CHAPTER 14
KATIE
“Please fasten your seatbelts for landing.”
I jolt awake, my head jerking up from where it had been nestled on Nathan’s warm, broad chest. Have I ever had a better pillow?
“Sorry,” I murmur, patting my hair and wiping my lips. My eyes travel over his t-shirt, looking for wet patches. If I drooled on this man, I’m jumping out of the plane. No question.
“No problems, Kitty Kat.”
His deep voice captures my attention, and when I look up at him, his eyes are fixed on me. On my lips.
“Are we almost here?” I glance at the window next to us and immediately do a double-take.
The view outside is like none I’ve ever seen before.
The water below us is a vibrant shade of blue, so blue it blends into the horizon and melts seamlessly with the surrounding sky.
Small mountains litter the edge of the island as far as the eye can see, and from here, the beach glows endlessly, the golden sand broken only by the whitewash of the waves crashing against it.
As we get closer to land, the blue of the ocean swirls with greens and turquoise, hinting at the coral reefs below and as I watch, the sun hits it just so, turning it to a brilliant shade of aqua.
I hold my breath as we leave the sea behind us and fly over the lush tropical landscape dotted with bunches of broccoli-shaped trees and a vast expanse of nothing.
Surely, we aren’t landing here?
Nathan takes my hand in his again. “We’re landing now.”
My breath rushes out of my lungs as we skid to a halt on the tarmac below. This airport really is in the middle of nowhere.
“Wow, this is spectacular!” I bounce in my seat, now eager to get out and see everything from the ground. If the flight into St. Lucia is this magical, what will it be like to be out there amongst it?
“It is.” I turn to find Nathan watching me with a soft look in his eyes. The man is good at this whole fake boyfriend thing. He’s fully in character; even with only Rosie around to impress.
“Where to first?” I ask, unbuckling my seat belt and standing up to stretch.
The first-class experience is one I’d like to repeat again and again.
We’d been in pure luxury for the last nine hours: reclining seat pods, fine dining, hours of entertainment.
Nevertheless, with all the space and comfort surrounding me, my head had used his chest as a pillow. Go figure.
He looks at his watch with a slight grimace. “We’ll make our way to the hotel. Tonight is the welcome dinner. That’s when you’ll meet…”
“Everyone?” I offer.
“Yeah.” He nods, rubbing the back of his neck, an outward sign of how uncomfortable he’s feeling.
Even with both me and Rosie by his side, this week is going to be hellish for Nathan.
He’s here to watch the woman he still has feelings for marry his brother.
It’s going to be painful to say the least, and I need to remember that’s why I’m here. Well, that and to get my snow globe.
This time, I take his hand in mine. “Try not to worry. We’ve got this.”
He squeezes my hand and locks his eyes on mine. “Thank you, Kitty Kat.”
I resist the urge to kiss him, something I’m getting good at, and offer a smile. “It’s what I’m here for, after all.”
We stare at each other, a look charged with something, before Rosie breaks the tension again. It’s lucky we have her to move us along; otherwise, we’d be in danger of standing around staring all day.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” she says, urging us along and out of the empty plane. Well, the empty first-class part of the plane. Who knows what’s happening back there with all the less-fancy people?
My people.
“Now, we need to prepare Katie as best we can,” Rosie continues as we’re whisked through all the official channels. No waiting in line at this airport, either.
“What?” I ask, staring longingly at the duty-free shop we’re racing through. Don’t these two siblings know that the best part of international travel is the giant Toblerone you buy at the airport for three pounds?
Nathan stops. “Hang on.”
We watch as he jogs back and picks up three Toblerone bars, paying for them before jogging back and handing them over.
“How did you know?” I ask, clutching my chocolate treat to my chest.
He grins down at me. “You were giving them love-heart eyes as you walked by. Made me kinda jealous, to be honest.”
I hide my face behind the mini-mountains of my metre-long bar. “Thank you.”
He shrugs like it was nothing. “Got to keep my girl happy.”
There he goes again, turning me into a puddle of goo.
I get to work opening my treat, offering a smiling Rosie a piece before devouring one of my own. “Your brother is very perceptive.”
She hums around her mouthful of milk chocolate, honey and nougat. “He’s not generally. I think he’s paying very close attention to you.”
I swallow hard as my heart dances in my chest. “Rosie, you’re aware that this is all pretend, yeah?
” I whisper, looking around to make sure no one can hear.
Nathan is off organising everything to get us out of here, and I take this chance to get his sister on the same page as us.
From what I’ve learnt from Nathan, this fake dating thing was her idea, so Rosie needs to remember that. For all our sakes. Especially my heart.
“Whatever you say, Katie,” she replies, not reassuring me at all.
“Are you two ready?” Nathan asks, his long legs bringing him back to us. “The helicopter is waiting for us.”
Rosie skips away, and I trail behind. Helicopter?
“Did you say helicopter?” I tug on Nathan’s hand to get his attention.
He smiles at me, his baby blues hidden behind his sunglasses.
“Yes, a helicopter. It’s a two-hour torturous drive to the resort, or a fifteen-minute flight.
” He tilts towards where the helicopter is idling on the tarmac next to us, the propellers creating a windstorm around us. “We’ve opted to get there sooner.”
Makes sense, but still. How much opulence can one person endure in a day?
“Just follow me and keep your head down.”
I do as he says, plastering my front to his back as we duck down and into the back of the helicopter. Rosie is already settled into her seat and is scrolling on her phone; just another day in paradise for her.
“Put these on.” Nathan hands over headphones and winks at me. I melt into my seat and buckle myself in nice and tight. A giant plane with many wings and propellers seems a lot safer than this small thing.
“Did you know the design of the propellers of a helicopter was based on a boomerang?” I say into the little microphone attached to the headset. It’s probably not meant to be used for pointing out random facts, but I need to do it to distract myself from my impending death.
Nathan flashes a bright smile at me, his eyebrows raised. “I did not know this. Tell me.”
I try to gauge his sincerity and then give up. If he’s indulging me, then bad luck. I live for random stuff like this.
“Yes, see how the blades go round like this?” I move my arms around in circles. “It’s based on the way boomerangs fly through the air.”
He inches closer to me, so close that the warmth of his body seeps into mine. “Fascinating. Tell me more.”
So, I do. And it keeps me occupied for the entire journey. A journey that’s so short, we’ve basically gone up and back down again.
“Wow, that was quick,” I say as we land and everything goes quiet. With the engine off, the only sounds I can hear are my own laboured (read: anxious) breaths and the faraway lapping of the ocean against the shore.
“That was the point,” he says.
I nod and follow him out, anxious now for a whole other reason. Because, right in front of me, is the Coral Cove Resort. My home for the next week. The place where it’s all going to happen.
“Are you alright?” Nathan’s warm hands rub my arms in a soothing motion. I’d ditched my blazer after arriving in the heat, and now his skin is touching mine. “You’re a little pale.”
I swallow down my rising sense of panic. It’s too late for second thoughts now. Nine hours and fifteen minutes too late.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
He surveys me one last time before turning us both to meet a statuesque, breathtaking woman who introduces herself as Giselle. Our butler for the next seven days.
“Butler?” I breathe as we follow behind her. Rosie is long gone, having been whisked away by a lovely young man by the name of Eban.
“Just go with it,” Nathan whispers into my ear, his breath tickling the sensitive skin from my ear all the way down my neck.
“M-kay,” is all I can reply, my mind swirling with the beauty around us and the feel of this man right next to me. It’s hard to know which is more compelling. The lush scenery of the ocean right there, or Nathan’s hot breath against my even hotter skin.
Oh, who am I kidding? Nathan wins that battle every day.
My head swivels like it’s on a stick as we follow Giselle from the helipad and through the opulent, open-aired lobby of the resort. There, waiting for us, is another beautiful woman with fabulous curly hair and a bright smile, holding a tray of fruity drinks out for us.
“Tropical juice?” Nathan asks. When he gets the nod, he hands me a tall, sweating glass filled with red to yellow juice, like a sunset, topped with an orange umbrella and a triangle-shaped wedge of pineapple along the rim.
“Thanks,” I say, my gaze darting back and forth, back and forth, not knowing where to land.