“Well, I guess if you’re happy, then it’s all good. I need to get back to the terminal. I think you’re due back there as well. Do you want to follow me or can I trust you to find your own way?”
I reluctantly turned away from the view, taking one last breath of fresh, ocean air. “I think I’ll be fine. I have a map somewhere. Just show me how to unplug the cart and I’ll be good to go.”
After James’ brief explanation of how the cart plug worked, he left in a hurry, rushing off to take care of yet another errand. I took my map and went back to my ocean view. There were two deck chairs outside the French doors and I plopped down in one, sinking into the cushions. I really was isolated. According to the map, the nearest villas were assigned to the groom and his party, but they were still what seemed quite a distance away, at least taking the paths. But cross country, or walking on the beach, I was just a stone’s throw away.
I found the terminal on the map, made some notes in the margins and went back to the front porch of my room and down the stairs.
“Well, it’s just you and me.” I stared at the golf cart a minute, remembered what James had said and unplugged the cart. I climbed in, turned the key and the engine purred to life.
“Yeah, here we go.” I managed to turn the cart around, less gracefully than James would have, but still, it got me out onto the main path. At something slightly faster than a snail’s pace, I headed back toward the terminal. The paths all looked the same, but I diligently followed my map and the glass-fronted building finally came into sight.
I parked and noticed one other cart already in the small area outside the building. Once inside, I realized it belonged to Vienna. She was standing at the other side of the room, staring out at the tarmac.
“Any sign of the bride?” I stood next to her, watching the tarmac shimmering in the heat, the palms waving overhead. My jacket was already sticking to my back and I surreptitiously undid the buttons.
“No, not yet. But the groom’s plane is just coming into view.” She pointed and I saw a tiny silver speck in the deep blue sky. We watched it grow larger and then it landed, sending up small dust clouds as the wheels hit the tarmac. The sleek private jet taxied up to the building, coming to a quick stop.
“Do you still want me to take him to his villa?”
Nigel had walked out of the plane and stood waiting in the sun, his pith helmet casting his face in shadow. But I knew that big smile was in place. His entire body practically thrummed with excitement.
Vienna stood, arms folded. “I have no choice. Claire is... under a lot of pressure. This may upset her and I want to be there for her, to keep things under control.”
I nodded. The stairs lowered down from the side of the jet and a man began descending the stairs. He stopped halfway, turned back and spoke briefly to someone inside, his face obscured by the wing of the plane. Then he stepped into the bright sun.
Even at a distance, walking toward the building, he was striking. His hair was longer than in the photograph, the sun setting off golden highlights, and the breeze ruffled it now, sending a few stray strands across his forehead. He looked relaxed and casual, striding toward the terminal in khakis and a white, cotton shirt. And he looked incredibly happy, as I guess all grooms should look on the eve of their wedding.
Nigel greeted him, not with a handshake but with a full-on hug. I wondered what the connection was between the two, between the families.
“Dana? I said are you okay with this?”
I turned to Vienna, meeting her look of consternation, my work smile firmly in place.
“I’m fine, yes. I know where I’m going and I’ve mastered the golf cart, so I’m good to go. What about his luggage?”
Vienna shifted next to me, her frown deepening. “Someone else will bring that. There’s too much for you to carry. And remember: unobtrusive. And focused, please. And for crying out loud, button your jacket.” I fumbled to obey quickly, tugging my jacket down over my hips.
The doors whisked open, and the groom walked through, escorted by Nigel who deposited him in front of us before discretely stepping back. I thought he gave me a wink, but between the pith helmet and the sudden presence of the groom, I may have been mistaken.
The groom, Nathanial Benjamin Carter. The third. I held back a sigh, nixed the eye roll and smiled, a genuine smile this time. Nothing fake here.
I took a step forward, hand already extended, but Vienna was there before me. I drew back my hand awkwardly, my face growing warm, the smile instantly fading. That was not what Vienna meant by being unobtrusive.
“Ben. Good to see you.” She clasped both his hands, stood on tiptoe as he lowered his face to hers so she could air-kiss both his cheeks. In person, Ben was taller than he’d appeared in the photograph. He needed to bend quite a way to reach Vienna’s ersatz kisses.
Ben straightened and pulled away from Vienna. Then he turned and smiled at me. And my face grew warmer, but not from embarrassment.
In this light, his eyes were the exact same color of the ocean outside my room.
“Sorry for the change in plans, Vienna, but they had a surprise last day of work luncheon for Claire and I was stuck in the city on business.”
“It’s no problem for us at all, Ben. None at all. My assistant will take you to your villa and someone will bring your luggage shortly. You can get settled and rest a little. And when Claire arrives, I’ll take her to her villa and get her settled.”
“Great. Thanks.” Ben was still looking at me, an open and expectant look on his face. I stepped forward, hand extended again, the smile back on my face. I thought briefly about trying the double air-kiss to the cheek, but I wasn’t completely sure I could pull that off with the ease Vienna had without cracking my head into his. And frankly, my insides were jittery enough at the moment.
So I settled for a professional handshake. And then tried to ignore the feel of his strong hand in mine, warm and solid. This was someone else’s husband-to-be, and my client.
“I’m Dana. I’ll be your chauffeur for today.”
His smile deepened, and I looked up into those eyes I’d seen in the photo. They were darker blue now, but just as intense. I had no desire to roll my eyes at all, but I did want to sigh. I let go of his hand and pointed toward the doors.
I let go of his hand and pointed toward the other door.
“Your chariot awaits.”
Ben held the door for me and we stepped into the bright sun. I watched James loading Ben’s luggage into another cart. He gave me a questioning look and I gave him a smile, receiving a nod in return.
“So, is this our ride?”
I turned back to Ben. He was standing in front of the cart, hands on hips. “This is so cool. How does it handle?” He looked at me. I shrugged.
“Not sure I got it past walking speed. This is my first time with one of these.”
“Do you mind if I drive? Is that breaking some wedding planner rule?” His rich laugh made me smile. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”
“I guess it will be our little secret then,” I laughed and climbed into the passenger seat while Ben got behind the wheel. He started the cart and looked over at me.
“Ready? Hang on.”
I have no idea how fast twenty miles an hour is in a golf cart, but I suspect we were going at least that fast. I managed to point with one hand while clutching the seat with the other and we finally arrived at Ben’s villa, unscathed.
“That was fun.” Ben was beaming, like a little boy with a new toy. “I need to get one of these.” He turned to me.
“Hold still.” He reached toward me and I froze.
“Is it a spider?” I squeezed my eyes shut, heart skittering erratically in my chest.
“No. Just...” I felt his fingers brush across my forehead. I opened my eyes.
“Your hair...it got a little windblown. Sorry.” He was leaning forward in his seat, smiling, holding my gaze. I wanted to make a witty comeback, searched for one, but I sat frozen, lips
parted, in silence.
“Are you afraid of bugs?” He sat back in his seat then and that tiny moment...that little connection between us broke apart. I found my voice.
“Not bugs...spiders. There’s a difference, you know. Bugs are a dime a dozen in New York. But spiders...” I shivered dramatically. “Not my thing.”
He laughed and it was a nice sound. I had no choice, but to smile back.
“Well, sorry to say but you’re probably going to run into a few here. Being a tropical island and everything.”
“I’m trying not to think about that, if you don’t mind. So, do you want to see your villa? It has a name, you know.”
We got out of the cart, and I pointed to the sign along the path.
“You’re in the Bird of Paradise Villa.” I frowned. “That sounds like it should be the name of the bride’s villa, not the groom’s.”
“Oh? What should mine be called then?” We walked up the broad stairs to the front door. “I don’t strike you as a bird of paradise?”
“Not really, no.” I shook my head as Ben opened the door and I stepped inside. And then stopped dead in my tracks, all thoughts of birds flying from my mind as I took in the room. “Oh, wow. This is amazing.”
The main room was beautiful, the walls covered in softly glowing dark mahogany wood, the floor-to-ceiling windows hung with white curtains. Seating for at least twenty people took up most of the main area of the sunken central section, with white linen-covered wooden-framed chairs and benches arranged in casual groupings. There were doors leading off to other rooms, many other rooms, and I again thought of my single room plus bath.
Ben laughed, taking my arm and pulling me gently down the steps into the center of the room. “Look.” He pointed and I looked up.
I drew in a breath, my eyes widening. “Oh, my god. This must be fantastic at night.” The ceiling of the two-story room was nothing but one large sheet of glass that framed the brilliant blue sky.
“Yeah, it sure is. The stars look like they’re right in the room with you.”
I glanced at him as he continued to look up at the ceiling. His side-to profile revealed chiseled masculinity, full, sexy lips and I couldn’t help but notice the cutest dimple that appeared when he smiled and clenched his perfectly square jaw.
“Oh, wow. Gorgeous.” Truth be told, I wasn’t entirely talking about the view overhead, but rather the view that stood in front of me. “So you’ve been in this villa before, huh?”
“Yeah...my family and Nigel’s go way back. My grandfather and his father were quite the pair in London, if you believe their stories. They’re still banned from several gentlemen’s clubs, for various reasons, none of which have ever been clearly explained to us.”
He looked back at me, smiling, running a hand through his wind-blown hair. “I should have told you, I guess, that I knew how to get here, to the Villa, I mean. But you were having so much fun being my tour guide that I didn’t want to interrupt. Sorry if that comes off as kind of misleading.”
“No, it’s fine. As long as you stopped me before I got too far into my spiel about the island. You probably know more about it than I ever will.”
“I probably do. For what it’s worth, the carts are new. And I really had a great time driving one. Thank you.” He was going to say more but there was a discreet knock at the door and we both turned. James was on the threshold with luggage in his hands.
“You can put those in the bedroom, James. Thanks.”
There was a crackle of static in my ear and I jumped, slapping my hand to my head, vainly trying to turn down the volume on the microphone. And then Vienna’s voice was there, loud and clear, instructing me to return to the terminal. Immediately. Ben gave me a quizzical look.
“I need to go.” I gave him my professional hospitality-degree smile and extended my hand once more. Formalities and introductions were over, but I wanted one last chance to feel his hand in mine. A pinprick of guilt stabbed me; this was someone’s—Claire’s—future husband. But he was also one of the nicest men I’d met in a long time, and one of the best looking. One more handshake would hold me for a long time. Princes didn’t come along very often, even in the guise of millionaire businessmen.
“It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Ben. Please, if there’s anything you need, let Vienna or I know.”
He took my hand and I felt the warmth of his skin and the solid feel of his hand in mine. I thought about Claire, the princess to his prince. She was one lucky girl. I wondered if she knew just how lucky.
“Thanks, Dana. And thanks for letting me drive the Hummer.” He leaned toward me, a conspiratorial grin on his face. “I won’t tell Vienna. I don’t think she’d like it. I’m not quite sure she has a sense of humor.”
I tried to stifle a laugh and didn’t succeed, finally giving in and letting it wash over me. It felt good to laugh; life had been a bit on the serious side lately.
“Yeah, not to speak out of line, but sometimes she’s a little uptight. But she’s very good at her job and really wants to make sure your wedding is perfect.”
James was back in the main room and I took that as my cue to leave, before another burst of static and Vienna’s voice cut through my brain. “Call if you need anything. Claire should be here soon, and the rest of your groomsmen are scheduled to arrive later. Oh, and there’s a dinner party tonight at the main villa.”
Ben walked me to the door. “Yeah, I know. I’m looking forward to getting together with the guys, that’s for sure. Been too long. It was supposed to be a sort of bachelor party, but somehow that got changed in the final plans to a more formal dinner. But seeing everyone, my friends and family, especially my grandparents, is going to be great.”
“And seeing Claire...” I glanced up at Ben. He was looking out the door, across to the green palms and tangle of flowers outside his villa. The smile on his face faded just the slightest and a cloud passed over those blue eyes. I was reminded again of the engagement photograph, the smile that didn’t quite make it to his eyes.
But when he looked back at me, the smile was back in place, the eyes bright. “And Claire. Yes, of course.”
On the ride back to the terminal, the wind in my hair now that I discovered I could go fast without crashing, I thought about illusions. There are the ones we construct for ourselves, to make our lives easier and to get through the day, content living in blind bliss.
And then there are the illusions we construct for the rest of the world, to make others see us as we want to be seen, or as they wish to see us.
I had the sense there was more than the illusion of a fairytale wedding happening here. I thought maybe the relationship was the illusion.
Chapter Two
I walked into absolute bedlam at the terminal. Vienna stood, clasping her notebook, watching a group of hysterical women in the middle of the room. A blonde woman, who I assumed was Claire, was at the center of the group. But it was hard to tell. The girl was sobbing into the rigid arms of a statuesque older woman, who appeared to be attempting to console the girl without actually touching her.
Clustered around were a fluttering group of women. My guess; the bridesmaids. But right now they were just fuel to Claire’s fire. Even Nigel looked at a loss; he was standing off to the side, with a subdued group of island employees. I saw James among them, his look as impassive as ever. When he caught my look, his eyes widened slightly.
“You can stop this any minute now, Claire. There are other people present.” I’d never actually heard anyone hiss before, but the sound the woman made as she spoke could be described as nothing else. She stiffly patted the girl’s back before more or less pushing her upright.
Once standing, it was clear the sniffling woman was indeed the bride. But something about her looked different. For one thing, she was far shorter than the woman in the photograph with Ben. For another, her eyes weren’t the startling green from her engagement photograph. They were ordinary blue, or gray maybe. Mostly they were red-rimmed from cry
ing.
“Dana.” Another hiss, directed at me. Vienna took a step away from the tense little group, motioning me closer to her.
“Where have you been?” She grabbed my arm, pulling me aside.
“I took Ben...”
But Vienna was already waving her hand, the gesture I’d come to understand meant what I had to say really wasn’t that important. I bit back a sigh and tried to smile.
“Fine. Whatever. But I need your help here, with Claire and Mrs. Latham.”
Mrs. Latham...the bride’s mother. “But what happened? Why the tears?”
It was Vienna’s turn to sigh and I think I caught the hint of rolling eyes. “Her dress wasn’t shipped, or it wasn’t shipped on time...”
“Because no one here seems able to follow simple directions.”
The voice that cut through the clamor was tinged with ice. I turned, expecting Claire. But it was her mother who had spoken.
“It was a simple thing for someone to have taken care of. But apparently it was a bit too challenging for you, Vienna.”
“Yes, and now everything is ruined.” That came from Claire, accompanied with a petulant pout, before she dissolved into tears again, which in turn set off some of the bridesmaids. The volume in the small terminal rose to a crescendo.
Things were spinning out of control. It reminded me of my two-year old niece having a meltdown. The more attention she got, the worse it grew. Take away the audience, no more meltdown.
“Vienna, we need to get the bridesmaids out of here. I’ll take them and you deal with Claire and her mother. Divide and conquer.”
Vienna shot me an unreadable look. I wasn’t sure if I’d overstepped my bounds, again, or if I’d had a brilliant idea. But Vienna took a step forward toward the group.
“Into the breach.” I muttered under my breath. Vienna planted herself squarely in front of Claire and her mother, but spoke over their heads.
“Ladies, if I can have your attention. It’s time for Dana, my assistant, to take the bridesmaids to your villas. We have a lot to do today, to get ready for tonight’s dinner.”
Seduction in the Sun: Adult Romance Box Set (9 Sizzling Tales with BBW, Billionaires, Bad Boys, and Alpha Males) Page 19
