Star-Crossed Scandal. Kimberley Troutte
Fifteen
For centuries, the Harpers have masterminded shrewd business deals.
In the 1830s, cattle baron Jonas Harper purchased the land grant of Plunder Cove on the now affluent California coast. It’s been said that the king of Spain dumped the rich land because pirates ruthlessly raided the cove. It is also said that no one saw a pirate ship after Jonas bought the land for a rock-bottom price paid with pieces of eight.
Harpers pass this tale on to each generation to remind their heirs that there is a pirate in each of them. Every generation is expected to increase the Harper legacy, usually through great sacrifice, as with oil tycoon RW Harper, who sent his children away ten years ago.
Now RW has asked his children to return to Plunder Cove—with conditions. He is not above bribery to get what he wants.
Harpers don’t love; they pillage.
But if RW’s wily plans succeed, all four Harpers, including RW, might finally find love in Plunder Cove.
Hot, dreamy sex.
That’s what the man stepping out of the limo exuded. And pulsing music. If Nicolas Medeiros was a song, he’d be a Brazilian beat, throbbing with dance, liquid fire and lyrics a girl couldn’t get out of her head.
Standing between her two brothers at the entrance to the Plunder Cove resort, Chloe Harper had a moment to drink Nicolas in while he talked on his cell phone and waited for the driver to bring his luggage out of the trunk. The long sleeves of his sharkskin-gray shirt were rolled up to reveal tanned, muscular forearms. His dark charcoal slacks accentuated his thin waist, and his suit jacket was casually slung over one shoulder. He was the adult version of the teen heartthrob Chloe Harper had fallen in love with a long time ago.
She fanned herself.
“Are you okay?” Jeff, her brother closest to her in age, wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“Hell, you, too?” Matt, her oldest brother, grumbled as he studied her. “This morning Julia had that same look on her face when I mentioned that Nicolas Medeiros was coming to town and staying at the resort. What’s the big deal?”
“He’s a big deal,” Chloe whispered.
Nicky M had been a pop star legend back in the day, and now he was a huge music producer who had discovered several of the biggest names on the charts. He was a legend! More than that, he was...her Nicky M. When she was eleven years old, Chloe had kissed his poster every night before she went to sleep. He’d been her savior when no one else cared. And now her crush was striding up the walk of her family’s resort with those dancing hips. And if they made a good enough impression, he’d sign a deal to do his next pop music reality show here.
As the resort’s activities director, she was the one who would be showing him around. Her family had given her the task of getting his name on the dotted line.
They’d be spending a lot of time together.
She made a strange noise at the back of her throat that sounded like a closed-off squeal.
“Oh, man. You’ve got it bad. Maybe we should give the job to someone else,” Matt teased.
“Don’t you dare!” she said way too loudly. Nicky M—correct that, Mr. Medeiros, her guest, her job, looked up from his call.
“Relax, Chloe,” Jeff said out of the corner of his mouth. “Dad wants the deal to work and so do I. Medeiros and his music production company are the next step in building the resort to its full glory. It’s up to you to convince him that he needs us.”
She shot Jeff a dirty look. “Is that supposed to make me relax?”
Matt laughed. “Just do your thing, sis. He’s a guy. He’ll love you.”
She bit her lip. Oh, she’d spent many lonely nights fantasizing about being loved by Nicky M, all right, but that’s not what her brother meant.
“Mr. Medeiros!” Jeff offered his hand. “Welcome to Casa Larga Resort at Plunder Cove. I’m Jeffrey Harper, the executive director of the resort and restaurant.”
Nicolas put his cell phone away and the two men shook hands.
“You remember Matt, your pilot from LA,” Jeff said. While Jeff ran the operations of the family’s resort empire, Matt pursued his passion of flying. He offered flights to important resort guests and volunteered his skills with locals in need.
“Of course. The flight was short and sweet. You are a very good pilot.” Nicolas shook hands with Matt, too.
Oh...that voice! His deep, melodious Brazilian Portuguese accent had played a part in quite a few of Chloe’s fantasies. She wished he’d take off those dark sunglasses. She longed to see his eyes.
Stop it! She warned herself. She shouldn’t be longing to see any of his body parts. Chloe had made a deal with herself to steer clear of men for a while and was determined to keep it. Looking was fine, but acting on her desires was out of the question.
“Dad sends his apologies for not meeting you himself. He’s not feeling well,” Jeff said poignantly.
That was an understatement. The last time Chloe had checked in on her father, he’d been sitting in his room with the shades drawn, fighting the downward spiral into his dark place. Her father had fought with untreated depression for decades. She’d dealt with the dangerous effects of it as a small child, before the stress led to her parents’ divorce, but then she’d left the family estate with her mother. And she hadn’t understood her dad’s mental illness until she saw it up close. If he didn’t come out of it soon, Chloe would disobey his wishes and bring a psychiatrist into the home, the rumor mill be damned. RW Harper was a powerful man and few people bucked his orders, but she was worried about him and would do whatever it took to help him.
“That is too bad. I was hoping to talk to the great RW Harper. Plus, I have questions about the contract he sent me,” Nicolas said.