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Chapter One

Carefully balancing a tray of drinks,Rhett Ellington wound his way through the crowded Pelican Pub, deftly avoiding any disastrous collisions. To his visitor’s eye, it seemed as if the entire population of Brookwell Island was here for tonight’s trivia game.

His sister, Harper, had warned him it would be a crush and—foolishly—he’d shown up anyway. As promised, he hadn’t interfered with her team. Hadn’t even gathered a team to compete against her, though he’d been tempted. Few things in his life gave him the same immense satisfaction as riling his little sister.

Instead, he behaved himself, hanging out near the dart boards with a few friends of his own—old and new. And when Harper’s team had come out on top, he’d picked up this round to celebrate their success.

Reaching the booth, he set the tray down. Three women eagerly claimed glasses of wine, leaving behind his bottle of beer and a white wine spritzer. Their fourth, Trina Bollani, had left the table sometime between his taking their order and returning with it.

He fought against an urge to be offended. She generally didn’t care for him much, but by some tacit agreement, they managed to be civil for Harper’s sake. He wasn’t sure exactly when or how Harper and Trina had become best pals, but it was already obvious the woman would be a permanent member of his sister’s inner circle.

Everyone in the pub was buzzing about the success of Harper’s team. With good reason. So far this season they’d won every match. Between them, there was plenty of brain power, and quite a diverse collection of life experience, no matter which members of the group showed up.

Tonight, Harper and Trina were joined by Nina Reynolds and Lila Upton. Nina and Lila had been raised here on the island, and both owned businesses on Central Avenue.

Even though Trina hadn’t returned, he raised his beer and toasted the team. “Congratulations!”

It wouldn’t kill him to repeat the gesture when she came back to the table. This entire endeavor had been an effort to show Harper that he could be warm and friendly, even toward the woman he considered his nemesis.

Trina was a lot of things, most of them good, to an objective observer. If asked, even he would agree she was an asset as the manager of the historic Inn on Brookwell Island. Unfortunately, he struggled to maintain an impartial detachment for more than a few minutes at a time.

He was grown, with a list of accomplishments to be proud of and yet, a glimpse of her could still toss him back to his college days. Specifically, the year he and Trina butted heads during an elite hospitality internship in France. It had been an unparalleled pressure cooker and she’d shown him up at every opportunity.

And if he shared those stories with his sister, she would only call him petty and tell him to grow up. Rhett couldn’t remember the last time he was in the mood for such a lecture.

“Where is Trina?” he queried.

Although the drinks were definitely to celebrate, he also hoped to get some feedback from the four women on some special package ideas designed to cater to a girls’ night out crowd. He wanted to create options that would draw more locals to the Ellington Cove resort he managed in Key West, Florida along with all-inclusive packages that would make the resort an enticing destination for long weekends or full vacations. As hospitality professionals, he could knock around ideas with his sister anytime, but he’d heard Nina often planned “girl weekends” for her friends. He’d like to get more insight from the customer viewpoint to help him fine tune the package details and price points.

Harper glanced around. “She’s probably caught up in a conversation.”

Seated across from them, Lila looked around that area of the pub for their friend. “Everyone has taken a shine to her and wants her to feel at home,” Lila explained. “We probably pester her too much when she’s out living her life.”

Nina laughed. “I don’t regret a thing. She’s finally come on a couple of girl weekends,” she explained to Rhett.

“And we all know how those go.” Lila grinned like the Cheshire cat with valuable intel.

Rhett was clearly missing the inside joke, but he didn’t push. He was thrilled to see his sister so happy.

The trivia team flexed a bit from week to week depending on kids, husbands, and other commitments. From what he’d heard, Harper and Trina were the anchors of the group, showing up consistently to have fun and test their knowledge against whatever topics the host came up with.

He couldn’t remember the last time his sister had been this relaxed. And good for her, developing a true friendship with Trina after seeing each other infrequently as kids when their parents got together.

He nudged her with his elbow. “This island looks good on you.”

“Thanks.” She beamed.

He always assumed his little sister had a big social life. Until ugly recent events proved him wrong. Still unsettled over how far off he’d been about her life and happiness, he made an effort to visit more, despite his commitments to the family interests in Key West. That meant hanging out in the greater Charleston area along with plenty of time here on Brookwell.

Fortunately, his team down at the Cove was the best. They worked well and made good decisions without his constant presence or excessive hand-holding. And he had the revenue numbers to back him up if anyone questioned his schedule or methods.

For years now, he and Harper had competed to show the best profits at the quarterly meetings. No one was handing out trophies or actually keeping score—other than the two of them. The friendly rivalry was mostly fun and everyone benefited from their consistently innovative ideas.

“I’d like to say the same for you.” Harper kept her voice low. “But I’m half-afraid you’re only here to get an inside track on the Inn.”

“That’s not it.” But admitting he wanted to stay close to her and the rest of their family only opened him up for more concern.

She scowled. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you it’s not going to come up for sale. Especially not with Trina at the helm.”