Hold Me Closer (Sea Island Brides Book 1) (8 page)

“I
take it you’ve never had a mint julep before?”

He
was so close, she could feel the warmth of his body behind her. She
leaned forward onto the railing overlooking the beach, desperate to
get away from the tingles that ran up and down her spine. Hudson
joined her, resting his hand on her lower back. The heat burned
through the thin chiffon fabric of her dress and she pulled away.

Damn,
why did a simple touch of his hand make her knees go weak? At dinner,
she’d had to avoid his eyes, because every time she looked his
way, he was staring at her with a smoldering look that told her he
had more than a business deal on his mind. Annabelle wasn’t
sure what he was up to, but she didn’t like the attraction she
felt for him one bit. The only thing a man like Hudson Montgomery
could offer her was a broken heart.

So
why does my heart race every time he touches me?

She
needed to put some space between them before she let her own body
betray her. Luckily, Hudson’s sister Jilly approached them.
Annabelle had only spoken to her once all evening, but she already
liked her. As the youngest girl in the family, Jilly was somewhat of
a tomboy. She was a real hands-on architect, and Annabelle thought
about the latest photograph she’d seen of Jilly at the
construction site of a new hotel the family was building in San
Francisco. Jilly had been in full construction gear, looking
completely in her element. Tonight she looked soft and feminine in a
dark blue sun-dress.

“I
hope we haven’t scared you off just yet,” Jilly said,
taking a long sip of her drink.

Annabelle
smiled when she noticed that Jilly was barefoot on the tiles, her
heels probably discarded in the house hours ago. “Not yet,”
she said. “I wasn’t expecting to be put on the spot so
quickly, though.”

“For
what it’s worth, you did great,” Jilly said with a sweet
smile. “Of course, this was nothing compared to next week.”

Annabelle
tensed. “What do you mean?”

“Tonight
was just close friends and family,” Jilly said. “It’s
the press that can be real vultures sometimes, and when you guys
announce that one of America’s golden boys is engaged, you’re
going to be feel like a starlet on Oscar night.”

“Jilly,
are you trying to scare my new girlfriend?” Hudson asked,
putting his hand on Annabelle’s back again. She could feel the
heat emanating from his touch in the humid night air. His presence
pulled at her like a magnet.

“Of
course not,” Jilly said, playfully swatting her brother’s
shoulder. “She looks like the kind of woman who can stand on
her own two feet.”

Annabelle
watched the two interact and was amazed by the obvious love and
respect they had for each other. She fully expected to arrive at
Cottonwood to find the kind of wealthy, stuck-up family she watched
on TV, constantly fighting over money or who gets to use the yacht
next. Instead, she saw a normal family unit that genuinely cared for
one another.

Well,
normal except for the beachfront mansion and the helicopters and
such.

So
why had Hudson dismissed Julia so quickly when he learned she was
carrying his brother’s child? It didn’t make any sense.
Watching him now, it was difficult to imagine how he could possibly
be the same person who had thrown Julia out of his house.

“Annabelle?”
Hudson’s hand on her arm brought her out of her daze. “Are
you feeling okay?”

“Yes,”
she said, embarrassed that she let herself get so lost in her own
thoughts. “I’m just a little tired from all of the
attention and the drive down here.”

“Oh,
Hudson, I told you it was too soon to have a dinner party,” Sue
Ellen said, a worried look on her face. “We should have given
Annabelle a night to get settled.”

“I
didn’t see any point in waiting,” Hudson said. “I’ve
learned the hard way that the tabloids are just looking for any
chance to create a scandal. The sooner we go on record as a couple,
the less opportunity they have to smear us. We want them telling this
story our way with our terms.”

“You
should know better than to believe that’s entirely possible,”
his mother said. “The press will always tell the story their
way.”

“Maybe,”
Hudson said. “But I like to be holding at least some of the
cards.”

His
mother and Jilly excused themselves to go refill their drinks,
leaving Annabelle alone with Hudson.

“You’re
always thinking about the business angle of things, aren’t
you?” she said. “Do you ever just relax and have a good
time?”

“There
will be plenty of time for that once this acquisition is finalized.
Right now, this deal is the only thing that matters to me,” he
said.

The
hard line of his jaw tensed as he spoke, and it was clear how much he
cared about his family’s business. No surprise there. It was
abundantly clear to Annabelle that Hudson would do whatever it took
to be a successful CFO. She might have admired him for it too, if it
wasn’t for the fact that he didn’t care who got hurt in
the process.

“Can
I ask you a question?” She turned to look at his mother and
sister who had drifted over toward the pool.

“Of
course,” he said, following her eyes.

“What
do they think of this phony engagement plan? I mean, obviously you’ve
already told them about it, but do they approve?”

“They
agree it’s the best way to avoid a scandal,” he said. “My
twin brother Harlan has his doubts about the plan, but everyone else
knows it’s the best way to turn the tide in our favor.”

Annabelle
straightened at the mention of Harlan’s name. “Where is
your brother?" she asked casually, her heart racing. "I was
hoping to meet him tonight.”

“Harlan
was in town for a few days between acting gigs, but he’s just
flown to Japan to shoot a small role in a new movie,” he said.
“We’re hoping some positive press in Japan will help
convince Takahashi to close the deal.”

Annabelle
nearly choked on her mint julep. Japan? That was a world away. All
her hopes of speaking to him in private went out the window.

“When
is he coming back?”

“After
the deal is finalized, I hope,” he said. “My brother Jack
is over there, too. He thinks the owner of the company has been
stalling because he’s not sure he wants to trust a family of
American kids with his precious company. This engagement couldn’t
have come at a better time. In a way, the tabloid photos were a
blessing in disguise. Maybe you’re my guardian angel.”

The
way he looked at her sent sparks flying below her navel. She doubted
he would still feel the same way if he knew she was the one who’d
set him up. Still, the attraction between them was undeniable. She
fought the urge to move closer. To feel his warmth against her skin.

It
was distracting, and it annoyed her. She didn’t want to feel
this way about him. She wanted to hate him.

Annabelle
didn’t dare to even look at him. She was terrified of the way
her body reacted to his simplest touch. She blamed the romantic
setting. The wind in her hair. The waves crashing onto the sand just
a few feet away. Any man standing next to her would surely bring
about the same response under these circumstances. There was nothing
special about this particular man. She needed to believe that.

“Annabelle.”

He
moved closer and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Annabelle
wrapped her hands tighter around her glass, doing her best to
concentrate on the condensation gathering on its surface.

“There’s
something I need to tell you.”

Curious,
she looked up at him, trying to read his expression. Had he
discovered her secret? A flash of panic passed through her, but as
she studied his face, she could easily see that it wasn’t anger
he was feeling. It was something far more dangerous.

Desire.

“Even
before those pictures came out in the papers, I was having a hard
time getting you out of my mind.” He put a hand on each of her
shoulders and gently spun her around to face him. “You have no
idea how difficult it was to walk away from you that day by the pool.
Maybe now that our circumstances have changed, I won’t have to
walk away.”

Was
he being sincere? Or simply trying to take advantage of the situation
and her agreement to play the part of his girlfriend?

Annabelle
clenched her teeth. If he thought getting her into bed was going to
be easy, he had another thing coming.

“I
suppose this is the moment where women usually fall into your arms,
grateful to be in your presence.” There was more bite in her
voice than she intended, but Annabelle was having a hard time
controlling her emotions. How could she have let herself be pulled in
by his charms? Hudson Montgomery was the enemy. Plain and simple. He
wanted to use her for his own benefit, then throw her away.

Well,
he had another thing coming to him if he thought he could treat her
like every other woman he’d been with over the years.

Hudson
cleared his throat, a questioning look darkening his handsome
features. “I didn’t mean it like that at all.”

“I
understand what you meant, Hudson. You’ve been a very good boy
for the past year or so for the sake of this acquisition, but now
that everyone thinks you have a legitimate girlfriend, why not make
the most of it?”

The
look on his face told her that she was closer to the truth than she
realized. The rat was actually trying to get her into bed now that
their relationship posed no threat to his business deal. She was
nothing more than a plaything to him. How very romantic.

“Wow,
I’m actually right, aren’t I?”

“If
I remember correctly, you were the one who showed up at my house in a
bikini, ready to put your career on the line,” he said. “Are
you telling me that you weren’t here to seduce me?”

Annabelle’s
heart raced and her hands felt suddenly numb. She couldn’t very
well tell him the truth about why she had been coming onto him that
day. “I know what it must have looked like to you,” she
stammered. “But I was desperate to get a great story that would
open my boss’s eyes and promote me to full reporter.
Considering your past with women, I thought the best way to get a
story was to flirt and be sexy.”

The
lie rolled off her tongue, gaining more confidence as she spoke.

The
smile disappeared from Hudson’s face. “So,
you’re saying your performance here by the pool was all an
act?”

He
rubbed his forehead and paced the tiled walkway.

Annabelle
stood in silence, listening to the ocean as she watched him struggle
with his thoughts. When he stopped abruptly and turned to her, she
felt the seriousness in his blue-green eyes pierce straight through
to her heart. “Did you sell those photographs to the press?”

“No,”
she said honestly. “I can promise you that I was just as
mortified to see those tabloid photos as you were.”

“I’m
going to trust you, Annabelle. But let me make it clear that lying to
me would be a very bad idea.”

Annabelle
felt as if the breath had just been knocked out of her. Her knees
weakened as the weight of her lies bore down on her. Eventually,
Hudson was going to find out the truth about those photographs, and
when he did, he would never forgive her.

“I
hope you’ll excuse me, but I am so tired. I really should get
to sleep.”

As
she turned to leave, she could tell by the line of his jaw that
Hudson was angry. Maybe he was doubting his choice to invite her into
his life. Or maybe he was just so used to getting what he wanted that
he couldn’t stand the thought of someone turning him down.

He
didn’t call after her or try to follow her, and she didn’t
dare look back once she’d found the strength to walk away.

“If
you’ll follow me to the study, there are a few things I’d
like to go over with you.”

Hudson
stood in the doorway of the breakfast nook the next morning and
waited for Annabelle to finish her orange juice. After last night’s
unexpected rebuff, he half expected all of his longing to disappear.
Instead, the opposite was true. She looked more delicious than ever
in a short jean skirt and black t-shirt.

He
led her to an interior room lined from floor to ceiling with thick,
hardbound volumes. The study was his favorite room in the house.
Being in here reminded him of his father, who had worked long hours
here when Hudson was a child.

He
motioned for her to take the seat across from the large antique pine
desk that had been in his family for over a century.

When
he took his place in his father’s old chair, he was all
business. It was technically his older brother Jack’s chair
now, but in his absence Hudson had become the face of the local
operations.

Usually,
anyone sitting in Annabelle’s position was immediately
intimidated by him. Annabelle, he was shocked to find, looked
confident and unaffected. He had to admit that her constant ability
to stand up to him as an equal was impressive.

And
sexy.

Most
of the women he’d been with were quick to agree with anything
he said. Even in his every-day business dealings since he’d
taken over more of the company duties, he was constantly frustrated
by the fact that people were afraid to disagree with his ideas or to
stand up for what they believed in if those beliefs happened to
contradict his own.

Annabelle
was different. She wasn’t afraid to speak up about what she
wanted.

“I
think it’s important for us to sit down together and discuss
any questions you have about our current arrangement,” he
began, clasping his hands together. “There are also a few
ground rules I would like to go over before we continue with our
engagement announcement in a couple of weeks.”