Priceless Treasure(8)

“Of course, darling,” he told his fiancée. “It’s just that we have a lot going on down here at the moment.”#p#分页标题#e#

“You always have a lot going on, Ashton. But our wedding is important, too,” she said with a pout.

Maybe she was trying to be adorable right now, but he could hardly focus on her when the docks were such a hive of activity. That didn’t mean he didn’t care about his fiancée; it just meant he was a busy man. Good. That thought made him feel better about himself already.

“I agree fully. I’m sorry,” he told her. He moved across the room and commanded himself to give his full attention to this beautiful woman, a woman polished in every way.

“Good.” Then she began babbling again as she pointed to little squares on the giant piece of paper in front of them.

He lasted only about sixty seconds before his head was turning back toward the windows. How much longer was this going to take?

“Okay,” she said, “I think that takes care of the seating.”

Great! This was all done. He’d been able to keep his eyes open during the bit about who was to sit where during the upcoming ordeal — or ordeals, to get technical.

“Now we’ll look at food.”

No, of course it wasn’t done. She grabbed his hand and led him over to another table in his office, and he saw a giant notebook sitting there. Damn, elopement was sounding better and better by the moment. But Kalli would never be okay with that. Sigh.

“I’ve finalized the reception menu. Javier has outdone himself, I’ll have you know,” she said with a high-pitched laugh.

Why hadn’t he ever noticed how annoying that sound was? But as soon as that thought came to him, he shook his head. There was something seriously wrong with him today. He had to remind himself again what a great catch this high-society woman was.

“Why don’t we stop planning for a few minutes?” he asked as he reached for her, pulling her against his body.

“Ashton, I have an appointment in one hour. We have to get as much done as possible,” she told him, pushing against his hold.

“It can wait.”

He leaned down and kissed her, urging his body to respond, to feel passion, heat. Finally, she reached up, wrapped her hands around his neck and pressed against him. After a few moments, he released her mouth.

“That was lovely,” she said before tugging against him again.

This time he let her go. Dammit! There had to be something seriously wrong with him, because Kalli was flawlessly beautiful. He had no idea whether everything was real, but it was definitely spectacular.

And he hadn’t even managed to get an inkling of an arousal with that kiss.

Kalli opened the wedding planning book, and Ashton found himself wandering back over to the window. What he saw certainly stirred his blood far more than that kiss just had. Savvy was still out there, and she seemed to be sidling up to one of his men, flaunting all her charms. If he had anything at all to do with it — and he did — it was going to stop.

“I’m going to have to cut this meeting short, my … my love. It appears as if there’s a problem on the docks,” he said. He had to fight to prevent his anger from showing in his voice.

Just then Kalli’s phone went off. Talk about being saved by the bell. Or the ringtone. Whatever.

“That works out well, Ashton, because that’s my mother texting. The appointment was moved up.”

Within seconds, she was packed up and walking away. Ashton stayed where he was, gazing out the window. He wanted his temper to cool down a bit, and he definitely wanted his fiancée gone before he went outside.





Chapter Four
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I might have to admit that nothing is worth this grunt work. Not finding treasure, not working on the ocean, not getting my PhD. Nothing.”

Grumbling as she stretched on her tiptoes to clean the side of the boat, Savannah almost slipped and took another nosedive into the cold Pacific Ocean. For once, her klutzy limbs didn’t fail her, though, and she managed to stabilize herself.

But she really hated ladders, and she knew only too well that falling into the water would be even worse the higher up she was. Basic physics plus an earlier experience this week. Luckily, the boss hadn’t been around for that little mishap, her second plunge into the brine. She was tired, sore, and more than ready to give this up and go back to the library.

But, no, she had never been a quitter, and she wasn’t about to start now. No way, no how. Plus, this was good. She’d put on about ten pounds in the last couple of years which she wasn’t too happy about. Working on the docks this summer should help her shed that extra weight in no time at all.