Their Festive Island Escape

As if on cue, Reid’s phone lit up and he blew out a frustrated sigh when he glanced at it. “My driver has just confirmed exactly that.” He turned to her. “Looks like we’ll be here a bit longer than intended. Did you have any plans?”

Celeste shook her head. Of course, she didn’t. She was here solo, after all. A warring flurry of uncertainty tightened her chest. Part of her didn’t want this day to end. Another more sensible part warned her that any prolonging of time spent with Reid was a lethal threat to her inner peace.

“Excellent.” Rinna clapped her hands in front of her chest. “I’ll go let Momma know. She loves having company. We’ll eat in about half an hour.”

“This is good,” Theo added after his sister left. “This will give you two a chance to see the holiday lights we set up this year. We decorated many of the trees. It’s beautiful after dark.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Celeste answered. She’d always been a sucker for Christmas trees and the sparkling lights during the season. One of the few aspects of the holidays she hadn’t grown to resent.

Theo lifted his camera. “I’m going to go upload these images. You two take your time. See you at the house in a bit.”

“Sorry about this,” Reid said after the other man had left. “Things work differently on the islands. Holiday parades sometimes pop up without advance warning.”

“It’s all right, Reid,” she answered. “Like I said, I didn’t have any plans.” She wondered if he thought that was pathetic.

“Well, good. If you’ll excuse me, I should make a few phone calls given the change in my return time. I’m afraid I was due to meet someone who’ll be arriving on the island tonight. Alex will have to take over.”

Of course, unlike her, Reid would have a full schedule. No doubt this delay caused all sorts of disruption for him. A business owner like him had all sorts of demands on his time.

She wondered if one of the phone calls he was making was a personal one. Did it have anything to do with whoever he was expecting to fly in? He’d never mentioned being involved with a woman but why would he? It wasn’t like it was any of her business. And though Celeste had never actually seen him with a lady so far on this trip, that meant nothing. She’d only been on the island a few days. While she’d spent a considerable amount of time during those days fantasizing and thinking about him, she’d steadfastly avoided wondering about his social life.

Now that she’d been confronted with the possibility he was attached, she felt even more foolish for pining for him for even a moment. Seemed she was a magnet for rejection. To imagine that someone like Reid would ever see her as anything like a romantic girlfriend was downright folly. She’d fallen for that fantasy once before, only to have reality come straight back and slap her into the truth. Men like Reid didn’t end up with women like her.

No doubt the mysterious arrival was a beautiful, successful, and accomplished gem of a woman. Perhaps she was the model from the magazine cover she’d seen at the airport. Or maybe an actress. She vaguely recalled seeing a different photo several months back of Reid at some movie awards ceremony, attending as the guest of a Hollywood starlet.

She glanced at Reid’s back now as he spoke into his cell phone, braced against one of the trees a few feet away. Slowly, she made her way toward the river. Watching the water stream by might be a soothing way to iron out her frazzled nerves. The whole day had been an emotional roller coaster. Correction, her whole trip had been a harrowing series of ups and downs. Definitely not what she’d expected to be in store for her. Just one more curve thrown at her. To think, she’d been so excited to leave the city behind her for several days.

Maybe this should have been the one year she stayed home for the holidays. The sadness the season always invoked in her might have actually been preferable to the assault to her peace that had been this trip so far.

She heard his footsteps behind her and instinctively took another step forward in a futile attempt at creating some distance between them. She really could use some time to think alone.