“I could ask Mrs Hall if she wouldn’t mind looking after him. She’s said that she would, if I ever needed her to. As a backup.” He looked at me, his eyes quietly assessing. “Are you game?”
“Game?” I sat up straighter. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m not so stuck in my comfort zone I can’t try anything new. I’ve taken a job on the other side of the world.”
“It can be discomforting,” he continued. “Some people get panicky, out in the ocean. It’s not everyone’s thing. Just saying.” He had a twinkle in his eye as he looked at me.
Was he daring me? I had never been able to refuse a challenge. I was just that kind of person. You had to be up for a lot of things you weren’t comfortable with, to train as a doctor.
But what about what had happened between us? Would agreeing to go on the trip with him confuse things further? I didn’t think that most bosses invited their nannies on expensive snorkelling trips with them. Unless there was another agenda.
“Okay,” I answered, nonchalantly. “If Mrs Hall is willing to take on the babysitting, why not?”
I looked him square in the eye. Challenge accepted.
I wondered what was more dangerous, snorkelling in the ocean, with the possibility of sharks and stingrays, or being alone with Bryce?
Bryce
As we exited Cairns Airport, I saw the driver with the sign. There it was. Our ride to the private boat that I had chartered.
I glanced at Cara as we whizzed through the streets of Cairns, in far north Queensland. She wasn’t saying much, but I could tell she was excited. Well, who wouldn’t be? It wasn’t every day that you got the chance to go on a boat and see the Great Barrier Reef. For some people, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Strangely enough, I hadn’t done this before, although I had been snorkelling a few times and knew what to do. It would only be the captain of the boat and Cara and I on the trip.
I was pretty amazed that she was here beside me. For a start, that I had invited her, it wasn’t planned. I had just received the text from Sam, an old friend, saying that he couldn’t make it. Then I had looked up and seen her, staring at me. As always, I was struck by her beauty. I didn’t think, next thing I was inviting her. It was like the words just marched out of my mouth, unbidden. All the grand plans to keep our relationship professional suddenly flew out the window.
But I was also amazed that she had agreed. I could tell she was a bit miffed, when I had inferred that she might fear the ocean. Maybe that was what had spurred her on to accept.
A day trip. We had boarded the flight to Cairns at six this morning for the two and a half hour flight. I planned that we would be out on the ocean for most of the day, snorkelling and island hopping. Then the flight back was booked for four. Everything staying on schedule, we should be back to the Gold Coast and home by seven tonight.
Home. Isn’t that strange? It was the first time I had thought of the Gold Coast as home, as opposed to Melbourne. Maybe it was the fact that a little golden haired boy lived there, now. My son. I almost swelled with pride as I thought of him. Mrs Hall had been fine about watching him for the day. I was paying her extra for it, of course.
As we rounded a corner, I caught sight of the pier. Boats and catamarans were jostling along it, all ready for a day out on the ocean. And what a day for it. The sky was a clear blue, with the sun just starting to make itself felt. It was going to be a hot, humid day. It was always like this in northern Queensland. I felt a stab of excitement.
“Welcome.” The captain walked toward us, his hand outstretched. Bob was his name, I seemed to recall.
“Pleased to meet you.” I shook his hand and introduced Cara. “Are we all set?”
“Certainly sir.” he answered. “All the snorkelling equipment is on board. We must watch the weather though.”
“How so?” I frowned, staring up at the sky. “There isn’t a cloud in the sky.”
“Not yet,” Bob agreed. “But the forecast predicts a big storm coming in this afternoon. We should take it seriously. Northern Queensland is known for its storms, and obviously you know we can be inundated with tropical cyclones.”
“So what’s the deal then?”
Bob smiled. “We’ll head straight out, and you can snorkel. I know some good spots. Then we might head back a little earlier, depending on the radar. I will check it regularly, don’t worry.”
Cara smiled, a frown on her face. “It will be okay?” She looked out over the ocean.
Bob smiled, too. “Trust me,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I know the area well. You will be delivered safely back here this afternoon.”
“Bryce! Huge stingray!” Cara had popped the snorkel out of her mouth, and was gesturing excitedly to me to swim over to where she was.
I swam to her, the crystal blue waters cool against my skin. She pointed downwards, and I dived down to get a closer look. She was right. It was swimming away, but it was definitely a stingray. I could see its great white wings curling through the water. I couldn’t believe it. I had seen stingrays before, but never one quite so large and in its natural environment.
The whole reef was amazing. The technicolor coral looked other worldly, and the variety of fish to see was astonishing. I had never seen fish so large, or so weird. A huge iridescent blue one swam past me, its bulbous eyes almost popping out of its head. Hundreds of schools of tiny fish were everywhere, almost a plague in the ocean.
Cara was excited. She kept swimming off, discovering something new. She wasn’t scared at all. I could tell she was a strong swimmer and felt at home in the water. Well, I suppose she had grown up in California. She looked stunning in her black one piece bathing suit. I tried not to stare too closely, but it was hard. Her sex appeal was overwhelming.
I kept replaying the moment when she had taken off her sundress on the deck of the boat. I had developed a hard on instantly and had to sit down, grabbing a towel to put over myself. I willed it to subside, trying to think of something mundane. Tried to think of anything but the vision that was on front of me.
Eventually we grew tired, clambering aboard the boat. Cara was breathless. “That was the most amazing experience,” she said. Her eyes were glowing.
“It certainly was,” I said. I glanced over the ocean, trying not to look at her too closely. That’s when I spotted them.
“Look!” I said to her, pointing to a distant spot. “Can you see them?”
She stood, peering out to where I was pointing. Suddenly, she smiled. She had seen them.
A pod of dolphins was jumping in and out of the water, arching gracefully in the air before diving back in. Every dive created a huge splash.
“I can’t believe I got to see dolphins,” she whispered. “How beautiful are they.”
We watched the dolphins frolicking, both of us silent. We both knew how special the experience was. I looked down at her, her eyes riveted on the graceful creatures.
I couldn’t think of anyone that I would rather share this moment with. I thanked the gods that Sam had cancelled the trip.
What was happening to me? I only knew that I wanted no one else by my side. Other than that, I was lost.
We travelled a bit further, finding other areas to snorkel.
Then we alighted onto Fitzroy Island, taking a pre-packed lunch with us. We sat on the beach, munching on sandwiches. I don’t know what they put in them, but they were the best sandwiches I had ever eaten.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” I asked her after we’d finished.
She smiled. “Do we have time?”
“Yes.” I looked around. “Let’s walk to the lighthouse. There will still be plenty of time to get back to Cairns for our flight.”
We walked the bush track, ducking beneath mangroves. It was a dense rainforest, filled with wonders. We could see birds, kingfishers and cockatoos, taking flight. Reaching the lighthouse, we simply stood there, drinking in the view. The azure ocean stretched out, as far as the eye could see.
<
br /> “Thank you,” she whispered, turning to me. “Today has been one of the best days of my life.”
“You’re welcome,” I smiled down at her. How bewitching were her eyes, great dark pools that a man could drown in.
She frowned, peering out over the ocean again. “Can you see the clouds?”
I looked to where she was pointing. A band of angry grey clouds was moving fast across the sky. I had no idea what they signified. They might disperse, or move a different way. But the captain had warned that the weather might change. We should probably get moving.
I was just about to say it to Cara, when I glanced down at the beach. Bob was standing there, his arms waving to get our attention.
I could feel the urgency in him, and turned to Cara, grabbing her hand.
“We’d better get moving,” I said, dragging her back down the path.
Cara
By the time we reached Bob, the wind had picked up. Trees were swaying and cracking. Bob wasn’t smiling. “It’s coming in quickly. We’d better start heading back.”
I looked at Bryce. He was frowning. I had no idea about how storms could go out here, but I took a deep breath. I had to believe that Bob knew what he was doing, and would get us back safely. We ran to the boat, and Bob set sail. I could see lightning piercing the sky on the horizon.
“Is it okay?” I said to Bryce. He looked down at me, smiling, but I could see worry in his eyes.
“I trust Bob,” he said. “If we can outrun it, it should be fine. But storms in this area are unpredictable.”
Ten minutes later, a light rain started. I could feel the water getting choppier. The boat started dipping and swaying dramatically. Bryce had gone to the helm with Bob, helping him out. He told us he had sailed before, many times, and was more than capable of helping. I sat underneath the canopy, watching the sky illuminate with lightning from time to time. It was getting darker.
Then rain started crashing down, hitting the deck like marbles. I jumped. I could hear Bob and Bryce shouting to each other over the din. Bryce ran down the side of the boat. Then he came to me.
“Cara,” he said. “We don’t think we’ll outrun it. It looks like it’s a microburst, so it will be heavy rain. Bob suggests that we aim for another island, which is close. We can’t get back to Cairns in this.”
I gasped. “What about our flight?”
He frowned. “There’s nothing we can do about it, for now. Maybe the storm might clear quickly, and we can still get there. But for the moment, this is all we can do.” He looked at me, his eyes worried. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I breathed. But I had to admit, panic was starting to nip at me. I swallowed it down. I would be of no help to anyone least of all myself, if I collapsed into an anxious puddle. I looked at Bryce.
“Do what you have to do,” I said. He nodded, then ran back out to help Bob.
The boat was swaying precariously, so much so that I had to grip the seat from being thrown onto the deck. I was also starting to feel a bit ill. Don’t throw up, I told myself. The rain was smashing into the boat, hitting it so hard the canopy started to bend and strain under the weight of it. I looked up at it fearfully.
“Cara!” Bryce was yelling to me. “Get into the cabin.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. I scurried into the cabin, stumbling as I navigated the narrow stairs. The boat lurched and careered in the storm. I shut my eyes, sending out a silent plea to the universe to deliver us safely to the island. I felt so useless. Bryce had sailing experience and could pitch in and help, while all I could do was huddle in the cabin, trying to quell my fear.
We travelled for another twenty minutes, the storm intensifying. Then I felt the boat hit something. Oh my god, we hadn’t struck a rock, had we?
But the next minute, Bryce was in the cabin. If the situation wasn’t so serious, I would have laughed. He looked like a drowned rat, his hair plastered to his head. His clothes were sopping.
But he was smiling. “We’ve made it to the island,” he breathed.
“Did the boat hit something?” I looked at him, still not quite believing it was okay.
“That was the sound of it hitting the pier,” he said. He grabbed a towel, quickly drying off his hair and clothes. “I don’t think I have ever been so wet in my life.” I couldn’t help it, then. Maybe it was the stress release. I started laughing, almost hysterical.
Bryce looked at me as if I had gone mad, for a moment. Then he joined in, the sound of our laughter filling the small cabin. It almost drowned out the sound of the rain. Bob poked his head down. He looked at us both in amazement.
“Glad you both are seeing the lighter side of it,” he quipped. “We have arrived on Green Island. Would you like to go ashore?”
I walked around the vast bedroom in the resort, staring out at the rain. Would it ever stop?
I had just showered and was wearing one of the hotel’s complementary bath robes and a towel wrapped like a turban around my head. My sopping clothes were still in a pile on the bathroom floor. We had run from the boat, getting drenched in the process. Well, I had got drenched; Bryce and Bob were so wet already, the rain had seemed to slide off them.
Bryce had taken command. We got to a resort, and he booked us in. Bob had gone to a friend’s house, saying he would wait out the storm there.
I barely looked at the resort as we ran inside, but I had an impression of a multi-tiered tropical paradise; palm and mangrove trees everywhere. It was impressive, I had to admit. I assumed that Bryce was cleaning himself up as well. He had given me the swipe card for my room and kind of disappeared immediately. I didn’t blame him; he needed to get out of those wet clothes. I looked down at the bath robe I was wearing. It was warm, and comfortable. But I should go and hang up my clothes to dry somewhere. I had nothing else to wear.
There was a knock at the door. I opened it, a little cautiously. Well, I was just wearing a bath robe. A woman stood there, smiling at me. She had a large shopping bag on her arm.
“Mr Harrison sent this for you madam,” she said, handing me the bag. I looked at it. What on earth could it be? Thanking her, I took the bag and closed the door. I pulled out a sundress, a red floral halter neck. It was gorgeous. But that wasn’t the end of it.
At the bottom of the bag, curled like a snake, was a pile of silk. I pulled it out. Lingerie. A bra, and panties. Silk, with lace trim, in a hue of soft peach.
I felt myself flushing as I looked at it. How had he known what sizes to buy? But I checked the labels, and they were all correct. There was something else. A note.
Dear Cara, it read. Hope you like it all. Meet me in the bar at 5 o’clock? Bryce.
I put down the note, smiling. It was stupid, I know, but I felt a bit like Cinderella going to the ball. And Bryce was my unlikely fairy godmother.
I walked into the bar a little before five. Ah, there he was, sitting on a stool at the far end. He had ordered new clothes for himself too, a casual short sleeved shirt and canvas long shorts. He looked a good deal fresher than he had before. Also very sexy.
He turned and saw me. His eyes widened, and an appreciative smile spread over his face. I felt self-conscious walking towards him. Why is he staring? But it wasn’t as if I didn’t know, deep down. Eventually I got to him, sitting down quickly. The silk of the underwear felt cool against my skin.
“Everything fits well I see,” Bryce drawled, hailing the bartender at the same time. “What would you like Cara?”
“A glass of dry white wine please.” I smiled at the bartender. “Thank you for the dress, and the…other stuff.” I blushed, picking up the wine glass that had been placed before me and taking a large gulp.
“My pleasure.” His eyes roamed over me. “You couldn’t put back on what you had been wearing, could you? Thank God there is a boutique in this resort. It was easy to call and order the clothes.” A smile spread over his face. “Or maybe you could have just stayed naked, in the room. That’s a nice picture.”
; I blushed, again. “So what is the story? Is there any news on what this storm is doing?”
“Seems like it’s not clearing anytime soon,” Bryce replied, sipping his drink. “We are stuck here for the night I’m afraid. I’ve called Mrs Hall to let her know what’s going on, and she’s fine with staying with Charlie for the night. Hopefully it will have cleared by morning, and we can get back to Cairns on a re-scheduled flight.”
I looked out at the rain pelting down. It was relentless. “Hard to imagine it ever clearing at the moment. I’m just so glad we were able to make it here, and we aren’t still out on the sea. I think it’s put me off boats for life!”
“Don’t let it,” Bryce replied. “Just remember how wonderful it was earlier, seeing the reef.”
“I’ll try,” I said.
“Here’s to remembering the wonderful,” he said, raising his glass to me.
I picked up my glass and clinked it against his. Our eyes met. A slow sizzle started to spark between us.
“To remembering the wonderful,” I whispered.
Bryce
I looked at her over the table, trying to memorise her face.
We had progressed to dinner after a couple of drinks at the bar. The rain still poured relentlessly. But we were safe inside, and I had a beautiful woman as a companion. Yes, it hadn’t been part of the plan to be marooned on a tropical island after battling through a storm. But all things considered, it could be worse. A whole lot worse.
I looked at her again. The curve of her cheekbones, and the liquid brown of her eyes. She had let her long, black hair fall down her back in soft waves. Her breasts swelled from the top of the sundress, creamy and full. I thought of the underwear I had ordered for her. I pictured them on her, underneath the dress. I could feel myself stirring, at the thought. It took all my effort to concentrate on the meal.
Bryce_Nanny’s Aussie Billionaire Page 5