Page 14 of Stars Shine In Your Eyes

“I haven’t,” Mari said. “I’m constantly astounded by how beautiful this island and London are.” She sighed, her hand held comfortably in Owen’s. “And I come from California, which is incredibly beautiful, but somehow this is home.”

“I feel the same way,” Owen said. “I grew up over in St. Margarets, just across the river. I’ve been to a lot of amazing places, but this island is where I always want to come home to. Especially now that Mari is here.”

They were so sweet together, and Josie couldn’t help but hope that one day she might find a man like Owen, who actually cared about her and was honest and had a big heart.

Wait, she’d sworn off men forever, hadn’t she?

But a small part of her admitted that maybe there might be a decent, good man in her future. Maybe.

At the door to Malcolm’s houseboat, Mari gave Josie a hug. “I can’t wait to get started tomorrow. How about I swing by the houseboat and grab you at nine a.m.?”

“Fantastic. See you tomorrow morning. And thank you so much for dinner and the great company.”

Exhaustion fell over Josie as she stepped inside the boat. Stopping only to brush her teeth and slip into pajamas, she walked astern and crawled into bed. The sheets smelled fresh, and the bed was warm and toasty.

For a moment, she imagined Malcolm sleeping beneath these same covers, naked and incredibly sexy. Her blood heated for a moment, but then exhaustion took over, and she was down for the count.

CHAPTER FOUR

Malcolm should have been thrilled. He’d stopped the deal going south. By the skin of his teeth, but what mattered was that it was done. The deal was back on track and destined to be a big winner in his portfolio. He and Genevieve had worked their butts off to reassure Kieran. He only hoped they wouldn’t have to fly to New Zealand to finally close the deal.

All he could think about, however, was Josie. Was she settling in all right? Had she gone to take a nap? Or was she having dinner with Mari and Owen?

It was surprisingly easy to imagine himself sitting at Mari’s kitchen table with the three of them, even though he rarely had a chance to do that. He was always working.

Thankfully, he’d saved this deal right before heading off on a week’s break. His executive assistant, a stern and serious older woman named Mabel, who he knew had a secret soft spot for him, asked him if he really intended to not work for an entire week.

Her question had been rhetorical, of course. They both knew he’d be chained to his laptop and cell phone wherever he happened to be, like he always was in London.

Now, he was waiting at the bar of what was currently the most exclusive restaurant in Notting Hill. Katrina had told him she would meet him there because she was coming from an appointment in Milan, the center of the fashion world. She was an entrepreneur with her own new fashion house, which made sense, as she had come out of the industry as a model.

How many models had he dated? He couldn’t count all of them on two hands. Drinking his vodka martini, he couldn’t help but feel like a cliché—the billionaire businessman with the model girlfriends.

What’s more, all of his recent late nights at the office, working on the deal he’d just closed, had finally caught up with him. He usually didn’t need as much sleep as everyone else, but right at this moment, he felt as though he had jet lag. The thought of crawling into his cozy bed on his houseboat filled him with surprising longing. And he couldn’t honestly deny that picturing Josie there with him wasn’t making it seem even more attractive a possibility…

A part of him felt guilty for having thoughts about Josie while he was still with Katrina. But he had a feeling this would be their last night together once he told her he wouldn’t be going to Thailand with her. Partly because he wasn’t ready to get serious about anyone. But also because seeing Josie again had sparked a feeling inside that he now realized Katrina had never inspired, regardless of her flawless outer beauty.

Katrina was certain that her new business would be a huge success. He hoped it would be, and he wished nothing but the best for her. But they’d taken their relationship as far as it could go. Tonight would be the end of it. And he had a feeling Katrina might not take it well. Which was why he had chosen to end things in a public place, to up the odds of her not scratching his eyes out in fury.

Yet again, his thoughts went back to Josie. She seemed like such a gentle soul, and even when she’d recognized him as the jackass who had treated her so poorly back in high school, she still seemed to go out of her way to make the best of things. On top of that, she had clearly created a career that she cared deeply about. A job that made her excited to wake up in the morning.

Picking up his martini glass and watching the liquor roll like a wave inside it, he thought about his own career. It wasn’t that he didn’t like being an entrepreneur who put together franchises. His work was usually interesting, like an ongoing game of chess where you never knew what would be on the board the next time you looked at it, because every deal was different.

He wouldn’t use the word passion, though, to describe his feelings about his career. He used to be hungry for nothing more than the next deal, just to know he was winning and climbing higher and higher in the business world.

But that had gone stale a while ago.

The atmosphere around him changed suddenly. He knew Katrina had entered by the hush in the room as everyone craned their necks to stare at her. She hadn’t been on a runway for five years, but she hadn’t lost any of the magnetism or beauty that had made her a top model.

With a sigh, he put his drink down and turned to her just as she said, “I had a hell of a day. Bloody manufacturers. Why can’t they follow simple directions for a simple little black dress?” She didn’t wait for him to respond before signaling the bartender. “A cosmopolitan.”

The bartender barely remembered how to do his job, he was so busy drooling over Katrina. And he certainly didn’t seem to have noticed that she had left the word please off her drink order.

Malcolm studied her in what felt like a scientific way. Yes, there was no denying that she was stunningly beautiful. But when he really looked closely, it was abundantly clear that she was missing that special glow—the light that Josie had. One that came from the inside. One that came from saying please and thank you. One that came from someone who didn’t expect the world to shower her with riches and adoration simply because genetics had given her a face and body that were the epitome of today’s version of beauty.

He tried to shake the thoughts about Josie out of his head. After all, he was here with his girlfriend, even if she wouldn’t be for much longer. While he wasn’t going gaga over her like every other man in the room, he didn’t feel right about disrespecting her. After all, he’d been brought up to treat everyone with respect, no matter who they were or where they came from. And apart from that horrible night at the high school dance in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, there weren’t many times where he could look back and wish that he had behaved better.

Katrina narrowed her gaze on him, almost as though she could read his mind and knew that she wasn’t having her desired effect on him. He found himself suddenly thinking about their sex life. How she would pose, as if she always wanted to present only her perfect angles to him.

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