CHAPTER ONE
Sea air had to be the most
refreshing, scintillating fragrance in the world! Or so Tess Jenkins thought as
she stepped off the plane into the brilliant, tropical sunshine of the Cayman Islands . She and Kylie Preston had flown to Miami the night before, stayed at a nice
but inexpensive motel to save money. They woke early, perused the trendiest
shops in South Beach to give themselves that ‘ritzy look’
as Kylie called it. Now they were ushered off the plane like royalty and taken
through the airport security rituals with gentle guidance. Not at all like the
warden meets the prisoners type hassle one usually received during those
moments.
“Am I dreaming?” Tess whispered,
sweeping her luxurious auburn hair away from her face. Her freckled cheeks
dimpled as she smiled; her eyes soft and black as onyx.
The women were shown to a waiting
white limo that glistened like pearls in the sunlight.
“No, darling, you are definitely not
dreaming! This is exactly how I pictured it! Nice to know some things do live
up to their hype.”
They were executing a careful plan
that Kylie had dreamed up years before. She pinched every penny she could get
her fingers on, worked every extra hour allowed at the office, until she had
enough money to take an expensive two week vacation in the Caymans. And, with
Tess’ added savings, they were on their way! But it wasn’t a simple vacation –
they were on the prowl – for billionaire husbands.
Kylie had proposed the idea to Tess
one afternoon after a birthday party at the office, where the usual frat boy hijinks
had soured their attraction to ordinary guys.
“I am so done with this!” Tess
shouted above the childish snickers. “When do men get over the fart jokes and
lewd eyeballing?”
“Most, never,” Kylie sighed. “You
know, I used to watch Gunsmoke with my dad. In one episode Miss Kitty
was ruing the death of an outlaw ex-boyfriend. She said something like, ‘he was
the first real grown-up man I’d known in my life.’ It made me realize I have
never actually known a guy who acted like a grown-up man. And that was
depressing as hell!”
“God, I know what you mean! I’m not
sure where a girl could meet real men, or even if they truly exist … except in
black and white movies and a TV show or two. My mom watches those classic film
channels, and I’ve gotten hooked on them myself. We sit there sometimes five
nights a week, staring at Cary Grant or Joel McCrea or whoever. I don’t think they grow them like that
anymore!”
“That must put a damper on your love
life, sitting at home with your mom every night.”
“What love life? Honestly, Kylie, it
isn’t worth the effort!”
“Hum, I’m beginning to see exactly
how things are with you. I’ve been hatching a plan in my head for awhile now,
and I think it could work out better if I let you in on it. Sit down, Tess, let
me state a proposition to you … and I don’t want you to answer right away. Give
yourself a few minutes to allow the idea to settle.”
Tess eased back onto a chair, tense
with excitement at what Kylie might have to say.
“After my parents died, I took a lot
of time off from my work to think about my path in life. I finally realized
that what I wanted was a man, a real man. But not just some guy I might meet in
a bar. I wanted someone interesting, exciting, a man who could take my breath
away!”
“Like a movie star, maybe?”
“Oh, no, even better than that! I
wanted a billionaire!”
“Dream on, sister!” Tess smiled then
she caught a determined look from Kylie’s face and knew she wasn’t kidding. “I
guess most girls want that, too, Kylie. But it’s a dream, a fantasy …”
“It doesn’t have to be. Once I made
up my mind about it, I started a clear course of action. I studied every book I
could get about manners and etiquette, and style, and sex … the Kama Sutra is quite a blast! Ever read it?”
“No.”
“I highly recommend it. To catch a
rich
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