Island Fling to Forever

If he could convince Rosa that all he wanted was right now, maybe he could have her in his arms again.

And maybe that would be worth the potential pain of watching her walk away once more. At least this time, he knew it was coming, and could prepare himself for it.

He wasn’t angry at her for leaving him, not any more. He understood, even if he didn’t like it. But Jude was starting to think that the closure he needed to truly move on didn’t come in words. It wasn’t explanations he needed.

It was touch.

‘It’s hard to stay mad too long in a place like this, isn’t it?’ Rosa said, looking back from the sea.

‘Yeah,’ Jude agreed. ‘It is.’ Only he wasn’t talking about her argument with Anna.

He was imagining how the next two weeks might cure him of that anger and resentment for good.

* * *

Rosa had been staring at the guest list so long it had given her a headache. Over the handful of days she and Jude had made good progress with all things organisational for the wedding, but the bungalow allocations were still causing her trouble. Every time she thought she had it sorted, she found another name, or another couple who couldn’t be near someone else, or who needed something specific that the bungalow she’d assigned them didn’t have. When she added in the constant phone calls from guests to add extra requirements to their bookings, she wanted to throw the stupid clipboard into the sea and head for the airport.

It was, quite frankly, an impossible task. One even Jude had given up on and disappeared off with his guitar after taking a call from his agent.

Rosa would be ready to admit defeat if doing so didn’t mean telling Anna she wasn’t up to the job.

And speaking of Anna...after her talk with Jude on the boat, Rosa had been doing a lot of thinking about her sister. And more specifically, about Anna and her new beau. Rosa had done some research, and what she’d learned hadn’t made her any more comfortable with Anna’s relationship. Leo di Marquez had quite the reputation—and it wasn’t the good sort. International playboy, gambler and general debauched human being by all accounts, he was most definitely not Anna’s usual type. In fact, she could only remember Anna dating anyone vaguely like that once before—and given how that had ended, Rosa didn’t look forward to a repeat of the experience.

In the end, she realised she was going to have to talk to her sister. About Leo, and about the room bookings.

What the hell. She needed a walk anyway.

As it turned out, though, she didn’t have to go far to find her sister—she was already in the villa reception area. Leaning against the office doorway, Rosa watched Anna staring out towards the courtyard, a soft smile on her face, and wished that she could just let Anna enjoy the fun and relaxation of no-strings sex with a gorgeous man. Except Anna didn’t do casual, and the way things were going Rosa was pretty sure her sister was going to end up with a broken heart. Again.

‘You’re looking all doe-eyed. Does Señor Tall, Dark and Handsome have anything to do with that?’ As an opening gambit, it wasn’t great, but it got Anna’s attention at least. She spun round and glared at Rosa.

Then she replaced the glare with an overly sweet smile. ‘None of your business.’

Right. Of course.

‘How’s the paperwork?’ Anna asked. ‘Sorted out the wedding guests into rooms yet?’

Rosa’s jaw clenched at the reminder. ‘I don’t understand why you’re being so stubborn. You love spreadsheets and solving problems. I love being outside and fixing things. We should just swap...’

‘If you’d hadn’t arrived over two weeks late then you could have had your pick of jobs. As it was I had to get on and do what needed doing most. You keep going with the wedding planning and helping Mama with the office. It’ll do you good to stretch yourself.’

Still trying to control things for my own good, huh, St Anna?

Rosa’s good intentions faded away as her ire rose at the condemnation in Anna’s voice. ‘Of course you dropped everything and rushed straight here.’

‘It’s a good thing I did, look at what your “stand back and let them make their own mistakes” plan has achieved. This place was chaos...’

‘Chaos until St Anna turned up and fixed it all?’ Like always. She had to be the saviour, didn’t she?

‘Yes. Actually.’

‘Dragging Dad with you? Couldn’t trust him on his own for a month?’ God forbid that anyone be allowed to take control of their own lives for a change.

‘Dad turned up on his own.’ Anna folded her arms over her T-shirt. ‘You do know he nearly died?’ she said almost conversationally.

‘What?’ Rosa’s chest tightened. Then she realised Anna had to be exaggerating. ‘Nonsense, he looks fine.’

‘He looks fine now. He looks fine because he has no stress outside work, his meals are prepared, he takes his pills, he gets reminded to take regular walks. Not because I’m a saint, not because I’m a martyr, but because someone has to do it—and no.’ Anna raised her hand as Rosa tried to interrupt. ‘Don’t tell me he’s an adult. I know that. I also know that when he wants to be he’s the most organised man alive. But his health isn’t a priority, work is. And he would forget, just like Mama forgot to take care of the basics here. So what do I do, Rosa? Swan off to Harvard and let him get ill and Mama sink? Is that your answer?’

Yes. Yes, it was. Because it might not be the perfect answer, but what else was there? How could Anna mortgage her life to their father when he couldn’t be bothered to even look after himself?

‘I don’t understand.’ She never had. It didn’t make any sense. But Anna’s words—nearly died—echoed through her head again and again. ‘I was ten before I realised other families didn’t get given their own individual holiday itineraries and checklists two weeks before they went on holiday, and most families didn’t stock check their cupboards monthly. How can he not remember to take his pills?’ He could, if he wanted to. It was just easier to let Anna do it. That was all. And until she left him to take care of himself, it always would be.

‘Things changed after Mama left.’ Anna blew a frustrated breath. ‘You were still at home then, Rosa. I know how self-centred you are, but surely even you noticed?’

She just couldn’t resist getting another jibe in there, could she? Another complaint about how Rosa wasn’t as perfect as Anna, and never would be. Really, when you knew you could never live up to expectations, why even try?

‘I know you got bossier and more self-righteous than ever. I know you refused to move into halls during term time, staying at home to prove what a good daughter you are. At least until you started seeing that guy, then suddenly we saw another side of Anna...until he dumped you, that is. Then you got even more boring than before.’ Rosa ignored the pang of guilt in her chest. This wasn’t how she’d meant this conversation to go. But somehow, whenever she was faced with Anna and her perfection, she just lost any cool rationality she’d ever possessed. Why did the people closest to you sometimes bring out your worst side?

‘It’s always lovely catching up with you, Rosa, but I have a lot to do. Good luck with those spreadsheets.’ Anna turned away, and Rosa realised she’d missed her chance. She’d screwed it up again, just as she always did with her sister.

No. This time, she was going to give it one more try.

‘I’m just worried about you, Anna,’ she said, and her voice stopped Anna in her tracks. ‘Leo di Marquez isn’t the kind of man you’re used to...’

‘I’m more than capable of handling Leo, thank you,’ Anna said, dismissively.

‘I just don’t want a repeat of the Sebastian situation. I mean, he was an utter idiot, and Leo doesn’t appear to be quite so arrogant, or as sleazy, but he broke you, Anna. I don’t want that to happen again.’

Was Anna crying? No. Rosa couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her sister do that. ‘Sebastian didn’t break me, Rosa. I did that all by myself.’ And with that, Anna walked away, leaving Rosa alone with her clipboard, and the feeling she might have just made things worse between her and her sister.

‘I didn’t even know that was possible,’ she muttered.

CHAPTER SEVEN

WITH ONE MORE day to go until Valentina and her bridal party arrived, it seemed that La Isla Marina was almost ready for its sudden brush with celebrity. Jude had to admit, the place was looking a lot better than when he’d arrived. And last time he’d checked, Rosa had almost finished the room allocations, which were proving more of a nightmare than either of them had predicted.