‘I had no idea the place was fully operational!’ Rose said accusingly. ‘Where’s Junior?’
‘Gone to take care of his family.’
Which just left the two of them. Alone. In the urgency of the travel plans and the hectic nature of the trip, Rose had not paused to contemplate in any real depth what the situation would be when they finally made it to their destination. She’d assumed, in her naïveté, that the hotel would be uninhabitable and they would therefore book into whatever inn was available. But the villa was inhabitable, minus anyone else in it. Her heart slowed and for a few seconds she felt giddy.
‘He would have stayed. In fact, he would have brought his wife and three of his daughters to take care of us but that really wouldn’t have been fair, would it?’
‘Of course not.’ Lots of empty rooms and just the two of them. Sharing a meal. Waiting for the impending storm. What if the current failed, as it undoubtedly would? She had visions of the two of them, huddled in a dark room with just one another for company. Not an ideal situation for safe, casual chit chat about work. The giddy spell threatened to become full-blown.
‘We’d better go and check the kitchens, see what’s there and then we’ll sort out sleeping arrangements.’
Outside, Rose could hear the sound of the surf and the little noises of night creatures going about their business. It reminded her of Australia, which was a depressing thought because that in turn reminded her of the fact that she shouldn’t be here with Gabriel because, actually, she should have left his employ to seek greener pastures elsewhere.
He was already striding off and Rose hastily followed. She felt tired and hot from the long trip but a shower would come later. A shower and a long rest so that she could recharge her batteries for whatever lay ahead the following day.
They passed through various rooms, all in a state of virtual completion.
‘I thought you said that there was a lot of work still to be done, that you needed to be here just in case something happened to the structure if the hurricane struck?’
They had finally arrived at the kitchens, which were equipped but in a basic fashion. There was a fridge, obviously one used by the workforce when they were in the villa, and various other cooking utensils, all bearing the signs of use. No oven but something portable on which to cook very simple meals. A table of sorts.
‘All this will go, eventually.’ He went to the fridge, pulled it open and was pleased to see some perishables, including cheese, eggs and butter. He knew what would be in the cupboards because he had spoken to the foreman as soon as he had decided to go to the island and had instructed him to stock up. Of course, at the time, he had not known that Rose would be with him.
Gabriel was still slightly surprised that she was there, although he knew why. Despite her show of laying down laws, Rose was a perfectionist who was deeply devoted to her job. It was simply the way she was built and he admired her for it. Whatever she did, she would do wholeheartedly. He had appealed to her Achilles heel, namely her sense of duty in sorting out what had been a thorny problem for both of them for a very long time. The villa had had its fair share of setbacks and she couldn’t resist his plea to accompany him to the island so that they could sort things out. Unlike most other women, actually all the other women he had ever known, the fact that a hurricane might rear its ugly head would not have put her off. She wasn’t easily spooked.
And she looked bloody amazing considering she had spent most of the day in various forms of travel, not all of them comfortable. The hair which had started out loose was now dragged back into a pony-tail that was in the process of unravelling but still managed to look sexy and she couldn’t have been wearing make-up because her face looked as scrubbed as it had before they started the trip. She was also sweetly disgruntled. And probably hungry.
‘What will?’ Rose gave him a sulky look and wanted to tell him that she didn’t really care, at least not at that precise moment in time.
‘You’re hungry.’
‘No, I’m not. I’m fine.’
‘Don’t be a martyr, Rose. There’s nothing more annoying.’
‘Oh, right. I’ve travelled halfway across the Atlantic because I thought you needed me to help you sort out this place and suddenly I’m being a martyr and getting on your nerves.’
‘I’m going to fix you something to eat and you’re going to say thank you very sweetly and stop being defensive.’
‘All what will go…?’ Rose asked grudgingly, as she watched Gabriel take cans and packets out of cupboards. Fair’s fair, she thought. She had cooked for him once and so he could jolly well return the favour, especially considering he had manoeuvred her over here on false pretences.
Gabriel glanced over his shoulder at her and, not for the first time since they had left England, Rose wondered how it was that he could manage to look so fantastic after hours of travel. He wore what looked like linen trousers of some indeterminate colour and, although they were creased, they looked expensively and tastefully creased, and the dark shirt similarly looked tastefully dishevelled. Frankly, it was irritating. Especially when she felt like something the cat dragged in.
‘These makeshift appliances.’
‘I thought you were building a hotel here, Gabriel. I had no idea you had changed the spec.’
‘It is still a hotel. Of sorts. A hotel on a far more personal scale than was originally intended.’
‘There’s nothing on the computer…’
‘You probably haven’t caught up with all the paperwork. This place is no longer under the umbrella of the company. It’s now my personal baby, so to speak.’
‘Your personal baby?’
‘Of course, it will still remain a rentable option, but that won’t be its primary function.’
‘You got me over here on a project that has nothing to do with work?’
‘You chose to come over.’
For someone whose kitchen was full of the latest in high-tech gadgets, he seemed very adept at making do with the basics and was concocting something on the makeshift stove that smelled very good even though it was the product of some cans and a packet of pasta.
Rose realised that he had broken off what he was doing to look at her and she flushed. ‘I thought you needed me on a work level.’
‘I do. Things still need to be sorted out here.’
‘But it has nothing to do with work.’
‘What’s the use in nit-picking, Rose? There are no planes leaving in a hurry. The bottom line is you’re here and labouring over whether you should or shouldn’t be is a complete waste of time. When we get back to London, I’ll make sure to compensate you financially.’
‘It’s not about the money,’ Rose said stubbornly, but now she felt petty and small-minded. And who was she kidding, anyway? She was curious and interested to see the place he had decided to adopt as his own, curious and interested to have that little bit more insight into the man he was.
‘Oh, for God’s sake.’ Gabriel raked his fingers through his hair in pure exasperation. ‘Why don’t you try taking a little responsibility here, Rose? You knew the plans had been altered. I assumed you’d read the financial reports and worked out that the whole project had been transferred out of the company and into my own private banking.’
‘I…’ Skimmed over the financial report. She had expected something and so hadn’t checked to see if things had altered on that front. ‘Oh, you’re right. I’m here now. So why don’t you fill me in on what made you change your mind about…the purpose of this place…?’ Amongst his network of other financial concerns, Gabriel owned