Her Vibrant Heart

1. Rhett

“Are you fucking with me?”

I stared at my older brother Grayson, wondering if he was pranking me or some shit. Catching the glance Grayson threw our younger brother, Wolfe, let me know that they’d planned this all out beforehand. On top of that, knowing Grayson like I did, I knew it wasn’t a joke. The man didn’t have a funny bone in his entire body. Sitting in his ridiculously oversized dining room, I felt ambushed by this surprise meeting.

“No, I’m not fucking with you. What makes you think that?”

“Her name’s Scarlett.” For some reason, that annoyed me more than anything else. It was only slightly less annoying that I’d been dragged out to Grayson’s new house by the river in Esperance. What the fuck was wrong with our corporate offices in Raleigh? A lot, apparently. Since Wolfe had married Esme and Grayson was engaged to Stef, it seemed they spent all their time in the shittiest little town this side of the state line.

“And? We’re not asking you to marry the woman. We just need her to back off, so we can get this development approved.”

Wolfe shifted in his seat. “Scarlett Wright is one of the top environmental attorneys in the state. If we don’t get her on board, she could tie us up in litigation for years. It’s just been headache after headache with this particular property. We need to be able to move forward on it.”

Blowing out a breath, I looked back to Grayson. “Why can’t you do it?”

“Conflict of interest.”

“What the fuck?”

“Scarlett is a good friend of Stef’s. It wouldn’t be fair to my fiancée to know I’m in an adversarial situation with someone she’s close to. Especially after everything she went through with the hacker. She wouldn’t have got through that without Scarlett.”

Fucking hell, I couldn’t argue with that. “What about you?”

“She’s also become friends with Esme.”

“Convenient.”

“I also figured you owe me.” Grayson put in.

“What the fuck for?”

“You cost me a very capable head of security.”

“You’re holding that over my head? She knew what she was getting into. It’s not my fault she caught feelings and decided she couldn’t work with me anymore.”

Grayson’s jaw tightened as he exchanged another look with Wolfe. “Rhett, this is serious business.”

I scoffed, raking a hand through my hair in frustration. Of course it was always “serious business” with them. Honestly, life was way too fucking short to spend the whole time with your head stuck up your ass. But that was my older brother for you. Not me, though. I loved my playboy lifestyle and had no plans to settle down anytime soon. Maybe that made me look irresponsible, but what’s a guy gonna do? “Is she at least pretty?”

“Jackass.” Seems like Wolfe was catching our older brother’s vibe.

“Why? Can’t I have something to lighten the load?”

Clearly deciding that ignoring my bullshit was a good strategy, Grayson slid a folder across the table to me. “You have a meeting in half an hour, at her office, here in Esperance.”

I flicked open the folder, running my eye over the first page. “Frogs?”

“Yeah.” The tone of resignation in Wolfe’s voice was not surprising. This was such an unnecessary irritation. This project had been nothing but a shitshow from the moment our father had indicated he wanted to buy the land. Now we’d finally secured the purchase and couldn’t get development approval because of some fucking frogs!

Grayson glanced at his watch, then got to his feet. “I have to go. I’m taking Stef out.”

“Me too. I promised the kids I’d get them from school today and take them to the cake shop.”

“What, so that’s it? You assholes are taking the rest of the day off and I’m stuck with this?”

“Lock the door behind you. And text when the meeting’s over.”

“Fuck you.”

Fifteen minutes later, I pulled up to the address Grayson had given me, taking in the quaint little building nestled among towering pines. Wright Hayes Environmental Law. Just the name alone made me want to roll my eyes.

Inside, the receptionist looked up with a polite smile as I strolled in. “Good afternoon, sir. How can I help you?”

“I have an appointment to see Scarlett Wright.”

The welcoming smile faded. “Ah yes, Mr. Rivers. Please have a seat, and she’ll be right with you.”

I nodded, taking a seat in one of the plush armchairs in the waiting area. My eyes drifted around the space, unsurprised by the earthy tones and potted plants scattered about. This woman was clearly a nature nut through and through.

Several minutes ticked by and I was just starting to tap my foot impatiently when the door to the inner office opened. I glanced over and felt my breath catch in my throat.

Scarlett Wright was gorgeous - the kind of beauty that made a man forget his own name. She wore a fitted burgundy dress that skimmed over every delicious curve, paired with strappy black heels that made her calves look incredible. Thick, glossy waves of dark hair tumbled over her shoulders, framing a face with high cheekbones and full lips painted a deep berry shade.

I let my gaze rove over every inch of her, drinking her in. Until I got to her eyes. They were the most stunning shade of blue I’d ever seen, with thick, dark lashes. Right now, though? They were filled with…contempt. Derision. Disdain. This woman utterly despised me.

“Mr. Rivers. Pleased to meet you.”

She had a voice like molten honey. Because of course she did. I took her outstretched hand in mine, doing my best to ignore the tingle that ran up my arm at the light touch. Get a grip, asshole.

With a gesture to the door, she’d just come through she said, “If you’ll just come through here.”

“Certainly.”

Did I check out her ass as she walked ahead of me? Of course I did. I was also stupid enough to take a deep breath as I moved past her into the small conference room. Fuck, she smelled good.

As she turned to take a seat across the tiny round table from me, I let my gaze drop. Just a quick little flick, down to the tantalizing glimpse of cleavage revealed by the deep V of her dress. I swallowed hard. Uh huh, great tits. I willed myself to focus as I leaned back in the chair.

“So, Mr. Rivers,” she began, her tone clipped and professional. “I understand you’re here on behalf of Rivers Development regarding the Henderson property acquisition.” Did she really have to lean forward and fold her arms on the table like that? Push her breasts up like that? A stronger man would have kept his gaze up. Turns out, I’m weak as water. I just couldn’t resist a glance.

When I forced my eyes back up to her face, I could tell she’d caught the movement. Those piercing blue eyes bored into me, entirely unimpressed. Time to get professional. “That’s right,” I managed, clearing my throat. “My brothers asked me to meet with you to discuss the, uh, environmental concerns you’ve raised.”

One perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched delicately. “I see. And I take it they also filled you in on the rare frog species found inhabiting the wetlands on that property?”

Shit, I really should have read the file more thoroughly instead of just skimming it. Hesitating, I gave a small nod. “Something about frogs, yes.”

The disdainful look she shot me made it abundantly clear she saw right through my bullshit bravado. This woman wasn’t going to make things easy, that was for damn sure. I forced myself to sit up a little straighter, fixing her with my most charming smile as I sought to regain some semblance of control over the situation.

“Look, Scarlett?—”

“Ms. Wright,” she corrected with a pointed look.

“Always?”

“Always what?”

“Always right.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Yes, as a matter of fact.”

Okay, so trying to lighten the mood wasn’t going to work.

Clearing my throat again, I tried a different tactic. “Ms. Wright. Let’s cut right to it, shall we? I’m here because my family wants to move forward with developing those properties. But from what I understand, you have some objections on environmental grounds that are holding things up. So, let’s have it out, you and me. How can we get on the same page here?”