
“I don’t want three resorts. I only want Last Resort. What’s wrong with that?”
His eyebrows shot up. “You’d walk away from a cash deal like this one for some big house by the beach.”
“Greg, that place is personal to me, okay? That’s the only way I know how to explain it to you. I need it. I will always need it.... It’s somewhere I can catch my breath, remember what’s important in my life. If you ever try to sell it, I will use you as chum.” Her last syllable had been a screech and she’d stood up during her speech.
Greg remained there, sitting peacefully, watching her, which made the scene even more frustrating for Kelly.
“Kelly, is everything all right?” Rafe asked, standing next to her.
“Yes.” She turned and gave him a tight smile. “This is my manager, Greg Sanders. Greg, this is my...friend, Rafe. Greg and I were just discussing some business.”
Her manager nodded by way of greeting. Greg never liked seeing her with other men, but that was his problem. He called them distractions. Funny, when she was dating him, the surf bunnies he hung out with didn’t seem to distract him.
“Do you want to dance?” Rafe’s gaze focused in on her, and immediately pulled her from the riptide of fury she was feeling. His grin was heart-stopping. No wonder women swooned around him. That rugged jaw and the intensity in his eyes hinted at danger. Every girl wanted a taste of the dark side.
“I’ll talk to you later, Greg,” she said by way of a dismissal.
“You have two days to make a decision, then Baywear will move on to their second choice,” Greg called out to her. He didn’t sound happy. How many times had she brought up Baywear and her desire for that contract? Annoying as he was, he only wanted to help her.
She stopped, deciding she should address him fairly. “I promise. We’ll talk tomorrow. And though it doesn’t sound like it, I do know how hard you worked for this. But I’m not just going to sign on the