Stella went to grab a bottle of the preferred wine. She of all people knew the importance of wine and a nice relaxing soak.
And once again, even in work, her mind circled back to Dane. What was she going to do when his time here came to an end?
Ten
Ethan stared at the phone and wondered what he’d said to make Dane so angry. His brother wasn’t one to let his emotions drive him...or he never had been. Had that changed? Considering they hadn’t spent too much time together in the past, oh, couple of decades, Ethan couldn’t really consider himself an authority on his brother anymore.
All Ethan had said was that if Robert showed up at Mirage in Sunset Cove, then Ethan wasn’t sure he could wait for Dane to tie up loose ends and get down there to join him. They’d waited all this time, years, to build up their resources, their finances, their power. The time to strike was now and there wasn’t a chance in hell Ethan was going to let Robert slip out of their grasp again.
Ethan didn’t mention that he happened to already be at Mirage. Dane thought he was just in California, but Ethan figured he should keep his plans to himself. He trusted his brother—even with the distance between them, there was no one he trusted more than Dane. They may have grown apart, but they would always have a bond like nothing else in the world. But that didn’t mean his brother needed to know everything.
Shoving his cell back into the pocket of his shorts, Ethan strolled out of the open lobby area and straight toward the beach. While he was waiting on dear ol’ stepdad to make his appearance, there was no reason he couldn’t take in the sights while he waited...and by sights he mean
t that sexy, lush lady sporting a red bikini. Suddenly he had a new favorite color.
Who said he couldn’t enjoy himself while on the hunt for Robert? Besides, Ethan planned on being at Mirage for a while—like forever.
As soon as he secured this place in his name, as his mother had originally intended, he planned on living right here where he belonged to manage the place and keep it prosperous. The beach, the ocean, they were home. Ethan may have grown up in Montana, but there was nothing like that salty breeze and the sand between his toes.
And the views. Had he mentioned that already? Because he never could understand why anyone would rather be bundled up around a fire when they could be showing off sun-kissed skin and enjoying their favorite beachside beverage.
The lady in red sprayed herself with sunscreen and tossed her bottle back in her striped beach bag. He glanced up and down the shoreline. With this as an adults-only resort, there was a peacefulness not many beaches had. There were no screaming, running children since this was a private island.
Family vacations were great, but Mirage was not that type of destination. His mother, a lifelong romantic, had built two stellar resorts all with couples in mind. Her sense of romance had led to her commercial success, but also her personal downfall. She’d wanted to marry for love, she’d wholeheartedly believed in it, and she had married...but Ethan highly doubted love had entered anywhere in that equation.
Her father had passed and Lara had been left raising two boys on her own. The scenario seemed to be tailor-made for Robert because he obviously preyed on the weak and vulnerable.
The Michaels boys were neither weak nor vulnerable now. They were angry, they were still hurt, and they were ready to fight back. There was nothing Ethan wouldn’t do to honor his mother, and she’d raised strong boys. This was what she would’ve wanted.
Ethan slipped off his flip-flops and looped his fingers around the straps as he made his way across the warm sand.
Walking along the edge of the water always relaxed him, always helped him see a clearer picture. That was why he’d come out to Mirage instead of waiting. He needed to be here to sort through all the mess in his head, to figure out the precise steps he needed to take. He had to act fast, but he also had to be smart about it.
The sexy, curvaceous woman in red glanced his way and Ethan didn’t even try to hide his smile...and he didn’t move when she made her way over. A woman who knew what she wanted was one of the sexiest qualities.
Considering her smile widened as she crossed the sand toward him, well, apparently they wanted the same thing.
* * *
“I’m sorry, sir. Who did you say you were again?”
Dane didn’t fault the young male for questioning the stranger who was in the midst of checking on the generators in the maintenance area. No guest should know where this room was, as rooms dedicated to the staff or the maintenance of the resort were hidden from the guests.
The entire resort had the illusion of running on fairy dust or some other magical oddity. That had been imperative to his mother who wanted couples who came here to only see the perfection, the fantasy, the beauty. “Real life” shouldn’t exist on vacation, she’d always said. And she was correct. People wanted to get away from all cares and responsibilities, and she provided exactly what patrons wanted.
“Dane Michaels,” he stated again as he settled his hands on his hips. “Miss Garcia asked me to check on this and she said you might be down as well since you’re so thorough with your job.”
The BS just rolled off his tongue, but hit the mark as the twentysomething puffed his chest with pride.
“I wasn’t aware we had a new maintenance guy,” the other man said. “But I checked on these yesterday.”
Dane wasn’t about to get into an argument or contradict the guy’s mistaken assumption. But Dane would feel better if he checked on all of the “behind the scenes” things himself. After all, he had to keep up with all sides of his property.
“The storm closed the mountain.” Dane purposely dodged the questioning stare from the other guy. “It’s not going to let up for a few days. These generators will likely be put to use very soon.”
The worker nodded. “That’s what I was thinking, too.”
The radio clipped to his hip crackled and a female voice came over the airwaves. He knew that voice and she may not like knowing he was in here checking things out. He listened as she requested any available hands to get to the dining area to set up for the lunch crowd.