was too Maine rather than Mustique, and quickly made it less preppy with a turquoise bangle, hoop earrings and a long gold Garrard chain. She slipped on some flip-flops, applied a slick of translucent coral gloss to her lips and turned off the stereo. With a final squirt of perfume, a signature scent that she had made especially for her at great expense by Jean Patou, she was ready. She fastened a huge magnolia bloom behind her ear and, realizing she had been over an hour getting ready, made her way to the pagoda.
Michael and Venetia were already at the table drinking a fruit punch and chatting. It was a small and intimate space, the rough-hewn table seeming to float in a sea of blackness with only two small oil lamps and the vast smudge of stars for light. She watched Michael laughing as he poured wine into a ruby-coloured tumbler for Venetia and felt a sudden stab of jealousy. The second her back was turned and Venetia goes muscling in on the host, as if she had something to prove just because she had failing bloody ovaries.
She caught herself and realized that somewhere between the Nile and this moment on the terrace in Mustique, Michael had become incredibly attractive. Especially for a billionaire.
‘Now this is what I call a restaurant,’ said Serena, placing herself at the head of the table directly opposite Michael and letting the thin strap of her top slide off her shoulder.
‘Ah, Serena! Late, but great,’ said Michael, smiling wolfishly.
Serena smiled coquettishly as Michael beckoned over two stewards carrying huge silver platters. ‘I was just saying to Venetia that she has exquisite taste. I could use it in some of my hotels. We must set up a meeting next time I am in London.’
Serena smiled weakly. ‘But of course,’ she purred, flashing her sister a secret warning. ‘Anyway, what are we eating?’
‘I asked the chef for something simple tonight,’ smiled Michael. ‘I hope you ladies don’t mind.’ He clicked his fingers and the stewards pulled off the silver cloches to reveal plates of red snapper, thick wedges of sweet potatoes dipped in a spicy sauce and a huge bowl of green beans. The three sat eating quietly, each enjoying the food against the sound of waves and the gentle wind. Venetia looked up and noticed Michael looking up at them both, smiling broadly.
‘Hey, why the grin?’ she asked.
‘I’m laughing at the purity of the English genes,’ he said. ‘I look at you two and I see one thousand years of Anglo-Saxon pureness.’
‘Actually we have some Spanish blood sneaking in there somewhere back in the sixteenth century,’ said Serena. ‘Persecuted Catholics infiltrated the family. So we’re not that pure.’
‘Well, I would hope not.’ Michael’s remark was playful and loaded.
They all smiled and turned back to the food, the snapper crumbling into tender shards, the beans squeaky fresh.
‘So. How’s business?’ said Venetia to Michael, wiping her lips with a napkin.
‘Very good. The travel industry has been hit badly in the last few years, but at the luxury end where the Sarkis Group operates we have been largely unaffected,’ said Michael coolly.
‘Actually, I must talk to your other sister, the editor,’ he added. ‘I want to publish a travel magazine to send to all our customers and put in all our hotel rooms. I want it to be the best – stylish, sophisticated.’
‘It’s funny you should say that,’ said Venetia. ‘Cate’s in the process of launching her own magazine. Maybe the two of you should meet.’
‘That sounds interesting. And I’ll certainly enjoy meeting another Balcon girl.’
He threw Serena another long, lingering look. She held it this time, spurred on by Michael’s interest in Cate and Venetia. Venetia did not miss the look and, feeling jet-lagged and a bit drunk after a bottle of good Merlot, decided it was time to withdraw to her villa. She knew where leaving Serena alone and half dressed with a renowned playboy could lead but, with her eyelids drooping, she wasn’t in the mood to care.
‘I must get to bed. Goodnight both of you,’ Venetia said.
Michael got up to kiss her on the cheek, while Serena sat quietly in her chair, glad to be rid of her.
When Venetia had walked off into the dark, there was a sudden knowing silence between Serena and Michael.
‘I can’t eat or drink another thing,’ said Serena finally, hooking her fingers over her waistband to expose a slim band of flesh.
‘Well, shall we go for a walk then?’ smiled Michael. ‘I don’t think I can stay awake if we stay here.’
Serena nodded and they walked down the stone stairway at the side of the terrace, onto another level of Esperanza where there was a large Jacuzzi and gazebo made from walnut and thick curtains of white voile. The only light was a creamy moon bursting out of a black sky and four blazing torches at each tip of the pool that crackled softly.
Serena walked over to the promenade that looked out to sea, the wind picking up and sending the creamy silver reflection of the moon waving over the black surface of the sea.
She turned around to see Michael behind her. He had undone a couple more buttons on his shirt; a thatch of jet-black hair peeked over the fabric.
‘I hope I’m not disturbing you?’
‘Feel free. A great silence is worth sharing. Just listen – there’s nothing!’
‘Just a little sound of the sea.’
Michael rested his powerful hands on the stone wall beside Serena and looked up into the star-freckled sky.
‘I hope you didn’t mind me coming,’ he said. ‘I was actually in Palm Beach, which we both know isn’t exactly round the corner …’ He looked towards her and smiled, a hint of danger curling at the corners of his mouth.
‘It’s your house. It’s not for me to say when you can come to stay.’
‘Let’s just say I wasn’t in the area. Are you glad I’m here?’
‘Of course,’ Serena laughed nervously, still a little unsure where this encounter was going.
‘It’s just good to be with someone who is going through the same thing,’ said Michael.
‘The same thing? What do you mean?’
‘Well, things with Marlena, my girlfriend – I think you met her in Egypt – they aren’t too great.’
Serena touched his shoulder gently. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.’
He laughed, dipping his chin. ‘We argue all the time. And she spends like crazy. Half a million dollars on couture. Two million at JAR. I’m a generous guy but I don’t like to feel exploited.’
‘So are you leaving her?’
‘It’s been talked about.’ He stopped and bent his head to smell the magnolia blossom in Serena’s hair, gently stroking a strand from her face.
‘Relationships take a long time to end after they are over,’ he said softly.
Serena
