by Holly Martin
‘I know. Believe me I did consider not employing her so I could date her without any conflict of interest but you’ve seen her. She’s been here one day and she’s organised all that already. She’s brilliant.’
‘She is,’ Claudia said softly, sitting down. ‘You really like her, don’t you? She isn’t just some random woman that you’ll date a few times and never see again, is she? This is something serious.’
‘It is serious. At least it is for me,’ he sighed. ‘I don’t know what this is, this feeling I have for her, it’s not like anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s not love, it can’t be. I’ve only known her for a few days but this feeling is so strong she is all I can think about. And not just in a sexual way, but in a way that I just want to spend every single second of my time with her.’
Claudia half smiled. ‘That sounds like love to me. Love doesn’t work on a schedule. You can’t say because you’ve known her three months or a year then it qualifies as love.’
‘But love at first sight is a myth. No one really falls in love after knowing someone for a few minutes. Lust at first sight maybe, but not love.’
‘I think thousands of people out there would disagree with you. Personally I think love at first sight is impossible – as you say, you’re judging that person on looks and a sexual attraction alone – but that’s not to say you can’t fall in love with that person after half an hour of talking to them. You spent two nights talking to her; I’d say you know her well enough to know whether she’s important to you. Whether it could be love one day.’
Isaac looked out the window at the tiny glimpse of the sea. ‘So what do I do, Claudia? If people here find out then the gossip and the comments won’t be kind to her. If we do go for it anyway and it ends a few weeks or months down the line then it will be beyond awkward having to work together every day.’
‘I don’t think you really have a choice.’
Isaac looked back at her. ‘You think it’s too risky.’
‘Of course it’s risky. Love is always a risk. But if there is a chance that this could be love for you, if there’s a chance that Bella is the one that you’re going to settle down with and marry one day then you grab hold of this chance with both hands. Forget the gossips or the comments, forget the what ifs, because if this is really love then all of that will be worth it.’
Isaac grinned. ‘I could kiss you right now.’
Claudia gathered all her stuff up. ‘Save that for Bella. She will probably appreciate it more than me. And don’t worry about what people will say. There will always be gossip and it will only last until the next piece comes along.’
‘I want to protect her from all that though. You know what people will say, that she slept with the boss to get the job, or that I only gave her the job because we were sleeping together. I don’t want her exposed to that kind of crap.’
‘So keep it a secret. Keep it professional at work, no more looking at her with puppy-dog eyes, no more kisses in your office,’ she said, pointedly.
‘How did you know?’
‘Because she walked out of your office this morning with her hair looking like it had been dragged through a bush and the biggest grin on her face. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together. Keep your hands off each other and there’s a chance we can keep it out of the rumour mill for a while.’
Isaac nodded. He could do that.
Claudia moved to the door. ‘I’m happy for you.’
He laughed. ‘Steady there, we’ve not even had our first date yet. I wouldn’t go buying a big hat for our wedding day just yet.’
‘I wouldn’t do that.’
‘No?’
‘I’m much more of a fascinator type girl.’
He laughed and she left him alone.
He knew marriage was a very long way away but Claudia was right, he wasn’t going to pass up this chance. Bella was way too important for that.
Bella had spent the rest of the day working with Elsie and Roger organising the fair. With a little over one week until the fair kicked off the start of the school holidays there was a lot to do. She had organised fairs in the past but she had never organised one in such a short amount of time. She had a great list of reliable contacts and she knew several people on the island who would help her dot the i’s and cross the t’s in terms of the permissions needed to hold such an event. A large part of the organisation now was advertising it, getting the word out so people knew it was happening. And not just the people on Hope Island too, they needed to spread the word to all of the Scilly Isles and maybe as far as Cornwall as well.
She got in the lift with Elsie and Roger, thinking about what kind of radio advertising she could do.
‘Any plans for the evening, dear?’ Roger asked as Bella scribbled some notes on her pad.
Bella stuffed her notepad in her bag to hide the smile that had suddenly erupted on her face.
She shrugged. ‘Just dinner. I’ll probably be tucked up in bed by ten o’clock.’ She smiled to herself at the thought of who was going to be doing the tucking up. ‘What about you two?’
‘I’m having coffee and cake with the WI,’ Elsie said.
‘Oh be sure to tell them about the fair,’ Bella said.
‘Of course. I bet some of them would like to hold a cake stand there, would that be OK?’
Bella smiled. They really couldn’t get away from the cake sale but as it was going to be part of a much bigger event she didn’t think Isaac would mind. ‘I think that’s a great idea, just as long as there’s some chocolate cake, I’ll be happy.’
Elsie smiled. ‘My chocolate cake is one of the best on the island, even if I do say so myself.’
‘I’m sure it is,’ Bella said, knowing that no one on the island would be brave enough to dispute it.
The lift doors pinged open and she walked out into the foyer with them. Isaac was there talking to Mary, the receptionist. He had his suit jacket on and was clearly getting ready to leave for the day too.
As she walked past, he flashed her a brief smile which she returned but a second or two later he caught up with her as she walked out the front door.
‘Miss Roussel, I just wanted to catch up with you about the fair, do you have a second?’ Isaac drew her to one side and Bella smiled and waved at Roger and Elsie as they walked off together in the direction of the town. No one else was around but when Isaac spoke again it was very quietly. ‘I forgot to say that I have an outdoor hot tub at my house, so you might want to bring your swimming costume for later.’
Bella laughed. ‘You have a hot tub? That’s not at all pretentious.’
He grinned. ‘I know. When I bought my house in London, it already had one which I vowed I would get rid of as soon as I moved in. But after spending one night in it, staring at the stars, I loved it and knew I had to install one here too. I promise everything else in the house is quite tasteful.’
‘No animal-print bedspreads or disco balls, no mirrors on the ceiling?’
He laughed. ‘No, I promise.’
‘Well I have just the thing to wear in your hot tub tonight,’ Bella said and enjoyed the darkening of his eyes as he looked at her.
‘I’ll look forward to seeing it later. Seven o’clock and don’t be late.’
Ever so briefly, he touched the back of her hand and then turned and walked away.
Butterflies erupted in her stomach. She couldn’t wait to spend another night with this man and even if they weren’t going to make love to each other she knew there would be a lot more talking and kissing. And although spending the night in a hot tub was a little cliché and like something from an eighties porn film, she couldn’t think of anything more romantic.
Isaac looked around the kitchen. The red wine was open, the steaks were out and marinated, the crumble was slowly cooking in the oven, everything was ready.
He was so nervous about tonight; he needed this to go well. He felt like he had something to prove to Bella as the last time they had sat down to dinner h
e had been someone else entirely. Although to a large extent a lot of what he had told Bella was true, he wanted her to get to know the real him.
He walked into the lounge and Rocket, obviously sensing that he was nervous or excited, leapt off her dog bed and jumped up at him.
Isaac stroked her velvety head before he moved over to the mantelpiece and lit a few candles. He stood back to see the effect the golden light had on the room and then moved a couple of candles to the coffee table too. The log fire was burning merrily in the grate; even though it was probably a bit too mild to warrant it, it added a warm cosy ambience to the room.
Rocket leapt up at him again, wagging her tail, clearly as excited about the evening as Isaac was.
‘Stop jumping, you daft beast. After your behaviour the other night, I think you need to prove to Bella that you have manners and are perfectly respectable.’
Rocket took no notice and went to grab one of her toys from her bed and brought it back to Isaac to play with her.
‘In a minute, let me just go and get the summerhouse ready and I’ll come back and play with you for a while before she comes.’
Isaac walked out the back door fully expecting Rocket to follow him but he was alone when he walked up to the doors of the summerhouse; the silly dog had probably gone back to sleep.
He opened the doors to the summerhouse and set about lighting candles in there too. He plumped up a few of the cushions, shook out the blankets and spread them over the sofas and turned the heaters on to take the chill off the place. He switched on the fairy lights that were hung around the outside of the summerhouse, found the right music on the stereo and turned the volume down low and then stepped outside onto the decking at the back of the summerhouse. This was where the hot tub was with views over the whole bay. He had envisaged they might come and sit in the summerhouse and watch the sun set before dinner and then they could come back out here later and enjoy the hot tub and the view of the moon and the stars over the sea.
He lifted the lid of the hot tub and checked the temperature. It was warm but not hot yet. It would be another few hours before it reached its hottest but they had plenty of time and even if they used it now it would still be comfortable. He fished out a few leaves that had fallen in from the tree that hung over the top of the hot tub and then pulled the lid back into place. He walked back into the summerhouse, lit a few of the larger candles that were in jars and carried them out onto the deck.
He looked out over the bay again. The sky was that gorgeous pale gold as the sun made its way into the sea.
The smell of burning drifted past, maybe someone was making the most of the lovely weather and having a barbeque nearby.
He walked back off the deck and round the summerhouse and looked up at the sky behind his home which was painted with a flickering orange glow, almost as if the sky was on fire.
His heart dropped into his stomach, a horrible sick feeling twisting his gut as he realised that it wasn’t the sky that was on fire at all.
It was his house.
Great orange flames danced across the roof, burning through the windows, consuming the walls.
He ran forward, his blood freezing to ice in his veins. His house was on fire and it was spreading so quickly there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Chapter Fifteen
Bella walked over the hill towards Isaac’s house with a big smile on her face about what the night would hold. Dinner, kissing in the hot tub under the stars. It was going to be magical.
Up ahead a steady plume of black smoke rose in the air; someone was obviously having some kind of fire in their back garden, probably burning some rubbish or waste from the garden.
As she reached the top of the hill that led down to Isaac’s house she stopped, frozen to the spot at what she could see. The little yellow cottage that was Isaac’s home was completely ablaze.
She was running down the hill as fast as she could before she knew what she was doing. The thatch on top of the roof was burning so hard and fast that the whole house would soon only be ashes.
She screamed for Isaac but there was no sign of him. What if he was trapped somewhere inside? What if he was hurt? The front door was closed and she tried the handle but it was obviously locked or at least secured somehow from the other side. She slammed her shoulder against the door but it didn’t give. She took a few steps back and threw herself against the door again. It shifted a bit but still didn’t open. She took a few steps back, ran to the door and slammed her whole body against the wood again. This time the door flew open, banging against the wall in the hallway.
‘Isaac!’
Flames licked the hall walls as she stepped inside, holding her arm across her face to protect her from the smoke. Where was he? The thought that he was lying somewhere inside hurt or even worse filled her with a sick dread. She inched her way down the hall shouting for him as she coughed and spluttered through the thick smoke.
Suddenly a hand grabbed her around her arm and she whirled round to see Isaac. He looked furious.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ he shouted over the roar of the fire.
Bella launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight.
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her back outside. He sat down on the low garden wall with her on his lap. It was only when he wiped the tears off her cheeks that she realised that she’d been crying.
‘I need to call the fire brigade,’ Isaac said. ‘My phone is still inside.’
Bella stood up and grabbed her bag from where she had dumped it when she was trying to break in. She returned to Isaac’s lap and he wrapped his arms tightly around her again. She fumbled around inside her bag and grabbed her phone, quickly dialling the emergency services. She explained the situation then hung up and threw the phone back into her bag.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Bella said, staring at the house. ‘What happened?’
Isaac shook his head as he stared at his house burning. ‘I have no idea. I wasn’t in there at the time. I was down in the summerhouse. I can only presume Rocket knocked over a candle and it hit the rug and…’ he gestured with his hand.
Bella sat up and looked around. ‘Where is she?’
Isaac swallowed, tears filling his eyes. ‘I don’t know. I tried to get back in to get to her but the flames were too high. The back door was open so I only hope the stupid dog got out before she got herself trapped. I was looking around the house to see if I could see her when I saw you bursting in there like a little ninja. What on earth were you thinking?’
‘I was trying to find you.’
Isaac sighed and kissed her on the head.
‘God, what if Rocket didn’t get out? I was supposed to look after her and I didn’t even think about leaving her alone with candles, what kind of idiot am I?’
Bella’s heart broke for him. She stroked his face. ‘It was an accident, you can’t blame yourself.’
He kissed her hand and then pulled her to him tighter as if he was scared to let her go. And that was how the fire brigade found them when they arrived a few minutes later, clinging to each other like their lives depended on it.
Isaac watched as the fire brigade started to pack away their hose pipes. It had taken them about an hour to put out the fire, which considering the fire had taken hold in a matter of minutes, that hour had felt like a lifetime. The roof was gone completely and all that was left was a blackened shell and a pile of smoking rubble. There was nothing they could do to save the house, but Isaac had seen how bad the fire was even before Bella had arrived.
One of the crew had even gone into the house to look for Rocket but there was no sign of her anywhere, not even a body, which Isaac was thankful for. He didn’t think he could cope with seeing his dead dog.
He hadn’t been back on the island long enough to make friends so he was surprised by the number of people who had turned up to see if they could help. Some of them offering their houses for him to stay, others offering food, or pass
ing him details of builders who would be able to help him rebuild his home; other people turned up just to offer their sympathies and to see if he was OK. He didn’t even know most of their names and here they were offering to help. He hadn’t been able to speak to most of them. There were no words in his head at all.
Bella had dealt with them all, thanking them for their kindness and reassuring them all that he would be in touch if he needed any help. She had asked them all to keep an eye out for Rocket just in case she had made it out alive. It was all the things he should have said. As CEO of three companies, he had dealt with his fair share of disasters over the years and he had dealt with them calmly and efficiently but this had hit him hard.
Bella hadn’t left his side throughout, though his arms were wrapped around her so tightly she had little chance of getting away even if she’d wanted to leave. As first dates went this had to be the worst. His home, everything he owned was up in smoke, the upheaval this would cause in his life would be immense. Who in their right minds would want to stick around to deal with all that? Maybe it was for the best. Maybe it was foolish to try to start something with Bella when they worked together. Maybe this was fate intervening to make sure it stopped before it even got started. He wondered at what point she would make her excuses and leave.
The fireman who was clearly in charge came over to talk to them.
‘You’ll get a report in a few days. Shall we send it to your office, Mr Scott?’
Isaac nodded, unable to talk.
‘You’ll need to get in contact with your insurance company as soon as you can.’
He nodded again.
‘Obviously the house is not safe to go in. Do you have somewhere you can stay tonight?’
He would have to stay in a hotel but how could he do that when he didn’t even have a bank card to pay for the room?
‘Yes he does,’ Bella said.