Page 54 of Paradise West
Gus chuckled. “There’s my boy.” He took a sip of his drink. “No, man. I’m talking about real romancing, like the stuff that chicks read in those kissy-kissy books they love so much. Trust me, man. I know romance. It’s coded into my Cuban DNA.”
Jack rolled his eyes, half tempted to tell Gus to take a flying leap. However, he stopped himself before he could fire off a reply.
Gus is right – I haven’t pulled out all the stops...
“What exactly do you have in mind?”
Gus leaned back and pursed his lips, deep in thought for a moment. He rubbed his hands together. “Your family has a sailboat, right?”
“Yeah, my brother captains it for the company’s sunset cruises.”
Gus hummed. “Mmmmm. Yeah, that’s it. First, you’ll take her on a sunset cruise.”
“Huh,” Jack muttered. “I could talk to my brother about that.”
“Fuck yeah, you will. Now, hold on a minute. I’m not done.” Gus rested his forearms on the table, his eyes gleaming. “That executive from the real estate firm still owes you one, right?”
Jack listened with brows raised. “Yeah, and?”
“And, he owns a cottage on Sunset Key, right?”
Jack blinked. “Yeah.”
Gus grinned, his eyes gleaming as if a light bulb had gone off. He chuckled and flexed his hands together. “Okay, so here’s what you do. Have your brother take you and the lovely lady on a sunset cruise, have him drop you off on Sunset Key. Then, you take her to dinner at Tropics, and afterward youshow her to the cottage which you’ll have for the weekend. After that, you just romance the ever-loving shit out of her. I’m talking cooking, wine, massages, conversations about her, and of course lots of sex.”
Gus pumped his chest with his fist. “Dude, you can’t get more romantic than that. Goddammit, I’m a fucking mastermind!”
Jack snorted. “Oh really? If you’re such a genius, then why aren’t you married or actively romancing a beautiful woman?”
Gus gave him a secret smile. “She promised me she’s coming back to the island. I’m just waiting for her. When she returns, I’ll never let her go.” He waved his hand dismissively in the air. “But forget about that right now. What do you think of my plan?”
Jack pressed his lips together and gave him a firm nod. “I can probably pull all that together.” He sat back in his chair as the waitress delivered their food. He narrowed his eyes at Gus. “You think it’ll really work?”
Gus snorted. “If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what will.” He eyed Jack quietly for a moment and took a bite of his sandwich. “Just be honest with her Jack. You need to tell her how you feel. This woman is top-shelf, man...she ain’t staying for just the sunsets.”
Jack sighed. “You’re right and it’s a great idea.” He swirled a french fry in ketchup, feeling energized at the prospect of a solution. He contemplated the calls he’d have to make to put this plan in place. He took a bite of the fry and squinted at Gus. “What if she doesn’t go for any of this? Then what?”
Gus heaved a big sigh. “Then you break out the big guns.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “Those aren’t the big guns?”
Gus laughed. “Nah, man. That’s all the fun stuff, the romance. If she doesn’t go for plan A, then you switch to plan B.” He gave Jack an evil grin. “You get Art to sell her on taking over his practice. He’s been looking to retire for years and she’d be a perfect replacement.” He shrugged and pointed a french fry at Jack. “And no one can say no to that man when he’s on a roll.”
Jack grinned, suddenly feeling lighter, like there was a real solution, a solid light at the end of the tunnel. “Annette was telling her to open a practice on the island. Maybe I can get her involved, too.”
Gus’s eyes lost focus and a wistful expression appeared on his face. “Ah...my Annette...” He raised his fingers to his lips and threw a kiss into the air. “That woman’s a goddess.”
Jack chuckled. “Liked her, huh?” He bit into his sandwich. “She said something about coming downhere to run the resort once we have it operational. I’ll probably take her up on it.”
Gus’s eyes squinted. “You better.” He raised his fist to Jack, who bumped it with his. “So, it sounds like we have a plan. Get to it, man.”
* * * *
Charli paced back and forth in her office, her eyes plastered to the video on her cell phone. “Tell me what’s going on there,” she urged, fighting the panic in her chest, her stomach churning.
“Well, this is only my second day back in the office, so pump the brakes. I don’t have a handle on everything yet,” Annette grumbled as she grimaced. She leaned in toward the camera. “But something weird is definitely going on around here—I can tell you that. Percival looks like he’s been put through the wringer...and the wringer has obviously been Evan.” She released an evil chuckle. “And that man is as twitchy as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers.”
Charli crinkled her brow. “What do you mean?”
