Hideaway Cove (A Windfall Island Novel) Read Free Page B

shot him a look. “It’s not that big a deal, just something Benji sprang on me this morning that I’d like to make happen.”
    “Maybe I can help.”
    “It’s something I have to do myself.”
    “Why?”
    “Because Benji is my responsibility.”
    “I get that, but why do you have to do it alone? Maggie would do anything for you, no questions asked—Maggie and Dex,” he said, referring to her best friend and majority owner of Solomon airlines, and her fiancé. “So would I.”
    “Then it would be Maggie and Dex doing it. And there’s no way I’m asking you for help.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I hardly know you.”
    “And you don’t want to admit you’re attracted to me?”
    “Back off, Abbot.” She shot to her feet, did the backing off herself. “Benji is my son, and if he wants to go—whatever he wants, I’ll damn well make it happen without going begging to my friends. Or complete strangers with egos the size of”—she tossed her hands in the air—“something really big,” she finished, clearly at a loss, but so damn gorgeous he wanted to scoop her up and kiss her until all that glorious temper turned to a different kind of heat.
    “What are you grinning at?”
    “You,” he said, holding himself back with what could only be called an Herculean effort. “You’re beautiful when you’re mad.”
    Her mouth dropped open. “You…I…Stop saying things like that.”
    “I’d rather show you anyway, sugar.”
    She lifted her hands to her cheeks, not just pink now but hot red. “Hold—”
    “Why don’t you tell me what Benji wants?” he said because he’d pushed her too far, and he didn’t want to hear her give him a single reason why they couldn’t be together.
    “It’s just so”—she dropped her hands, laughing a little—“ridiculous.”
    But it had upset her, and it didn’t take much for him to reason out why. “It can’t be easy to raise a kid by yourself, no child support.”
    Jessi sat back down, crossed her arms. “Really? Do tell.”
    Hold smiled indulgently. “I know you own ten percent of Solomon Charters, but you’re putting most of the profits back into the business if you want to grow it at all, and especially right now, when you’ve just lost the Piper…” He trailed off at the look on her face—a look that had nothing to do with being reminded of Maggie’s near-death just a few days before, resulting in the loss of her first airplane. And when the tone of her voice matched the look, he knew. He’d just made an ass of himself—a supercilious, condescending ass.
    “Oh, don’t stop now,” Jessi said. “I find it truly fascinating how you can tell me all about my life without ever asking a single question.”
    “Uh…”
    “Let me guess. You’ve been asking questions, just not to me.”
    “How do I respond to that observation without putting your back up any more than I’ve already done?”
    “Apologizing would be a good start,” she said with a perfect mix of disappointment and reproach.
    Hold suppressed the urge to hang his head, dig his toe into the carpet, stuff his hands in his pockets, or otherwise give physical presence to the guilt he felt. “I wouldn’t have to apologize if you’d talk to me once in a while.”
    “I talk to you all the time.”
    “Not about anything personal.”
    “That’s because my personal life is none of your business. Which I keep telling you, and you keep ignoring.”
    “Doesn’t that tell you how serious I am about getting to know you?”
    Jessi just shook her head, turned back to her desk. Dismissed him again, like she always did. “You want to get to know me? Start with my genealogy, Hold.” She shot him a glance, eyes sparkling, a hint of laughter in her voice. “Maybe I’ll turn out to be the long lost Stanhope heir, and all my troubles will be over.”
    Money, Hold thought sourly.
    He could have told her it didn’t solve every problem, but that would raise questions he wasn’t ready to answer.