Chapter 1
Josie looked at thecliff behind her, the craggy bluff glistening in the rising sun. The waves buffeted against the cliff behind her, leaving white foam behind, the roaring sea like an orchestra that thrummed through her.
She used her phone to check her aqua bikini, ensuring the ties were tight on the back and there was no nip slip, and carelessly adjusted the sheer white sarong around her hips. Her brown hair was tousled, her blue eyes hidden behind the oversized square, pink-lensed rhinestone-studded sunglasses.
She replayed the reel tutorial she was attempting to emulate, showing how to adjust the camera settings and set a timer to record a reel. She rehearsed the movements; she would stand with her back to the phone, then turn to the side and elongate her leg through the sheer cover-up. The caption was going to be ‘Greeting the sun.’ Her side silhouette should be perfectly positioned against the sun, the ocean roaring against the cliff on her right side. She could picture the framing of the reel and the resulting viral attention, and more importantly, she’d hit the sponsorship targets with the sunglasses and bikini brands she was wearing.
She did a quick sweep of the bay, ensuring there were no onlookers who would photo-bomb her beautiful reel, and took a deep breath. She was ready to go. The sleepy town of Regal Bay was beloved by social influencers who wanted to use its beautiful sea setting in their reels. Josie had woken up at 4 am and gotten ready before dawn, ensuring she was the first on the bluff she’d scoped out the day before. She saw a flickering of white on the horizon and looked closer to see a boat. A man wearing a white shirt and blue board shorts waved at her. She waved dismissively back and turned away. She wasn’t here for a summer romance. This was strictly a work trip.
She placed the phone against the rock down by her feet and hit the timer. As she stood staring at the sun, she turned to the side, and a giant wave roared over onto the cliff she was standing on, sweeping her in its path and out into the ocean. She screamed underwater, filling her mouth with sea water, and was churned through the water, quickly losing touch with gravity and what was up or down.
She tried kicking her feet toward what was the surface and hit a rock, grazing her hip and side. Her head bobbed up out of the water, and she inhaled deeply, trying to see through the hair and sea in her eyes. She reached her hands and gripped the cliff, trying to hold to its side. Her nails tore as another wave swept over her, taking her back into the water.
She couldn’t believe this. She was going to die as one of those cautionary tales, the social media influencer who died for a great shot. All that hard work, all the attempts to break the stereotype, and then to die a cliche. A Darwin award winner as someone whose death was cleaning the gene pool, as her stupidity wouldn’t be inherited. That was her last thought as she lost consciousness.
She came to slightly to find herself bobbing along the surface, strong arms holding her tight, a deep voice murmuring, ‘You’re okay.’ She looked around and realized he was swimming her to shore. She tried to help, but her arms and legs felt like jello.
When her feet touched the bottom, her rescuer swept her up in his arms, and she got a closeup of his face, dark eyebrows above bright green eyes, high cheekbones, and blonde-tipped light brown hair. He was beautiful.
Her rescuer lay her down on the beach and knelt next to her. She began coughing furiously, expelling the sea water in deep hacking coughs. He hit her back, helping the water come out.
She took a deep, shuddering breath and realized she was safe. She would not die after all. ‘Thank you,’ she panted.
‘You stupid, galah,’ the man snapped. ‘What were you thinking going on those cliffs? The tide is coming in.’
She snapped her head and glared at him. ‘I was thinking it would be a great shot.’
She realized he’d turned his head and was taking off his shirt. He handed it to her. ‘Here, put it on,’ he snapped.
‘I don’t need your stinking shirt,’ she went to slap it away and realized her breasts were untethered. Her cute sarong and bikini top were long gone, victims to the roaring sea, and she was only wearing her bikini briefs.
She gasped, grabbing the shirt back and holding it to her front.
‘Changed your mind, then?’ he said wryly, and she heard the smile in his voice.
She unfurled the shirt and put it on, her fingers struggling to do up the buttons because they were trembling. She looked down and groaned. The shirt was completely see-through, and her nipples were beaded and poking through. ‘Shit,’ she snarled and crossed her arms over her chest. She’d have to walk like that to hide her boobs.
She went to stand up and toppled over, her legs too weak to hold her. Her rescuer turned around and caught her before she fell face-first into the sand, her body pressed up against hers.
He chuckled as he stood, effortlessly helping her up by the elbows. As they stood side by side, she realized he loomed over her 160-centimeter frame and was 190 centimeters tall, his chest toned and tanned, the six-pack evident. She gulped, her eyes drinking him in.
He was doing the same to her, looking down at her petite frame, his gaze roaming approvingly over her curves. ‘You need to have a lie-down. Where are you staying?’
‘The Heron Hotel,’ she murmured.
His gaze darkened for a moment. ‘I know it. I’ll walk you back.’
He took her elbow and walked her across the beach. She kept her arms crossed over her chest, hiding her boobs, although he was the only onlooker, and he’d already copped an eyeful.
‘Why did you look angry when I said the name of my hotel?’ Josie asked.
‘The Heron Hotel are vultures. All they’ve done is take from the bay. They overburden the ecosystem by sending tourists on dives that churn up the ecosystem.’
‘Oh,’ she murmured, knowing her face telegraphed her guilt.
‘Let me guess, you’re booked on one so you can take the photo of your lifetime.’
She gazed up at him, biting her lip.
He sighed heavily.
She paused as she realized. ‘My phone,’ she cried, looking at the cliff behind her, waving her hands helplessly.
‘I hope you’ve got insurance,’ he said.
‘Shit.’ Replacing the phone wasn’t the issue. It was the time it would take to recreate everything again, hoping all her photos were backed up.
She realized her boobs were on display and crossed her arms again huffily. ‘Yes, I’ve got insurance. I have a schedule, and now I’m going to be behind.’ She stomped in the powdery soft sand.
‘Well, it could be worse,’ he said. ‘You’re not dead.’
She ruefully realized he was right. If he hadn’t been on the beach this morning, she would have drowned. ‘Thank you.’ She offered, realizing she hadn’t thanked him for his rescue efforts. ‘I’m Josie,’ she introduced herself.
‘Raf,’ he said and nodded at her.
He walked up the stairs and into the courtyard of the Heron Hotel, perched above the cliff of the bay, the white facade beaming in the sun.
‘This is as far as I go,’ Raf glared at the luxury hotel behind them.
‘Oh,’ she said.
He was going to leave, and she wouldn’t have any way of seeing him, and she realized that she desperately wanted to. ‘Can I buy you dinner?’ she asked.
He quirked a smile. ‘Absolutely.’
She realized she didn’t have her phone to get his phone number.
‘Meet me at Rena’s on the boardwalk at 6,’ Raf said.
She’d done a turn around town and knew the bar he was referring to. She smiled and nodded.
He grinned back and turned. She watched him walk away, his back muscles rippling, the blue board shorts showcasing his strong-muscled legs. Maybe she should mix a little pleasure with business.
As she entered the lobby, a blonde-haired woman in a white shirt and dark penciled skirt saw her, her name tag identifying her as Emma. ‘Ms Heron, are you alright?’ Emma asked, taking a towel from a trolley near the lift and handing it to Josie.
Josie wrapped the towel around herself with relief. The cold air of the air-conditioning was making her nipple headlights problem much worse. ‘I’m fine. Thank you.’
Emma saw the gashes on Josie’s leg. ‘I’ll send a doctor up.’
‘No need,’ Josie said, hitting the elevator button.
‘But your father will be—’
‘Okay, okay, send a doctor,’ Josie quickly said. Anything to avoid running a red-flag to her father, Rex Heron, hotel mogul and millionaire, and owner of this and five other luxury hotels worldwide.
She pressed the button to the penthouse and then realized she didn’t have her keycard to activate the lift. The ocean had swept away it, together with her phone.
Emma stepped into the lift and entered her keycard. ‘Did you lose anything else?’
Josie was just about to tell her she had lost her phone, and then she stopped herself. Perhaps this was the real holiday that she needed. If she didn’t have her phone, she couldn’t be contacted by anyone, including her father. She could be free, just a girl on a holiday who didn’t have travel insurance and couldn’t get a replacement in time, and not be @HeronHeiress, socialite and social media mogul. She wouldn’t have to take beautiful photos and setups. Of course, she couldn’t do that for long; she had to maintain sponsorship deals and schedules, but she’d set up her posts for the next two days and could take one day of actual freedom.
‘No, nothing.’ She smiled. This was her chance to be an anonymous tourist on holiday and have a little holiday romance with a beautiful man from the bay.
Who knew the day that had begun as such a disaster would deliver such delicious anticipation?
* * *
As Josie stepped outof the shower, there was a knock on the door. She wrapped a towel around herself and walked over. ‘Who is it?’ she asked through the door.
‘It’s Emma. Your father and sister want you to join them in a call online.’
‘I’ll speak to them later,’ Josie said.
‘You will speak to me now,’ Rex’s voice roared.
Josie jumped, startled. God, was her father here?
‘Open the door,’ he demanded.
Josie opened the door and peered out. Emma was holding up her computer screen toward Josie, her father on the screen, sitting behind his desk and glaring at her from below his dark, bushy eyebrows.
‘Okay, I’ll take it from here,’ she said, taking the laptop from Emma.
‘I’ll wait out here until you finish,’ Emma said.
Josie nodded, walked the laptop to the table, and sat. ‘Hi, Daddy,’ she said, putting on a bubbly voice.
‘Your phone isn’t working,’ he said as a statement.
Josie nodded. ‘I lost it.’
‘Get her another, Amanda,’ he stated.
Josie’s sister Amanda appeared behind her father and waved, wearing her usual silk shirt and pencil skirt. They both took after their mother and inherited her delicate features and blue eyes, but Josie got her father’s mane of dark hair, while Amanda was icy blonde. ‘I’ll order a replacement now.’ She lifted her phone and pressed some digits.
‘You seem to be in one piece,’ Rex said, examining her through the screen.
Josie could see herself in the small square in the corner. Her hair was in a towel, her cheeks rosy, and another towel around her torso. She was thankful she was sitting down, and her father couldn’t see the gashes and bruises along her legs. He was fiercely overprotective and would insist a doctor check her over.
‘I’m great. It’s a beautiful town, and the hotel is gorgeous,’ she added, knowing that flattery would turn her father’s attention.
‘Good, good. I’m glad to hear it.’
‘You’ll be staying until Sunday?’ Amanda asked.
Josie nodded.
‘Good. I’ll be up in the morning. We can have lunch together.’
Josie forced a smile. It’s what she was hoping to avoid. Amanda was her father’s successor, and every few months, her job was to try to encourage Josie to join the family business and, in her father’s words, ‘give up her silly social media persona and do something real with her life.’
‘Can’t wait,’ Josie muttered.
‘Have you tried our sightseeing tour?’ Rex asked. He expected Josie to check the hotel’s recreational activities and provide a report.
‘Not yet. I’m booked in tomorrow morning.’ She wasn’t looking forward to it. She wasn’t interested in the popular tourist traps and instead wanted to go off-tour and see the unexpected.
‘Listen, are we overburdening the ecosystem with our tours?’ Josie asked, remembering Raf’s complaint from this morning.
‘Have you been talking to the Kings’?’ Rex demanded. ‘Damn their interference. They think they’re the Kings of the Bay.’
‘Who are the Kings?’ Josie asked.
‘They’re a local family of fishermen in the bay who were not happy to have outsiders take over the hotel. The eldest son, Mateo, is the head of the Royalty Bay Small Business Network. They just sent us a letter that we’re not running our tours responsibly,’ Amanda said, bending over Rex”s shoulder, her blonde hair swinging around her face.
‘Oh, I just overheard a local earlier,’ Josie said, wondering if Raf had anything to do with the Kings?
‘Stay away from them. They’re hypocrites. Their father made a fortune from fishing abalone in the wild west days, and now he’s touting himself as an environmentalist,’ Rex said.
Amanda smiled wryly behind their father’s back, and she and Josie exchanged a secret look. Their father was easily angered, and as soon as he brooked opposition, he identified the source as an enemy.
‘Okay, daddy,’ she agreed, wondering if Raf could be a King. What if she was dating the enemy? Her father would be furious. A frisson of rebellion sparked within her and filled her with delight. She got such a delicious thrill from kicking dirt in her father’s eye.
‘Your phone will be there in a couple of hours,’ Amanda said.
Josie nodded. She’d been hoping to be off the grid for a little longer.
‘I expect a phone call tomorrow morning after the tour,’ her father ordered.
Josie sighed and nodded. Even though her father indulged her “globe-trotting lifestyle” and supported her by letting her stay at the Heron hotels or paying for her accommodation, he kept her on a short leash, including daily phone calls. Amanda worked in the family business, so he saw her every day. Josie loved her father, she really did, and she knew his overprotectiveness stemmed from his deep love for her and the trauma of losing their mother in a car accident when Josie was seven years old, a car accident that she had survived, even so, it was getting suffocating.
‘Okay, daddy. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’
‘I love you, my little bug,’ he said, his voice gentle, the lines on his face softening.
‘I love you too, Dad.’
He put his hand on the screen, and she placed her hand on the screen over his.
The screen cut out. Josie returned the laptop to Emma, who was waiting in front of the door.
‘Can you book me on the tour tomorrow morning?’ Josie said.
‘Oh, it’s fully booked out. I can book you at the end of the week?’ she added.
Josie shook her head. ‘I’ll be leaving on Sunday.’ She closed the door after Emma. She’d have to fake a headache to avoid going on the tour and get Amanda to cover for her. Her father would be cross that she didn’t book it.
She yawned. She’d woken up ridiculously early to take her photo and she should have a nap before her date. Josie took off both towels and lay under the covers naked, enjoying the crispness of the cotton against her skin.