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Guy huffed. ‘I do not do that.’
‘Then what am I doing here?’ she asked, a false note of sweetness in her voice.
‘You’re working.’
‘Right, because I couldn’t possibly update you over email. Or the phone.’
‘It’s easier this way,’ Guy stated, as if the strength of his opinion could make it fact.
Meena snapped the lid of her laptop shut and started to gather up her papers. ‘For you, maybe,’ she said, knowing that Guy would get the subtext.
He stayed silent long enough for her to break her resolve and turn and look at him, wondering what he was plotting. ‘Look, Meena, I’m sorry for annoying you. I was just concerned about you being on the island on your own overnight.’
‘You don’t need to be.’
‘Well, I am.?
?? He was back to monosyllables, but they were softer than they had been before—less combative—and Meena felt her shoulders relax down from her ears a fraction in response to his change in tone.
‘I’m sorry you feel that way, Guy. But there’s not a lot you can do about it. Like I said, I need to get this job done, and this is how I work. You’re not my boss, and you’re not my boyfriend. You can’t stop me.’
His forehead creased in the way that Meena knew meant he was plotting something. ‘I can come with you,’ he said.
She laughed—couldn’t help herself. ‘Oh, right, the great Guy Williams camping out on a beach waiting to see turtle babies. I can really see that happening.’
‘It’s happening. I already told you, I’ve done it before.’
She stopped and stared at him for a moment. ‘You’re not serious. That was a million years ago.’
‘It was seven years ago and I’m deadly serious. I’m not letting you stay out there alone.’
‘Letting me? You wouldn’t have got away with talking to me like that when we were together, Guy. Never mind now. No one “lets” me do anything.’
‘How do you know how I spoke to you when we were together?’
It was a low blow and it hurt—a lot. He was right. She didn’t know. Perhaps when she’d met him she’d turned into the sort of woman who had done as she was told, gone along with what he had wanted. Perhaps that was how she had ended up pregnant. But, even as she had the thought, she dismissed it. That wasn’t who she was. It wasn’t who she had ever been, and meeting Guy wouldn’t—couldn’t—have changed that.
‘I just know, okay? I might not remember you, or us. But I know myself, Guy, and I would never stand for that.’
A small smile betrayed Guy.
‘You’re right,’ he said, the smile creasing his eyes. ‘You never did.’
‘So stop trying it on now.’ She tried to be cross, but his smile was contagious and she could feel it softening her features even as she tried schooling them into something stern.
‘I’m not trying to force anything, Meena. I would love to keep you company on Le Bijou tonight, with the added bonus of knowing that you are safe. Am I welcome to come and watch for the turtles with you?’
She sat in silence while she considered the proposition. Truth be told, she hadn’t been all that happy about sleeping out on Le Bijou alone and she would have been grateful for some company. More important, if Guy came along tonight, spent more time on Le Bijou, maybe he would soften his plans for the development. If he remembered how special the island was, he might rein in his development plans, so they made less of an impact on the environment of Le Bijou. Perhaps he would even abandon the plans altogether.
‘Fine. You can come along,’ she said eventually. ‘But bring your own tent.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
SHE HAD DECLINED Guy’s offer to bring his yacht to the island. She didn’t want it anchored off shore, not knowing what impact it might have on the marine life. Her little boat had been puttering around Le Bijou for so long that it felt like part of the ecosystem, and it was perfectly capable of getting them to and from the island, even if it lacked a bit in the luxury stakes. She had half-expected Guy to pull a face when she had insisted that they both use it, but if he had been annoyed he hadn’t shown it.
Instead he had turned up at the marina wearing a casual pair of cargo shorts and a polo shirt with a stuffed rucksack on his back. She could see a tent and a sleeping bag, and was glad that he had taken her instructions seriously. She’d meant what she’d said about not sharing.
Even with separate tents, though, this was probably not one of her best ideas, she thought as she steered them up to the little jetty and tied up her boat. Guy scrambled out first and held out a hand to help her up, and she hesitated before she took it. But it was just a polite gesture, she told herself as she made herself reach out for it, trying to ignore the zing that she felt when his fingers touched hers. They walked over to where she had set up camp the night before and pitched the tents quickly. The sun was setting fast, shadows growing long around them as she knocked tent pegs into the earth and tightened the lines. She was unrolling her sleeping bag when she felt Guy’s eyes on her back and turned to find him watching her.
