Reclaiming Her Heart (Serenity Bay Series Book 1) Page 2

  Jasmine chuckled. “I thought you’d say that. So, what orders can I give Jackson? I’ll mention the fence repairs, but I’m not sure when he’ll get around to it.”

  Frank hobbled over to a wheelbarrow and scrummaged through a pile of paper bags and plastic containers. “There’s a leaking tap in the bathroom. And a loose board on the deck.”

  “Noted.” Jasmine held up her phone, sending a quick message to her brother.

  “I got tomatoes for you this time.” Frank held up a crinkled paper bag. “Some are bruised, though.”

  “That’s fine. We’ll have a pasta night sometime this week, so they’ll be put to good use. Thanks Frank.” She peered into the bag, inhaling the fresh, earthy scent of the freshly picked tomatoes. “It’s hard competing with all these organic places popping up along the coast. They charge an arm and leg for their produce, which isn’t really within my budget at the moment.”

  “Organic. Pfft,” Frank grunted. “Most farmers like me were organic before it became trendy. We don’t need any fancy piece of paper to tell us otherwise. Plus, the government makes it too hard with all their certification and the fees they charge.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Jasmine replied, thinking of the pile of invoices waiting for her on the desk in her office. She gazed around the Thompson farm. The long, straw-colored grass swayed in the breeze. To the far right were rows of fertile soil, bursting with vegetables ready for harvest. And the small timber cottage, with its skewed timber shutters and faded paint, stood the same as it had for the past century. “Anyway, is that all I can help with for today? No errands in town?”

  “That’s all.” Frank stood, running a hand over the white whiskers poking out from his chin. “How’s that little munchkin of yours?”

  “She’s good.” A smile touched Jasmine’s lips at the special bond between Eloise and Frank. Without her biological grandparents around, Eloise had adopted Frank as her own. And Frank, widowed and childless, had done the same in return. She hated to think what would happen when Frank was no longer a part of their lives. With a new-found determination, she bid Frank goodbye. There was no way she would allow a hotshot property developer interrupt her way of life.

  Chapter 3

  Elijah groaned at the incessant alarm piercing through his fog-addled brain. He’d only managed a few hours of unsettled sleep and his eyes felt like heavy steel traps. Reaching out a hand, he silenced the alarm before rolling onto his back. He flung one arm over his eyes to block out the light of dawn streaming through the window of his tenth floor apartment. Pity it wasn’t enough to block out the sound of his now ringing phone.

  “I’m awake, I’m awake,” he growled after glimpsing the name on the screen. “You don’t have to check in on me all the time.”

  “Calm down, little brother.” John’s jovial laugh was too much for such an early hour of day. “I know you were working late last night. I was just checking to make sure you’d surfaced in time for our meeting this morning.”

  “Late?” Elijah scoffed as he stared at the ceiling where shadows intermingled with shards of light. “Try early. I finished the paperwork for the Lager contract at some ridiculous hour after midnight.”

  “Good. Good,” John mused. The brothers fell into silence before John’s deep chuckle rumbled through the phone. “Run your own business, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.”

  Elijah ran a hand over his face, willing the fatigue to dissipate. “I think when the mysterious ‘they’ said that, they were probably talking a mom and pop shop, or a home sewing business.”

  “So, a multi billion dollar real estate business doesn’t count?” John laughed. “You up to coming in for the meeting?”

  “Man, are you already at the office?” Elijah glanced at his watch. “It’s only half six, for crying out loud.”

  “I live here,” John replied through a mouthful of something. “Although apparently not at the same time as you.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Elijah closed his eyes. The thought of returning to the offices of Rineholt Enterprises filled him with as much excitement as a trip to the dentist for a tooth extraction. “I’ll be in as soon I can drag my rotting carcass out of bed.”

  “It’s all downhill from thirty, bro. Just down a double shot espresso, and you’ll be as right as new.”

  Elijah groaned as John ended the call. Clutching the phone to his chest, he willed his heavy limbs to move. There was some truth to John’s dig at being over thirty. His body ached with fatigue and his head pounded from lack of sleep. He couldn’t pull all-nighters like he used to.

  Most days, he gave no thought to running the real estate empire with his brother. The ins and outs of running the business were as natural as breathing. However some days he couldn’t get rid of the knots coiling in the pit of his stomach, and running a lucrative property empire felt like the most soul-crushing thing he’d done in his life. Those days were becoming more and more frequent as he spent hours in the office, turning over deals, finalizing contracts and scouring the country for new business. The long hours meant little time for anything else in his life. In fact, the phone call with John had been the closest thing he’d had to decent human contact in several days.

  Sure, he spoke with clients, and had seen employees come and go from the large offices in downtown Los Angeles. But for the most part, his interactions with anyone outside work were minimal because he was too wrapped up in his own head and meeting deadlines to focus on anything else. Work consumed every waking moment.

  He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when he’d switched from loving his job to feeling jaded and worn out, as though a light had gone out in his soul. But somewhere between taking ownership of his family’s business over ten years ago, and now, something had changed.

  Minutes passed before Elijah dragged himself out of bed and ran a cool shower. The chilled water was just what he needed to snap him out of his brain fog and back to reality. Running a hand over his smoothly shaven jaw, he changed into his typical business attire of a navy blue suit with gray shirt and matching blue and gray tie. Grabbing his keys, he rode the elevator to the basement and slid in behind the steering wheel of his Jaguar F-Type coupe. After years of working relentlessly, he’d prided himself on being able to afford such a luxury vehicle. But now … the sleek sports car with its leather seats and gloss black body had lost its shine and was just another meaningless possession reminding him of just how empty his life had become.

  The car’s engine roared to life as Elijah navigated through the city traffic. Slivers of sunlight poked through the highrise buildings like long golden fingers, stretching out over the morning commuters. If he wasn’t required at the office pronto, he would walk. The idea was absurd and made him laugh. He hadn’t walked to work in a long time. In fact, nobody walked in LA. Longer hours meant making the most of his spare time, and walking to the offices halfway across town wasn’t a good use of his time. After pulling into his private car space beneath Rineholt Enterprises, he caught the elevator to the ground floor. Striding through the main doors, he stopped at the coffee cart in front of the office tower and slapped down some coins for a double shot espresso. He knew it would only be a bandaid fix. The quick pick-me-up wouldn’t inject him with the zest for life that had been missing for so long.

  “Good morning.” John glanced up from his position at the head of the large mahogany table when Elijah stepped into the boardroom. The company logo blazed across the screen mounted on the wall behind his back. “Nice of you to show up.”

  “It’s only been like, what, five seconds since you called?” Elijah adjusted the tie at his neck and walked over to the glass wall overlooking the city skyline. “What’s up?”

  “Why does anything have to be up? Can’t I just be glad to see my little brother and business partner?”

  Elijah pulled out a black leather chair from the table and sat down. Leaning his elbows on the table, he ran a hand through his neatly combed hair. “John, I’m tired.”

  “I kno
w. That’s what happens when you stay out past curfew.” A wide grin broke on John’s tanned face. How was it that his brother managed to see more daylight than he did?

  “Not just from slack of sleep. I’m tired of this.” Elijah waved a hand around the spacious boardroom where empty seats and carafes of water on the table awaited the start of another meeting. “The constant chasing after dollars. The long hours. I’m thirty-two and I don’t have a life.”

  With his pen poised above the pad of lined notepaper in front of him, John stared across the table in disbelief. The ticking of a clock on the back wall was the only sound in the room. Swiveling on his chair, John cleared his throat.

  “Right. Well. You need to do something about that.” Tapping his pen on the notepad, he pursed his lips and cocked his head at Elijah. “You know Serenity Bay?”

  Elijah frowned, wondering how they’d gone from his lacklustre life to talking about their next project. “Uh, yes.” He recalled the seaside town they’d been viewing for several months via satellite image. Their research into the small town had shown it to be the ideal location for a lucrative holiday destination and retirement community.

  “Well, the scout we were sending can’t go.”

  “Huh?” Elijah folded his hands behind his head and leaned back in the chair. “Who were we sending? Tony?”

  “Yeah. His wife’s in hospital with a broken leg after she fell down some stairs. She’s okay, but he needs to look after the kids so he can’t make the trip.”

  “Oh, man. Tony’s the best scout we’ve got. He’s got the eye we need.”

  “I know.” John’s deep sigh filled the room. “And I heard there have been four other property developers showing interest. I swear word spreads fast. I’m sure we’ve got a rat in the office, blabbing about our plans.”

  “Are they going there today?” Elijah brushed off his brother’s comment, not wanting to get into office politics. At one time he would’ve asked more questions and tried to find out who was leaking information to their competitors. But now, he couldn’t be bothered with the details of who gossiped over the water cooler.

  “I’ve heard they might be making the trek soon. Not exactly sure when. If we want a chance, we need to beat them up there. We could send …”

  “I’ll go.” The words slipped out before Elijah had a chance to think them through. With a sigh, he leaned back in the chair and gazed out the window at the concrete jungle below. Bumper to bumper traffic lined the streets below. Pedestrians filled the sidewalk as they bustled about their day. Buildings obstructed his view of the San Gabriel mountains. As too did the smog that hovered over the city. “Tony’s the best we’ve got at the moment, and this could easily be millions. If he can’t go, then one of us should. And you can’t.”

  “I’m glad you’ve offered. Because I actually took the liberty of booking you some accommodation for two weeks.”

  “You what?” Elijah glared at his older brother. Although they could read each other well, they were as different as apples and oranges. John’s sandy-blonde hair and deep-set chocolate brown eyes were in stark contrast to Elijah’s chestnut hair and emerald green eyes. John was ruthless. Elijah was more compassionate.

  John tapped the screen of his laptop. “Sorry for jumping the gun, but I’d rather one of us step in with Tony not being able to make it. I have some big name clients I’m meeting with, so I can’t make the trip.”

  “It’s alright. I’ll go.” Elijah waved John’s explanations away. He had no desire to sit in a boardroom rubbing shoulders with potential clients. “Besides, it’ll be good to get out of here for awhile.” Already the thought of leaving the suffocating city behind helped ease the tension in his chest. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken a vacation. Not that a business trip could be considered a vacation. But at least it was a chance to escape the relentless pace of his daily life for a town that looked as close to paradise as he was going to get for some time.

  John lowered his pen to the table and folded his hands on the desk. “Thanks, man. If it’s a complete dump and you don’t think it’s worth our investment, then you won’t need to stay long.”

  “But if it looks promising, I’ll obviously stay. Meet the locals. Play their games. Especially if there are other developers sniffing around.” One of the good things about working with his brother was that they were on the same page with their business plan.

  John nodded, his gaze focused on the laptop screen as he tapped away at the keyboard. “I’ve booked you into one of the local B&Bs. Probably the only one there, given the size of the town. Vista on the Bay.” He slid the laptop around to show Elijah the screen.

  A white Hamptons style house, complete with wraparound porch filled the screen.

  “That looks all right.” Pushing to his feet, Elijah ran a hand across the back of his neck, smoothing out the knots that had become a permanent fixture over the previous few months. “Let me send off a few emails, and then I’ll drive up there.”

  “You sure you don’t want me to organize a driver?”

  Elijah placed his hands on his hips. “If I show up with a driver and my Jaguar, the locals will never agree to anything.”

  John chuckled. “Ain’t that the truth. Anyway, thanks for going.” He walked Elijah to the door of the boardroom and clapped him on the shoulder.

  “No problem at all. Not that I had a choice.” Elijah grinned, trying to quell the unfamiliar swell of anticipation rising in his chest. He couldn’t wait to escape the rut he was in and breathe in the ocean air, even if it was only for a few days.

  Serenity Bay was a good four hours drive from downtown LA. With the radio turned up loud and the windows down in the rental car, Elijah absorbed the changing scenery as the confines of the city became a mere speck in the rear-view mirror. Suburbia gave way to wide open roads with dense forest on one side and the sparkling waters of the ocean on the other.

  After two hours of driving, Elijah pulled into a gravel lookout and walked over to the metal barrier separating the road from the plunging coastline. Waves crashed onto the granite rocks below. Birdsong sounded from nearby trees swaying in the ocean breeze. With hands on his hips, Elijah closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the fresh, salty air. It felt good to be free from the confines of the city. Free from the stifling buildings and relentless pace of a day in the office. Now he just had to scope out the town of Serenity Bay and see what he could leverage to build a new portfolio of development for his company.

  A large white sign at the side of the highway, complete with painted pictures of the ocean, palm trees and tropical birds, welcomed Elijah to Serenity Bay. The sun was dipping west over the ocean, and his head pounded from a lack of caffeine. He followed the directions programmed into the car’s navigation system and pulled into the first space in the parking lot of Vista on the Bay.

  The photos he’d viewed on John’s computer didn’t serve it justice. Manicured lawns led to a wraparound porch, complete with hanging pots of colorful flowers. A love seat filled one end of the porch, and the other contained a rattan setting, complete with day bed and coffee table. Across the road, seagrass swayed in the wind, and Elijah could see the stretch of sand leading to the ocean’s edge.

  “Hey, you can’t park there,” a gruff voice growled as Elijah retrieved his bag from the trunk of the car. He spun around to see a man dressed in a navy blue t-shirt and khaki trousers striding towards him.

  “Sorry?” Elijah set his bag on the grass and glanced around for a no-parking sign. “Is this spot reserved?”

  “Just over there is fine,” the man replied, thumbing to another vacant spot. “You’ve parked in front of a hydrant.”

  “Oh.” Elijah shook his head, wondering why he hadn’t noticed the brightly painted hydrant earlier. Probably because he’d been so lost in thought about the possibilities of actually having some time away from the office. Sure, he’d still be working. But given the beautiful surroundings, it wouldn’t be too hard. Sh
aking his head, the man walked up the stairs and disappeared inside the building.

  “Great start,” Elijah murmured as he slid in behind the steering wheel and moved the car to another spot, ensuring there were no hydrants and no other prohibited areas.

  Flattening the collar of his white polo shirt, he picked up his bag and traipsed up the steps. His shoes clomped across the timber decking, and he eyed the intricate details of the B&B. Whoever the owner was had a great eye for detail.

  Pushing through the front door, a bell tinkled above him announcing his arrival. He strode over to the desk ready to check in. This should be the easy part. Grab the keys to his room. Find a place for dinner. Sleep. And then he’d start the real work tomorrow.

  He wasn’t prepared for the beautiful woman working behind the desk. She glanced up and smiled as Elijah approached, her dark mocha eyes glinting in the overhead light. Her caramel brown hair was pulled into a loose ponytail with fine tendrils curling around her face. She wore no makeup, and yet she was the most exquisite woman he’d laid eyes on. Her smile, revealing a small dimple in her left cheek, sucker-punched him in the gut. Elijah placed a hand on the counter to steady himself and to prevent his knees from giving way. He couldn’t remember such a visceral response to anyone before.

  “Can I help you?” Her smooth velvety voice washed over him, infusing him with warmth and sending his pulse bounding through his veins.

  His mouth went dry.

  Chapter 4

  Jasmine knew who the man was as soon as he stepped foot inside the door. His immaculate clothing, although casual, oozed wealth. And those eyes. The photos she’d been ogling didn’t show the intensity of their color. Nor did they show just how square his jawline was, or the flick of his hair as it curled at the nape of his neck.

  She eyed him as he glanced around the foyer. She could almost see the dollar signs in his eyes as he formed judgment about the B&B. She’d seen his type before. Smooth. Arrogant. In fact just last week there’d been another one who had asked all sorts of questions about the town, her B&B, Frank Thompson’s farm, and then disappeared without a trace.