I’m not in a hurry to do that yet—I suppose I’m looking for a change of direction. I may even decide to go home when the three months is up. I just want to spend time with Emma—my sister. She’s over here on a temporary contract with the nursing directorate.’ She frowned. ‘She messaged me a short time ago when I was on the boat, to say she’d been called out on a job—some last-minute thing that cropped up. I’m just hoping she’ll be back before too long.’
His cool, thoughtful gaze swept over her before he turned his attention back to the road ahead. ‘Talking of jobs, it seems a bit strange for you to be taking time out so early in your career. You’re very fortunate if you can afford to do that. A lot of people would envy you.’
She winced inwardly. Was that a veiled criticism? After seeing her on the boat, getting on so well with his cousin, he probably thought she was a bored rich girl looking for thrills.
‘Perhaps they might. You’re right—it’s good to have enough money to be able to choose—but I don’t see myself as “fortunate”, really,’ she countered. ‘My parents died when I was twelve. They left money in trust for me and my sister, so we’re both comfortably off, but I’d much rather they were still around. We were brought up by an aunt and uncle. They’ve been good to us, but they had their own two little girls to care for. It can’t have been easy for them.’
‘No, I expect not. I’m sorry.’ He studied her briefly. ‘Does it bother you, leaving them behind to come here?’
‘Oh, yes—I’ll miss them all … especially my cousins. But we’re all older now, going our separate ways.’ She was pensive for a moment or two, lost in thought. ‘I suppose we were lucky that there was no rivalry or resentment bubbling away in the background because we were taking up the love and attention that should have been reserved for family. In fact we get on very well with one another. My aunt and uncle did a good job.’
‘Four youngsters must have made for quite a lively household?’
‘Yes, it was a bit rumbustious at times. We had a lot of fun … holidays and family picnics and generally hanging out together.’
‘I never had that experience.’ There was a slight thread of regret in his voice. ‘I was an only child—that’s probably what makes me value my cousin’s friendship all the more. We’re very close—a bit like brothers.’
She sent him a curious glance. ‘Really? I didn’t get that impression. You kept to yourself on the ferry and didn’t really have any contact with him—he said you’d been to Martinique on business and needed some space.’
‘That’s right. I had to go over there to talk to some clients—I have a plantation in the hills, a few miles from Tamarind Bay, so I make the journey to Martinique on a fairly regular basis to see people about supplies and exports and so on.’
‘Wow!’ She smiled. ‘I’m impressed … a plantation owner … that’s inspiring.’
‘Not so much.’ His mouth made a wry twist. ‘I took it over a couple of years ago, when it was completely run down, and I’m learning a few lessons on the way. It’s taking a lot of effort to get it going once more, but we’ve made a reasonable start, I think.’
‘It sounds as though you have a busy life.’ She wanted to know more about the plantation, but he hadn’t yet commented about leaving his cousin to his own devices. Why had he done that if they were so close? ‘You said, “We’ve made a reasonable start”—is William part of that? Where does he fit in? If you’re so close, I don’t understand why you didn’t want to talk to him on the boat?’
‘He works for me, but he’s on holiday at the moment. As for when we were on the boat—he was with his friends and I didn’t want to intrude … more especially since he seemed to be very taken with you. In fact, I’d say he was smitten … so much so that I doubt he’d have thanked me for getting in the way.’
She looked at him in mock surprise. ‘Smitten? We’d only just met!’ Why would he have reached that conclusion? Was he jealous of the attention William had been giving her? Of course he hadn’t heard the bulk of their conversation, or he would have known they were just going to be friends. William liked her, but he was still getting over the break-up with his girlfriend and wasn’t making any romantic overtures. ‘You’re reading too much into the situation.’
‘I don’t think so.’ Again, that wry smile. His glance drifted over her, taking in her slender curves, the way her camisole top nipped in at the waist and her skirt draped itself over the swell of her hips. ‘What chance did he have against a flame-haired beauty with emerald-green eyes and a come-hither smile? He was done for the moment he looked at you.’ He pulled a face. ‘Heaven knows—I was done for.’
She stifled an uncertain laugh. Did he really feel that way about her? And that was the second time he’d commented on her looks. ‘Well, thanks for the compliment … I think …’ He made her sound like some kind of Delilah … ‘But if it really was as you say, do you imagine he’d have some sort of a problem getting involved with me? I couldn’t help feeling you were keeping a weather eye on him.’
‘I was, to be honest.’
She blinked, startled by his frank admission. ‘You were?’
He frowned. ‘I was … most of the time. At least I was trying to, when I wasn’t distracted by thinking about you. There’s something about you—a vulnerability that I sensed, maybe. I suppose it must have brought out the protective instinct in me.’ He sighed and gave his head a shake, as though he was trying to pull himself together. ‘Perhaps William feels it, too. Either way, I don’t want to see him land in hot water. My aunt asked me to watch out for him over the next few months. He may not look it, but he’s vulnerable, too, right now. He’s easily led and he’s been hurt in the past.’
‘Haven’t we all?’ She said it under her breath, but he gave her a quick, sharp glance before concentrating on negotiating a twisty bend in the road.
Rebecca gazed out of the window, watching the landscape unfold in all its glory. It was easier than trying to fathom him out. She sensed there was a lot more to Cade Byfield than she’d learned so far. He was attracted to her, but he was fighting it, and at the same time she had a sneaking feeling he didn’t trust her around his cousin. She wasn’t at all sure why.
Not that it mattered. Did she even trust herself right now? She was here to chill out, to get over the breakdown of her relationship with Drew and the turmoil that had caused … and hopefully to recover from the aftermath of the illness that had thrown her life into disarray these last few months.
The road wound its way through forested slopes, and their journey of discovery helped to take her mind off things. Beneath the thick canopy of trees she glimpsed the occasional flight of a colourful parrot or a yellow-chested peewee, and on the ground, which was thickly covered with broad-spanning ferns, she caught sight of small green lizards darting through the undergrowth. There were wild flowers hidden among the foliage along the route—waxy lilac anthuriums and the pretty scarlet rosettes of bromeliads peeking out here and there. It was beautiful, and all new to her.
‘You said you often go to Martinique on business?’ she murmured, turning her attention back to Cade. ‘Wouldn’t it be quicker and easier for you to fly?’
He nodded. ‘That’s true. But I like having the chance to unwind on board the ferry. It gives me time to clear my head and maybe get things into perspective. In a place like this you don’t always want
