Page 39 of Paradise West
Annette and Amy had followed her story with wide eyes and exclamations but hadn’t interrupted once.
“Oh my god!” Annette exclaimed, her hands clasped under her chin. “This is better than a romance novel. He sounds like a freaking dream.”
Charli smiled and sighed. “He’s unbelievably hot—which is another reason I thought he was gay. He’s almost too pretty, a total gentleman, and beyond thoughtful and sweet. Plus, there are literally no women around him that I’ve seen outside of his family. There should be an army of women swarming around him.”
“You’ll understand when you see him.” She shrugged and continued. “Everyone around here seems to know him, and they all love him. But there’s no one lining up to date him from anything I’ve seen...I just don’t get it.”
Annette snorted. “You’re a typical lawyer, overthinking and analyzing everything to death as usual.” She pursed her lips and tilted her head. “Think about it, Charli. He’s grown up on an island that has areputation for drunk tourists. If he’s a local, like you say, he probably avoids those women like the plague.”
“Yeah, I can see that. But there are a lot of attractive women who actually live on the island, too.” It was a thought that had gone through Charli’s brain—a lot of very attractive women. She ignored the sudden and intense flare of jealousy.
Amy shrugged. “He probably grew up with all of them and has already tried dating them, but nothing fit.” She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. “What if he’s been waiting for you all along...like kismet?”
Charli snorted and rolled her eyes. “Kismet? Seriously?”
Amy and Annette both nodded in unison, eyes wide.
“Kismet. Fate. It’s a very powerful thing that you don’t fuck around with,” Annette answered urgently, completely ignoring Charli’s skeptical reaction. Her eyes were fierce as she plowed ahead. “I think you two were meant for each other, and I’m certain its fate that has brought you together.”
Charli chuckled. “It’s getting pretty deep here already, and you’ve only been on the island ten minutes. Plus, you haven’t even met him yet.”
She gestured at the upcoming intersection. “We’re taking a right here.”
“Oh, wow!” Amy exclaimed. “The colors are just so vivid here,” she said, pointing to a large flowering tree.
“That’s a bougainvillea tree, and if you look a little closer, it’ll have little orchids growing on it.” Charli indicated the delicate flowers nestled between the branches.
“And over there...” Charli directed their attention to the trees as they crossed the street. “Those are hibiscus trees. The flowers are used quite a bit in tea.” She waved her hand, urging them to the left. “Come on, my house is down this way.”
She grinned when she spotted Jack and his crew still planting the trees. “Ah—you’re in luck. Jack and his guys are still working on the garden.”
Annette stuck her head up and peered down the street. “Which one is he?”
“The tall guy, mid-length dark hair, blue shirt who’s giving the orders,” Charli answered, noting that he looked particularly gorgeous and manly at that moment with his shirt sweat-soaked and sticking to his muscled torso.
As they got closer, Annette gasped and stopped in her tracks. “Holy shit, Charli. He’s a total hottie.”Amy nodded in agreement. “He’s like freaking model hot.”
Charli grinned, not saying a word as they continued down the street. “Almost too pretty to be straight, right?”
As they approached, Jack glanced up and did a double take. He waved, making his way over to them.
Charli chuckled when she heard Amy mumble under her breath. “Holy Mary Mother of God...” and Annette simply mumble, “YUM...”
Jack reached them in just a few steps. “Well, that didn’t take long at all,” he said as he brushed Charli’s hand with his, eyeing Annette and Amy the entire time.
“Which one of you is Annette?” he asked.
To Charli’s absolute amazement, Annette turned a brilliant shade of crimson and began to stammer and blink rapidly. She’d never seen her assistant bashful or unable to form a coherent sentence, especially around a man.
“Um...uh...um...I...I...I am,” Annette babbled. Her mouth continued to move but nothing came out. To Jack’s credit, he merely grinned and very formally drew her hand up to place a kiss on its back.
“You and I have some things to talk about,” he said in a conspiratorial tone, giving her a wicked wink.
“And this is your sister?” he asked Annette, who seemed to have some difficulty snapping out of her daze.
“Uh...yeah...um...shit. Yes. This is Amy.”
“Charmed,” he replied as he took Amy’s hand gently into his and kissed the back while looking into her eyes.
