Page 3 of An Heir Made In Hawaii (Hot Winter Escapes)

Latching on to that rational excuse, she channeled the unexpected jolt into the glare she slanted at him. He arched an amused brow. The chiseled planes of his angular face and defined jawline made the contrast of deep blue eyes that always seemed to glint with amusement all the more alluring.

He’s the enemy!her brain screamed.Stop fantasizing!

“Cut the crap, Nick. Why are you here?”

His grin flashed once again, confident and sexy. “I like that you still hold on to your American phrases.”

“And I like you when you’re not around.”

“You wound me, Anika. We’re not only colleagues but neighbors. Shouldn’t we at least act hospitable to one another?”

“I’ll acknowledge that we are, unfortunately, neighbors,” Anika replied. “However,colleagueswould imply we both work for a living. I work, whereas you splash your face on magazines and reap the money of the hard work done by your employees as you plot how to take over small businesses like mine and add to your treasury. So I thinkcolleaguesis a bit too generous a term.”

His smirk spread into a smile. She blinked, uncomfortable with the heat flickering low in her belly. Yes, the man was handsome. But he was also a pampered, sneaky snake.

“This is fun. We should talk more.”

“I’m insulting you, not conversing.”

“Still, one of the more enjoyable conversations I’ve had in ages.”

“Did you follow me here?” she asked, trying to get him back on track.

“I was invited to be a guest speaker for one of the conference’s panels in the spring. I’ve been slated to speak for months.”

“You might have mentioned that when I told you I was going,” she snapped.

“And risk you canceling? I couldn’t have that, especially,” he added as his voice deepened, “as this might just be the thing to bring us together.”

Alarm skittered through her. “There’s no ‘us,’ Nick. Never is, never will be.”

His smile didn’t falter even as his gaze sharpened, intense and suddenly focused on what he wanted. There was the heir apparent to his father’s hotel empire, the man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. The next time he’d visited the inn, a bigger offer in hand, he’d stood in her lobby like he already owned it. When she’d ordered him to leave, he’d listed all the repairs she was facing down, a list that had made her inwardly wince as he included the estimated costs for each repair. Yet it had also reinforced her resolve that he was the last person on the earth she wanted to hand over the inn to. That he had violated her privacy to such an extent, dug so deeply into her personal finances to acquire his own goals, had driven her to slide the offer out of the folder, hold it up and rip it down the middle right in front of his eyes.

He’d been back. Oh, he’d been back repeatedly through the summer, each offer more than the last.

Which made her all the more determined to keep his greedy hands off her family’s inn.

“Why do you resist? My offer could do nothing but help you.”

“I think you mean ruin,” she shot back, hating that his tone stayed so calm and collected while hers vibrated with indignation. “With how much you’re always off gallivanting around the world—”

“Miss me, Pierce?”

His hand came up and brushed a stray tendril of hair back from her face. Something crossed his face, something that made her stomach flutter.

Then it was gone, so quickly she wondered if she’d imagined it.

Get a grip.

Her reaction to Nicholas was simple biology. Whether she liked it or not, he was attractive. She hadn’t dated anyone in nearly two years, and the couple of times she and Zachary had attempted sex, it had been less than satisfying.

Don’t think about sex! Not aroundhim.

“I miss the solitude and peace I enjoy when you’re not around. Now go away, let me enjoy my morning and,” she added sharply, “keep your fancy manicured hands off my property.”

He reached down and, before she could pull away, threaded his fingers through hers and held up her hand. Their palms met, pressed together in an intimate caress that swept through with a fiery intensity. It took a moment for the reality of his calloused skin to penetrate her shock.

“I’ve never gotten a manicure.”

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