Page 3 of Nothing to Do

“He’s not here.”

The male voice stopped her dead. Uh… Scanning the beach, looking for its owner, she came up short. Where the hell did it come from? Moonlight aided her walk but neglected to highlight any signs of a person on the sand. Maybe looking into the light for so long had messed with her eyes.

“You shouldn’t walk so far at night.”

Again, the voice, and closer. Except it didn’t sound like… Whipping around, she zeroed in on him striding from the waves. Whoa, boy, nothing wrong with her eyesight. Damn, that was a body, a cut body more impressive than any she’d seen in reallife. The lines of his form were so mesmerizing that he was practically upon her before she even thought to look at his face.

“I…You’reout here,” she said, giving herself a mental slap. “Why shouldn’tIbe out here too?”

He stopped. The previous purpose in his gait and trajectory suggested he’d intended to carry on up the beach. Her words changed that plan. Maybe fifteen feet in front of her, a little deeper in the waves, his attention cut to her. With his back to the moon, she couldn’t decipher his expression. He was tall. She liked tall men, always had. Though that was a totally inappropriate thought; one that completely shifted her perspective.

The seductive island just delivered this random guy from the surf like driftwood, as though he was some kind of offering to her agitated hormones.

“I have permission to be here,” he said. “Do you?”

“I didn’t know I needed it.”

“So you thought you’d go wandering and just happen to run into him?” he asked, exhaling a sneer of pity. “Sorry to tell you, he’s not here.”

“You keep saying ‘he’ and I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Hey,” she said, kicking at the waves. “Don’t dismiss me. Do you know how disrespectful that is? You’ve made an accusation, either back it up or apologize.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I was having a perfect evening until you rudely interrupted with your assumption. I am here because I like listening to the waves and spending time with my own thoughts. I shouldn’t have to justify myself to you; I don’t have to justify myself to anyone. Am I doing something illegal?”

There was a long pause before he answered. “No.”

“Am I being offensive or unruly? Causing mayhem or harm?”

Another long pause and a more incredulous answer. “No, but—”

“The polite thing would be to go about your business and leave me to mine. Or if you couldn’t help yourself, say good evening or ask if I need assistance, don’t bark at me.”

“I—”

“How would you feel if I assumed your business or interrupted you without invitation or respect? You wouldn’t like it, I’ll bet. No one likes it.”

“Damn you’re scrappy.”

“Why does a woman asserting herself need a label?” she asked. “Can’t I just be right?”

“Uh…”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said on a sigh. “You’ve ruined it now. My bubble burst.”

Spinning around, she went back the way she’d come. The hotel would appear eventually. The spell had broken, for the night at least. The driftwood dude might be right that she was in the wrong place or even that she wasn’t allowed to be there. That didn’t mean he had any right to be rude.

Whoever he was, employee or supervisor, it didn’t matter. Even if she had intruded on him, it had been accidental. He could’ve gone about his business and ignored her. She would’ve been out of his way just a few seconds later.

The island had her. Its people still had a way to go.

THREE

EVERYONE WAS ON high alert the next morning at breakfast. It was the day.Theday the competition winners would meet their prize. For them, the island was secondary to the man, as revealed by Alessia’s agitation and that of the others at the breakfast buffet too.

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