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This wedding would be as perfect as she could make it, and Daniel would see he’d done the right thing by his sister and that he’d done the right thing by her. She was determined it would happen.
She looked up to see Millie waiting expectantly at the door. ‘It’s perfect,’ she said with a smile, feeling good for the first time today. For she realised she was thinking about the wedding again, planning what had to happen. Doing her job instead of fantasising about the brother of the bride.
And didn’t that make for a welcome change?
An hour later she’d showered and changed back into her own clothes and was in the new office, getting the computer set up with files from her USB drive, when Daniel knocked on the door. The look on his face was unreadable. ‘Making yourself at home?’
In a cool linen shirt and lightweight trousers, he should have looked safer than the last time she’d seen him. Yet still his appearance sent a jolt to her senses and jagged her pulse a notch higher. Casual had never looked so sexy. Maybe it was the late o’clock shadow that graced his jaw that turned property magnate into pirate, but whatever it was it was a potent force that threatened to destabilise her and make her forget what she was doing here all over again.
‘There’s a lot to do, to get this wedding off the ground,’ she managed. ‘Especially given there’s not much time.’
He cocked one eyebrow and tucked his hands into his pockets. ‘I can imagine. Exactly why I knew it would be wise to base your operations here. I’m so glad you agree.’
She stood up straight. ‘It’s not about agreeing, though, is it? It’s about making the best of it.’
But he just laughed off her thinly veiled objections and moved with that panther-like grace across the tiled floor to the wall of windows that lined one whole side of the room, gazing out over the beautiful view before he turned. ‘I have to go to Townsville for a meeting early tomorrow and I’ll probably be late back. Will you be all right by yourself?’
She was tempted to tell him that she’d get more done with him absent than with the distraction of him being around. But instead she said, ‘I’ve got heaps to do. I doubt I’ll even know you’re gone.’
She could swear she saw a tic in his jaw as he looked her over; maybe he was just unimpressed she’d put her own dress back on rather than having chosen something from the wardrobe.
‘I’ve arranged for a boutique to send clothes.’
She waved his offer away, his words confirming her suspicions. ‘Thanks, but my assistant’s sorting some clothes.’
‘There’s no need.’
‘On the contrary,’ she said firmly, ‘There’s every need, so long as they’ll find a way over to the island. I’m having them couriered to your office.’
He nodded. ‘They’ll come over on the launch, then. I’ll have the chopper in Townsville.’
‘I need to talk to you about that,’ she said, remembering one of the points on her to-do list. ‘I’ll have to arrange for transfers of guests from Cairns to the island. Will your helicopter be available for those? Or maybe the launch? Otherwise I’ll have to try to secure another vessel.’
He pulled his hands from his pockets, looking suddenly uncomfortable, his eyes hooded as he checked his watch. ‘Sure, make whatever arrangements you like. I forgot, Millie asked me to let you know dinner is ready. We’re eating out on the deck. This way.’
She blinked in his wake, following him when it was clear he wasn’t about to wait. So, now he’d guaranteed the wedding would be held here, she could do whatever she liked? She really didn’t understand Daniel Caruana at all.
Late the next day Sophie put the phone down and rubbed the back of her neck, ready for a break, surprised to find it was already five o’clock. It had been a full-on day of organising, and she’d been on the phone since breakfast. It was amazing, she mused, just how much you could get done without distractions. Away from her own office, where the phone seemed to ring every ten minutes, and with Daniel away, she’d made amazing progress. Maybe this arrangement would work better than she’d expected. Millie popped her head around the door to tell her that dinner would be ready in an hour, which suddenly seemed an eternity away. Already the smells wafting their way from the kitchen had her stomach rumbling in anticipation. But then she had skipped lunch while she’d been on a roll.
What she needed first, though, was some exercise. A walk down those steps and a swim in the tiny cove would be perfect.
She changed into the blue bikini and dug out a pair of sandals from the bottom of the wardrobe that were more or less the right size. With a quick word to Millie to let her know where she’d be, she set off for the path. The steps down to the shore were longer and steeper than they looked and it took some time to wend her way down the short flight of steps that zig-zagged down the hillside. But she did keep stopping to enjoy the way the view changed from different angles. It was quiet here, peaceful; the rustle of lizards scurrying through the leaf litter, the call of birds and the gentle shush of sea meeting sand at the beach below was the music that accompanied her steps. The canopy sheltered the steps from the worst of the sun, but it was warm and still, and by the time she reached the white sand beach she did no more than kick off her borrowed sandals and untie her sarong before heading straight for the water.
