Page 39 of An Island in the Sun

Tabitha paced down the garden path, the dogs fully awake now and trotting after her. She only stopped when she reached the wooden deck in front of the office. Tabitha seethed at Raff’s audacity –ifJulie had been correct. Perhaps she’d got the days muddled and she’d actually seen Raff when he’d been here. Tabitha hoped that Julie had been mistaken because she wasn’t relishing the thought of another confrontation.

The door was closed and locked. She rattled the handle in frustration before holding her hands to the glass, blocking out the sunlight to peer inside. There were two desks set up in an L-shape, plus a sofa against the back wall. Raff’s rucksack was leaning against it.

Tabitha pulled away from the window with a grimace. So, Julie was right. Yet after everything she’d told her about Raff and his relationship with his parents, Tabitha was conflicted, wanting to be angry with him, yet feeling for him deeply. He must have the keys for the office and had been sneaking around without her even realising.

Not only that, but Bailey and Fudge were truly rubbish guard dogs. And Raff knew it.

17

Tabitha sat out on the office deck with her guitar and the iPhone Voice Memo app open, strumming chords, the beginning of something taking shape in her head. Words scattered the page of a notebook, discordant at the moment, just snatches of an idea. It was an idyllic spot, tucked right at the end of the garden and hidden by shady palms and banana plants with their massive, almost crepe-like leaves. The hedge was low, allowing an unspoilt view across the ocean, which was iridescent in the fading light. As well as it being a beautifully clear evening to watch the sunset, she was so conflicted about Raff that she’d decided to stay on the deck to catch him when he returned. His rucksack was inside so he’d have to come back at some point and she was determined to talk to him.

The sun slid towards the horizon, turning a shimmering gold as it met the pearly-grey ocean. If Tabitha hadn’t been so annoyed and if, after nearly three hours of waiting, she didn’t need a wee so badly, it would have been a magical experience. Yet the words flowed and a melody was beginning to take shape, upbeat but with an edge of melancholy, much like most of the music she’d written over the past year.

With dusk, the temperature dropped a little and darkness took over. Tabitha shivered. The dogs paced the decking, impatient for their late tea, and she fed them the treats she found in her pockets. Moonlight pooled onto the ocean, rippling silver-white where the waves formed. The magic of sunset was rapidly fading now Tabitha was uncomfortable, hungry and thirsty, not to mention thoroughly pissed off.

She was tempted to give up and head back to the villa when a shadowy figure appeared around the side of the office.

The figure faltered, but before he could back away, Tabitha shot out of the chair and grabbed him, her hand clasping his muscled arm.

Raff’s eyes were wide. His look of shock made her stakeout worthwhile.

‘Bloody hell, Tabitha! What on earth are you doing?’

She increased her grip. ‘What am I doing?’ Her voice was overly shrill, while her heart thumped.

Raff gazed down at her, the shock on his face morphing into tenderness. She let go of him and he held his hands up in mock protestation. ‘You found me.’

‘You’re finding this funny, huh?’ She shook her head. ‘What are you playing at?’

‘Nothing.’ He reached out as if to touch her shoulder but thought better of it. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you – I figured you wouldn’t even realise.’ His voice was firm and steady as he looked pleadingly at her.

Tabitha folded her arms. ‘You’ve been down here all this time?’

‘Yeah… sorry.’ He shrugged. ‘How did you find out?’

‘Julie said she thought she saw you yesterday.’

He glanced in the direction of Julie’s shadowed garden. ‘Huh. She did, did she?’

‘I asked you to leave.’ Whether it was the anger coursing through her or being back in Raff’s presence, she was feeling flustered. ‘You shouldn’t be here, you have no right to, not after the way you behaved.’

He stepped closer, the waft of his citrusy cologne hitting her, the intensity of his gaze making her briefly drop hers. ‘Let me be honest with you.’

‘It’s about time you were.’

He annoyed and intrigued her in equal measure, and she knew the flustered feeling stemmed from the wayward thoughts that had continued long after she’d kicked him out.

Raff looked at her steadily. The moonlight only reached the edge of the office deck, making his face shadowed. ‘I’ve got nowhere else to go, that’s why I stayed.’

‘There are no other friends you can crash with?’

Raff wrinkled his nose. ‘Not really.’

‘You’ve pissed off all their wives?’

‘That’s about right.’

‘Because you’re a bad influence.’

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