Socialite's Gamble

Great, he felt sorry for her … but Cara had to admit that the thought of laying low on a tropical island held a wealth of appeal.

‘Will there be any paparazzi there?’

‘It’s an exclusive resort that values the privacy of its guests. And I’m not taking no for an answer.’

Cara looked at the man opposite her. He was throwing her a lifeline and she knew she should feel better about it than she did. Could she spend the next two days in the company of a man who attracted her more than any man ever had before?

‘Do you ever?’ she asked.

‘No.’ He smiled and her stomach somersaulted.

Which was when she knew that if he ever did decide that he wanted her she would be in massive trouble.

CHAPTER EIGHT

LANDING IN FIJI, Cara was immediately struck by how different it was to Las Vegas.

Where Vegas had been full of flashy lights surrounded by empty desert, Fiji was understated but completely lush. There was no other word to describe the deep green of the tropical foliage, the spicy-sweet humid air and the deep blue waters of the South Pacific.

They arrived in late evening and by the time they had reached the speedboat that would take them to their island destination the hot ball of the sun had dropped below the horizon. Darkness followed quickly behind and by the time they were seated on the white leather bench seats and their bags stowed the stars were already twinkling in a black velvet sky, so close it was as if Cara could reach up and touch them.

She felt the wind whip through her hair and the spray of water on her face as the speedboat roared across the warm ocean and skirted small, darkened islands, some lit from within by tiny dots of yellow lights while others lay eerily pitch-black. All were ringed with pale white sand and edged with gently swaying palm trees that seemed to stand as silent centurions shielding a tropical interior.

Not for the first time Cara wondered if she’d made the right decision coming with Aidan. Although the opportunity to hide out from her problems had been initially appealing Cara couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that she should have just returned to LA or London and the fold of her friends. At least with them she would have been too busy to get caught up in thinking about what a disaster zone she was.

Looking around her now she was uncomfortably aware that she was going to have to spend vast amounts of time alone or with a man who had kissed her breathless and already found her wanting.

The speedboat slowed as they neared an island that looked like it had come straight out of Robinson Crusoe. A line of waist-high torches lined the sandy shore and disappeared into tropical undergrowth and small boats were pulled up onto the sand. The only sounds Cara could discern were the putting sounds of their engine and the swish of the water as it rolled onto the shore.

Suddenly she had a horrible vision of being stuck on an island all by herself with no one to talk to and just the memories of how much she had mucked up last night to keep her company.

A large native man on the beach raised his hand and yelled a greeting as he waded into the water and grabbed the prow of their boat.

‘Is it always this quiet?’ Cara murmured as Aidan came up beside her.

‘At this time of the night, yes. You better take off your shoes and roll your pants. We have to wade in.’

‘Oh, right.’ She peered over the side at the swirling water. ‘They don’t have biting fish in Fiji, do they?’

‘Only piranhas, but they sleep at night.’

Cara glanced up in time to see a quick grin fade from his lips. ‘Very funny.’

She handed over her handbag and sandals to the waiting boatman and slipped into the warm, shallow water.

Aidan rolled up his pants and leaped with easy grace into the shallows, as well, and Cara mused that there was no way the man could spend every day sitting in an office chair and running a multibillion-dollar business.

‘Are you sure the conference is here?’ she asked.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I can’t hear anything except the trees moving and the water breaking on the beach. And it’s so dark. Sort of eerie.’

‘Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the dark?’

Feeling completely exposed by his flippant tone Cara turned her head away and concentrated on not stepping in any unseen holes in the sandy shallows. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt Aidan’s hand on her elbow. The chemistry she’d been trying to ignore flaring hotly to life inside of her.

‘You are afraid of the dark.’

‘Not the dark per se …’ She swallowed. ‘I have a phobia about being alone.’

His brows rose up his forehead. ‘A phobia?’

‘Well, it sometimes feels like a phobia. I just like having people around. When I was little I used to climb into my sister’s bed most nights to sleep.’