Chapter Six
‘THE TIMING WORKS WELL’ was the first thing Raffaele said when they met back at the jeep an hour after their arrival in town.
Erin had visited three boutiques, but she could have happily stayed longer: the settlement was compact, a picturesque collection of souvenir shops nudging against places where the locals shopped.
Small grocery stores, a chemist, various shops selling fabric all rolled in huge bales and stacked like colourful sausages on counters inside the stores and on rickety tables outside to lure customers in.
‘How so?’
Hand on the door, ready to hop in, Erin shaded her eyes and looked up at Raffaele.
He slung the bags of clothes she had bought into the back of the jeep and opened the door for her.
‘A family friend who has a yacht moored on one of the islands just north of here is coincidentally around for two days. He’s cruising along the chain of islands.
My father knew I was here and got in touch with me to suggest a meeting.
Something he wants me to discuss about a business the guy is thinking about expanding.
The guy’s a crashing bore and I could do without the hassle, but needs must. I’ve arranged to meet him for lunch on his yacht.
Of course, you’re more than welcome to join me but I’m guessing you’d rather return to the hotel?
The pool is very nice.’ He looked up at the blue skies, then returned his gaze to her.
‘I’d be tempted myself if I had the chance. ’
‘I wouldn’t dream of intruding on your lunch, Raffaele, though I don’t for a minute think the man’s a bore. If he’s sailing along these islands, then he has to be interesting.’
‘Your logic escapes me,’ Raffaele murmured, his deep blue eyes roving over her flushed face. ‘Just because someone has a boat and knows how to handle it, it doesn’t make him interesting.’
‘No,’ Erin mused thoughtfully, ‘I guess you’re right. To be interesting, he really has to know how to chase a bat out of a room and claim to know how to deal with venomous snakes even though he might never have encountered one outside of a zoo.’
Raffaele threw his head back and burst out laughing.
‘I always knew you were sharp, Erin,’ he murmured when his full-bodied laughter had subsided, ‘but your sense of humour still continues to surprise, especially now that you’ve released it from captivity.’
Erin’s heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly broke eye contact and climbed into the rear of the jeep. The windows were all down and Raffaele leaned half into the car, looking at her.
‘Sure you’ll be okay?’
‘Of course I will, Raffaele. I’ll return to the hotel and have a lovely walk around and then, of course, I’ll also do whatever work you want done.
I’ll check incoming emails and make sure nothing urgent needs sorting.
I’ve already played truant going into town and missing our first meeting of the day. ’
‘Or you could just laze by the pool and forget about work.’
‘That’s not what I’m being paid to do.’
‘I’m your boss, don’t forget. If I say you can relax, then you can relax. Relax.’
‘I’ll certainly think about it. Oh, and before I forget, thank you for the Amex card and for…funding my change of clothes. There really was no need.’
‘Erin, do you honestly think I would let you spend your hard-earned cash buying clothes for a week because yours weren’t that suitable?’
‘Maybe,’ she said quietly, ‘you might have if you didn’t know about my parents, about the fact that I currently…
lend a helping hand with their finances.
Honestly, it’s just until they can sort themselves out completely…
’ Their eyes met and she refused to look away.
‘I don’t want the little you know about my background to influence your behaviour towards me. ’
‘You underestimate me. But still, I can’t put what you’ve told me about yourself to the side and pretend that it doesn’t exist. It exists.’
Erin glanced away in receipt of this blunt truth. She had confided. She had told him things that would alter their relationship and now she could only hope it wasn’t for the worse.
There was no going back. But she couldn’t help but notice that whilst she had been encouraged to open up, he’d seen no such compulsion to return the favour.
Maybe on one occasion she’d sensed something about his background in the intonation of a throwaway remark… But her memory of that whole conversation before their flight was a muddle by now. She could have been mistaken.
She shrugged. ‘What are the plans for the evening? Is anything arranged?’
‘Funny you should ask. We’re going to be meeting a few of the staff and their respective partners. It’ll be an informal get-together so that we can try the food and I believe there might be some live music.’
She unconsciously made a face and he slanted her a slow, curling smile.
‘Time for that box to be broken as well,’ he purred silkily.
‘What box?’
‘The one you shut yourself in every time something like an informal get-together with good food and live music presents itself.’
‘I don’t do that!’ Erin reddened. ‘Can you name one instance when I’ve done that? I can’t remember the last time I was at a party with live music!’
‘My point exactly. That’s just the sort of thing you should be throwing yourself into, instead of dreaming about picket fences and apple trees in the back garden with some guy you have yet to meet.
Unless…’ He lowered his voice and the smile was still there, this time a little broader.
‘Unless you’ve already got him stashed away in a cupboard somewhere and you’re going to tell me all about him at a later date?
Produce him from thin air like a rabbit from a hat?
You seem to be full of surprises of late. ’
Erin ignored him. ‘What time is this event happening, Raffaele, and where exactly? I’ll meet you there.’
‘Of course.’ He grinned, drew back and gave her a half salute, although his deep blue eyes remained firmly fixed on her face.
‘Six sharp in the meeting room in the main hotel. Someone from reception will take you through. I’d say I’d walk you over but I’m not entirely sure how long it will take me to get back after lunch with the bore.
You might have to hold the fort for a bit, but you’ve done that before. ’
‘No problem.’
‘Right then.’ He slapped his hand on the side of the jeep, drew back and nodded to the driver. ‘Off you go and Erin…don’t work today. Have the day off. Gather your strength for the gruelling ordeal of the food and live music nightmare scenario.’
‘I’m actually looking forward to it,’ Erin purred, steely eyed. ‘I really fancy immersing myself in the culture and getting to meet some new faces.’
‘That’s the spirit!’
The man, Erin thought as the jeep began bumping its way back to the hotel and away from the hot, tiny town, was insufferable.
Brilliant…sharp…edgy…challenging and stupidly good-looking, all of which combined probably explained the highly developed insufferability gene.
He expected her to show up, politely do what she had to do and then leave just as soon as was humanly possible. That was his impression of her in a relaxed environment. So she didn’t really like work social dos! Since when was that a crime?
She did her absolute utmost to spend the rest of the day enjoying the hotel grounds, which were more extensive than she’d first thought.
She had some lunch in the same place where earlier she and Raffaele had had breakfast, chatted to some of the guests and then explored the untamed gardens.
By midday, there were no thoughts of creepy-crawlies.
The sun shone down with searing heat, making her feel lazy and lethargic and not at all in the mood for doing any work.
She managed to find the waterfall, which was tucked away in a clearing.
It was easy because she just had to follow the voices of a few of the guests enjoying the cool, refreshing water, and as she lingered at the side, watching them have fun, she wished she’d had the foresight to wear her swimsuit.
At the back of her mind, as she strolled through the forested grounds and explored the more cultivated gardens, a huge section of which was devoted to vegetables and beds of fresh herbs, the image of Raffaele lingered.
She expected to bump into him at any given moment.
The man had a habit of catching her unawares.
She didn’t feel as horrifically exposed as she’d always imagined she would after sharing a slice of her private life with him, but she had made a decision. This was her chance to turn over a new leaf. The time had come to put her annoying crush on her boss to bed.
Now that she’d started down that road, it would be so easy to keep spilling little pieces of herself, to parcel out glimpses of her unusual background in the hopes it would win her scraps of surprise and amusement from her sexy boss.
But unusual backgrounds didn’t always make for anything interesting.
Unless she changed her behaviour, she would always still be the sparrow who didn’t know how to live life to the full, nursing an impossible crush instead of striking out in search of something real.
The sense of adventure that had swept through her when she’d stepped off the plane straight into the searing tropical heat swept through her again as she had a shower and relaxed and decided what she was going to wear for the meet-and-greet later on.
Why stick to her comfort zone? Here? In this amazing place that begged for her to live, for a moment, in a different skin…?