A Dangerous Taste of Passion

by Anne Mather

  Ray gave her a scornful look. ‘As if you didn’t hear. They’re coming back tomorrow for their money. If I don’t have it, they’re going to report me to the authorities. I could lose my licence. What the hell am I going to do?’

  Lily licked her lips. ‘You shouldn’t have let them take the Lucia,’ she said carefully, and Ray swore.

  ‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ he snarled, kicking at the corner of the filing cabinet as he passed. ‘I needed that charter. You know I did. I’ve told you how tight things are at present. What was I supposed to do? Turn down a potential fortune in future sales?’

  ‘Well, that’s not going to happen now, is it?’

  ‘You have a knack for stating the bloody obvious, you know that?’ Ray swore again. ‘If you can’t think of something constructive to say, keep your mouth shut. The last thing I need is someone saying I told you so!’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Lily slid off her chair. ‘Well, now seems as good a time as any to go for my lunch. It’s after one o’clock already. And as I’m not being of any help—’

  Ray’s jaw clenched but then he gave her a remorseful look. ‘Take no notice of me,’ he muttered, by way of an apology. ‘I know you mean well, but right now I need solutions not advice.’

  Lily bent and picked up her bag and hooked it over her shoulder. ‘Why don’t you take a break too? I’m going to get a sandwich. You should do the same. You might feel more optimistic after you’ve filled your lungs with fresh air.’

  ‘I wouldn’t count on it,’ said Ray dourly, but he pulled his hands out of his pants pockets and considered her suggestion. ‘I guess I could do with a beer,’ he added, nodding. ‘How about joining me for a drink?’

  Lily sighed. She really didn’t want to escape from the charged atmosphere of the agency into the smoky atmosphere of a bar.

  But Ray looked so mournful, she couldn’t say no. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘But just one drink. Then I’m going to get myself something to eat.’

  ‘They serve food at Mac’s Bar.’

  ‘Yes, but I’d prefer to eat outdoors.’ Lily hoped that would end the discussion. ‘Shall we go?’

  To her relief, Ray’s misgivings about closing the agency for an hour diverted him from pursuing the eating debate any further. He was still chuntering on about how they might be missing an important booking when they reached the bar on Front Street.

  A striped awning shadowed a porch that gave onto the dark interior, an impression that was heightened by stepping out of the noonday sun.

  ‘As we haven’t had a customer all morning, I don’t think that’s likely,’ Lily was saying as she preceded him inside. ‘Relax, Ray. Let’s try and think of some way to solve your money problems.’

  The bar was fairly crowded despite the summer heat, and Mac, the elderly Scotsman who’d opened the place almost thirty years ago, had pushed wide the louvres to allow the heat and smoke to escape.

  Most people stood around the bar, and the hum of conversation was predictably noisy. Mac didn’t discriminate, and his clientele mixed fishermen with millionaires.

  There were a handful of tables set out on a deck at the back of the building, but these tables were usually taken. Lily resigned herself to standing while she sipped her glass of iced tea.

  ‘Is there no chance of getting a table?’ Ray asked, returning with what looked like a vodka and tonic instead of the beer she’d expected. ‘Have you checked the deck?’

  ‘Well—no.’ But Lily wasn’t optimistic.

  ‘Let’s see then, shall we?’

  Ray pushed his way through the throng congregated around the bar, and Lily was forced to follow or lose sight of him altogether.

  An open archway led outdoors and stepping out into the brilliant sunshine was almost as blinding as entering the dark bar had been earlier. For a few moments, Lily stood there blinking in the sudden brightness while Ray scanned the canopied deck with a practised eye.

  And then, as her vision cleared, Lily saw someone she recognised immediately. Rafe Oliveira was sitting at a table at the far side of the wooden structure. In a black tee shirt and khaki cargo pants, he stood out among the colourful island shirts and baggy trousers.

  As if sensing her startled regard, he lifted his head at that moment and their eyes met. For a few loaded seconds Lily couldn’t look away.

  But then Ray spoke and she came to her senses, turning to him like a life raft in a stormy sea. ‘Sorry, what did you say?’

  ‘I said it looks fairly crowded,’ muttered Ray gloomily, taking a generous mouthful of his drink. ‘Wouldn’t you know it? I never have any luck.’

  ‘Why don’t we go somewhere else then?’ suggested Lily hastily. She was desperate to get out of the bar now. God, she so didn’t want to have to deal with Oliveira again.

  ‘But where?’

  Ray was still looking about him with a brooding gaze when a hand descended on Lily’s shoulder. Long fingers gripped the fine bones beneath her thin cotton sweater, causing the loose neckline to slip dangerously down her arm.

  ‘This is a surprise,’ Rafe said, controlling the unwarranted fury he felt at seeing her with the other man. ‘I did not expect to find you in a bar.’

  His voice was low but disturbingly sensual, and Lily saw Ray’s eyes widen at the implied intimacy of Oliveira’s words.

  But he had other things on his mind.

  ‘Hey, Mr Oliveira,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘What are you doing here? Were you looking for me?’

  Rafe’s lips twisted. Why in God’s name would the fool think that? ‘I regret, no,’ he said with studied politeness. His hand dropped reluctantly from Lily’s shoulder as she shifted out of his reach. ‘Are you staying for lunch?’

  ‘No.’ Lily took the initiative. ‘When Ray’s finished his drink, we’re leaving.’

  ‘Are we?’ Ray could be annoyingly obtuse. Didn’t he realise he was the last person Oliveira would go looking for? He looked at the other man. ‘As a matter of fact, we were hoping to find a vacant table, but it looks as if we’re out of luck.’

  Rafe scowled. He didn’t like being put on the spot by anybody and particularly not when the situation was of his own making. If he hadn’t left his seat, he wouldn’t be in this position.

  He knew what Myers was up to, of course. The other man saw this as the ideal opportunity to do a little friendly networking. But what Myers didn’t know was that Rafe would prefer not to introduce his companion to Lily.

  It was crazy, he knew, but he didn’t want her to think he was at all interested in Laura Mathews. He wondered now why, in heaven’s name, he had even agreed to meet her.

  However, avoiding the issue with Laura would only hint at a hidden agenda. Speaking stiffly, he said, ‘Perhaps you would like to join me? I am with a guest, but I am sure she will not mind.’

  Lily badly wanted to refuse the invitation. She’d been reluctant to stay before, but now, hearing Oliveira say he had a female guest made the situation even more unbearable.

  Who could it be? she wondered tensely, and unwillingly Laura’s warning came into her mind. His ex-wife, perhaps? Had she followed him to the island? Dear God, why had she thought that having a drink with Ray would be simple? Now she was going to be forced to be civil to a woman Oliveira was probably sleeping with.

  Oh, dear Lord.

  ‘That’s awfully good of you.’ While she’d been staring into her glass, trying to find a solution in the rapidly melting ice cubes, Ray had been congratulating himself for squeezing an invitation out of the other man. ‘As it happens, I was hoping to have a brief word about the balance sheets I sent you. They don’t tell the whole story, you know, and I’d welcome the opportunity to discuss them with you.’

  ‘I never mix business with pleasure,’ said Rafe tightly, and then wished he’d used other words. His lunchtime drink with Grant Mathews’s daughter could hardly be described as pleasure. ‘My table is over here.’

  Ray noticed the expression on Lily’s face as she was forced
to follow the two men across the deck. He arched his eyebrows at her. ‘What? What?’ he asked with an innocent air, but Lily wasn’t deceived.

  ‘Five minutes; that’s all I’m staying,’ she hissed. ‘If I’d known what you had in mind, I’d never have come into the bar.’

  ‘Hey, I didn’t know he was here,’ muttered Ray defensively. ‘And what’s your problem? You two seemed pretty friendly earlier on. And how did he know you don’t normally drink at lunchtime? If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was making a pass.’

  Lily gasped. ‘Don’t be so ridiculous!’ she exclaimed, hoping he would attribute her heightened colour to the effects of the sun. Remembering what had happened in Palmetto Park, those words were definitely not appropriate.

  Rafe glanced over his shoulder at that moment and once again she met his brooding gaze. He didn’t look pleased, she conceded. It seemed obvious he was as unwilling to have them join his party as she was.

  Ray suddenly nudged her arm, almost causing her to spill what was left of her drink. ‘Look at that,’ he muttered. ‘See who his guest is. It’s Laura Mathews, as I live and breathe. My God, it hasn’t taken her long to reel him in!’

  CHAPTER NINE

  LAURA!

  Lily came to an abrupt halt. Laura Mathews was Oliveira’s guest! Not his wife; not some other woman he’d brought to Orchid Cay; not even someone Lily didn’t know that he’d met while he was here. But Laura Mathews. As Ray had said, she hadn’t wasted any time.

  Lily couldn’t take it in. After the way the other girl had warned her about Oliveira, warned her to stay away from him indeed, it was unbelievable. Yet there Laura sat, elegant in a slinky satin halter top and low-rise Capri pants, sipping a cocktail as if she hadn’t a care in the world.

  ‘Come on.’ Ray was getting impatient and he reached back and grabbed Lily’s arm, yanking her forward. ‘You know Laura, don’t you? I seem to remember the two of you used to be friends.’

  Used to be being the operative phrase, thought Lily bitterly, remembering Laura’s visit to the rectory with some annoyance. It was obvious now that Laura had had an agenda of her own.

  Rafe paused by the stripped pine table where his guest was sitting, and Laura turned her head to give him a warm smile. She probably wouldn’t be smiling when she discovered he’d invited the others to join them, he mused, reaching for his glass and taking a long welcome gulp of cold beer.

  Aware that Lily was behind him, he said tersely, ‘I’ve invited a couple of acquaintances to join us, Laura. I am sure you will not object.’

  ‘Acquaintances?’ Laura said, with a frown drawing her arched brows together. It was clear his announcement hadn’t pleased her. ‘Who?’ she asked, half irritably, almost as if she had the right to decide who joined them.

  ‘You will see,’ Rafe declared, stepping aside, and saw the way Laura’s face contorted when she saw the other girl.

  ‘Lily Fielding,’ she muttered in an undertone, but Rafe heard her.

  ‘You know her?’

  Laura forced a smile for the other girl’s benefit. ‘Of course we know one another. It’s good to see you again, Lily.’

  ‘Is it?’

  Lily was hardly enthusiastic, and Rafe was aware of an undercurrent that he couldn’t quite figure out.

  ‘Why do we not sit down,’ he suggested pleasantly, as a waiter arrived to take their order. He looked at the remains of Lily’s drink. ‘Can I get you another one of those?’

  ‘No, thanks.’ Much against her better judgement, Lily slipped into the seat beside Laura. ‘I won’t be staying long.’

  Rafe’s lips tightened, but he made no response. While he ordered another piña colada for Laura, a vodka and tonic for Ray, and a beer for himself, Lily regarded the other girl through narrowed eyes.

  ‘Fancy seeing you here, Laura,’ she said. ‘I thought at first Mr Oliveira’s companion must be his wife, particularly as you gave me the impression that you didn’t know him.’

  ‘You must be mistaken,’ returned Laura coldly and, when her drink arrived, she hid her face behind the glass.

  ‘Obviously.’ Lily took a mouthful of her drink, which was now not much more than melting ice cubes. ‘I’m sorry if Ray and I have interrupted something.’

  She met Oliveira’s eyes challengingly across the rim of her glass, and his lips tightened in response. ‘Ms Mathews’s father used to own Orchid Point,’ he said flatly, but he was sure she knew this already. ‘She was telling me the history of the house.’

  ‘Really?’ Lily was amazed how relaxed she sounded when inside her stomach was roiling. ‘Has your father sent you out on a charm offensive, Laura?’

  Rafe reflected that it was just as well he wasn’t holding a wine glass at that moment. It might well have shattered in his hand. He’d never have expected Lily would have the nerve to take his luncheon companion on, but she was gazing at the other girl with undisguised dislike.

  Deciding he needed to calm the situation, Rafe spoke. His free hand balling into a fist, he said, ‘I agreed to meet Laura for a drink because she has come to the house a couple of times and I have been unavailable,’ he stated harshly. ‘And, just for the record, Ms Fielding, I do not have a wife.’

  Lily shrugged. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, though he sensed she wasn’t. ‘Is Mr Mathews a friend of yours?’

  Hardly, thought Rafe dourly but, before he could speak, Myers chose to intervene. ‘Come on, Lily,’ he said. ‘That’s privileged information.’ He paused and then added, ‘Although I had heard your father was having some financial difficulties, Laura.’

  Laura was obviously seething, Lily could tell. And, while she had no reason to feel sorry for the girl, she couldn’t let Ray get away with that. ‘We all have money problems from time to time,’ she said warningly. ‘You know that.’

  Laura snorted. ‘I don’t need you to defend me, Lily,’ she exclaimed. ‘And while it is true I was hoping to pick Rafe’s brains about Daddy’s possible investments, that’s not the only reason I’m here.’

  Lily could believe that, and she resorted once again to her glass. But, to her annoyance, she saw that it was empty, and she contented herself with running her fingertips around the rim.

  The others didn’t have that problem, and Ray lost no time in finishing his first drink and starting on his second. Lily knew it was only a matter of time before he brought up the agency’s balance sheets again, and she wanted no part of any lies he might be planning to tell Oliveira.

  ‘Look,’ she said, before the conversation could become more general, ‘I think I ought to go. I’ve got some shopping to do before I go back to work and Ray doesn’t like leaving the agency closed for too long, do you, Ray?’

  Ray’s jaw compressed but, short of asking her to stay and back him up, his hands were tied. ‘If that’s what you want to do, I can’t stop you,’ he muttered sulkily. ‘But, like you told me earlier, it is lunchtime. We all deserve a break.’

  Me more than most, thought Lily grimly, not at all swayed by Ray’s unsubtle plea. She got to her feet, avoiding Oliveira’s eyes as he got up also. ‘Goodbye, Laura. Goodbye, Mr Oliveira.’ She glanced in her employer’s direction. ‘I expect I’ll see you later, Ray.’

  Always providing he could stagger back to the agency after having goodness knew how many vodka and tonics on an empty stomach, she reflected as she strode quickly across the deck and pushed her way through the bar crowd to the exit.

  But she was grateful to be out of there. She knew that if she’d stayed any longer, she might have said something she’d regret.

  She was aware of someone behind her as she stepped out of the bar into the sunlight. Believing it to be another patron, she didn’t hesitate before striding away along the street.

  It was only when she paused at the edge of the pavement before crossing the road that she realised it was Oliveira. It was he who had been keeping pace with her, his hands shoved carelessly into the front pockets of his khaki pants.

  ‘Hello again,
’ he said, meeting her startled gaze with cool enquiry. ‘Do you mind telling me what that was all about?’

  Lily expelled a nervous breath. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

  ‘I think you do.’

  Rafe glanced up and down the street and then gripped her upper arm to escort her across the road. She shook him off almost at once, but that didn’t stop her skin from tingling where he’d touched her.

  And Rafe wasn’t finished. ‘What has Laura told you about me?’ he demanded. ‘And, equally significant, what has she told you about her father?’

  ‘Laura wouldn’t discuss her father with me,’ she replied indifferently. She started to walk towards the sandwich kiosk, forcing him to walk with her. ‘We move in different circles.’

  Rafe shook his head. ‘From what I gathered in there, you two do not like one another very much. Is her father involved?’

  Lily gave him a swift look. ‘I hardly know Grant Mathews.’

  Rafe scowled. ‘You know his daughter. And why she should need to tell lies about me, I do not understand.’

  ‘Oh, please!’ Lily had reached the kiosk and now she turned to face him with hostility in her eyes. ‘Don’t pretend you don’t know what she was doing. Laura likes to stake her claim. You’ve just been given the winning ticket!’

  She’d spoken coldly, the dislike in her tone evident, and Rafe’s face darkened in anger. ‘You are mistaken.’

  ‘Am I? Oh, yes, I seem to be making a lot of mistakes today.’ Lily snorted. ‘I think it’s time you were getting back to your guest, Mr Oliveira. You’ve neglected her long enough.’

  ‘No seas una idiota!’ Rafe snapped, resisting the urge to take her by the shoulders and shake her. ‘Do not be an idiot, Lily. Laura Mathews means nothing to me.’

  ‘Perhaps you should tell her that.’

  Rafe’s jaw clamped on an expletive, but when he spoke again he had himself more in control. ‘Do you think I care what she thinks? The woman has been trying to speak to me for the past week or more. Today—well, today, I chose to humour her.’ He didn’t give her his reasons. ‘She was just getting round to telling me what she wanted when I saw you with Myers.’