Chapter 3 THE PRESENT

NICHOLAS' POV

Morning sun rays shine through the wall of blue-tinted glass in the hotel suite bedroom warmed my bare chest as I stared out at the ocean. I tightened the towel around my waist, then rubbed my hands back over my damp buzz-cut hair.

I sighed , it's been five days already at the Kaani Beach hotel, and I still couldn't fully relax. So much for vacationing in Maldives to relieve my stress. I tried zoning out on the beach, but I couldn't stop mulling over business. Too much had gone on during the past few months.

First, my brother, Williams had been in a minor accident when his plane skidded off a runway. William survived but had suffered from temporary amnesia as a result.

Then, the lodging and restaurant investment firm I and William owned, NW International, experienced a near miss with a bad hotel deal that I spearheaded.

I took a long, meditative breath. If they had signed off on that disastrous investment, it would have been solely my fault, not William's. Instead of doing due diligence in investigating the pros and cons of making an offer, I had been caught up in trying to outbid our father, who was also competing against us to buy the same property.

The idea of our father beating us had fucked with my head to the point where I had missed that a shoddy contractor had been involved with a construction project at the property. Luckily, William insisted on delaying the decision and had remembered the major issue he had spotted before the crash in the hotel's newly constructed restaurant.

Disquiet raged inside of me, I should have been focused on protecting NW International, not charging ahead to beat our father at all costs. That type of thinking cost him his relationship with Amelia too. Eight years had passed, and I still couldn't forget how I lost her.

I had been more concerned about my father taking Sagamore out from under him and selling it to outlet mall developers than how it had affected Amelia and her father. Since then, I had vowed never to lose sight of how my actions impacted people, especially those who are close to me.

But what was that saying-something in regard to the apple not falling far from the tree? Maybe I was more like my father than I ever wanted to admit.

Bed covers rustled behind me , I glanced over my shoulder to see the dark-haired woman I picked up last night sat up on the king-sized bed, holding the tangled white sheet and comforter to her chest.

"Come back to bed." She released the covers, revealing her bare breasts and more of her smooth skin. She flipped her tousled hair and coyly smiled. "If you're stressed out, I can make you feel better."

Last night, her deep brown eyes had snared my attention-along with some jerk berating her over a table mix-up at the Cuban Italian restaurant where she worked. She had handled it professionally, but vulnerability had briefly shadowed her expression.

I had wanted to hit the guy for being an asshole but I flirted with her instead, wanting to brighten her mood. When her shift had ended, we had gone to a bar down the street from the restaurant. I hadn't planned on sleeping with her, but something about the woman heightened his attraction. I can't seem to place a finger on what was it?

"Thanks, but I have to get going."

Shit... I have forgotten her name. Jenny? Julia? The tall, pretty woman stretched and got up. "Your loss." She plucked her clothes from the right side of the bed. Her hips swaying seductively, she sauntered into the bathroom in front of her and shut the door.Water ran in the shower.

My phone started ringing , I picked it up from the bedside table...William , Seriously? Didn't he have something better to do than to call him at seven in the morning?

I tapped the answer icon, "Yeah?"

"We need to discuss something," He replied.

"When you say we need to discuss something, that usually means there's an issue. You're on problem-solving duty on your own for another week. I'm on vacation. Remember?" I rounded the bed and entered the half-empty walk-in closet that contained casual clothes, a designer suit. I snagged a pair of jeans from a hanger and put them on.

"Wait a minute. It's Saturday. I thought Emily banned you from working on weekends?"

William snorted, "Banned? I'm not banned from doing anything."

Bullshit...I sneered before walking back out, "Let me speak to her."

"Why?" He asked.

"I would like to tell her good morning."

"She's sleeping."

"Where? She must be in another city. You wouldn't be allowed to make this call if Emily were around," I sneered.

"Fuck you. I don't have to ask her for permission to call my beloved brother," William released a brief chuckle. "She's downstairs in the kitchen, and the rule is no working on the weekends we have set aside for quality time."

Quality time? A snicker escaped my mouth. Yeah, Emily was definitely whipping William into shape. Good for her. That phrase hadn't been in William's vocabulary before he had met her.

"There's no need for you to get defensive. Or is that short leash you're on feeling a little too tight?"

"Keep laughing. It's not so short that I can't kick your ass," He retorted.

The shower stopped in the bathroom catching my attention. "I'm not alone. Give me twenty minutes and I'll call you back, and what's the problem anyway?"

"Echo Pines." William hung up.

Echo Pines Lodge . . . the cabin retreat in northern Georgia? My good mood dissipated as I slipped the phone into my jeans pocket. Of course there were issues with that place. Like I had tried to tell Williams before the accident, the plan to buy a boutique mountain retreat in general was a bad idea.

We needed to concentrate on building our current investment portfolio instead of adding on the responsibility of being a management company, but Williams kept insisting they should pursue it. Not even temporary amnesia had taken the notion from him. Echo Pines was now firmly on William's radar.

The woman emerged from the bathroom wearing the same dress from last night. She'd tamed her tousled hair into a sleek ponytail. Rosy gloss highlighted her lips. "Would you mind?" She turned and pointed to the open zipper at her back.

As I closed the dress, her name snapped into place, "Do you need me to arrange a ride home, Jessica?"...Nailed it.

"Thanks, but I have to get going," She faced him. Her wink and mischievous expression confirmed she'd deliberately used the same response I had given her earlier.

"Okay then," I shrugged.

She retrieved a pair of stilettoes from underneath the bed and slipped them on. "There's a café up the street that serves excellent coffee. You are welcome to join me if you have the time."

"Duty calls. I have got to do some work," I declined.

"On a Saturday? Too bad, but I understand. I have to put in my share of weekends too, at the restaurant."

As they walked out into the living room, she paused , looking around to take in the view she had missed yesterday night. The look in Jessica's eyes conveyed her thoughts.

The room was sumptuous. Expensive. She picked up her beige purse from the couch, "What did you say you did for a living again?" Well I hadn't.

"I'm in real estate."

"Oh, so you're a Realtor?" Interest heightened in her expression. I could tell that she was summing him up in dollar signs. "You could say that," It wasn't a complete lie. NW International invested in hotel and resort properties, along with restaurants and technology related to the industry.

She smiled as she glided one of her hands up my bare chest to his nape, "You know, I get off early tonight if you want to meet up again."

"Sorry, I have to take a pass."

From the understanding look in her eyes, she heard what I wasn't saying aloud. Our time together had ended.

"I should go, then." As she let herself out, she glanced back before closing the door. An image of another, similarly dark-haired woman with flawless naturally bronzed skin flashed in his mind. Amelia...But Amelia's eyes were a unique shade of grey and her smiles had held genuine warmth.