Lie to Me (2 page)

Before he could respond or step out of her light, a shriek from the young blond girl split the air. “Derrick, Rafe, don’t you dare!”

He glanced over his shoulder to see two boys–dark-haired, nine-ish, and obviously twins–charging toward the girls, one of them holding a wiggling fish. Screams ensued as the little girl took off running.
 

“You boys!” The older girl leapt to her feet. “Leave Nicki alone!”

The race continued along the water’s edge, with the little girl screaming as if pursued by an axe murderer. Luc cringed, wondering how a child so small and sweet-looking could emit a sound shrill enough to peel paint. He looked down, expecting the woman at his feet to jump into action. She didn’t even twitch.
 

As the screams turned to wails of distress, he saw the boys had caught the girl and dropped the fish down her swimsuit. The third, younger boy held his sides as he doubled over with laughter.
 

“Derrick, Rafe, you little beasts!” The older girl raced along the wet sand to rescue the girl she’d called Nicki. “AJ, this is
not
funny!”

Luc frowned at the supine figure on the towel. How could any adult hear such a ruckus and not react? He could see the little girl wasn’t in serious danger, but this woman had her eyes covered. “Are you even going to look and see if everything’s okay?”

“Is anyone bleeding?” she mumbled, as if half asleep.

“No.”

“Are Nicki and Lauren asking me to help?”

“No.”

“Then they can obviously handle it.” She yawned.

He scowled, knowing kids didn’t always ask for help, even when they could use some. Like the time the football team stuffed him into his gym locker.
 

“You’re still blocking my sun,” she murmured.

He studied how his shadow stretched across her body, molding to the curves, and felt a jolt of arousal as he imagined his actual body doing the same. “Just enjoying the view.”
 

The thickening of his voice must have finally woken her. She visibly tensed, then slowly lifted a corner of the magazine to peek up at him. Hazel eyes—Chloe’s eyes—widened with surprise.

“Oh, my God.” She sat upright. “I didn’t realize—” As if finally registering the noise she glanced around him toward the kids. “Lauren, is Nicki okay?”

Luc looked over to see the older girl throwing the rescued fish back into the water while the toddler scrubbed tears off her cheeks. The three boys were laughing as they headed for the pier.

“I’ve got her,” the older girl hollered as she hurried to comfort Nicki.

“I’m so sorry.” Looking up at him, Chloe pressed a hand to her chest as if to still a racing heart. “I didn’t know you were a guest. Um, hello, how can I help you?”
 

He wanted to say hello back, but his tongue felt tied as he stared at her incredible face. The fullness she’d had as a girl had vanished, revealing high cheekbones and a tapered jaw. Long, dark lashes surrounded eyes that looked bigger than he remembered.
 

“Are you checking in?” She smiled at him. The smile turned into a grimace, though, when he didn’t answer. “I can’t believe I was so rude. Forgive me. Long day.”
 

After glancing at his watch, he managed to untie his tongue. “It’s barely past noon.”

“When you work at a B&B, your day starts before dawn.” Laughing, she gestured toward the kids. “Add in these guys, and just getting to noon is a long day.”

As Chloe stood, Luc struggled not to drool over her body, clad in nothing but a string bikini, and her thick, sable hair that fell to her waist.
 

“If you need to check in, Rory or Chance should be in the office,” she said, reaching for a shirt lying on her beach bag. The gauzy orange fabric did little to hide the body beneath, while the color, combined with her pink swimsuit, brought to mind a juicy sorbet. One he’d dearly love to taste. “Unless they weren’t expecting you until later.”

“I’m not checking in,” he managed to say.

“You’re not? Oh. Then, how can I help you?” She gave him a smile so cordial he blinked in surprise. Chloe Davis, the girl who’d rarely given him the time of day, was smiling at him?

Because she didn’t recognize him.

The realization blazed into his brain. Followed by scenarios that started with a little flirtation, which led to a date and—eventually, hopefully—wild sex, then ended with her royally pissed when he told her who he was and why he was there. As much as he liked the middle part of that fantasy, it wouldn’t help him get his grandmother’s necklace back.
 

What if he didn’t take it that far, though? Would it hurt to postpone telling her everything for a bit? Just to see if she liked the new Luc Renard? Warming to the idea, he took off the sunglasses, hooked them in the neck of his shirt, and gave her his best smile.

Chloe’s friendly mood dimmed when the stranger went from staring at her to grinning seductively. That was when his physical appearance registered and she pegged him as the kind of guy she avoided like the plague, from the Versace sunglasses and cool dude clothes, down to the TAG Heuer watch. She’d known too many privileged rich guys through the years, from boys to men. Most of them thought they could have anything they wanted, whether it was illegal, unethical, or immoral, because rules didn’t apply to them. She would bet this one was no different.

He was gorgeous, she’d give him that, with a ripped body that would require hours in a gym to maintain. His face had a square jaw, strong cheeks, and yummy green eyes that would curl most girls’ toes. The hair, though, was what really marked him as a guy with too much style and not enough substance. He wore it slightly long and in layers that made it look naturally shaggy, like he just rolled out of bed and ran his hands through it, but she suspected it took a clever stylist to create a look that sexy.
 

What was he doing here, though? Men, gorgeous or otherwise, rarely came to Pearl Island without a wife or girlfriend at their side. Glancing past him, she didn’t see any signs of a woman. “Well, if you’re not here to check in, how can I help you?”

“Now, there’s an interesting question.” His smile shifted so it looked half amused, half embarrassed, but totally hot.
Sheesh
, she thought. Did he practice looking humble in the mirror to reel women in? “I don’t suppose we could go inside, out of this sun, to discuss it?”

“I’d love to. Except...” She shrugged. “I can’t right now. I’m babysitting.”
 

“Babysitting? Then I take it none of these are yours?”
 

“Heavens no.” She laughed.
 

“Glad to hear that.” Relief flashed across his face.
 

She started to mentally roll her eyes as she waited for him to hit on her, but stopped herself. For the past few years, working at the Pearl Island Inn, she’d felt like the lone single person at a never-ending, all-couples dinner party. Now that fate had dropped an obviously interested guy in front of her, didn’t she owe it to herself to give him a chance? Maybe this time well-dressed and gorgeous didn’t equal conceited jerk.
 

But before she could do something radical, like flirt back a little, one of the children screamed her name.
 

She turned to scowl at Lauren. While she genuinely adored the kids, couldn’t they stay out of trouble for five minutes?
 

Lauren pointed toward the end of the pier. “
Stop AJ!
”

Chloe glanced in that direction but saw no sign of the little rascal. Instead she saw her cousins, Derrick and Rafe, standing at the end of the pier staring into the water. Which meant AJ must have jumped in. AJ could swim like a fish, but Lauren’s little brother had a knack for turning the simplest outing into a life-threatening adventure.

“He’s trying to swim to the shipwreck!” Lauren screamed. “They dared him!”

“Oh, no.” Chloe took off across the sand like a sprinter off the starting block. By the time she reached the pier, her heart pounded as loudly as her feet against the wood.
 

The twins jumped with guilt when they saw her charging toward them. “We didn’t think he’d do it.”

Without breaking stride, she dove straight into the water, angling down for a fast descent. The saltwater stung her eyes, but she didn’t dare close them. Swimming hard, she continued down until her lungs ached. Just when she feared she’d reached the point of no return, she spotted AJ swimming back up, his eyes frantic. Grabbing his arm, she turned and kicked for all she was worth. The burn in her lungs threatened to engulf her by the time she broke the surface, where she sputtered and gasped for breath. The silence beside her drove her panic higher.

With one arm wrapped about AJ’s now limp body, she kicked for the pier. The second she reached the ladder, a pair of big hands reached down to grab the boy and hoist him out of the water.
 

She scurried up the ladder to find the blond stranger kneeling over AJ, his mouth covering the boy’s. The other children hovered in a circle. Little Nicki clung to Lauren, both girls crying, while the twins stared with wide eyes. Her mind raced with a million nightmarish thoughts, each one ending with AJ dead. It would all be her fault. She was supposed to be watching the children. She’d never forgive herself.

The instant the man lifted his head and pressed a hand to AJ’s diaphragm, the boy spewed water from his mouth. The man rolled him to his side so he could expel water all over the pier.

As AJ convulsed in a fit of coughing, Chloe scrambled over on her hands and knees. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine.” The man laid a hand on her shoulder to hold her back. “Just give him room to catch his breath.”

“Oh my God. Oh my God!” Her whole body shook as she watched the boy struggle to breathe.

Finally, AJ rolled to his back and let his arms flop to his sides. Blond curls stuck to his face as his narrow chest rose and fell. He managed a laugh through labored breathing. “Wow, that was sick.” AJ’s way of saying something was super cool.

“You brat,” his sister Lauren said through her tears. “I’m telling Mom.” Lifting a sobbing Nicki onto her hip, Lauren marched up the trail toward the inn.
 

Chloe looked at the twins still shaking with fear. “You two are toast when your father hears about this.”

“It wasn’t our fault,” Derrick insisted, the picture of innocence. “AJ’s the one who bet us he could swim to the shipwreck. Honest. All we did was say no way.”

“So you dared him?” She wanted to strangle them.

“We didn’t think he’d actually do it,” Derrick said.

“When has he ever
not
taken you up on a dare?” she demanded.

“We didn’t dare him. Honest.” Derrick crossed a finger over his heart.

“Never mind,” Chloe said. “Everybody up to the inn. Now.”

AJ struggled to stand on wobbly legs, so she hoisted him onto her hip. Not an easy feat, since he’d passed fifty pounds.
 

“Need some help?” the man asked.

“No, I’ve got him,” she said, wanting to groan. What a way to make a good impression, right when she’d decided that’s what she wanted to do. “Just don’t go away. I’ll be right back.”
 

She hurried after the twins, who were stomping toward the inn like defiant prisoners. Halfway up, she glanced back at the handsome stranger and found him frowning. What was she thinking, telling him to stand in the sun and wait for her?
 

“Actually,” she called, “come up to the inn. I’ll make this fast and be right with you.”

Turning, she resumed herding her cousins. At least this interruption gave her a little time to decide if she had the guts to flirt with a total stranger who looked like he’d left a trail of broken hearts and broken promises in his wake.
 

Chapter 2

Luc stood on the dock, stunned by the interest he’d seen in Chloe’s eyes in that instant right before the girl had screamed. While the boy nearly drowning had created a major distraction, now he felt flummoxed all over again by the alluring way her lips had started to curve.
 

Was Chloe Davis attracted to him? The thought had him pushing his wet hands into his hair to keep his mind from blowing. Talk about a dream come true.

What would happen, though, when he told her who he was?
 

In his world of diehard gamers, telling a woman he was Luc Renard, creator and as-yet-undefeated champion of Vortal, usually meant a guaranteed score. Being featured in a
Fortune
article on the new breed of billionaires had the same effect on women who didn’t care about his game. None of those women, however, had ever seen the old Luc. The nerd version. That’s what Chloe would remember, though. She’d been a sassy and confident tomboy who fit in equally well with football jocks and popular girls, while he hadn’t been worth her time.

Would her current attraction overcome her memory of him as the chubby kid in dorky glasses who spent every moment with his nose glued to a gaming device?
 

As much as that possibility appealed to him, it also complicated things. He hadn’t made this trip with any expectation of hooking up with Chloe. He’d come to get his grandmother’s necklace back. If remembering him didn’t kill her attraction, finding out why he’d come would likely do it. According to the article he’d read, she’d had to fight hard to be declared owner of the ancient piece of jewelry. How thrilled would she be when he took it away from her?