No Strings__ - By Janelle Denison Page 0,36

to use his time wisely and get some work done, too. He had a meeting with Ricardo, the photographer, after Chloe’s appointment, and he wanted to find the most opportune places to stage some pictures that would best elevate his visual presentation and showcase his marketing ideas for the St. Raphael Resort.

But first, he wanted to talk to Hattie again, to see if he could figure out the best way to merge her traditional matchmaking methods with the resort’s current contemporary approach. Five minutes later, he entered the humid greenhouse and found Hattie talking to another young couple, and he hung back so as not to interrupt their conversation.

Hattie was dressed in yet another cheerful caftan dress, but today she’d worn her long braids down. They were entwined with tiny red flowers, and the length of them nearly reached her waist. As soon as she saw him, her eyes lit up with pleasure, though she didn’t approach him until after the other man and woman left the greenhouse.

“You came back, but where is the pretty woman you were with yesterday?” she asked, tipping her head curiously. “Did I scare her off with my bold prediction that the two of you belong together?”

He chuckled. Chloe didn’t scare easily, and despite the other woman’s claims, he knew the only way he and Chloe would ever be together was between the sheets. And as he’d discovered last night, that wasn’t a bad place to be with a woman as passionate as Chloe.

“Chloe had other things she needed to do,” he explained easily. “I’m here because I’d like to talk to you about your matchmaking abilities. I think the resort’s advertising could really benefit by utilizing you and that hybrid flower as an added draw, to romanticize the island and give guests an extraordinary experience they can’t get elsewhere. It’s a great marketing angle.”

Hattie’s brows furrowed into a frown. “Tell me something. Do you believe I have the ability to know when two people are meant for one another?”

Not wanting to offend the older woman, Aiden thought carefully about his answer before he spoke. “I think your intentions are honest and real, and I think that most people want to find that one special person, which makes it easy for them to believe in your intuition. When it comes to marketing and advertising, that’s all that matters.”

“What made you so skeptical when it comes to love?” she asked, her tone softening as she tended to the potted plant between them.

He shrugged, not wanting to get into a discussion about his failed marriage and bitter divorce with a woman he barely knew. “I’m just practical when it comes to certain things.” Like his feelings for Chloe, which did not include love or a future together. “But that doesn’t mean others wouldn’t benefit from your knowledge and instincts.”

She considered that for a moment as she watered the plant, then met his gaze, a secretive type smile on her lips. “I’ll agree to be a part of this marketing angle you want to use for your campaign, and maybe, by the time you leave the island, you’ll see for yourself that my prediction about you and Chloe is true, that the two of you are meant for one another.”

“Fair enough,” he said, though he already knew that Hattie was going to be sorely disappointed, because despite him and Chloe being sexually compatible, that’s all there would ever be between them.

8

A WHILE LATER, when Aiden met up with Ricardo at their designated time, Chloe was nowhere to be seen. Aiden discussed the shots he wanted with the photographer, and they started their session with candid pictures of the different activities the resort had to offer. He arranged shots of the professional couple having drinks at the underwater bar at the pool, then on to a more romantic setting of them in one of the upgraded bungalows away from the main hotel. Lastly, they did a fun, playful session of the couple at the beach and frolicking in the ocean.

Aiden figured in the next few days he’d have Ricardo take some pictures of Hattie for him to add to his presentation, and he planned to tape a short video interview with her, too. The more the idea of focusing on the sentimental notion of a traditional matchmaker took shape in his mind, the more enthusiastic he became about the entire concept. Aiden didn’t yet know what ideas Chloe was considering for her presentation, but he was confident that he’d