Surprise Reunion with His Cinderella Read online

  Or was she simply nervous? She always used to distract him with her mouth when she was nervous. Much like she had last night. Biting it, chewing it, drawing his attention...eyes up!

  ‘Sleep wasn’t really forthcoming.’

  ‘Too much wine?’ he managed to ask through the tightness in his throat.

  ‘I said don’t rib me!’

  Her frown deepened and he had to bite back his grin. He did feel for her, especially as she’d paled over his mention of wine.

  ‘Apologies.’

  She pressed her palms to her cheeks and sucked in another breath, blew it out slowly.

  ‘Right... I can do this,’ she murmured against her hands, turning to scan the deserted pathway and gardens.

  Almost every colour of the rainbow was covered in the island’s vibrant vegetation and fauna, but there wasn’t another human in sight. Her eyes came back to him—slow, unsure—her hands falling to her sides. ‘Do we not have a guide for this little escapade? I really don’t fancy getting lost in the wilderness.’

  He laughed now. He couldn’t help it, and it felt good. Different. Lighter without the shock hanging over them. ‘You know this island is tiny, right?’

  ‘And you know I can get lost in a shopping centre, right?’

  He shook his head, his grin uncontainable. ‘You can’t still be as bad as all that?’

  ‘Wanna bet?’

  He laughed more. ‘In that case, I’ll lead the way, though...’ He looked at her feet, at the dusty pink-tipped toes in the gold leather flip-flops, and felt a ridiculous tightening in his core. Was there anything about her that didn’t seem alluring and dainty, calling to his protective instincts as surely as a wounded puppy would? ‘You might want to change your footwear.’

  She followed his line of sight, fluttered her toes. ‘You’ve got a point. Just give me a wee minute.’

  She turned and hurried back in the direction of her room, her behind far too tantalising in the flimsy shorts, and he wished he’d asked M to send them skiing. Not only to avoid the Seychelles but to gain extra layers, lots and lots of extra padding, anything to stop him lusting over her like some lovesick teen.

  Like the lovesick teen he’d once been...

  He threw his attention into making sure the bikes were solid, safe. Checked and checked again that the two cool bags Monique had given him, containing a picnic lunch, were still snug inside the baskets on the front of the bicycles. And waited.

  True to her word, she was quick, swapping her sandals for a pair of trainers and a white cap.

  ‘I’m all yours.’

  No sooner had she said it than she coloured, her cheeks clashing with the colour of her hair, and he cleared his throat and tugged his sunglasses out of the chest pocket of his linen shirt. He shoved them on, gaining the same layer of protection to stop her reading him like an open book.

  ‘You have sunscreen on?’

  She planted her fists on her hips and tapped her foot. ‘Yes, as it happens. Do you?’

  He chuckled. ‘Sorry, force of habit.’

  The force of habit that always had him looking out for her, looking after her...but he wasn’t so sure this Jas would ever need looking after. Oh, she suffered with the blushes still, but there was a fight to her, a confidence. And he liked it and hated that he liked it.

  He kicked the stand up on her bicycle and the thing lurched forward.

  ‘Easy, tiger.’ She gave a laugh-cum-snort and he pretended not to notice the curious look she sent him.

  ‘Climb on, the seat should be about right. If not...’

  She gripped the handlebars, preparing to hook her leg over. ‘This should be fun.’

  She clearly didn’t mean it.

  ‘Not a fan of cycling?’

  ‘I haven’t been on a bike, not one of the non-static variety, since I was in my teens.’

  Since they’d been together...

  The thought came unbidden, the memories too. Of bike trails and picnics and exploring the grounds of Highgrove and further afield. Happy times. Easy.

  He shot it all down and reached out to grip the centre of the bike handlebars, holding it steady for her. The move brought her close, so close that her scent drifted up to him, the power of it all the more forceful without the shock of last night.

  Was it her perfume, her shampoo...?

  He didn’t know, but it was soft, floral with a hint of coconut, and his body stirred to life.

  ‘You know what they say...’ He cringed at the hoarseness to his voice. ‘You never forget.’

  She grumbled something incoherent but very definitely curse-like and he grinned, forgetting his discomfort. ‘I can arrange for a buggy if you’d rather explore the island that way?’

  ‘What, and give you the satisfaction of thinking I’m chicken?’ She turned to him then, her smile so bright he was imprisoned by it, immobilised, and thanked the heavens that he still had his sunglasses on. ‘No way.’

  She hooked her leg over, her body forcing his away a little as she planted her feet either side of the bike, went up on tiptoe and nudged the seat with her bum. ‘It’s good, you can let go now.’

  ‘You sure?’

  She pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows above the rim of her shades.

  ‘Okay.’ He lifted his hands, palms out in surrender, and stepped back. ‘Off you go then.’

  She looked down, kicked a pedal into position, sending it too far, tried again and had it. She pushed off with a wobbly, ‘I’ve got thi-i-i-s.’

  He chuckled after her shaky form, too entertained to be ill at ease now.

  ‘You sure you’re okay?’ he called after her, his grin unstoppable.

  The front wheel was going this way and that, her movements stilted and awkward and so very funny.

  ‘I’m fi-i-i-ne.’ It undulated out of her as she kept her eyes fixed ahead, her balance steadily returning. ‘Are you go-going to lead the way before I get us lo-o-st?’

  ‘We’re still on the premises, Red!’

  ‘And?’

  He laughed, his head shaking as he took hold of his own bike and kicked the stand up. He rode after her, realising the sooner he was in front of her, the sooner he wouldn’t need to look at her because the sight of Jasmine riding a bike with all the balance of a toddler was as appealing as seeing her do something as sexy as a lap dance in next to nothing.

  Not that she’d ever done such a thing for him, not that she would ever do such a thing in the future, but now that idea was firmly planted in his brain, he was struggling to think straight.

  ‘You there, Freddie?’

  He nodded himself out of his stupor. ‘Undertaking on your left.’

  ‘You what, on my...’ Her bike veered left just as he came up alongside her and they juddered to a stop. He planted his feet and steadied his bike with his thighs, reaching out to grip her by the waist as he did so.

  ‘Good Lord, Red! Please tell me you know your left from your right.’

  Her cheeks flushed as she harrumphed up at him. ‘Of course I know my left from my right, I’m a world-class programmer!’

  Not that he could see the relevance of that.

  ‘You just...you just distracted me,’ she blustered, her body swelling in his grasp with her sucked-in breath, and he knew he was no longer listening. He was too busy feeling her soft warmth beneath his palms, her breasts pushed up against him and those lips... She’d trapped her bottom lip in her teeth and it was calling to him, nagging at him to tease it from her bite and nip it with his own.

  He swallowed back a groan, felt his control seeping through his fingers into her, gifting it to her like he had ten years ago...

  ‘You can let me go now, Freddie.’

  She sounded as breathless as he felt and he snapped his hands away, pushed off with his feet and led the way.

&n
bsp; He should have looked over his shoulder to check she was following okay, but he couldn’t trust himself not to throw the bike down and pull her into his arms. Kiss her like his body so desperately wanted him too.

  And if it was just his body demanding it, he’d do just that. It wouldn’t matter that it was a brief fling, a bit of fun, he would enjoy it and move on.

  But she’d only been back in his life a night...one night, and already those feelings of old were returning. The need to be with her, the joy he found in her smile, in her laugh. All those feelings that pulsed too close to his heart, his heart that had barely survived her ten years ago.

  How would he fare now? Ten years older. Ten years wiser. With a multitude of women since and none of them capable of sparking anything close to what she could.

  ‘All right, all right, Freddie!’ she called after him. ‘You didn’t tell me this was some kind of race.’

  He grimaced and eased his speed, softly applying the brakes. His fight or flight instinct was clearly kicking in. He looked behind him to see her pedalling faster, steadier, her grin wide. Despite her admonishment, she was having fun. It shone around her in the sun, like an aura that called to him, sucking him in.

  Fight or flight?

  Right now, he knew which he would choose, and it wasn’t the safe and sensible option.

  ‘We could have a race.’

  She laughed. ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘Absolutely.’

  ‘Ever the competitive one, you haven’t changed at all.’

  ‘Neither have you.’ The soft observation came out automatically and he knew it wasn’t quite true. She had changed. And so had he. They’d both grown up, experienced the world, succeeded as far as their corporate dreams were concerned. As for their hearts...

  Well, they wouldn’t be here now if they’d succeeded there.

  And now they were together again...

  He shot the thought down as quickly as it sparked.

  There would be no second chance.

  This wasn’t some fairy tale romance, this was reality. And the reality was he had no space in his life for a relationship, not any more. And even if he did, he couldn’t trust her to stand by him in the face of his family, he couldn’t trust her with his heart again, but he could let go for a week. They could have this time together. Make it as wild and as adventurous as they liked.

  ‘First one to the gatehouse!’ she called out, pedalling faster and overtaking him, flashing him an electric grin.

  ‘You’re on.’

  This truly was paradise and, for whatever reason, they’d been gifted this time together and he wasn’t going to waste it getting caught up in feelings he’d long ago shut down.

  He was going to make the most of every last wild and adventurous second.

  CHAPTER SIX

  ‘I HAVE TO SAY, when I saw the bikes I did think less luxury holiday and more military boot camp,’ Jasmine teased as she pressed her hand to her very full stomach and sighed. ‘I was wrong.’

  ‘Don’t forget, we have a full body massage awaiting us this afternoon. You can see it as earning that little bit of luxury.’

  She laughed softly. ‘True. And I’m going to need the cycle back just to work off all that food.’

  They were lying on a red-chequered picnic blanket under the shade of the gently swaying palms above and the pillowy softness of the white sand beneath. Impressive granite boulders of all shapes and sizes punctuated the coastline, creating a perfect secluded cove.

  They truly were in their own private paradise, and what she would give to make things different between them. To rewind ten years...

  A sharp squawk from the circling white birds above jarred her out of her reverie and Freddie caught her flinch, his mouth quirking to one side in a gesture that she was swiftly getting used to, her attraction to it much less so.

  ‘Noisy, aren’t they?’ he said, his eyes on the birds.

  ‘Very. Just like the seagulls back home...though I have to say these are slimmer, more angular.’

  ‘I can’t imagine these have ready access to fish and chips.’

  She grinned. ‘True. And I guess we are intruding on their paradise, they have every right to tell us to do one.’

  ‘What, so they can get at the leftovers from our feast? See, not so different, after all.’

  She laughed again and rolled her head to the side, eyeing the spread only half-finished between them. Crusty ciabatta, cheeses, pâtés, pickles and preserves, freshly prepared fruit, homemade nougat and fudge...

  He chuckled, his head turning to the side too, his grin touching both corners of his mouth now and flashing his perfect white teeth, the cheeky dimple on the right that reminded her so much of the boy he’d been.

  Her heart did a little skip and her eyes flicked to his. They were as blue as his shirt, as endless as the sea and the clear sky above. Their depths ever more captivating and ever more dangerous to her misbehaving body that wanted so desperately to act on his suggestion at dinner the previous night. His suggestion that they ‘enjoy’ themselves, indulge in a week of pleasure...

  She shivered with the recollection, bit her lip to stop the whimper that wanted to erupt.

  He was much less severe today. His smiles were easier, his body less tense. The change as marked as night to day. But maybe that was it, maybe having the sun shining down on him had lifted the serious aura and made him more like Freddie...her Freddie.

  And that wasn’t a good thing. Freddie looking like his father, reminding her of his father, made it easier to keep some distance between them. But that distance had shrunk with the ease of the day, the fun on the trails, the beauty of their surroundings.

  And now as she looked at him she wanted nothing more than to close the physical gap and kiss those lips that looked, oh, so familiar and yet not.

  ‘Jas?’

  Scratch the less severe. He looked pensive now. As pensive as she felt, his voice soft and laced with...lust?

  But she didn’t want to get her hopes up, not after last night when he’d left her hanging almost literally.

  She looked at the sky, hiding from him. ‘Hmm?’

  He rolled onto his side, edging that little bit closer, and she kept her eyes up, her palms on her fluttering tummy. This could be it, the moment he would kiss her, the moment they would embark on their six-day fling...

  ‘Do you want some more coconut water?’

  She twisted to look at him, her eyes narrowing. ‘No. No, I don’t want more coconut water.’

  I want you.

  ‘Fair enough.’ He grinned. Was he doing it on purpose? Drawing it out? Teasing her? Just like he had last night... ‘Mind if I finish it?’

  ‘No.’ Crumbs, was she going to have to jump him? ‘You knock yourself out.’

  Her eyes flitted to his hand as he lifted the flask and poured out the remainder, her attention on his fingers, on those tanned lengths that she wanted roaming all over her skin. Old memories merged with new fantasies. He’d been a skilled lover before, thoughtful, attentive, what would he be like now? With all the experience, the added strength to his frame, those shoulders so broad and dominating, she could lose herself against him.

  His chuckle pulled her sharply back into reality and she realised she was staring, her lips parted, an expression that could only be interpreted as longing on her face.

  ‘You sure you don’t want some?’

  Eyes on the heavens again, she felt her cheeks burn. ‘No, no, I’m good.’

  He was still watching her, though. Even as he arched his head back, downing the drink and exposing the long, muscular length of his neck that looked, oh, so very appetising...and now she sounded like some blood-starved vampire!

  Eyes to the heavens, Jas.

  ‘That’s so good.’ He groaned. ‘I’m sure it doesn’t taste that way back ho
me.’

  ‘Where’s home for you now?’ she blurted out, desperate for some conversation to beat back her interfering libido. ‘Until you return to Edinburgh, that is?’

  He lay back on the blanket, his hands behind his head, and she breathed a little easier, even as the chill of disappointment ran through her.

  ‘New York.’

  ‘Will you miss it when you leave?’

  He was quiet and she sneaked a peek. Deep in thought, his brows pinched together, he was really thinking about it. ‘I don’t have time to miss things.’

  It was a strange way to put it. But then...didn’t she get that? Hadn’t Tim accused her of being married to her job, always being on edge when she wasn’t at her laptop, tapping out a new programme, identifying opportunities, acting on them. Didn’t her friends accuse her of it now?

  A man was supposed to change that, but if she was honest with herself, would it really? Maybe she and Freddie had more in common now than ever. And maybe she should be taking his lead and accepting that a relationship, as ideal as it was on paper, just wasn’t practical when all was said and done. Not when her heart now belonged to her business. Her business and Freddie from the past...

  ‘If only we could find a way to create more of it.’

  ‘Time?’ He grinned at her. ‘Your programming skills up to inventing a time machine yet?’

  She laughed, a sense of ease building with the realisation that they weren’t so different. That Freddie was right to keep it about the week, about the newfound ease they had found, and enjoy it. Not to get hung up on the future...

  ‘I’ll be back in New York often enough anyway,’ he continued. ‘My business and my charity HQ are there, that won’t change.’

  She thought of all he’d achieved over the last ten years. The amount of effort it must have taken to make something of himself, having broken away from his family. He hadn’t taken his family’s wealth and survived off it, he’d done his own thing, created his own investment company and his own charity from the ground up. He was as married to his work as she was and as her chest swelled with pride for him, she also acknowledged that he wasn’t hers to be proud of any longer.