That One Summer: A Collection of Steamy Contemporary Romance

Chapter 13

She needed to staybusy.

Two hours after leaving Sam’s room, Charlotte finished checking in on all the Fantasy guests. Kelly was her last stop, and the pretty blonde was all set.

“Thanks for everything, Charlotte. I think I’m as prepared as I can be.” Kelly wrapped her arms around Charlotte and gave her a hug. “I was worried when we detoured to the villa instead of going to the Fantasy resort a couple days ago, but I’ve had a terrific time here.”

“I’m glad I got to know you, Amy and Jessica.”

“Me too.” Her bright smile lit up her face. Then she lowered her voice. “I got friendly with Philip last night. He’s the blond who said he’d had sex on the beach. Well, he’s nice and sweet besides being super yummy. I invited him to bring over his emergency supplies and spend the hurricane with me.”

“That almost sounds romantic.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know and that’s silly. He’s been flirting with other women in the group, so I know he’s going to want to explore when we get to the resort.”

“That’s okay with you?”

“It is,” she said with a quick nod, her silver-blonde waves bouncing on her shoulders. “My work life is great, but it’s chaotic. I’m only looking for fun here.” Her tone turned wistful. “Still, it would be nice to have someone who’s my someone for the week.”

“I get it.”

“But what about you and Sam?” Kelly asked. “You didn’t say anything earlier, and I was hoping you had something to share.”

Charlotte’s shoulders sagged along with her mood. “I thought I would, but I don’t. We had a moment, and it’s over.”

“Really? Are you sure it’s over?” Kelly’s brows wrinkled. “The way he looks at you...”

“He wants to go back to the way things were, the way they’ve always been between us.” I work for him, I do for him, and we’re friends, just friends. “He doesn’t want more than that with me.” She told Kelly about moving her things into his room and his response. “I thought things were different between us, but I was wrong.”

“Oh, honey, how do you feel?”

“Disappointed and annoyed.” Because she knew better. “We’ve been pushed together here. I’ve had to share his room twice because of a hole in my roof. I should have realized I wasn’t...I wasn’t...”

“Don’t say that,” Kelly interrupted. “There’s nothing you weren’t. I remember how he looked at you in that bikini, and it wasn’t that your breasts looked so great—although they did. He was looking at you like you were his and the best thing in the world.”

Charlotte nodded. He had looked at her that way. She deserved to have someone special in her life. Too bad Sam didn’t want to be that someone.

“I’m truly glad I met you, Kelly. I hope we’re able to get together in the city.”

“Of course we will. Amy and Jessica already have plans for the four of us.” She paused then gave Charlotte’s arm a squeeze. “And don’t give up on Sam. We all know the kind of work he does. It must be incredibly stressful at times. And now with the hurricane coming.”

“Yes, he’s under a lot of stress.” She never doubted that. Working million-dollar, sometimes billion-dollar deals, had to be exhausting. But he didn’t want her, not like she wanted him. And that was a shame.

Too bad he couldn’t see how good they could be.

***

The temperature haddropped, and the clouds above were getting heavy. Charlotte lifted her face toward the ocean and closed her eyes. A strong wind, so different from the gentle tropical breeze from only hours ago, blew her hair all over the place.

The hurricane was coming.

But not a drop of rain had fallen yet, so she had time to do one more item on her checklist. And she needed to keep her head and hands busy.

She’d already checked the main kitchen supply room, so she hurried to the rear kitchen storage space at the back of the dining area. Wow. This space was huge. It was packed with hundreds of kitchen appliances and tools still in boxes. It took her a good twenty minutes to get a sense of the space.

She stood back and frowned when she noticed a stack of eight pricey sous vide machines. Eight? Half of that would be plenty for a place this size. Some were new, and others had obviously been used. She got down on her hands and knees and discovered six standing mixers—nice ones—and the same number of food processors.

She sat back on her heels and scratched her head. Why would anyone order so many appliances and kitchen gadgets for one small outdoor kitchen? What they had here could outfit two or even three similar kitchens.

And there was junk everywhere. She grabbed at one smooshed cardboard container that had been wedged under the bottom shelf and then retrieved another. Who did things like this?

She leaned over, scanning for more trash under the shelves, and pulled out a thick manilla envelope. Envelopes and papers? Why would anyone...?

She flipped open the envelope and found a handwritten message on the other side.

$2000. Danar los desagues y los muros de contencion. Haz que parezca dano de huacan. Hazlo el domingo por la noche durante la cena y el baile.

Charlotte’s breath caught in her throat. Her Spanish was only so so, but she could translate the note:

$2000. Damage the drains and the retaining walls. Make it look like hurricane damage. Do it Sunday night during the dinner and dancing.

Was that George’s handwriting? It looked like George’s handwriting.

Oh, God. Her hand trembled. She needed to tell Sam.

A loud thump echoed from outside the storage room door, and she jumped. Did something hit the door?

Charlotte shot to her feet and hurried to push the door open. She turned the knob, and it barely budged. Then she pressed her shoulder into the door and put all her weight behind it. Her muscles clenched as she pushed. Ah. It moved. But only five or six inches.

It was enough to see what was happening outside.

The wind had whipped up and rain poured down—and around—in buckets—fierce buckets. Palm trees surrounding the villa no longer swayed in a light, tropical breeze, but swung violently from side to side. They whipped back and forth so hard they had to be smacking the ground. Charlotte couldn’t see beyond the trees bordering the property, the downpour was so heavy. She stuck her hand through the small door opening, and it smacked against the doorframe, the rain hard enough the sting. Ow. She pulled back her sore hand and squeezed it tight.

She glanced down and saw what was pressing on the door. A large, decorative column, which typically flanked the entrance to the dining area, had fallen and landed in front of the door.

Charlotte pulled out her cell phone to call Sam, her hands trembling as she pressed the power button. Ugh! No bars. No signal strength.

She was stuck.