PARADISE COVE (PARADISE SERIES Book 1) (8 page)

"Miguel said his neighbor had been building it for months. It wasn't done, not safe, but he couldn't wait. So he left him his life's savings, and they escaped in the middle of the night."

She didn't answer for a few seconds, as it was a lot to consider. "That is such a sad story." Kayla sucked in a breath and released it slowly. "I also can understand Miguel's concern if the neighbor reported the theft. But they had already lost one son. They didn't want to stay and possibly lose another. I think he did the right thing. And he did pay for the raft!" she added in his defense.

Kayla darted a quick glance in his direction and he smiled. She turned to butter, melting from the warmth in his eyes. He was kind, and sexy, and honorable. All too likeable. She blinked and focused on the road ahead, making an effort not to be swept away by the man sitting next to her.

He blew it when he said, "I had a feeling you'd understand. That's why I came to you."

"To me?" she asked, her pulse racing.

"Yes.  I'm a specialist of the heart, and I recognize a good one when I see it. Yours is kind, generous, with a lot of love to give."

"I...I...don't know what to say. Thank you."

As if he'd said too much already, he settled back in the seat, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Kayla drove the rest of the way sneaking peeks at him, and attempting to keep the silly grin off her face. She felt her stomach jumping all over the place, like someone perched on a high dive waiting to take the plunge.

CHAPTER TEN

Kayla dropped Sean off at his cottage. “Get some more rest,” she said, knowing he'd only caught fifteen minutes sleep during the drive home. “You’re exhausted.”

He leaned across the seat to kiss her cheek. Even without sensual intent, the air between them heated. “Thanks,” he said, getting out of the car.

Scrubbing her cheek, she headed for the office to see if her mother or one of her sisters needed a break.  It was three in the afternoon and she’d been gone since just after nine.

Her mom hung up the phone. "That was my friend Jo-Anne," she told Kayla, excitement in her voice. "She was a counselor at Princeton Day School a few years ago, but retired and has been living the good life.”

“I remember her,” Kayla said.

“Anyway, she called to book two cottages for a week in December. Isn't that great? She's inviting her daughter and her family as a pre-Christmas get-together."

Kayla grinned. "That's wonderful. This really is a perfect place for families to gather. Let’s tell Taylor to add that to our website. We can pimp the hell out of it."

"You don't need to
pimp
anything," her mother answered primly. "Just show photos of the place and it will sell itself. We're in an ideal location. Right between Key Largo and Islamorada. Something for everybody." She pushed herself out of the chair and took Kayla's hand. "You've had an exhausting day. How is the family? Was Juanita admitted okay?"

She nodded, not wanting to go into it all now. "Yes. Everything is fine. They have a really nice man, Mr. Perez, from the Refugee Admissions Program taking care of them."

"Oh, that is a relief. I'm so very glad everything worked out."

"Yes. And you were right—they do have family somewhere in Miami, as far as they know. They lost touch years ago, but Mr. Perez is going to look into it."

"That's good news. Did Miguel and Raul come home with you? The girls got the cottage ready this morning. They’re welcome to stay here, instead of sleeping at the old hospital." She made a face. "They all must be so exhausted."

"Everyone is, but no, Miguel and Raul stayed at the hospital. Sean's taking a nap. He was up all night as well."

"It was a wonderful thing he did. Not only is he a doctor, a cardiac surgeon, no less, but he's also a very nice man. Do you know if he has a family of his own? A wife hidden anywhere?" her mother asked with a glint in her eye.

"Not yet. I'm still working on it, but he's very secretive when it comes to his personal life. He backs away from all questions, gets real prickly too."

"That's too bad. I'm dying to know."

Kayla laughed. "Good luck with that." She stretched and yawned. "Have you had any time off today? Want me to take over for awhile?"

"No, I'm fine. The girls took turns and relieved me. Why don't you go back and rest? You've gotta be beat."

"I will in awhile." She sat down in a chair and faced her mom. "I'm so glad that your friend is coming for the holidays. I'm sure we'll be completely booked by then. I wish we could get everything done by the end of October, but it doesn't seem possible, does it?"

"Anything is possible I suppose, if you pay well enough."

"Are you happy here, Mom?” Kayla asked, remembering Sean’s question. “You had so many friends and activities in Princeton."

"True, though this was Allan's dream, I must admit I'm enjoying it." She pushed her dark hair off her face. “What I love most is the relaxed lifestyle. No one's rushing about, there's no horns honking, and no grumpy people shouting, or shoving or pushing. It's just nice. People seem nicer too."

"I agree." Kayla picked a brochure out of the conch shell container on the desk and brushed her hand over the colorful, glossy images. “Paradise Cottages. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Gives off positive vibes—a promise to our guests that they will experience a really good time." Her thoughts flew to Sean, wishing she could deliver that promise to him.

"What are you thinking?" her mother asked. "You’ve got a sad look on your face."

"Oh, nothing. I just want to make sure we do this place up right, make enough money that we can all live our dreams. Me? I think I'm staying here."

Her mom nodded. "Taylor enjoys it too. She gets to try out her new dishes and dazzle everyone with her culinary skills. She made a Tzatziki sauce earlier this morning and it's chilling in the refrigerator, and Spanakopita which is sitting in the oven." She sighed. "As much as you and Taylor are taking to this place, I'm not so sure about our youngest. Place is too quiet for a high-strung girl like her."

"Oh, I don't know. Brit can make her own fun wherever she is." Kayla stretched out her back, which was beginning to ache.

"Speaking of Brittany. What did you say to her? She's all excited about dancing with the stars." Her mother waved her fingers toward the sky.

Kayla got up off her seat and edged toward the door. She didn't want to get caught in the crossfire between her mother’s ideas for Brittany, and what Brittany wanted for herself. Their arguments could raise the roof. "Uh–I just told her not to give up on her dream. Just because she can’t be a ballerina doesn’t mean she can’t have a future in dance. You know how she loves it."

"Well, she did have a future. She worked in a dance studio and gave lessons to little kids. She loved it."

"She
hated
it." Kayla should have held her tongue.

"No!” Anna’s expression was horrified. “I thought she had a calling to teach, like me. That she enjoyed working with talented youngsters who hoped they’d perform on the big stage."

Kayla faced her mother, crossing her arms at the waist. "Mom, don't you see? She was feeding their dreams while her own were locked away in a bottom drawer. How could she be anything else but miserable?"

"Well, I wish she had told me!" Anna said, offended. “I hardly want my children to be unhappy.”

"She may have, a time or two." Kayla smiled to take the sting out of the words. She hadn’t realized her baby sister was so miserable either. "Anyway, point is, she's only twenty-five. She can do anything she wants with her life. Right?"

"Of course.” Anna lifted her chin. “I support everything my children want to do."

Kayla walked over to her and gave her a hug. "That's true. You even agreed to let the family stay a month when I asked you to. Since we have empty cabins, it just seems like the right thing to do." She headed out the back door of the office. "I'll make us a nice easy dinner, and perhaps take a plate over to Sean's."

"Now, that is a very good idea," Anna said with a wise smile. "Since it's quiet in here, I might finish this novel I'm reading." She fanned her face. "It's a little racy I'm afraid, but I'm enjoying it."

Kayla laughed. "Good, Mom. Promise me something. Don't ever get old."

"I don't plan to. Old's for other people, not for me."

When Kayla entered their cottage the mouth watering smells of the delicate Spanakopita drifted throughout the cozy rooms they called home.

She found Brittany laying on the couch, enthralled with her iPad, a bowl of grapes by her side. "Hey, Brit.  Finding anything interesting?"

"Yeah, there's a lot of dance studios, that's for sure. I need to read reviews and do some research before I commit." She put her iPad down and got up from the couch with her gazelle-like grace. "What's the news on the family? Did the hospital admit them?"

"Yes. Everything has worked out fine. So far. I tried to get Raul to come home with us, but he wanted to stay at the hospital with his family. Sean's at his cabin sleeping. He was up all night."

"Oh. That poor man. I wonder if he wants company," Brittany said, sticking her hands into her tight short pockets.

"He needs sleep, Brit. Seriously. Can you hold off with your flirting for just a few more days? We have serious issues at hand. Like booking reservations and getting this place up to snuff before the holiday season."

"I'm sure you're right. Sean's just an innocent diversion. He won't be here forever, so what could it hurt?"

Kayla didn't bother answering. Three months was a long time at a resort. Instead she took a package of lasagna noodles out of the pantry and a large jar of spaghetti sauce, determined to make a quick lasagna dish. Couldn't be that hard, could it? Taylor's was always divine.

She read the ingredients on the back of the package, and checked the refrigerator. She found a pound of hamburger in the freezer and nuked it in the microwave. She took out a package of frozen spinach too. She found a container of cottage cheese with an expired date on the label, but what difference did a few weeks make? She smelled it, but she'd never liked cottage cheese to begin with. Next she took out a package of shredded mozzarella and a jar of Parmesan cheese. Two eggs, and she was done.

"Need some help?" Brit asked.

"Sure. Could you take those two trays out of the oven, and wrap them in foil to keep warm? Then you can help me make lasagna."

Before Brittany had a chance to cover both trays, Kayla pinched one of the spinach and feta delicacies that were encased in phyllo dough. She popped it in her mouth, and moaned with pleasure.

"Yum! How does she do that?" Kayla didn't wait for an answer but handed Brittany the lasagna box. "Read the directions out loud, so we both know what we're doing."

They worked comfortably together, and soon had the thawed beef simmering on top of the stove. Kayla added the jar of spaghetti sauce while Brittany tossed the other ingredients into a mixing bowl.

Kayla carefully layered the lasagna so-so, just as the directions stated. She covered it with aluminum foil and popped it into the hot oven. "The last time I made one of these, Brian tossed half of it out."

"That good, huh?" Brittany knotted her ponytail so it sat in a loose bun. “Must have been a bummer.”

"Well, I had worked all day, and then he told me his mother was dropping over for dinner, so I planned on ordering in. No mess, no hassle. Then he showed me the refrigerator. He had gone to the store and bought all the ingredients, so what was I to do?"

"Couldn't he have just made it?" Brittany perched on a bar stool. “Women don’t have to do all the cooking.”

"Are you kidding? I might be a bad cook, but he's even worse. Good thing we lived close to the city then. Food was only a phone call away."

"So what happened with the lasagna?"

"It never sat. Thing was so mushy, I had a hard time slicing it and getting it out of the pan. Didn't taste all that bad, but it looked pretty awful." She laughed at the memory. "At least he never asked me to cook for his mother again. We always took her to one of our favorite spots for dinner."

Brit laughed and stretched out her legs. "Worked out well."

"You got that right." Kayla high-fived her sister.

“You must get lonely. Do you miss him?”

“Nope,” Kayla answered quickly and honestly. “He wasn’t the one, I suppose. And now, I’m too busy to think about dating, or romance.”

Sean's handsome face popped to mind. She wondered what his kisses would taste like. His hard body next to hers. She suddenly felt warm.

Opening the door of the oven gave a blast of heat that she used to explain her fiery cheeks. "Smells good," Kayla said. "Foil needs to come off soon. I'll have to let it sit so that it'll settle. Last time I just took it right from the oven to the table."

"Guess you’ve got it from here. I'm going in to shower," Brit said. "Then I'll get the drinks ready for happy hour."

"Sounds like a plan." The lasagna still had forty minutes left so she decided to lie down for a few minutes and rest her back.

When she woke up, the clock read five o'clock. She'd slept an hour and a half. She hadn't heard her mother or Taylor come in, but when she stepped into the kitchen she noticed the happy hour food was missing. There was a near empty bottle of rum and chopped up mint for the Mojitos still sitting next to the sink.

She opened the oven to check on the lasagna.

Half of it was gone and so was Brittany.