Page 12 of An Island in the Sun

It sounded heartfelt, but he’d left her with so many questions, not least the small matter of Rufus and Cordelia failing to mention they even had a son. It was almost as if they’d erased him from their life.

Raff gulped a mouthful of tea and manoeuvred Fudge’s paws off his thigh.

‘I assume you know where the guest bedrooms are?’ Tabitha asked.

‘Of course.’

‘Your, um, parents slept in one the night before they left as I’m in their room, but I think the other one is made up.’

‘I’ll sort myself out, don’t you worry.’

Tabitha frowned, wanting to say ‘great, but I’m not worried’ but let it slide.

Raff picked up his rucksack and, with the mug of tea in the other hand, headed towards the stairs that led to the guest rooms on the mezzanine level, calling, ‘See you in the morning,’ over his shoulder.

Tabitha waited until she heard the first bedroom door open and close. She breathed a sigh of relief, but the unsettled feeling she’d been rudely awoken with remained. Her private haven had been intruded upon.

Tiredness mixed with further annoyance washed over her. She glanced at Fudge sitting on the sofa looking put out that the lap he’d been resting on had gone.

‘Come on,’ she whispered. ‘Let’s get to bed.’

Fudge padded after her to her room. Rufus and Cordelia’s room. That’s why Fudge was following her, because it was where he usually slept, but at least he hadn’t deserted her completely. Tabitha couldn’t help but smile at Bailey curled up in his bed, dead to the world, having missed out on all the excitement. Excitement she could have done without. She crouched down and gently stroked his head. He barely responded, one eye flickering slightly open before closing again.

Fudge jumped onto the bed and Tabitha left Bailey alone. She went back to the door and listened. All was peaceful again, but it was weird knowing that there was someone else in the villa. She closed the door and slid the lock across it, just in case.

6

Scratch, scratch. Scratch, scratch.

Tabitha groaned and rolled over, trying to ignore the noise.

Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, getting faster and faster.

Tabitha sat bolt upright, realisation stealing through her at what the sound was. Through sleepy eyes, she clocked Bailey scrabbling at the closed door. With everything that had happened in the night, she’d completely forgotten Cordelia’s rule about leaving the bedroom door open so the dogs could get out. She swore and jumped out of bed, jolting poor Fudge awake. He thumped down on to the floor after her. She stopped Bailey’s continuous scratching and opened the door for him. Even without kneeling down, the scratch marks were obvious.

Arse, Tabitha thought.Now I’m going to have to explain thatto Cordelia and get it fixed.Annoyance flared within her.

With Fudge on her heels, she headed after Bailey along the hallway and into the kitchen. All was quiet and it was easy to believe that the events of last night had never happened.

With the dogs around her feet, she fed them both and, rubbing her tired eyes, wandered back into the living room to look for Misty, who wasn’t asleep on her chair. Perhaps she’d been scared off by Raff’s intrusion.

Tabitha stood at the bottom of the stairs. The bedroom door was closed and it was quiet, so she presumed he was still asleep. After all, it was early. If it wasn’t for the animals, she wouldn’t choose to be up at this time, particularly after being rudely awoken in the night. She faltered, unsure what to do about Raff. She decided nothing. When he got up, she would ask him to leave.

Tabitha scooped Misty’s dried food into a bowl and went outside to find her. Early-morning sun bathed the garden in golden light and the bright orange flowers of the birds of paradise were vibrant. Still in her pyjama shorts and vest top, she walked down the garden, the short grass tickling her bare feet.

‘Misty,’ she called gently as she searched for movement in the bushes dotted between the tropical trees and plants.

A flash of grey and Misty emerged from fronds of green, stalking towards her and rubbing her soft fur against Tabitha’s bare leg.

At least she had one less thing to worry about knowing Misty was fine. Just Rufus and Cordelia’s son still asleep in the house now.

* * *

The annoyance that Tabitha had woken up with began to turn into anger as the morning marched on and there was no sign of Raff. By eleven, unable to fully concentrate on work, she’d had enough. Raff was still here in the place she was responsible for and it grated on her nerves. She didn’t care if he was jet lagged or simply lazy; she wanted him gone and the villa to herself again.

Tabitha took the stairs two at a time, no longer attempting to keep quiet. She faltered on the landing outside the first bedroom, considering if she should give him a little longer but decided he’d overstayed his welcome. Without further hesitation, she knocked on the door.

It felt like an inordinately long wait. Then, just as she was about to bang on the door again, there was the sound of fumbling, followed by footsteps and the door swung open. Raff, with bed hair and wearing only pants, filled the doorway. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Without meaning to, her eyes drifted downwards, taking in the black ink decorating his arms, right shoulder and edging across his muscled chest. She snapped her attention back to his face and met his cool blue, smiling eyes.

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