Maid for the South Pole

by Demelza Carlton

  "What about your latest girlfriend? That billionaire? Won't she object?"

  Jay had shared every detail of his failed relationships with her since she'd left. Sometimes she'd had to fight to maintain a straight face, and leave the laughter until later. The black widow mail order bride was the funniest, but only Jay Felix could have done what he did with that virginity auction girl. As for the billionaire...she'd dismissed it as something the tabloids had made up, until Jay admitted he'd met the woman.

  "Haven't you watched TV lately? I'm sure the first episode of Rock Star Wants A Wife aired this week."

  "You didn't." Even as the words left her lips, Audra knew he most certainly had. A rock star who'd learned about love from reading romance books – though not enough romance books, if he was turning to reality TV to find a wife – would be a prime candidate for one of those shows that matched eligible bachelors with suitable girls, and filmed every awkward moment.

  Quickly, she pulled up a search window and found the show. She flicked through the news reports until she found one about the contestants. A dozen girls from all over the country, all dolled up for the camera as they announced their desires for true love and other fairy tales. One face looked familiar, so she took a second, longer look.

  Yep, that was Penny, all right. The lazy maid who'd spent more time banging the men at the resort than doing her job. When Penny had been fired, she'd taken it out on Audra, almost braining her with some gym equipment. That psycho made the mail order bride look damn near harmless.

  "Who won the show? Did you propose to her?" Audra asked.

  Jay laughed. "I can't tell you who won. But I can tell you I proposed."

  "Was it Penelope?" Audra demanded.

  "What? I can't...how did you...I can't..."

  Yes, in other words. He probably couldn't talk because she was there.

  "I'll come up to the resort for a few days. I'll tell you the dates when I've booked my flights," Audra said.

  "Don't bother booking the hotel, or the helicopter. You'll be staying as my guest."

  She nearly refused, but she knew Jay wasn't offering it to make her feel obligated to him for the gift. It was just what he did for people. Besides, if she didn't like being there, she could leave. Shou, the helicopter pilot, knew her from when she'd worked there, and she could afford a hotel in town. Perhaps she should book one of those, just in case.

  "All right," Audra conceded. "I'll bring my new video camera, so I can test it out."

  "It'll be great to see you again."

  That lost look in his eyes...damn. It was everything Audra had to steel herself against. She would NOT fall for it again.

  "I've got to go. Things to sort out before tomorrow, and it's late. G'night," she said, ending the call midway through his goodbye.

  It wasn't a lie. She had to watch that reality TV episode, and find out just how deeply Penny had gotten her claws into Jay. Audra might not want the rock star for herself, but friends looked out for each other, and Penny was bad news in anyone's book.

  NINE

  Jean wasn't sure how he made it to Seattle. The haze of pain that clouded his every step barely let him think, let alone notice his surroundings. Who knew a broken heart could hurt so much?

  He'd tried calling Dairine, but the number had been disconnected. He'd considered calling her family to get her new number, but he knew they were very protective of their only daughter. Not only would he be wasting his time, but he'd probably get a lecture from her parents or one of her brothers about how unhappy he'd made her.

  The one thing that saved him was a call from his research supervisor. Louis had received the thesis draft he'd sent from Christchurch, and he wanted to meet to discuss it.

  Jean grasped at the only thing he had left – his half completed PhD, that Dairine had hated and finally divorced him for.

  So as he walked through the university campus in Seattle, heedless of the rain, he ran through his original project plan in his head. He'd been surveying the king penguin populations at all the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands, chasing the one species that was reputed to be thriving because of climate change.

  The numbers were clear: the king penguin population was on the rise. That finding alone was enough to earn him his PhD, and possibly some papers in the right journals.

  His research had two significant gaps, though – Heard Island, and evidence of new penguin colonies. His trip to Heard Island had been cut short because of his accident, so he didn't have the final count for the colonies there. But he knew what he'd seen out there – a big colony of penguins in a site where they'd never been recorded before. If he'd been able to determine if the colony was breeding, then his career was assured. He could write papers about the development of the new colony, and maybe instead of a teaching position in Vancouver, he'd be offered a research position someplace more exotic. It didn't even need to be exotic, as long as it was the other end of the world from Dairine and Vancouver.

  Jean trudged up the stairs to Louis' office, then forced himself to wait patiently outside while some undergrad student asked questions about the most basic principles of penguin biology. Jean smothered a yawn as he leaned against the doorjamb, counting the minutes until the student finally said, "Thank you, Professor," and hurried off to his next class.

  He'd forgotten Louis was a professor. The man had more letters after his name than in it, but he still liked everyone to call him Louis.

  "The man of the moment!" Louis greeted him, clasping Jean's forearm as he leaned forward to pat him on the back. "How's it feel to complete your PhD in less than three years? And with your accident, too – you're a goddamn trooper, man!"

  Jean's jaw dropped. "Finished? But I only just sent you my draft."

  Louis grinned. "More than enough to get your degree, plus a couple of papers. Your sponsors will be thrilled. Maybe even enough to fund your postdoctorate research, too, hmm?"

  Jean had never planned on doing a postdoc, but now..."I need to get back to Heard Island," he blurted out. "One more season in Antarctica, to make my numbers complete. That new colony we decided was theoretically possible? Well, I know where it is. I was on my way there when I got injured. I have to get back, Louis. Those are my penguins. My discovery. I can't let someone else find them first."

  Louis' brow furrowed. "Another season out there? I know you were supposed to spend another year out there, but your results speak for themselves. You don't need to, you know. What will your wife say to you staying away longer?"

  His ex-wife wouldn't care. Jean swallowed, not wanting to talk about her. "I do need to. I really do. I mean, we've got the funding for it still, right? My sponsors still want positive stories about their activities in Antarctica, don't they? Or has that changed?"

  Louis chuckled. "Until they get permission to drill in Antarctic waters for oil and gas, of course they do. And a new colony...that'll mean plenty of pictures they can put out in the media, too. Everyone loves penguins, especially the babies."

  "So I'll ship out to McMurdo in October, for my final year out there?" Jean suggested. "Maybe I can check some of the other islands on the way, and see the difference from year to year."

  "We'd have to find another expedition headed out to Heard Island," Louis said thoughtfully. "Maybe even partially fund it, seeing as that's Australian territory out there, but they don't keep a permanent base on the island. Maybe if it's geology again, or deep ocean surveys, I might be able to get your sponsors interested." He clapped his hands. "Leave it with me. I'm sure I can work something out. In the meantime, let's discuss this thesis of yours. Between now and when you leave, you should have enough time to lick it into shape, ready to submit, if you don't find anything new out there. Maybe even draft a paper or two..."

  Jean sank into a chair, grateful to be off his aching legs for a moment, and listened to Louis dissect the document as thoroughly as one of his biological specimens. The professor was a biologist to the bone.

  TEN

  Shou
greeted Audra with a smile and a wave when she stepped out of Broome Airport terminal. The tropical heat embraced her like an old friend, making her regret her decision not to take a posting in the tropics instead of the frozen wasteland that was Davis Station.

  Next time, she promised the tropical weather. If the cold got too much for her, she could always request a transfer to somewhere warm for her next posting. Maybe even do her PhD on cyclones, so she'd have to work in the tropics.

  Ever the tour guide, Shou pointed out all the features of the landscape below as they flew north to the Buccaneer Archipelago and Romance Island Resort. Not much had changed, unless you counted the new campground and holiday villas at the pearl farm.

  "What's it been like, with the resort's new owner?" Audra asked as Shou paused for breath.

  "Interesting," he bit out, clamping his mouth shut. Then he glanced at her, and decided to elaborate. "If I tell you, will you keep it confidential?"

  Audra nodded. "I worked here long enough to know what happens at the resort stays at the resort. Penny walked free without even an assault charge, when she tried to kill me. If I managed to keep that quiet, nothing you tell me can be worse than that."

  "Rape, but it got covered up." Shou looked angry. "He crashed my helicopter, too."

  "Jay Felix did that? I don't believe it."

  Shou nodded. "Believe it. It was on the Easter weekend."

  The weekend Jay spent with Flavia, Audra remembered. He'd sent her a hamper of Haigh's Easter eggs, and when she'd called to thank him, he'd spilled the whole story about the girl's virginity auction and the weekend they'd enjoyed together.

  "I thought he was busy with Flavia then. It must have been someone else."

  Shou's expression turned grimmer still. "It was him, all right. The hotel manager caught them together. Him and the girl who sold her virginity."

  Audra shook her head firmly. "That's not what he told me. Jay wouldn't do that." She'd experienced firsthand how persuasive Jay could be, but at no point had she been scared of him. He was the first man she'd ever met who actually listened to the word "no", even when he didn't like it and every bit of her body except her mouth screamed "yes". Her memory itched and her gaze darted to the seat beneath her. "I know it's not true, because their first time was here in your helicopter. Jay said he made a mess, and something about you trying to kidnap him." She didn't mention Jay's weakness for blood, and the trouble that had caused. That was Jay's secret, and not hers to tell.

  "He left used condoms on my seat," Shou growled.

  Audra laughed. "It could have been worse. Believe me."

  Shou glanced at her. "You used to clean his villa when you worked here, didn't you? What could be worse than cleaning that up?"

  Ketchup on the ceiling. Chocolate on the walls and the rug. Frogs and broken glass in the bathtub. Patching up Jay's fragile ego when something bad happened, as it inevitably did. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Audra said finally.

  "Try me on the way back," Shou suggested, landing his helicopter with the gentlest bump on the resort helipad. "Welcome back to the resort."

  Audra thanked him and climbed out, trotting across the tarmac to the gate. She caught a glimpse of a well-dressed woman waiting by the fence, before the woman crossed to the helicopter, taking a seat behind Shou. A guest, Audra guessed, on her way to do touristy things in town, as she wasn't burdened by any luggage.

  Audra shouldered her own small bag of clothes and essentials, waved at Shou, and headed for the Pearl Villas. Jay had moved from the luxurious Villa Maxima to the slightly less opulent and definitely smaller Villa Penguin, which, if she'd guessed right, he now shared with Penny the psycho.

  She breathed in the scent of frangipani and salt that was uniquely Broome, but untainted by the earthy pindan dust that pervaded the mainland. The resort had a freshness all its own.

  "You came!" Jay rose from the veranda, beaming. He enveloped her in a hug, holding her for a few seconds longer than necessary, until he added, "How could I have forgotten about those perfect tits of yours?"

  Audra shoved him away. "Given how many you've seen since the last time you saw mine, I'm surprised you remember them at all. If you're just going to ogle me, then I'll turn around and leave. I'll block your video messages, too."

  He swallowed with what looked like considerable effort. "All right, I'll try. It's just...I hugged you, and they were right there, and...fuck, it's good to see you."

  "Not getting enough action from Penny, in other words?" Audra asked, unable to keep the sharp edge from her tone.

  "I..." Jay darted a glance at the villa, then at the path to the main hotel. "Walk with me?"

  Audra followed him down a familiar path to the private beach he'd taken her to when she'd been forced to act as his nurse and minder for a few days. Only a year had passed since then, but it felt like much longer. So much had happened in the intervening time.

  This time, she didn't hesitate when she came to the crevasse between two rocks, where the ocean fed the lagoon at high tide. She'd jumped wider cracks in the ice in Antarctica. This was nothing. She sailed across and continued along without breaking stride, doing her best to ignore Jay's admiring stare as she overtook him. Gratifying as it was to hold a rock star's full attention, she knew how fleeting it could be. If another woman walked past, his eyes would follow her.

  But the hidden beach was empty, so Audra turned to face him. "So? Did you invite me up here as a favour to Penny, so she could finish me off?"

  Confusion creased Jay's face. "What? Penelope isn't on the island. She's gone home to her family."

  "But you were stupid enough to propose to her, weren't you?" Audra persisted.

  The Jay she'd originally met would have bristled at the insult. The man in front of her hung his head. "Yes."

  "If you value your life, you won't go through with it," she said.

  Jay snorted. "Are you seriously threatening me?"

  Audra laughed. "I don't have to. She's the threat, not me. Remember when I took a blow to the head here, and you acted like you'd gotten one, too, writing Shakespeare on the bloody ceiling? She's the one who hit me, and she would have killed me if one of the personal trainers hadn't pulled her off me. She was mad because she got fired for bonking you in the lagoon, but she didn't attack you. The crazy bitch went for me, because she thought I'd dobbed her in. Like I needed to. Everyone saw you that day."

  "That's who she was?" Jay exclaimed. "Fuck, I knew I remembered her from somewhere! I just couldn't work out where."

  Silly rock star. Audra shook her head. "After I talked to you last week, I watched the first couple of episodes. It's so obvious she was gunning for you from the beginning. You know she slept with half the guys on the island while she was here? She was worse than you. And she used to do it during work time, too, so the rest of the housekeeping staff had to pick up the slack because she didn't do her job at all."

  Jay wet his lips. "So, if we'd maybe had a disagreement and she'd decided not to speak to me, I should probably keep it that way?"

  Too late. He'd already pissed Penny off. "Oh, Jay. You didn't."

  "She left me a note." He kicked the sand, sending a spray of it into the lagoon. "They all leave me. I've read every fucking romance book in the library. The guys in those all get happily ever afters. All of them. Even the arseholes who should be locked up because of the way they abuse their women. It doesn't matter how fucked up those heroes are. They always get to be happy. Me, I get the girl and just when I think I'm happy...she buggers off, with barely a word. What am I doing wrong?"

  Anguished rock star now. No, give him his due: he was an anguished, frustrated, clueless man who deserved her pity. Money couldn't buy love, or sense.

  "Have you ever wondered if maybe you're not a typical romance hero?" Audra ventured. "I mean, how many of them actually have to try? Or read romance to learn what they should be doing?"

  "Not many."

  "It could also be the women you're choosing. Mayb
e they're just not right for you, which is why it never works out. Most people have to date a lot of people before they find someone worth sticking with."

  "Hundreds?" Jay ventured.

  Try thousands, Audra thought but didn't say. "Not usually, no. But I'm not sure a post-concert orgy where you don't even remember the girls' names counts as a date."

  "I can't date like normal people do. I can't even meet people normally any more without being recognised. No one sees me as a person. Just a rock star."

  Bloody hypocrite. The last time she was on the island, he'd moaned about how much he hated the band breaking up, so he wouldn't be a rock star any more. "I thought you liked being a rock star," Audra said carefully.

  "When I'm on stage and shit, yeah. When I'm signing autographs and everyone looks at me like they think I'm awesome, shit yeah. But when I want someone to share my life with...I want someone who can see through all the bullshit to me." He eyed Audra. "Like you do."

  "Yes, but..." That's because I've seen you when you're not being an arsehat, Audra thought, fighting to find a more diplomatic way of putting it. "That's because I've seen you drop the rock star façade, when you're vulnerable, and I helped you. It's hard to see you as an idol when I've seen you scared. I guess if I believed in such things, I'd say I've seen your soul. Raw and unpolished and real."

  "But you still helped me." Jay grabbed her hands. "You helped me. You stayed. And even when you said you didn't want to talk to me while you were in Antarctica, you still took my calls and listened. You even gave good advice, which I sometimes followed."

  Sometimes. Audra smothered a laugh. Sometimes was better than never, which was what she'd expected of him. "It was my job here, Jay. I was the maid assigned to the villas. It was my job to help you."

  His grip tightened as she tried to pull away. "Maybe at first, but not after you left the island. I'd never have gotten over Phuong's betrayal if it weren't for you. Well, you and Xan." He cleared his throat. "And you're here now. Do you want to stay? I'm sure I can pull some strings to get you posted to a weather station up here instead of a place where there's nothing but penguins."