she swiveled the topic in another direction. Gesturing to the gardens before them, she observed, “It’s easy to see why you gave up what you did. The islands are beautiful.”
Relaxing farther into his seat, he followed her gaze. “This is your first trip to Hawaii?”
She nodded. “Travel comes with the job, of course, but I’ve never had the pleasure before this. You gave me a good excuse.” Her eyes returned to his, and when they met, she found herself inexplicably unsettled. Diverting her attention away once more, she tried to keep herself on solid conversational ground. Her research had prepared her for Dane Montgomery’s handsome features, square jawline and toned physique, but the reality of those liquid blue eyes and deep voice was something else entirely.
“How many employees do you keep on staff here at the inn?” she asked, anchoring herself to neutral territory.
“Three, in addition to myself. There’s a set of rooms on the other side of the inn for them. They live here with me.”
“And they’re all locals?”
He cocked his head. “Why do you want to know?”
She sighed. She had known he’d be difficult, but she hadn’t expected such open mistrust. She shrugged. “It’s an interesting endeavor—giving up the corporate life like you did, buying a coffee plantation and inn, and setting out on a new venture. I’m curious.”
“If you’ve done your homework, I’m sure you’ve read all about it already.”
“Still...reading about a legend isn’t quite the same as meeting one.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Laying it on a bit thick, aren’t you? If you’d bothered to compose a personality profile on me, you’d realize that flattery won’t get you very far.”
He had a point. She had made that very note in the margins of her paperwork during the flight over, and already, she had made the mistake of trying to play to his vanity. She had a flash of doubt as to her ability to accomplish this task. After all, she wasn’t the first recruiter to attempt luring Dane Montgomery out of retirement.
“I apologize,” she offered, “but before you turn me down flat, you should at least read the proposal.”
He sighed and looked away, off toward the mountains in the distance. She sensed a weariness emanating from him, and rather than take advantage of this vulnerability, she attempted to alleviate it.
“I have the entire week at my disposal,” she reminded him. “And I’m certain you feel a little ambushed by my arrival. Why don’t you take the afternoon to let the idea sink in, and I can present you with the proposal later?”
He turned his eyes on her, the warm blue going a shade darker with what she could only hope wasn’t loathing. “How considerate of you,” he noted.
She bit her lip.
Clearing his throat, he rose to his feet. “I’ll check on Pele, see how she’s coming along on your suite.”
A deep exhaustion had settled into her bones. She wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a nap before facing the initial round of negotiations. “Thank you,” she responded.
Dane turned to go, but then he lingered on the threshold of the lanai, frowning at her. She smiled cheerfully, though it felt tight and awkward on her lips. He did not return the gesture. As he stole away, Ophelia relaxed her face and rested a hand over her stomach, attempting to convince herself it was only the stress of the situation that had caused the restlessness inside her.
* * *
WHILE OPHELIA REID waited for her rooms to be readied, Dane found himself struggling to explain his dilemma to Keahi.
“She is not the first haole to try and lure you away from the islands,” Keahi, his plantation manager, pointed out as he flipped through a sheaf of paperwork in their shared office.
“No,” he conceded, “but she may be the prettiest.”
Keahi looked up from his task with sudden interest, and Dane wished he could withdraw his offhand remark. He’d meant to make a joke of it, as much to convince himself that Ophelia Reid’s unexpected beauty was of no consequence as to prepare Keahi for it.
“Pretty, eh, boss?” A wide grin split the older man’s face. “You don’t pay no attention to the pretty ones.”
Dane grimaced. “I pay attention, Keahi. I just don’t pursue them.” After all, there had been no end to the beautiful women in his life—both those on the mainland, before his retirement, as well as the ones who came and went on the islands. But Dane had learned that most of them were still too interested in the successes of his past to appreciate the commitment to his new life in Kona.
Keahi rolled his eyes and reached for another stack of papers. “Leilani says you spend too much time alone.”
“Leilani is young and full of romantic notions about love,” Dane reminded and swiveled to face his own desk. “She thinks if I fall in love it will solve all my problems.”
“Ah, she just cares about you,” Keahi said. “She appreciates all you’ve done for her and Pele. She wants you to be happy.” Dane heard the squeak of his friend’s chair as he turned in it. “She knows you deserve it.”
Dane pretended to study a list of items he needed to order for the inn to avoid having to respond.
“Boss?”
Dane suppressed a sigh and raised his head, turning in his chair to face his friend.
“You know the numbers aren’t good, brah.”
“We’ll figure it out.” He turned back around and bent his head over the paper before him. The list of expenses wasn’t long, but it felt exorbitant in the face of the other bills piling up.
“The numbers don’t lie,” Keahi pressed. “Maybe you should cut your losses. Take the pretty lady’s offer. Go back home.”
“This is my home,” Dane snapped. “I’m not going to abandon it. Besides, what would happen to you? And Pele? And Leilani? Leilani’s practically a kid. If I left, she’d fall right back into the same sort of trouble we fished her out of last year.”
Keahi clicked his tongue in disagreement. “Give the girl some credit, boss. She’s cleaned herself up real good in the last few months, especially now that she’s seeing Sam. She’d land on her feet.”
“No.” Dane shook his head. “I’m not taking the easy way out. We’ve got a good product, Keahi, and you know it. We just need some capital to get it out there.”
“And what about this Miss Reid? You gonna kick her out?”
Dane leaned back in his chair and grimaced. “I don’t think I can. She paid for her week in advance, and we can’t afford to refund her deposit.”
He chewed the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from voicing the rest of his thought aloud. Ophelia Reid was a pleasant addition to the inn with her honey-blond hair and startling green eyes. All the more reason, however, to keep his guard up around her. The inn and plantation’s rising debt left him vulnerable to whatever tactics Ms. Reid possessed.
“Do you know who her mother is?” Dane looked over his shoulder and made a dramatic pretense of shuddering. “Lillian Reid, founder and executive CEO for Reid Recruiting. That woman is merciless in her pursuits, and I’m sure she raised her daughter in the same manner.”
Dane felt a twinge of guilt after uttering these words. Ophelia may have been a headhunter, but he hadn’t sensed she was as ruthless as her mother. Then again, perhaps her lean form and pretty face had swayed him more than he wanted to admit.
“You know her mother?” Keahi questioned.
“Mostly by reputation. I met her a time or two at various fund-raisers, though.” He shrugged. “She had sharp