Her Hawaiian Homecoming (Mills & Boon Superromance) by Cara Lockwood Read Free Book Online

Jennifer had shared his bed. She’d been as aggressive there as she was everywhere else in her life. And just as selfish, he thought. It would serve her right if he told the whole island the truth of what had happened between them. Except that they both knew why he wouldn’t do that. It wasn’t just Jennifer after all. There was Kayla, and Dallas wasn’t about to do anything that would hurt that sweet, innocent girl. Jennifer knew it, too. Counted on it.
    “Jennifer.” Dallas’s voice was stern. Jennifer glanced up, worry flickering across her face for a split second. She knew what she’d done, and the honesty of guilt showed in her eyes for the briefest of moments before she quickly buried it beneath a disingenuous smile. That’s right , Dallas thought. Just pretend nothing happened.
    “Dallas,” she purred, and then threw her arms around him as if they were old friends. He staggered back a step, completely taken off guard. The woman had the nerve to touch him? “Good to see you again.”
    Allie’s eyes widened, as she glanced from Dallas to Jennifer and back again.
    “You two know each other?”
    “Oh, we’re old friends.”
    Dallas firmly unclasped her hands from his neck and stepped backward. “No, we’re not.”
    Jennifer flipped her blond hair from her shoulder, not bothering to register the protest. “I was so surprised when Allie here told me you were selling that I wanted to come right over.” Jennifer ignored Dallas’s hot glare.
    “I’m not selling.”
    Jennifer swayed a little, unsteady on her feet. “But Allie said...”
    “Allie doesn’t speak for me.” Dallas set his lips in a thin, determined line.
    “You don’t want to sell?” Now it was Allie’s turn to look dumbfounded.
    “Well...I thought it was too good to be true.” Jennifer considered Allie and Dallas.
    “Now’s the part where you tell Allie the bad news,” Dallas said. He hated being so close to Jennifer and hated that Allie had brought her here, but the fact was, he would enjoy this next part.
    “What bad news?” Allie had no idea what was about to hit her.
    “I’m sure you’ve already considered the problem of selling only Allie’s half.” Dallas tucked his thumbs through his belt loops. Jennifer suddenly looked uneasy.
    “What problem is that?” Allie’s voice was sharp.
    “ My half has the seaside views that the tourists want.” Dallas nodded toward his side of the property, which sloped downward. Allie’s house would have a seaside view, except it was completely obscured by tall coffee trees, dotted with white flowers. Dallas, on the other hand, had a house closest to the beach, nothing on three sides but sparkling blue Pacific Ocean. “Plus, I have indoor plumbing . ”
    “You what ?” Allie’s face bunched up in anger.
    He took a second to enjoy it. Wasn’t his fault that Misu had turned him down when he’d offered to build a bathroom to her cabin when he was doing the same for his.
    “And then there’s the volcano,” Dallas continued, unable to help himself. “Technically, your half of the estate is in Lava Zone Three. I’m in four.”
    “I know about the volcano. But what are the zones?” Allie’s gaze roamed from Dallas to Jennifer and back again.
    “It means that you’re in a more hazardous zone than Dallas is.” Jennifer picked invisible lint from her shirt. “Your house is more likely to be wiped out by a lava flow.”
    “What?” Allie grew pale.
    “The divider line pretty much goes right through the property.” Dallas pointed from one end of the land, drawing an invisible line with his finger straight across the ground. “Because of that, and the lack of a seaside view and plumbing, your half will fetch less than half of what mine will if you’re selling to developers. If we sold our shares together and split the profit, you’d make far more. Isn’t that right, Jennifer?”
    “Well...” His ex tried to hedge, but even as slick as she was, she couldn’t sidestep