Throughout the jet’s descent and when they touched down on an isolated tarmac, Elizabeth seemed breathless with excitement. Clear blue skies, a jungle of palms, riots of colorful island blooms. She held her cheeks.
“This is brilliant!”
“This Caribbean island’s very small, very private.” He grazed his lips against her temple. “Very romantic.” As they moved toward the door, he confessed, “I thought about the Pacific Islands, but I didn’t want to waste too much time in the air.”
When she smiled at him, understanding, he felt compelled to add, There’s always next year. But he didn’t want to jump the gun. No doubt they’d enjoy their time here together, but he wouldn’t go making any plans in advance. He would still need to stay in Royal on and off if he got the job. If that were the case he’d be more than happy to continue to see Elizabeth. But if his design wasn’t successful, fact was, soon he’d be back in New York. And Elizabeth would be stuck down South.
Not anyone’s fault. Nothing either of them could change. That circumstance merely reinforced the obvious. He wasn’t into long-distance affairs. He avoided them as much as ground glass in his oats. They should enjoy the time they had now.
A woman wearing a bright multicolored shirt and flowers in her dark hair greeted them. After collecting luggage, they were driven in a four-wheel drive to their lodgings—a thatched roof bungalow perched on the edge of an idyllic stretch of long white beach. Elizabeth audibly sighed as she moved through the front door, across the main room decorated with rattan furniture, then out onto a massive balcony, which overlooked sparkling shallow waters that journeyed out toward an endless turquoise sea.
“What’s this place called?”
“It’s a private island owned by a friend,” he said, his hand coming to rest on the small of her back as he joined her. “Sinbad Isle.”
She swung to him, her eyes bright. “Does it have a history of pirates? Of treasure?”
He laughed. “I vote we explore and find out.” Maybe they could start their own legend.
“Have you been here before?”
“I’ve had the offer for some time but I’ve never taken my friend up on it.”
“Are we the only ones here?”
“Aside from the caretakers, who have their own quarters on the other side of the island, we’re completely alone.”
With a wicked grin, she kicked off her sandals. “There’s something I want to try.”
“What’s that?”
“Take off your clothes and I’ll show you.”
Daniel wanted to pinch himself as Elizabeth proceeded to wriggle out of her sundress. When she got down to her fiery orange mini bikini, he snapped back and wound, double time, out of his shirt. Then she reached around her nape, pulled the tie and those two orange triangles of fabric fell to her hand-span waist. When his brain began to swim, Daniel remembered to breathe.
“You’d like to try out the bed?”
“No, silly.” She shimmied out of her bottoms, too. “I want to try out the water.”
Elizabeth left Daniel standing on the balcony with his jaw dropped and boxers ready to do the same.
She flew down the half-dozen wooden stairs and out along the warm, soft sand with not a stitch on. With the sun high and warm, she let out a laugh as her feet smacked the cool water. She’d waded out farther and was about to dive into the shallows when an arm lassoed her waist and brought them both down.
Water closed in over her head before hands, settled on her waist, jettisoned her up into the air and she heard Daniel’s laughter join her own. When she landed, she tried to escape again, but he caught her from behind and, her legs sending out fans of water, swung her around.
“You, Miss Milton, are a wild child. Are you known for this kind of behavior back home?”
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