He carried her up the beach and put her down on her towel. ‘Let’s have a look.’
He could find no wound on her feet or legs and he looked patently relieved.
Holly sat up. ‘What could it have been?’
‘It could have been a stingray.’
She stared at him round-eyed. ‘That could have been fatal!’
He smiled. ‘Not necessarily, not in your feet and legs, but it can take a long time to heal.’
Holly allowed a long breath to escape. ‘So, a serpent in paradise, you could say.’
‘Mmm…Have you had breakfast?’
‘No. Uh, no, but—’
‘Come and have it with me.’ He stood up.
Holly stared up at him. He wore a colourful pair of board shorts; as she’d always suspected, his physique was outstanding: not an ounce of excess weight and whipcord muscles. There was only one way to describe it: he was beautifully proportioned. Tall, lean, strong as well as dark, and pirate-like—altogether enough to set her pulses fluttering.
She swallowed and realized she was on the receiving end of his scrutiny. His dark gaze lingered on her legs, her waist and the curve of her breasts beneath the fine lycra of her costume, as well as the pulse beating at the base of her throat. She found herself feeling hot and cold as her nipples peaked visibly.
She jumped up. ‘Thanks, but no thanks. I really…’ She picked up her towel and flapped it vigorously. ‘I really got the feeling last night that things had gone sour somehow, and it might be best if I just go back to Brisbane, so—’
‘Holly.’ He wrested the towel from her. ‘Before you cover us completely with sand, if you still want to go after breakfast, fine. But I haven’t told you about my new project yet—my plans to open a zoo.’
Holly went still and blinked at him. ‘A zoo?’ she repeated.
‘Yes, I’m planning one along the lines of the Western Plains zoo outside Dubbo, but up here on Haywire—that’s why I wanted you to see it. I’m thinking of an adopt-an-animal scheme as a means of publicizing it, as well as the whole endangered-species issue.’
Her eyes widened. ‘What a great idea! Tell me more.’
He shook his head. ‘You have to come to breakfast if you want any more details.’
She clicked her tongue. ‘You’re extremely domineering, aren’t you?’
He shrugged and handed her back her towel.
He ordered breakfast to be served on the terrace of his suite.
Holly sat outside waiting for it while he made and received some phone calls to do with the welfare of his rhinos, and she tried to work out a plan of action.
Nothing had occurred to her by the time breakfast arrived. It was a ceremonial delivery. There was champagne and orange juice; there was a gorgeous fruit-platter with some of the unusual fruits found in the area, like rambutans and star-fruit; there was yoghurt and cereal, a mushroom omelette for her and eggs and bacon for him.
The toast was wrapped in a linen napkin and there was a silver flask of coffee.
‘Thank you, we’ll help ourselves,’ Brett murmured, and the team of waiters withdrew discreetly.
‘I’ll never eat all this,’ Holly said ruefully.
‘Eat as much or as little as you like. I usually start with the main course then work my way backwards, with the fruit topped with a little yoghurt—as dessert, you might say.’
‘Really?’ Holly eyed him with some intrigue. ‘That’s a novel approach.’
‘Try it.’
‘I will. By the way, how long would we stay at Haywire, assuming we go?’
He glanced at her. ‘Two or three days.’
‘You did mention your brother’s wedding.’
He glanced at his watch to check the date. ‘That’s a week from today, here.’
‘Here?’
‘Uh-huh, but there are a few preliminaries in the form of balls, soirées, a reef trip et cetera.’
Holly had to smile. ‘You don’t sound impressed.’
‘I’m not.’ He shrugged. ‘But he is my brother. OK—the zoo.’ He started on his eggs and bacon, and gave her the broad outline of his plans for the zoo—the size of the paddocks he intended to create, the animals he wanted and some of the difficulties involved.
‘Impressive,’ she said. ‘I think it’s a marvellous idea. But…’ She pushed away her plate and picked up a prickly purple rambutan, wondering at the same time how you were supposed to eat it. ‘But I’m not sure I’m the right person to do this. What I mean is, I’m not sure you think I am.’ She watched him keenly for a long moment.
He reached for the coffee pot, poured two cups and pushed one towards her. ‘I do think you’re right for it. I think you have fresh, innovative views.’
‘But something changed last night,’ she persisted quietly.
He looked out over the water and was silent for a time. Yes, Holly Golightly, he thought with an inward grimace, some things did change last night—one you’re not even aware of—but it’s the reason I’m not putting you on the next plane down south.
He clenched his fist as he thought of the dinner last night. His sister-in-law-to-be had decided she might be able to mend some fences, so she’d produced Natasha Hewson at the dinner with the disclaimer that the wedding next weekend was going to be all Nat’s work of art, and they’d be bound to run into each other anyway.
So I’m back in the bloody position, he thought, gritting his teeth, of using you, Ms Harding, to deflect my ex-fiancée. Not that he had any expectations that the two would ever meet, because he intended to whisk her off to Haywire as planned this morning before she went back to Brisbane. But as soon as Nat knew he was travelling with a girl—and he had no doubt she would know it!—she might get the message.
Not exactly admirable behaviour, he mused rather grimly, but needs must when the devil drives.
‘It occurred to me last night,’ he said, switching his gaze suddenly back to Holly, ‘That I might be going into areas I don’t really want to go into—not any further, anyway.’
Holly looked puzzled for a moment and she opened her mouth to say that it had all been pretty harmless, surely? But she changed her mind at the last moment. It was, of course, his prerogative, but it raised a question mark in her mind.
‘Um…’ She hesitated and put the rambutan down. ‘That’s up to you. I’m happy to go along with whatever you want to talk about.’
‘So.’
