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Daniel leaned back in his chair, arms sprawled lazily over the sides, but she knew there was nothing lazy about him, nothing relaxed. It hurt her to realise how much she missed those arms around her already. ‘You need to talk to Jake about that. He can’t remember the details, but—’
‘How convenient.’
‘Talk to him, Daniel, and hear it for yourself. You made your mind up all those years ago when my brother was lying in a coma and couldn’t defend himself. Was that fair?’
‘It was obvious!’
‘Was it? Or was it easy when you needed someone to blame? Why not pick on the man who wasn’t even conscious? That’s what I call convenient.’ She stood. ‘Oh, and as for your latest offer, do I need to tell you where my brother suggested you shove your one and half million?’
He steepled his fingers. ‘One and a half million?’
‘That’s the figure Jake quoted.’
He leaned forward, an uncomfortable sensation crawling its way down his back. ‘Sophie, let me ask you a question. How is your business doing? I mean, cash wise. Everything all right?’
She shrugged, thrown off-balance, eyebrows pulled into a frown. ‘Fine. We had such a great year last year, we’re looking to either expand our operation, or invest in case things get tight.’
‘I see.’ Whatever had been crawling over his back found its way to his stomach and turned solid. He picked up his napkin from his lap and placed it on the table. Suddenly he wasn’t hungry any more. ‘And Sophie?’
‘Yes?’
‘I’ve got something to chase up now, and I have to be in Townsville tomorrow, but I’d like to talk to you when I get back. You meant that about staying in one of the cabins?’
She nodded uncertainly.
‘Then I’ll see you when I get back. All right?’
She nodded and he gave a thin smile, ‘I’m glad you’re not leaving.’
She walked blindly back to pack her things, feeling even more confused. The monster had retreated, a hint of the Daniel she loved back again.
She stopped dead.
Oh God.
Where the hell had that come from? No way could she love him. No way. Not after all the things he’d done and said, and after the way he’d done everything in his power to break up Jake and Monica. No way could anyone love a monster like that.
Even if she did love his body and loved the way he made her feel when he made love to her. Had sex, she corrected.
Although it had felt like more.
All her own misguided emotions, she knew. Because Daniel Caruana was still in love with a girl who’d died years ago. A girl he’d put up on some kind of pedestal of perfection. A girl he was still fighting for.
He wasn’t capable of loving anyone else.
And yet, if she wasn’t in love with him, why had she found it so impossible to leave? Why had she been so secretly thrilled when he’d told her he was glad she was staying? If she’d really been serious about leaving him, wouldn’t she have moved back to Brisbane, or even to somewhere in Cairns where she’d be close enough to arrange things?
But no. She’d decided to stay on the island. Why?
Because she couldn’t bear the thought of being too far away from him.
Even though he could never love her. Even though anything between then was doomed from the start on so many levels.
She’d known it was a kind of madness that first night they’d made love. She’d known it and still she’d persisted, refusing to pay heed to logic. And now she had the proof of her madness: she loved him. She blundered into the room she used as an office and dropped into a chair, her face in her hands.
What a mess.
Sophie didn’t see him again that night and he was gone early in the morning, the sound of the chopper stirring her from a restless night’s slumber in the guest room. The picture of Emma smiled out at her from the bureau and Sophie had found herself staring back at her long into the night.
How must it have felt to be loved by Daniel? And how special must Emma have been to earn that love? And why did she hurt so much because that would never be her?
With sleep-deprived eyes and a head thick with too many pointless ramblings, she packed up the last of her things onto a golf buggy and waved goodbye to Millie, who was waiting with a basket of lunch and other treats to stock her cabin. ‘I’m so sorry things haven’t worked out for you here, lovey. I’ve so enjoyed having another woman for company.’
‘Me too,’ she said, giving the older woman a squeeze. ‘But I’ll come and visit.’
Millie sniffed. ‘Make sure you do.’
The cabin was dark and cool inside; whoever had prepared it for her arrival had thoughtfully turned on the air conditioner. Without turning on the light, she sank gratefully to the bed and closed her eyes.
