With the SUV’s back seat door already open, I climbed out and extended my hand toward the dark-haired, bearded man who had just greeted me. “Hayden Rivers, I assume?”
The driver had taken me from the private airport straight to the waterfront high-rise where Troy’s friends worked. The moment I had stepped off the plane was an instant reminder I was no longer in LA. The humidity in Florida was something fierce. And here, by the bay, was a bit breezier, but the thickness in the air stayed brutally strong.
“You assumed right.” He shook my hand, his grip as sturdy as I’d imagined it would be for a dude of his stature. “Nice to meet you, my man.” He clasped the back of my shoulder with his other hand. “Welcome to Lauderdale.”
I walked with him toward the entrance of the building.
“Have you been to my city before?”
“I’ve been to South Beach. Orlando—I have a little girl. My brother is in the NHL, so I spent some time in Tampa when he played against them last season. But Fort Lauderdale? Never.”
“You’re going to enjoy it.” He took off his aviators and hooked them to his shirt. “It’s the yachting capital of the world, if you didn’t already know.”
“Troy mentioned the same thing.”
Hayden had Florida written all over him. It was obvious he spent a lot of time on the water by his suntan, a faint line along each side of his face, telling me he normally wore his sunglasses when he was outside. He had green eyes, hair the color of black ink in a high fade with a longer top. A beard that looked professionally edged. The polo was an attempt to be casual. The boating industry typically was, from what I heard, but his pants and the Rolex Yacht-Master on his left wrist brought his attire up a notch.
We were getting closer to the building when he asked, “How’s my man Troy? We miss him around here.”
“He’s doing well.” I laughed. “We’re, unfortunately, keeping him extremely busy.”
He gave me a side-look. “Damn those lawyers.”
I chuckled. “You’re telling me.”
“None of us love that he lives so far away. The five of us who stayed back, I mean. I don’t know how much Troy has told you about our childhood.” When I said nothing, clueless to what he was speaking about, he continued, “Anyway, when he left Florida for Dartmouth, we were gutted. Happy for him, of course. Just wrecked to see our buddy go. We thought he’d come back after law school, but nope, that man is thriving on the West Coast.”
“And your sister, she’s on the West Coast too.”
The two looked nothing alike, so it wasn’t as if I was staringat her twin. In fact, their features couldn’t be any more opposite. But if we were going to spend the next couple of days together, it felt a bit disingenuous not to bring her up. Especially if Troy had mentioned anything to him.
His brows rose and stayed high. “You’ve met Sophie?”
So, Troy hadn’t said anything to him. Neither had Sophie.
Interesting.
I sighed. “Not only have we met, but she represents our biggest rival, who have recently tangled us into a lawsuit, and I’ve had the pleasure of going up against her.”
And I’d had many other pleasures when it came to her body, but I wasn’t going to admit that to her brother.
“Shit, man, I’m sorry.” He opened the door for me. “She’s a tough one … I know.”
I stepped into the large office, the air-conditioning sending my temperature from scorching to freezing, and I immediately smelled something tropical. The scent reminded me of the lobby of any of the Cole and Spade Hotels, their signature aroma continuously piped through the air vents.
As we walked through the space, it was obvious this brokerage did as well as it was rumored to; the double-story vaulted ceilings and impressive furnishings created an ambience of wealth. Of course, their customers spent no less than three million on a boat, so they needed to cater. And from a visual standpoint, they delivered.
When I had first reached out to Hayden, telling him what I had and what I was looking for, he sent a cumulative list of the yachts that met my criteria. From there, I narrowed the thirty-three down to five. No two vessels were alike. The big test was to see how spacious the cabins felt and how the boat handled on the water. If my current yacht were a bit roomier, I wouldn’t be looking to upgrade. But as Ellie got older and more friends joined us on overnights, additional room would be needed.
“My office is back here. We’ll go over the yachts you’ve chosen to view, discuss the details of each, and then we’ll head to your first sea trial.”
“Great.”
We were halfway through the main area, nearing what appeared to be a section of offices. Most had their doors open so I could see in, the water backing up to them. Our corporate office had a hell of a view of LA, but there was something about gazing at the water every day—and that was something we certainly didn’t have in our city.
“I got word this morning that a new boat is about to hit the market.” He checked his phone like he was looking to see if that alert had come in. “Stats on it are a bit vague. I’m waiting to hear back from the owner’s team regarding how many hours are on the engines. If it’s the number I’m anticipating, it’s worth seeing. The problem is, I wouldn’t be able to get you a showing until the day after you’re scheduled to leave. Would it be possible for you to stick around?—”
“Uncle Hay!”
