Dockside Read Online Free PDF

were other options. She could become a painter, a bookseller, she could train for a triathlon, open a dog-grooming parlor, drive a bus…a thousand possibilities lay before her.
    The trouble was, she wanted this. The Inn at Willow Lake. Nothing else would do. Only she wanted it on her terms, not Greg Bellamy’s.
    Snap out of it, she scolded herself, cinching the robe’s belt snugly around her waist. She had a great kid, a loving family, the chance to serve as mayor. She ought to be counting her blessings, not tallying up her losses.
    Yet when she marched back to the lobby with her clothes in a squishy bundle, she was far from calm. She was still a seething ball of fury.
    Greg had managed to scrounge up a pair of painter’s pants and had paired them with a slightly-too-tight T-shirt. His hair was attractively mussed. The fact that he looked completely hot only made her madder. The friendly, warm gas fire he’d ignited in the salon’s fireplace made her madder still.
    “I’m glad I ran in to you,” he said. “I’d heard you were back from your trip. Is Sonnet okay?”
    “She’s fine.” All right, so he was being nice, asking about her daughter. Of course, he could afford to be. He already had what he wanted.
    “I wanted to set up a meeting this week. We have a lot to talk about.”
    Hugging the oversize robe around her, she went to the settee in front of the annoyingly cheerful fire. “I don’t think there’s anything to say.”
    He smiled. Smiled. “This is an opportunity for both of us. I’m going to need a general manager, and the bank already had a deal with you. Now, about your contract—”
    “The contract.” She rubbed her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache. “It was supposed to be so simple. How did this happen?”
    “It is simple. Bailey retired from the bank and Brooke took over the asset management. She sold me the inn.”
    Nina glared at him. “What did you do, sleep with her to get a good deal on the place?”
    He glared back. “That’s none of your business.”
    All right, Nina thought, that was probably a low blow, but she didn’t care. “I don’t get it. What on earth do you want with this place?”
    “It’s exactly what I’ve been hoping to find. A business that keeps me close to home for my kids, something I like doing. And I know you’re the ideal manager. You’ve got a history with the place, experience running it. You’re perfect.”
    This was so classic. The Bellamys were a favored family. It seemed to Nina that every last one of them had been born with a silver spoon in their mouth. It seemed that fortune denied them nothing. While ordinary people like the Romanos struggled for everything they had, the Bellamys swept in and helped themselves.
    For Nina, even traveling was bad luck. “The deal’s off,” she said tightly.
    “Are you always this angry, or is this something special, just for me?”
    “I had plans,” she snapped. “I know that doesn’t matter to you, but—”
    “Come on, Nina. At least hear me out.”
    “Why should I?”
    He didn’t react to her challenging tone. Instead, he said simply, “No reason. We barely know each other. For what it’s worth, I had plans, too.”
    Plans. “You probably want to turn this place into some kind of overpriced corporate retreat,” she said. “And wouldn’t that be just charming.”
    “Whatever gave you that idea?”
    “I’ve seen the numbers. It’s the best way to turn a profit.”
    “And that’s what I’m all about. Turning a profit.”
    To be honest, she didn’t know what he was about. She didn’t know much about him at all. That hadn’t stopped her from jumping to conclusions about him. She took her fury down a notch.
    “So tell me. I really want to know.”
    He studied her, and there was something in his gaze, some level of trust and confidence. “All my life, I’ve done what I thought I was supposed to do. Ten years ago, I started my own firm in Manhattan because it seemed like