Escape (8 page)

She was horribly aware of how bad she looked and probably smelled. “Just give me one minute, okay?”

“You’re not going to run off on me again?”

She shook her head, confused.
What was he doing here?

“You’re guarding the only door,” she pointed out. “I can’t go anywhere.”

Lucy ran to the bathroom and turned on the tap. Quickly, she splashed cold water on her face and then rubbed away the rest of last night’s make-up with a wet wipe. A spray of deodorant masked the worst of her alcohol fumes and she scrubbed her teeth furiously. She was far from ‘as good as new’, but it was an improvement.

She took a deep breath and headed back outside.

Rudy still sat there, sipping a glass of juice, looking as gorgeous as ever in the early morning sunshine. He smiled at her as she walked out.

“So, do you do this for every emotionally unstable woman who comes to the resort?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No Lucy, only you.”

The way he said her name made her forget her hangover. She stared at him in confusion. The directness of her gaze seemed to fluster Rudy and he started pi
ling food onto a plate for her and
pouring her coffee.

“Thanks,” she said, accepting the plate.

Maybe it was the alcohol still flowing through her system, but it gave her the balls to be straight with him. She couldn’t just sit here and eat breakfast with him as though it was the most natural thing in the world, especially when
his girlfriend could walk past
at any moment.

“What are you doing here, Rudy?” she asked. “What about Rachel? Isn’t she going to be pissed that you’re bringing breakfast to another woman?”

He looked at her in confusion. “Rachel? What the hell has this got to do with Rachel?”

“Well, I would have thought she would care who her boyfriend is with.”

He barked laughter.
“Boyfriend?
The last time Rachel had a long term boyfriend she was in college.”

Lucy’s mouth dropped open. “But, I thought...”

“Whatever you thought, you were wrong. There’s never been anything between Rachel and me and there never would be. She is not my type.”

It was Lucy’s turn to laugh. “How could she not be your type? She is stunning.”

He shrugged.
“If you like that type of thing.
For me, she’s just too obvious.”

Then she remembered something. “But I saw you two arguing on the beach.” She was embarrassed to admit what she’d seen, as though she had been spying.

“It was nothing, Lucy. She wanted a shift covered so she could go to another island and party. I told her I wouldn’t do it and she was pissed. I’ve covered too many of her shifts recently and I had to put my foot down.”

“Oh, of course.”
She shook her head, embarrassed. “So what is this all about then?”

“I told you. It’s an apology.” He bit at his lip and she wished it was her mouth he was biting. “I like you, Lucy,” he admitted. “I didn’t want you to hate me.”

A flush of pleasure crept up her chest. She picked up a piece of croissant and nibbled on it, trying to hide how she felt.

“I have to go,” he said, and her heart sank in disappointment. “I have a group of desperate tourists who want to go diving, waiting for me, but can I assume your acceptance of breakfast means we’re friends?”

She looked down at her croissant and smiled. She couldn’t believe he had gone to so much trouble for her. “Friends,” she echoed.

“Great. How about you come meet me tonight? The resort is having another barbeque down at the beach. Please tell me you’ll come? I promise to be waiting for you.”

“I’d love to.”
             

“Great,” he said again and they smiled at each other. She glanced aw
ay, suddenly shy and he stood
, pushing his chair away.

“See you tonight t
hen,” he said over his shoulder
as he headed down the steps.

Lucy watched him go, his broad shoulders hard beneath his shirt, the muscles in his calves bending and flexing as he walked. Had she ever been so attracted to anyone in her entire life?

A pang of guilt clutched at her throat. She had barely thought about Max since she got here and now she was fantasizing about another man. She wondered if she should call him, tell him it was over.

The thought
rang an alarm bell inside
her. Was that what she had decided, her relationship with Max was over? It was scary how quickly her mind jumped to such an instant and final decision.

She took a deep, shaky breath. It was a big step. They had everything together—their
whole lives. But then she realiz
ed they didn’t share much at all. They rented the flat they lived in, and while they might lose their deposit, that would be about the worst of it. Everything else—bank accounts, investments, were all separate. They had never taken that next step and combined their finances. Each of them had their own careers and they hadn’t felt the need to merge.

Lucy tried to figure out what time it was in England. What were they—eight hours behind? Eight hours ahead? She had no
idea. Even if she knew, she didn’t know
what shifts
Max was working at the moment. T
he chances of catching him in (and awake) were pretty slim.

There was always email.

Again her stomach twisted with guilt. Did she really plan to end her two year relationship via email? When had she gotten so cold? Anyway, the satellite that allowed them to connect to the Internet didn’t face in the right direction until this evening, so she couldn’t do anything until then.

Her hangover started to fade. Part of her felt like the morning so far had been nothing but a dream. She struggled to believe the gorgeous dive instructor had just told her he liked her. Things like that didn’t happen to people like her. She was normal, ordinary, certainly not the type of woman men brought surprise romantic breakfasts to.

Her day was free to do as she pleased. She knew she ought to try to see a bit more of the island, but all she really wanted to do was flake out.

Flaking out won.

Lucy headed down to the beach with a book. The hangover still haunted her, but excitement about the
upcoming night overruled her fo
g
gy mind
. The knowledge that she wasn’t going to bump into Rudy, and now she knew Rachel didn’t have any kind of hold on him, meant she could relax. She even felt a certain amount of pleasure in knowing that Rudy didn’t like Rachel. Clearly the other woman had a thing for him and she had made her dislike of Lucy perfectly obvious. At least now Lucy knew the reason why.

That evening, she walked
down
to the beach with a light step and an excited heart. A flutter of nerves made her take deep breaths, trying to steady them. The night was warm and Lucy had chosen a simple white shift dress, hoping to aim for a ‘relaxed but sexy’ look. She hoped he would be there, that he hadn’t changed his mind. Part of her worried he had been fooling around with her, that for all his grand gestures, he wouldn’t bother showing up.

Despite her excitement,
guilt still clung to her. Where could this thing ever go? Did she really intend on throwing away a two year relationship for a fling with a hot dive instructor? It was madness.

A warm, scented breeze brushed against her skin and her dress rippled around her legs. Music and laughter from the barbeque floated up toward her. The sound made her stomach twist in anxiety. What if he didn’t show? What if he ignored her or had met someone else during the day—some leggy blond
e
with big breasts who made Lucy look like a gawky teenager?

She walked down onto the beach, scouring for Rudy. The barbeque was already going; huge barrel drums
that had been cut in half and
filled with coals. Burgers and sausages cooked on the coals, but also whole snapper and kebabs of giant prawns and red peppers. The smell was enough to get Lucy’s attention and then she realized Rudy was one of the guys tending the barbeque.

He saw her an
d smiled, his dark eyes crinkling
at the edges.

That smile would be very easy to fall in love with.

Lucy pushed the thought out of her head. It was a dangerous path to go down.

Rudy wore one of the cut off t-shirts he seemed to favor, showing off his toned arms, and a pair of cargo shorts and some flip-flops. He looked every part the cool, surfer type; definitely not the type of man Lucy
had ever gone for in the past, but she
couldn’t
seem to
resist this particular one.

Rudy said something to one of the Thai boys also tending the food and handed him the tongs he’d been holding. The boy said something back and Rudy clapped him on the back, and they both laughed.

Her heart pounded and she felt
extremely
self-conscious, standing
waiting for him. She didn’t even notice all the other people around them.

Rudy crossed the sand toward her and leaned down, kissing her gently on the cheek. The roughness of his stubble scraped against her cheek and she inhaled the scent of him; barbeque smoke and the ocean.

“I’m so glad you came,” he told her. “You look beautiful.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Can I get you a drink?”

Her stomach rolled, still feeling the effects of last night’s alcohol and she pulled a face. “Do
you mind if it’s just a coke?
I’m still suffering from last night.”

He laughed. “No problem. I’ve been there before.”

Rudy slipped behind the bar and got Lucy’s drink. Three people stopped to talk to him and Rudy’s expression grew impatient with the interruptions.

“Hey, do you fancy a walk?” he asked, when he made it back to her side. “This place is too busy.”

“Sure.”

They walked away from the crowds and along the shore, in the opposite
direction to the one Lucy had taken
a co
uple of nights earlier
. They rounded the curve of the bay and Rudy came to a stop.

“How is this?”

A beautiful little cove had been cut out of the island. Palm trees swayed behind them, shielding them from the view from the resort. Rudy took her hand and tugged
her down on
the white sand.

They sat together on the sand, side by side. The music from the party drifted over to them, the dull thump of the bass vibrating through the sand. Behind them, from the bushes, came the steady trill of cicadas as they sang out to one another. Waves lapped at the shore, rocking and rolling the soft sand back and forth.

Lucy was so aware of his body, where each limb was placed in relation to her own. Her skin felt hot and flushed from the day’s sun. Just being here with him made her nervous.

“So where are you from?” she asked, wanting to break the silence. Her voice sounded too loud in the night, but she carried on talking anyway. She wasn’t used to silence.

“Originally?
A small town in Dorset,” he said, his head titled to one side as he took her in. “No where exciting. What about you?”

“London.”

“Ah,” he said.

“Ah?” she repeated. “Does that mean where I’m from says a lot about me?”

“You just seem a bit...”

She saw him struggling for the words. “Stressed? Uptight?” she said, filling in the gaps for him.