Over the years I’ve learned what cheers me up.’
‘Talking?’
‘Yes—’ she flushed ‘—I like people. I find people interesting and generally very warm and friendly. Human contact is what makes life OK when things are tough.’
‘Really? Generally I find it to be the other way round.’ His beautiful mouth curled. ‘Human beings are what make life tough when things are OK. I presume your need to talk and make friends is the reason you’re distracting all the staff.’
‘I’m not distracting them.’
‘Sweetheart, you’re virtually on the payroll.’
‘I’d love to be on the payroll! At least then I’d be earning some money. And it’s better than being lonely by the pool.’
‘Lonely?’ Black eyebrows rose in incredulous surprise. ‘How can you possibly be lonely? You’re in paradise.’
‘It’s only paradise if you have someone to share it with. What’s the point of spotting a gorgeous bird if you don’t have anyone to get excited with.’ Katie poked at her food. ‘Today I was reduced to having a long conversation with a lizard.’
‘I saw one unconscious on the path,’ he drawled, deadpan. ‘Now I know why. He’d been “Katied.”’
‘You think it’s funny, but I happen to like talking to people.’
‘I had no idea you were lonely. I thought you were working on my script.’
‘I am, but I work better when I have people around me. My creativity is totally stifled otherwise.’
‘You can talk to me.’
‘You’re hardly ever around. You avoid all conversation. You’re no fun.’
A slow, dangerous smile touched his mouth. ‘Any time you want me to demonstrate how much fun I can be, just let me know.’
‘I don’t mean that sort of fun.’ Her heart galloped off at a frantic pace. ‘I mean the sort of fun you can have just talking to someone—’ She broke off as his phone buzzed. ‘Aren’t you going to answer that?’
‘No.’ He leaned towards her, those impossibly thick lashes shielding his gorgeous eyes. ‘There’s more fun to be had by not talking to someone.’
Why was he ignoring his phone?
‘Stop playing games.’ Katie wiped damp palms over her shorts. ‘If we had sex, you’d really hurt me.’
‘I promise to keep my caveman tendencies under control and be incredibly gentle.’
Her mouth dried and her cheeks flamed. ‘I didn’t mean it like that.’
‘I know what you meant.’ He leaned back in his chair. ‘Wicked, bad Nathaniel would bring thunderstorms to Katie-land. It could end in serious flooding.’
‘You’re mocking me, as usual, but I’d rather be optimistic than a cynic like you.’
His phone started to ring again but he continued to ignore it and stood. ‘I’m sorry I’ve neglected you.’ He held out his hand. ‘I’m sorry I’ve been in a vile mood. Let’s walk on the beach. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a sunset on Wolfe Island.’
Her gaze flickered to the phone, abandoned on the table. ‘Don’t you think you should see who was ringing? It might be important.’
His fingers closed over hers, warm and strong. ‘Not as important as seeing a sunset.’
‘I’d love to see the sunset, but …’ With a final glance at the phone, she followed him down onto the soft, white sand that curved below the villa, telling herself that it wasn’t her business if he ignored his calls. Enjoying the beach, she stooped to pick up a shell. ‘I never imagined that anywhere as idyllic as this existed. How often do you come here?’
‘Whenever I need privacy.’
Katie curled her toes into the sand, loving the warmth and the softness. ‘It’s lucky your brother owns it. It’s a great place for family gatherings.’
‘When I come here, it’s for solitude.’
So he didn’t come here with his family. Deciding that she’d better keep her mouth shut on that subject, Katie walked in silence, clamping her lips together whenever she had the urge to speak.
When they reached some large boulders that protected the next beach, he put out his hand to help her over. ‘The best view on the island is from here.’ He vaulted over the last rock with athletic grace and stood, powerful and strong, staring over the sea. ‘This is Turtle Cove.’
‘It’s beautiful.’ Slinging her bag down on the sand, Katie sat and rested her chin on her knees. ‘I did some preliminary sketches for your script, by the way. Just a few ideas. Might be completely wrong and not what you were imagining.’
‘Do you have them with you?’
She reached into her bag and pulled out her pad, suddenly nervous. ‘They’re just ideas.’
He sat down next to her and took her sketch pad. Silent, he flipped through the pages. ‘Brown?’
‘Yes, because in this scene she isn’t sure of herself. She doesn’t want to stand out. Then later—’ Katie leaned across and turned another page ‘—here, she’s wearing bolder, more flamboyant colours and everything is tailored because she isn’t hiding behind her clothes any more.’ Suddenly she realised what she’d done and she felt a flash of mortification. She’d made it personal. ‘If you don’t think it’s a good idea I can—’
‘I think it’s a great idea. I wouldn’t have thought of doing it like that. You’ve shown her character arc through costume.’ Nathaniel studied the drawings carefully. If he spotted any parallels, he didn’t comment. ‘They’re original. Clever.’
‘You really like them?’
‘Yes. Can you work up a costume plot?’
‘Do you have a computer I can use?’
‘You can’t do it the old-fashioned way with pen and paper?’
‘Yes, but it won’t look so professional and you won’t be able to email it to whoever you need to email it to.’
‘Good point. I’ll sort something out for you.’ He sprang to his feet and held out his hand. ‘Sun’s going down. If you want romantic, this is the closest you’ll get.’
She didn’t want romantic, did she? At least, not with this man. She wasn’t that foolish. But after a moment’s hesitation she took his hand and let him pull her upright. The chemistry sparked immediately.
She knew he felt it too, because she heard him swear under his breath.
For a moment she thought he was going to ignore the heat, but then he hauled her into
