Fire in the Blood

There was a crisp London newspaper on the table beside the coffeepot. When she had finished eating she picked it up and glanced at it without much interest. The date at the top of the front page caught her eye. Thursday... Absently she thought, They get the London papers the same day, how amazing! But how do they get it here so fast?

Then she did a double-take. This couldn't be today's paper, surely?

She went back into her room and rang down to the desk. 'What day is it today?'

The desk clerk sounded startled, then amused. 'What day? Time passes very quickly here. Friday, Mrs Carmichael. It's Friday...' He gave her the full date and Nadine blankly thanked him and put the phone down.

Friday. Friday! That was the day the plane was coming to pick her up and take her to Miami to do the TV interview.

She had forgotten all about it. Too absorbed in other things, she thought grimly. She stood there, dithering, thrown into absolute disarray. What did she have to do before she left?

Shower, dress, pack some things for the couple of days she would spend in Miami. She went into the bathroom and showered, back into the bedroom, dressed in a comfortable green cotton tunic dress with a bolero jacket you could wear over it in cooler weather.

She got down her suitcase, opened it. What should she take with her? How much would she need for a few days in Miami? She looked into the crowded wardrobe, then stared at nothing for a moment.

That was when she decided—she wasn't coming back. She would fly to London from Miami. So she had to pack everything and take it all with her. And she had better pray that she didn't run into Sean before she managed to get on that plane.

She packed hurriedly, locked the cases, feeling very thirsty after her haste, so she went out to the balcony to finish the orange juice she hadn't drunk during her breakfast.

While she was drinking it she caught sight of Sean in white shirt and shorts heading out with a set of golf-clubs towards the hotel's golf-course with several other men.

Nadine stared after them, her eyes riveted by Sean's dark head, the long, lean body moving gracefully and easily over the smooth turf. She might not see him again for a long time. She needed to fix his image on her heart. Her mouth twisted bitterly. What did she mean? His image was already indelibly printed on her heart and mind.

Sadness welled up within her.

Sean and the other men vanished out of sight and Nadine walked slowly back into her room and rang the desk clerk.

'I'm flying to Miami today for several days; would you send someone up to bring my cases down?'

The plane would be landing at ten—in half an hour. She would get someone to drive her to the private landing strip now. When Sean got back from playing golf she would be long gone.

CHAPTER EIGHT

SHE met Luc in the reception lobby as she was paying her bill. 'What's all this about you leaving?' he asked, and Nadine explained that she had to leave at once.

'Bad news?' he frowned and she shook her head.

'Work, actually.'

'The boat has already gone, I'm afraid, Nadine. You'll have to wait until tomorrow now.'

'A plane is coming to fetch me, from your landing strip.'

He looked astonished. 'So that plane is coming for you! I knew one was landing around now, but I had no idea it was for you! I suppose Sean has a private jet?'

'This isn't Sean's plane, it has been chartered, I think—it's an air taxi operating out of Miami. I'm very sorry about your class and the portrait. I've enjoyed doing both, I learnt a lot and I'll certainly enjoy painting more now that I know a bit about what I'm doing—and maybe I'll be able to get back some time soon if you need me for any more work on the portrait.'

He smiled at her. 'I think I'll be able to finish it if you send me some photographs of yourself in a similar pose.'

'I'll do that, then. Thank you for everything, Luc, I've had a lovely time here. Say goodbye to Clarrie for me, she's a wonderful cook.'

'I will. She'll be sorry to miss the chance to say goodbye to you herself, but she's marketing at the moment.' Luc frowned again, looking around. 'What about Sean? I thought I saw him going off to the golf-course. Isn't he going with you?'

'No,' she said, and was saved from having to explain any further by the arrival of the taxi which was going to take her to the landing strip.

As she took off later, soaring over the palm trees and blue gleams of water, she saw the level green golf-course and little figures moving across it. One of them was Sean. She bit her lip and ached with misery, but she knew it was wiser to look away.

What she hadn't expected was to find Jamie waiting for her when she reached Miami airport. He waved as she came through the barrier, following the porter who was pushing her luggage.