The Billionaire's Island Bride (South Shore Billionaires 3)

She was definitely attached, and he couldn’t honestly say he blamed her. There was something warm and inviting about the old house, and he’d already found himself captivated by the island.

“So I don’t get the real estate deal and I don’t get kisses. It seems I’m getting the rotten end of this deal.”

She nodded, a sober expression on her face. “It appears you are,” she replied, and damned if they weren’t flirting after all.

“I’ll just have to come up with a better offer.” He held out a hand and gestured toward the door. “Shall we? I really do need to get back.”

She led him to the front door. Marvin looked up from his doggy bed and his tail gave a thump, but he didn’t get up and rush over. It was almost as if he was used to seeing Cole there. Like Cole somehow...belonged.

That was ridiculous, wasn’t it? This was just a dog, and a slightly tired old house, and not his life at all.

“Helicopter tomorrow,” he warned Brooklyn. “Fastest way to get my people from here to the airport.”

“Thanks for the warning,” she said, smiling a little. “Have a good dinner with your guests.”

He almost wanted to invite her to join them. Also ridiculous, but he was prolonging their goodbye and didn’t know why.

So he said goodbye and went back to the graveled lane, toward the big house on the bluff.

* * *

Brooklyn kept her eye on the forecast as the week progressed. A midseason hurricane had formed to the southeast and was spinning its way north. The US eastern seaboard looked to be getting a miss, but Nova Scotia was another story, if the models were accurate. Right now it could go a little either way. A direct hit would be nasty. A bit to the right would bring lots of rain. To the left, crazy winds. Either way, it was a category three now, and they’d had a very warm autumn. Maybe it would only be a tropical storm when it hit, but right now forecasters were predicting a category one.

Which didn’t sound that bad. Except she’d seen what even a category one could do. Widespread power outages. With her generator, that wasn’t a huge deal. But the seas would be whipped up and rolling, which meant getting to the mainland would be out of the question. Her little boat wasn’t up to it. She’d have to make a trip over and stock up on anything she might need.

Her needles clacked and she grinned. Wine, chocolate, dog food...all the necessities for being storm-stayed.

She spread the shawl out over her lap and admired the fine, even stitches and the soft yarn. This might be her favorite piece ever, and that was saying something. She imagined wrapping herself up in it this winter, with a cup of hot cocoa and a good book or DVD. She’d have Marvin for company, as always. And yet as she picked up the knitting again, a sense of unease slid through her. Cole would be gone, wouldn’t he? And she’d be alone on the island. Not that she minded; she was used to it. But he wouldn’t be here. With his smiley face and teasing voice and...well, just everything.

She’d gotten kind of used to him, after all. He made things interesting.

Her cell rang and she reached over to grab it, looked at the number, and frowned. It was a number that she didn’t recognize at all. “Hello?”

“Hey, Brooklyn, it’s Cole.”

“You got my phone number.” She wasn’t sure if she was pleased or not.

“I got it from Jeremy, my Realtor, who had it because of...well. When I was trying to buy your house from under you.”

She laughed out loud at his bluntness. “Fair enough. What’s up?”

He was calling her. Calling her. It shouldn’t make her giddy, but there were a whole list of shouldn’ts where Cole was concerned and she had so far ignored every single one.

“I’m having a dinner at my house tonight with my friends. Jeremy and Tori are coming over, and Branson is back in town with Jessica. I hate being a fifth wheel, so I wondered if you’d like to join us.”

Oh, my. She wasn’t sure if he meant for this to be as his date or if she was a chair filler. And she had no idea how to ask, either. “Dinner? With your friends? But I don’t know them. Won’t it be awkward?”

“Naw. It’s just casual. They haven’t been over to the island since I moved in, and I thought it would be nice to do it now since it looks like we’re in for some weather later in the week.”

She hesitated.

“Of course, if you don’t want to, that’s fine. I know it’s last-minute.”

Which was a paltry excuse because living somewhere with a population of two pretty much guaranteed an open social calendar.

“I could probably come. I guess.”

“Great! Come any time after six. We’ll have pre-dinner drinks. Everyone’s spending the night, so we can all indulge a little.”