The Rock Star's Wedding

by Demelza Carlton

  Xan shook her head slowly. "Not really. But I love that."

  "If you're good, I might buy it for you for Christmas," Jay said.

  "No. That ring belongs on the hand of someone who falls in love out here, and wants to remember the island forever. It's not something you give your employee for Christmas," Xan insisted.

  "So what book are you reading now?"

  Xan would never understand how Jay's mind worked. "What book am I what?"

  Jay leaned over one of the cases in the next room. "It sounds like you gave that ring's story quite a bit of thought, so I figured maybe it was something out of the latest romance book you're reading. What are you reading?"

  Xan refused to blush. She could read whatever she damn well pleased. "If you must know, it's a series about shipwreck hunters. Treasure divers."

  "So you're reading thrillers now?"

  As if she needed reading material to keep her awake at night. Her tossing and turning over what to do about Jerome would now be replaced with dreams of roaring flames. "No. It's romance. Just...with scuba diving. And good food."

  Jay stretched out on the couch. "I like good food. Not sure about diving, though."

  "It takes practice, and you have to be more careful about things like narcosis and the level of air in your tanks, but diving can be much better than snorkelling," Xan began. "Snorkelling in the lagoon, you only see the surface, but there's a little cave at the southern end that you don't even see unless you dive right down to the bottom. Some of the biggest lagoon fish hide in there, so you never know what you'll find. Once there was one of those big, blue Queenslander things. Can't remember what they're called. You know, big and blue...?"

  Jay shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I've never seen one."

  Xan laughed. "You swim in the lagoon every day and you've never seen a fish that's as big as a sea turtle? There must be at least three in there!"

  "It's not like I wear the sort of gear you do when I swim in the lagoon. You've seen how I swim."

  Naked. Not just no clothes, but no mask or goggles. She'd never thought about it before. "You've never seen under the surface of the lagoon, have you?"

  Jay shook his head.

  "Why don't you join one of the snorkelling tours? Rita's been running them almost daily at the resort since the start of the dry season." Then Xan remembered. "If she hadn't finished up for the season, I'd tell you to tag along today. She's working the summer season at Rottnest now, so she won't be back until May."

  Swimming. Diving. Submerging in the lagoon and not leaving it until it felt like there was seawater in her very blood. That would banish the flames from her head. Nothing refreshed her like the ocean could.

  "I didn't know we had them," Jay replied. "You never tell me anything about the resort, except to stay away from the guests, especially when I'm swimming."

  Ah. That's why she'd neglected to tell him. Guests goggling at Jay's bare body under the water wasn't a tourist attraction she wanted to promote.

  "I could take you one day, maybe, when I have time," she offered reluctantly. "You'd have to wear some sort of swimsuit, though. I don't do snorkelling tours for nudists."

  "I might be able to manage. For you, of course." Jay smirked. "I think that girl forgot about your drink. I seem to remember promising you one, though, so how 'bout we head to the bar to grab a cold one before Baz brings the boat around to take us home?"

  Home. Romance Island was home, and soon she'd be back there. Xan sighed in relief. Maybe it was the air conditioning or the distraction of pretty jewellery, but she felt better already.

  FIFTEEN

  Jason kept a careful watch on Xan as she climbed into the Argo. She seemed perfectly calm and collected again – nothing like the shaking, sicking-up mess she'd been on the pearl farm lawn, and there was no trace of the frozen panic she'd shown in the car when that bloody bird had set fire to the bush on both sides. He hadn't thought she was afraid of anything, but he had to admit, he'd never seen her around fire. She was more of a water woman, after all. And if there was ever a fire to be afraid of, it'd be the one he'd just driven through.

  Take that, Angel's creepy-arse stalker, he thought grimly. He wasn't the only one who could save a woman from dying in a fire.

  Xan let out what sounded like a strangled scream and Jason's gaze darted back to the pointy bit at the front of the boat, where Xan had claimed a seat.

  Behind Jason, Baz laughed. "Been a while since she's been out on a boat. If I was twenty years younger..."

  "There's another big one over there, Baz. See if you can skirt it without falling in!" Xan called over her shoulder, her face alight with happiness as she pointed at a big-arse hole in the water.

  Water didn't have holes. What the fuck...?

  "Another whirlpool for the lady. Yes, ma'am!" Baz shouted, swerving the jet boat into a tight curve.

  Jason hung on as the trip turned into an unexpected rollercoaster ride. He forgot about the fire. He forgot to worry about Xan, who was obviously enjoying every minute of the ride. He whooped like a little kid at his first Royal Show.

  Why hadn't anyone told him the boat trip was better than the helicopter flight to the island?

  Xan. Keeping all the fun for herself, probably. By the time they reached the relative calm beside the Romance Island Resort jetty, she looked exhilarated. Like she'd just been fucked to within a hair's breadth of nirvana. He'd never seen a woman look so happy with her clothes on.

  Fortunately, his phone beeped with an incoming message before Xan caught him staring at her.

  Not a message – an email, he found, swiping at the screen. "Fuck yes!" he cried.

  "Language," Xan said.

  Jason thrust the phone at her. "Look! They accepted my offer. Now we just have to do the...do...the due diligence."

  "What did you make an offer on?" Xan asked.

  "A bunch of hotels going bankrupt in Vietnam and Singapore. The record companies are offering a shitload of money for me to sign with them, so I figured I might buy something useful with it. Seeing as this place turned out okay and all." Because of you, he thought but didn't say. "Can you...can you take a look at it? Do the diligence thingy?"

  Xan shook her head. "I'm a hotel manager, not an accountant. Your sister, Jo, would be the one to ask."

  "Don't tell Jo," Jason said instantly. "She can't know about this until it's a done deal. I've been watching it for a while, waiting until it went up for sale. I just need someone to check the books. I know who I want, but..."

  "But?" Xan prompted.

  Jason didn't want to say her name. Every time he mentioned something even vaguely related to her, Xan's face would clam up like she was dying to tell him off for the whole mail order bride fiasco, but she didn't say a word. He swallowed. "I want...Phuong."

  Xan's eyes widened in shock, before she lowered her gaze and nodded. "She's good. She's also in prison."

  Jason's heart sank. "You mean they found her guilty? Even with my lawyers?"

  "I don't know. All I do know is that she's still in prison," Xan replied.

  Poor Phuong. She'd been through so much, only to end up languishing in prison. She wasn't tough enough for that. "I still want her to look at the figures."

  "So ask her." Xan strode away.

  Jason took a deep breath. "I can't. Jo made some sort of deal with her not to have any contact with me if she wanted her legal bills paid. If she's still in prison, I can't talk to her."

  There was also the matter of her having tried to kill her previous husband, but Jason still found it hard to believe she'd been capable of murder. It had to be self defence, or something. He wanted to see her, but he couldn't. Had to know if she'd really planned on killing him, too, or whether he'd been right about her. And he'd never know.

  "So you want me to take a company's confidential accounting documents into a prison so your ex-wife can check them?"

  "It sounds so bad when you put it that way," Jason complained. "But...yeah. I guess."

 
Xan bit her lip. "Send me what you have. I'll see what I can do."

  Jason cheered.

  Xan held up her hands. "Calm down, rock star. I only said I'd try. She might not be allowed visitors, or mail. She might not want to do it, either."

  Jason knew all that, but still, he prayed she'd agree. And maybe...maybe he would get to ask her if she wanted him dead. Or alive. He grinned.

  "Thanks, Xan." He sauntered up the jetty to his villa, whistling happily. What a fucking day. He hadn't felt this alive in months. He should do shit with Xan more often.

  SIXTEEN

  Next time, instead of inviting the idiot to things like the hotel opening, Xan should avoid the rock star like the plague, she fumed, as she tapped her fingers impatiently on the scored table. Three other tables were occupied by groups of women and children, but the women all looked alike. It wasn't a matter of colour or race – they all hung their heads in the same way, as if anticipating a blow. They looked like the women she'd seen at the shelter in Broome, all abused by men until it took all of their strength just to get up in the morning and live another day.

  Except Xan, of course, who'd only agreed to do a man a favour. But she had to admit a certain curiosity about the mail order bride turned black widow.

  The security door buzzed and a prisoner walked out, flanked by a guard. The girl wore the same prison greens as every other prisoner in the room, but that's where the similarity ended. Phuong's dark, glossy hair was pulled back from her face, tied in a simple ponytail that trailed down over her immaculately pressed green shirt. Her pants were ironed with equal precision, from the well-fitted waist to the toes of her equally green shoes.

  Ignoring the guard, Phuong inclined her head slightly to Xan, then crossed the room to Xan's table.

  A chorus of scraping chairs sounded as every prisoner made a point of turning her back on Phuong. Some of the other visitors stared curiously, but were quickly persuaded to look away.

  "You're popular," Xan remarked as Phuong sat across from her.

  Phuong smiled faintly. "You'd be surprised. I have very little to do in here now I've finished my business degree, so I've been running a few classes in budgeting and basic accounting for the other prisoners. I don't get visitors often, so when I asked for a little privacy for today's meeting, they were happy to help."

  Already settling in to her position as queen of the prison, Xan thought. Phuong was craftier than Xan had given her credit for. Jay had had a lucky escape – she'd have killed him in a heartbeat, if she decided he was worth more to her dead than alive. Good thing murderers didn't get short sentences.

  "How much longer is your sentence?" Xan asked.

  A look of surprise crossed Phuong's face. "Don't you know? I haven't even been to court, aside from the preliminary hearing, which was postponed pretty much indefinitely. You see, they can't find my ex-husband, and without a witness, they can't hold a hearing."

  Xan was horrified. "You mean you've been stuck in prison for almost a year for no reason?"

  "Well, there was the fact that Norman nearly died because of me, and it's just gone nine months, so it hasn't been a year yet. My lawyers tried to get me bail, but as I'm apparently a flight risk, the judge wouldn't allow it, so here I am." Phuong spread her hands. "Easy for you to find me if you need some number checking done." She nodded at the file on the table in front of Xan.

  Reminded of the reason for her visit, Xan pushed the file across to Phuong, then added a memory stick from her pocket. "It's the due diligence for a possible acquisition."

  Phuong nodded. "Yours or his?"

  Xan laughed. "His. Do you think I could afford to buy a hotel, let alone a whole chain of them, on my salary?"

  "Not unless you're finding an illegal way to supplement your salary, no," Phuong said, leafing through the papers. "This will take some time."

  "Well, you look like you have it," Xan joked, then closed her mouth when she realised Phuong looked hurt.

  "My lawyers had hoped to find Norman by now, so I'd be out by Christmas," Phuong said. "From what I hear, even if they find him today, there won't be any available hearing dates until next year, so I should have time. If not, is there some way I can contact you?"

  Xan pulled out her business card. "You can call or email me at the resort."

  Phuong held her hands up, refusing to take the card. "Give it to the guard over there before you leave, so she can add it to my list of approved contacts. They monitor everything here."

  But they didn't listen to the conversations, Xan thought, noticing for the first time that the families clustered around her provided a noise buffer between Phuong and the guards.

  Phuong rose, as if to leave.

  But she hadn't agreed to do it! She hadn't said yes or no, and Xan couldn't leave until she had her answer.

  "Thank you," Xan said hurriedly, hoping she'd guessed right. "He asked for you especially. He'll be so happy to hear you'll help him."

  Phuong smiled sadly. "Whatever I give you won't be official, as I won't have my degree until next year, even if I have finished the coursework. And if I'm convicted, I'll never be allowed to practice in an official capacity, so you'll have to go to some other accountant for an official report, no matter what I find."

  Xan's heart ached for the girl. Why would she work so hard for her accounting degree if she truly was a cold-blooded killer, about to be locked away for life? Had the police made a mistake in arresting her?

  "I understand," Xan said, hesitating. Then she blurted out, "Did you really try to kill him?"

  Phuong leaned forward, dropping her voice to a whisper as she said, "My ex-husband was an obsessive, power-hungry, abusive prick who deserved to die horribly for keeping me as his private slave. He saw me as a thing, not a person, and I believe he would have killed me. It was only a matter of time. I'm sure if you were trapped in his house like I was, you'd be willing to fight against him or maybe even try to kill him, purely out of self-defence."

  Xan's mouth went dry. He sounded like a right bastard. "And Jay? What about Jay?"

  Phuong's face went blank. "I don't know anyone by that name." She tucked the files under her arm. "I'll be in touch." She signalled to the guard that she wanted to leave the room, and the door buzzed open.

  Before Xan could say another word, Phuong was safely on the other side of the firmly closed security door.

  Flustered, Xan left the visiting room to collect her things. The less time she spent in that prison, the better. Just as she closed the door of the locker, she remembered to give her business card to the guard, with a request that Phuong be allowed to contact her.

  She hoped the girl would find something to dissuade Jay from buying any more hotels. It was enough trouble just running the resort. If he owned a whole empire...he'd drive her completely insane.

  SEVENTEEN

  "Don't you know who I am? Closed to the public doesn't mean closed to me!" a familiar, plummy female voice blared as Jason reached the door of the building the charter pilots used for a passenger waiting room.

  He peered through the glass, swearing as he recognised Gaia. "Let me just go through the gate to the carpark," he said to Shou. "If she's trying to get to the resort, I don't want her to see me."

  Shou smirked as if he knew all about the things Jason and Gaia had gotten up to. Jason doubted he had any idea that the bossy billionaire adored being abased in private. Jason had tried, but the kinky billionaire thing just wasn't for him. Especially as it made him feel like an obnoxious arse, ordering her around and being called 'sir'. Now, if it'd been the other way 'round, with a different woman, maybe he'd have been happy to offer up a, "yes, ma'am" as he did his rock star best to give her a good time. Gaia, though...no. Just no.

  He hailed a taxi, but he didn't manage to close the door before he heard, "Mr Felix! Wait for me!"

  He ordered the driver to head off as fast as possible, making sure they weren't followed, until taking him to the brewery for a drink. He needed one to banish the thoughts
of Gaia from his brain before he did the last minute Christmas shopping he was in town for.

  Once he was safely inside the brewery, he ordered a pint of beer and the first item off their lunch menu. Drink in hand, he scanned the room for an out of the way place to sit. Even if Gaia did follow him here, he didn't want her to be able to find him. He found what he wanted in the beer garden outside, tucked behind a tree. Jason strode to the table, only to find it already occupied.

  "I'll give you a hundred bucks if you pick another table," he said, throwing the money down.

  "I won't accept your money, Jay," a familiar voice replied.

  Thank fuck, it wasn't Gaia.

  She'd cut off her blonde curls, leaving a sort of pixie cap of hair, but Jason still recognised her. "Flavia?"

  She flashed a brief smile that died all too quickly. "Don't say it too loud. Your bitch of a fiancée is out there and if she hears, she'll probably try and set reporters on me again. Are you trying to hide from her, too?"

  "She's not my anything, and...maybe. Can I sit here?" he asked urgently as he spotted Gaia on the street outside.

  "I should say no and leave you to her, but that wouldn't be fair. Sit down. We can hide here together." Flavia pushed a chair toward him with her foot.

  Jason hesitated. "Last time we talked, you weren't this nice."

  "Last time we talked, I was in the middle of a media shitstorm that I thought you'd called down on me. It wasn't until later, when I had time to consider everything, that I realised you weren't in any of the stories. They knew about me and the auction, but none of the media companies knew about you. So it couldn't have been you who tipped them off." Flavia's eyes narrowed. "My friend Violet worked it out. The billionaire bitch did it. I can't believe you agreed to marry that woman."

  "Didn't you see the TV show?" Jason demanded. "Everyone knows I'm not marrying Gaia!"

  "What TV show? The only job I could get where people didn't know about the auction was as a tour guide, doing remote outback tours. Kakadu, Uluru, the Gibb River Road, Karajini...everybody's too busy looking at the landscape to notice the tour guide. Especially when we're all dusty and dirty from camping." Flavia took a long pull from her drink, which looked like one of the brewery's ciders.