“Kerri let me in,” he said before Jessica could even ask the question.
Kerri was the owner of the building and the boutique downstairs. And of course she’d let Colton in even though Jessica had never left any express instructions about who should and should not be let into her locked office.
Kerri had just assumed, because Jessica and Colton had a long, twisted history in this town.
After a long day with a difficult man, her landlady’s assumptions irritated Jessica. But she wasn’t about to tell Colton that because she owed him so much.
“So how’d it go?” Colton asked, dropping his feet to the floor. “You guys were gone all day. I was starting to get worried.”
“Topher wants a castle,” she said with a little eye roll. “Or maybe a bachelor’s pad. I’m not sure which.”
“What?” Colton leaned forward with a deep frown.
“Have you seen his yacht?” Jessica asked.
“No, why?”
“It’s named Bachelor’s Delight. Honestly, who names a boat—”
Colton started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“That’s the name of a famous pirate ship,” he said.
“What?”
He whipped out his iPhone and peered into the screen. “Siri,” he asked, “who sailed Bachelor’s Delight?”
Siri dutifully responded, “I found this on the web.”
Colton made a few keystrokes. “Edward Davis,” he said. “He lived in the 1600s and was some kind of English privateer. His boat, which had thirty-six guns, according to this Wikipedia entry, was named Bachelor’s Delight.”
“You and your pirates,” she said with an eye roll.
He smirked. “If you had ever studied up on your local pirates, maybe the name of Topher’s boat wouldn’t have ticked you off. The original Bachelor’s Delight is one of the most famous pirate ships around, along with Captain Teal’s Bonnie Rose and Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge.”
“Okay. So I’m uninformed about historic pirate ships. But it doesn’t change the way Topher Martin’s boat is fitted out. Hugh Hefner would feel right at home.” She stalked forward to stand in front of Colton. “Out of my chair. I need to think.”
“And you can’t think on your feet?” he asked with a smirk.
“Out.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He hopped up onto the edge of the desk, and she flopped back into her chair. “I spent the whole day thinking he was an egotistical maniac because of the boat’s name. Although really, there were other things that convinced me of that. His grandfather wanted to build some kind of big house out there just to prove that the Martins are as important as the Howlands. And the bed in the captain’s quarters is round, with satin sheets.” She shook her head.
“Really?” Colton’s tone changed to avid interest, or maybe concern. “How’d you get to see the captain’s quarters?”
She cocked her head. “I went to the head, and I snooped.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t know, Colton. He really wants a castle so he can retire from the world and brood. Did you hear about his accident?”
Colton nodded. “So, is it bad?”
She shrugged. “Not his face so much. But he’s got challenges. Physical ones.”
“Does this mean you’ve forgiven him?”
“No. It means my empathy has kicked in, and I wish it hadn’t. I heard that his family is dead set against him moving out there, and I kind of see why.”
“So you’re going to shoot yourself in the foot and walk away from this job?”
“Heck no.” She pulled the signed agreement out of her tote bag. “I’m charging him double my going rate.”
“Well, if you can’t forgive him, taking his money is an alternative,” Colton said with a grin.
“Yeah. I guess.” But in the back of her mind, something—probably her conscience—niggled. Did taking his money make her craven? Or ugly? Or…
She stopped the negative thoughts before they overwhelmed her. Even now, years later, she could hear Daddy calling her names that made her feel ugly and unwanted. And then he’d sent her away.
“What are you thinking?” Colton asked. “You’ve got that faraway look in your eyes.”
She shook her head and forced a smile. “Nothing. Just tired.”
“Well, I’ve got a solution for that. Let’s go have dinner at Aunt Annie’s place.” He stood, snagging her by the arm and pulling her from her chair.
She came to her feet but resisted his pull. “Um. No. I’m really tired,” she said.
“C’mon, I’ll feed you. And I’ll assuage your conscience for having charged Topher Martin twice your rate.”
She shook her head. “No.” The truth was she didn’t want to be seen at Annie’s place with Colton again. They’d had dinner there three times last week.