Page 2 of The Reluctant Billionaire

“That doesn’t includemyoffice,” Luke said with a grin. “Stop by anytime you want a chat, but I’ll have no compunctions about telling you to butt out of resort business.”

“Deal.” Jace smiled back at Luke as the golf cart drew to a halt, thinking it would be nice to have a friend here he could talk to. Nice to have a friend to talk to at all, if he was being completely honest with himself. The cutthroat world of big business wasn’t exactly conducive to close personal friendships.

***

Laying on the couch binge-watching Netflix was something he could only do for so long without going a little stir-crazy, Jace discovered after a couple of days. The scorching tropical sun made it unwise to spend too much time outside, though his winter-pale skin was already starting to develop a little golden color.

He’d developed a routine: he swam in the villa’s private pool every morning, lay in the sun for a little while to dry off, then went inside and made breakfast. The villa’s kitchen was as well-stocked as Luke had promised; he had no need to go anywhere.

Bored after the first half-day, he’d tried to log onto his email and do some work… only to find a single message from his father, advising him the IT wizards had locked him out of all company business until further notice. He was restricted to entertaining himself with the villa’s well-stocked supply of books or laying on the couch catching up onHouse Of Cards.

Switching the TV off, Jace got up to pace the room restlessly. His energy levels were starting to return, and the unaccustomed inactivity was beginning to chafe. He should have put a gym in the villa, he thought grumpily. Not that he was in any fit state for his usual five-mile run on the treadmill.

Well, if he couldn’t run, he could at least get outside for some fresh air. He’d go for a walk, and if he found he had the energy, he might go all the way to the main resort building and catch up with Luke.

Decision made, it was only a few minutes before he was outside, hat on his head to shield him from the sun and running shoes on his feet. Someone had left a map of the island on the hall table, with the walking trails clearly marked. He grabbed it on the way out and checked the best route to take. Across the middle of the island into the southern end of the resort, he decided. The map’s key indicated it should take about twenty minutes to hike the trail.

Ten minutes later, as he finally reached the top of the trail, he had to stop and lean against a tree for a while to rest.Should have brought water,he reproached himself.Stupid thing to forget.He should have known better, but it had been several years since he’d been on a hike and he’d been too eager to get out of the house.

Jace examined the resort below him. There was a cluster of private cabins at this end and a pool with a bar, one of several restaurants, a little further away. He could get a drink at the pool bar; he’d at least had enough sense to shove the comp card Luke had given him into his pocket. Wiping sweat from his brow with the hem of his shirt and cursing his physical weakness under his breath for the umpteenth time, he started down the slope.

“One dirty martini.” Nessa set the drink down in front of her customer, swiped the card through her reader, and offered it for his signature. Over his shoulder, she spied a man emerging from the rarely-used trailhead beyond the pool; he looked hot and sweaty. Shaking her head, she turned to rinse out her cocktail shaker.That guy was sure gonna need a drink.

Turning back just as he sat down on a bar stool, she slid a coaster in front of him and said, “Good afternoon. What can I get you?”

Light blue eyes blinked at her, and the man said, “You’re English!”

“I’mfromEngland. I’m an Australian citizen,” she gave her usual response. “Been here nearly ten years now.”

“I guess the accent never really goes away.”

She smiled tightly, knowing her accent gave her away as being from one of the seedier parts of East London. “Indeed.” Slapping a cocktail menu down before him with perhaps a little more force than actually necessary, she turned away to serve another customer who’d just swum up to the pool side of the bar.

When she returned, the man asked for something long and cooling. Tempted to pour him some iced water, she asked instead, “Virgin?”

Jace blinked in surprise. “It’s been a while, but no, I’m not.”

The bartender threw her head back and laughed. She was pretty, Jace had noticed that right off: her skin a rich dark bronze with black hair falling to her waist in a mass of tiny braids. When she laughed, she was really beautiful, dimples appearing in her cheeks, light amber-brown eyes flashing with mirth.

“I was asking if you want a hard or a soft drink. Alcoholic, or not,” she said through girlish giggles.

“Oh.” Abashed, he felt color coming to his face. “Sorry. Brain fog. I think I’m a bit overheated.”

A tall glass of iced water was set in front of him. “Why don’t you start with that, and then you can decide if you’d like something a bit stronger?” The dimples flashed again as she gave him a warm smile.

“Thank you… Nessa,” he read the name tag on her blouse. “Short for Vanessa?”

“No.”

“How interesting, your dimples disappear when your smile isn’t genuine. Is it something embarrassing, then?”

Nessa’s jaw dropped. “Are you always this direct?”

“I like to cut through the bullshit. Jace.” He offered a hand across the bar. “Not short for anything. My mother just liked the name.” Only after he’d already said it, did he think maybe he should have used a different first name.Jacewasn’t exactly common, after all.

Nessa hesitated a minute, and then she took his hand, leaned forward, and whispered close to his ear, “Tennessee.”

He grinned. “Nessa’s better. Suits you. The other, I think I’d expect you to have a Southern drawl.”

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