Her worst enemy is the one man she can't resist.
Maria Martinez thought it was a dream come true when Ritchie Perez - a sweet and sexy guy she met volunteering at a soup kitchen - took her delinquent little brother Joey under his wing. But her drea...
"Holy shit!" Joey yelled as Ritchie pushed the throttle forward and the boat took off, planing over the water. Ritchie just looked back over his shoulder and grinned. Maria didn't even give Joey an admonishing look herself, because she knew exactly how he felt.
When Ritchie asked her if she'd rather take the speedboat or the yacht she'd thought he was joking. So not the case. The three partners had a yacht – a yacht - with an actual crew. But they used it for longer trips, he explained, like down to Key West. Bimini was a short 45 miles from Miami, and a fast boat could make the run in under two hours. The 35 foot Baja Outlaw they were now flying over the water on was like no other speedboat Maria had ever seen. When she'd told Ritchie it looked like something drug runners would use, he'd just laughed and told her criminals weren't the only ones who liked power and speed.
Ritchie told her he and Jonathon had planned to sail over. At that point, she gave up being shocked that there was apparently yet another boat in their fleet. The sailboat, Ritchie explained, was Jonathon's, and, being familiar with Ritchie's skills as a sailor – or lack thereof – there was no way he'd be lending him his sailboat.
But don't worry, he'd assured her. He was more than capable at the helm of the Baja. As they sliced across the water, Joey's shouts of pure joy disappearing into the wind and spray, Maria tugged her life jacket closer and said a little prayer just in case.
It seemed like no time at all until they had arrived. Maria and Joey waited on the boat while Ritchie stopped in the marina in Alice Town and took care of customs. Now that the boat wasn't moving, Joey entertained himself exploring the surprisingly roomy cuddy cabin in the boat and asked excitedly if he could sleep there one night while they were in Bimini.
"You'll have to ask Ritchie about that," she told him. Personally, Maria thought the windowless cabin was a bit claustrophobic, but she had to admit it was luxurious. She left Joey playing with his 3DS in the bed and went back up to the fresh air just as Ritchie stepped onboard.
In no time at all, they were pulling up to a private dock in front of a cottage-style house that way exceeded her expectations of what a beach rental would be.
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"How many bedrooms are there?" she asked as they stepped up from the dock onto a wide brick patio that led to a brick walkway. Wooden chaises with brightly colored pillows were on one side, facing the water, and a wide hammock graced the other side of the walkway. Maria pictured herself curled up in the hammock with a book, swaying gently in the ocean breeze, and sighed.
They continued up the steps onto the wide wraparound porch, then stepped in through the French doors.
"Four bedrooms," Ritchie said. "It sleeps 10 comfortably. We get a lot of extended family rentals or two families vacationing together."
"What does it cost to rent this place?"
"About $1,800 a night. But we do weekly rentals at a reduced rate. Housekeeping's included. If they want a private chef, that's extra of course."
