Page 4 of Nothing to Do

“Sit still,” Thea said, reaching over to lay a hand on her sister’s wrist.

Alessia’s posse from the bar the previous night had joined them. They were as twitchy as her younger sister.

“This is so exciting!” Alana exclaimed so loud that she drew the attention of other tables. “I can’t believe it’s real.”

Thea smiled. Just like Alessia, the other women were in their early twenties. Their over-the-top enthusiasm was sweet. Being so aroused by anticipation was usually reserved for children. In her opinion, every excuse to let loose and embrace happiness should be snatched with both hands.

Lark leaned in and lowered her voice. “You know what I can’t get over?” The women slanted closer, bubbling with anticipation. “He’s somewhere close by. He’s actually on the island right now, he has to be.”

“I can’t believe it,” Alana said. “I still can’t…” She laid both hands on her chest. “God, I think I might die.”

Before they could say more about their joy, a woman came in, clutching a leather binder to her chest. “Hello, everyone!”

Screams, followed by hushes, went around the room as the prize-winners reacted to this incremental progress. A few peoplesaid hello back, they weren’t quite a cohesive group, maybe because they were so overwrought.

“My name is Mieux, I’m Roman’s coordinator for this event.” A holler of approval rose, and the woman laughed. Yeah, that was her feeling too only she kept hers in for Alessia’s sake. It was like being on a rollercoaster ride without experiencing it while everyone else went nuts. “I know!” Mieux raised a hand to silence them, though it took another few seconds for the crowd to calm down. “He’s excited to meet all of you too. We have a few pieces of housekeeping to deal with before he joins us. But…” Mieux backed away. “No point being stuck inside when we’re in such a beautiful location. If all of you will follow me, we’ll take this outside!”

People scrambled to leave their seats. She was the only one who didn’t move. Alessia was halfway up before she noticed and rebounded.

“You’re not coming?” Alessia asked and tilted her head. “You want to work?”

She winced. “Do you mind? I’ll come if you need me to.”

Alessia grinned as Keri and Alana caught her arms.

“Come on!” Alana exclaimed. “We don’t want to be last.”

“I’m good,” Alessia said. “I know you won’t enjoy it. I have my peeps.” She pulled away from Keri and Alana to throw her arms around her sister to whisper in her ear. “Besides, while they have to share their time, I’ll get to meet him alone.”

She smacked a kiss on her cheek and grabbed for her new friends. The three of them hurried to catch up with the others pouring out the back. Alessia waved once more before disappearing through the doors that swung shut behind the rabble.

Ah, peace.

Picking up her juice, Thea finished up. She hadn’t read the Roman itinerary too closely the previous day. Roman Lowewas probably a very interesting person and was renowned for his charm. However, knowing herself the way she did, she’d be aware of every second of work lost while meeting the stranger, and obsessing about how she might make it up.

Another set of doors opened, and a couple of servers came in. When they saw her, they hesitated.

She put down her glass. “Sorry. I’m finished.”

Leaving her seat, she respected the schedules of others too. The staff would want to get the dining room cleaned before whatever they had to set up for next. The grand round room had to be used for other events. Even if it wasn’t, lunch would be just around the corner.

Which reminded her of something else. On departing the dining room, she went to reception. No one was there. Hmm. What should she do? Most places had reception manned twenty-four hours, but this island was not a resort open to the world, not at that minute anyway.

She only had to loiter for a few seconds before a guy came hurrying out of a side room.

“Yes, ma’am, can I help you?” From the guy’s expression, she guessed he was torn between his customer relations training and sheer confusion. “You didn’t want to join the group?”

“I have work to do,” she said, laying her hands on the high desk. “I didn’t see the Wi-Fi password anywhere and I can’t get cell coverage.”

“No, you won’t get that here,” he said, doing a terrible job of hiding his amusement.

She exhaled. “But you do have corporate facilities. I read it in your brochure last night.”

Which she’d picked up when trying to check her emails and come up blank on how to access the internet.

He frowned. “Yes, we do, but…”

Her brows rose when he didn’t continue. “But… what?”

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