Jasper shot to his feet as if he couldn’t wait to be away from her, and she was really careful to keep her gaze from him as he shucked off his shirt, but couldn’t resist glancing behind her as he jogged straight into the water without breaking stride, the shock of the cold barely seeming to register.
‘Oh, my, George,’ she murmured, pushing his toy train towards him and fanning her face. ‘Your uncle is hot, hot, hot.’
But off-limits. Definitely off-limits.
Her employer swam for a good twenty minutes.
He’s your boss. Don’t forget he’s your boss.
‘Water’s pretty damn fine, right?’ she said, doing her best to look unaffected by the perfect line of his chest when he stood by the blanket again. The way the towel rubbed across defined pecs and honed abs made her mouth dry.
‘Imogen, it’s freezing!’
He dragged that towel over his hair before pulling his shirt back on and hiding all of that gloriously masculine muscularity.
That was a good thing.
He sent her a grin and she was relieved to see the strain had faded from his face. It helped ease the tension that had her wound up tight.
‘But I know what you mean. I forgot how invigorating that could be.’ He spread his towel out beside the blanket and collapsed onto it. ‘Did you and young George here have fun?’ He tweaked his nephew’s toes.
‘I had a good think while you were swimming.’ Was it her imagination or did he tense at her words? ‘About Aunt Katherine,’ she added quickly. She didn’t want him thinking she was referring to anything else. ‘I’m worried about her.’
He sat up, giving her his full attention. ‘Why?’
‘She told us all back home that she couldn’t get the time off at Christmas, that she was needed here on Tesoura. I know that you’re not going to give me an answer to this, but I’m starting to suspect that you did give her the time off, and she simply chose not to spend it with us.’
He watched her carefully but didn’t say anything.
‘She’s been avoiding me since I arrived. During the day it’s all work, work, work, and at night she tells me she has to get the household accounts into order for your accountant.’
* * *
She was doing what?
That was an outright lie. Not that Jasper could say as much to Imogen.
‘I think the real reason she’s trying to keep us apart is so we don’t start comparing notes, realise there is something wrong and put our heads together to try and figure out what it is.’
That made a disturbing amount of sense. He knew at least one thing that was troubling Katherine. But was there anything else?
Shame hit him. He hadn’t been paying attention. He’d been far too focussed on... He swallowed. He’d been too focussed on himself. Misfortune made some people more empathetic. He, though, had become more self-absorbed.
Look at the way he’d immediately jumped to the conclusion that Emily had sent George to him as part of an elaborate plan of revenge. It still might be, but that didn’t change the fact that it shouldn’t have been his first concern.
‘Jasper, I have a feeling you know more about this than you’re letting on.’ She stared at him for several long seconds. ‘Relax, I’m not going to ask you outright. I understand you have a duty as Katherine’s employer and friend to keep her confidences.’
He let out a careful breath.
‘But I am going to ask you if I should be as worried as I am.’
His gut clenched at the anxiety reflected in her hazel eyes, at the way her teeth worried her bottom lip. He wanted to ease her mind. He’d do just about anything to make her smile again. But he couldn’t lie to her. ‘I don’t think you should be as worried as you are.’
She let out a long breath and closed her eyes. ‘Thank you.’
‘But I’m not a hundred per cent sure.’
Her eyes sprang open.
‘Would it help if I had a word with your aunt?’ He could at least urge Kate to confide in her niece.
She nodded without hesitating. ‘Thank you.’
* * *
Jasper didn’t approach Kate until after dinner, after he’d put George down for the night. Only then did he set his feet in the direction of the kitchen and Katherine’s domain, but raised voices had him halting short of the doorway.
‘For heaven’s sake, Imogen, for the last time nothing is wrong! I’m getting tired of you harping on the subject.’
‘But I’m worried about you.’
‘That doesn’t give you the right to pester me or pry into my personal life.’
What the...?
‘Pry? I haven’t pried.’ Imogen’s incredulity mirrored his own. ‘Auntie Kay, we’re family. I know Mum’s worried about you too, and—’
‘While I know your mother sent you here to try and pressure me to return home. She’s always known how to play the guilt card, but I’m not falling for it this time.’
‘That’s not fair!’
‘It’s more than fair. And you coming here as her proxy... It disappoints me, Imogen. I thought better of you.’
‘What on earth are you talking about? I—’
‘Enough! Yes, your mother and I have had a falling-out, but it’s not your place to make me feel guilty about that or to play go-between. I have the right to live my life as I see fit. You’re here to work—end of story. I’d appreciate it if you did that without interfering in my personal life.’
Jasper’s head reared back. He’d never heard Katherine use that tone before, and he moved forward without thinking, aware of how gutted Imogen must be, and then had to take a step back when Imogen pushed past him with her head down. But that didn’t prevent him from recognising the devastation on her face or the betraying sheen in her eyes.
A moment later the front door slammed. He wanted to go after her, make sure she was all right.
He shot into the kitchen and glimpsed Katherine’s troubled expression before she quickly masked it again. She wiped the kitchen counters down vigorously. ‘Did you want something, Jasper?’
He didn’t bother pussyfooting around. ‘That seemed unnecessarily harsh.’
‘I don’t appreciate Gloria’s tactics.’
Gloria was her sister—Imogen’s mother. ‘Imogen isn’t Gloria.’
‘But she’s acting as Gloria’s envoy.’
He considered the charge. It didn’t add up, not after their conversation earlier on the beach. ‘Are you sure about that? Because I’m not.’
Katherine’s eyes flew to his. She straightened, setting the dishcloth in the sink. ‘What other explanation is there? Why else would Immy be here?’
‘For all the reasons she’s stated—that she’s between jobs, that she wanted to see a little more of the world, that she wanted to spend some time with her favourite aunt.’
‘But she keeps asking annoying questions and saying she’s worried about me, and—’
‘Because she is worried. I know that for a fact. Look at it from her perspective. She’s come all this way to see you—it’s obvious that she adores you—and you’re refusing to spend any time with her. And you’re using the lamest excuses to avoid her. Now I know why you’re busy, and I know why you’re worried, but Imogen doesn’t have a clue. And neither does Gloria.’
She pressed a hand to her forehead.
‘Is it possible her mother didn’t tell her about your argument?’
She blew out a breath. ‘Yes.’
‘So...?’
‘So I’ll apologise when she returns and smooth things over.’
‘Why don’t you tell her the truth? She’ll be thrilled for you.’
‘Because that will simply give her mother another weapon to use against me. She’ll say I don’t need an outside job to support myself any more, and that I can just as easily move back home an
d write there.’
‘You can ask Imogen not to tell her.’
‘That doesn’t seem fair—asking Imogen to keep secrets from her mother.’
‘She’s a grown-up, Kate. I suspect there are lots of things she doesn’t tell her mother.’ He hesitated. ‘Is there anything other than the book that’s bothering you? Because I can—’
‘Of course not!’
Her reply came too quickly. Unease circled through him, though he couldn’t explain why.
‘I can see, however, that you’re worried about Immy.’
His shoulders went tight. He didn’t like being so easy to read.
‘Why don’t you go after her and make sure she’s okay? Let her know I’m sorry and fill her in on my secret. It’s been exhausting to keep it and I’ll be glad for her to know the truth.’
‘Wouldn’t you prefer to do that yourself?’
She shook her head. ‘Off you go.’ She shooed him out of the kitchen. ‘I’ll keep an eye on the baby.’
* * *
He found Imogen walking along the beach, her hands shoved into the pockets of her shorts and her shoulders hunched. The water lapped at her toes, but she barely seemed aware of it. He moved in next to her, and they walked in silence for a bit. The faintest blush of mauve lingered in the sky to the west as the last of the day’s light faded.
‘Did you hear all of my exchange with Aunt Katherine?’
She didn’t look at him, just kept her eyes trained straight ahead. ‘I heard enough to get the general gist.’
A huge golden moon hung low on the horizon, casting a path of dancing light on the water and turning the sand silver except for where the silhouettes of the palm trees made dark shadows. ‘I didn’t know that she and my mother had fallen out.’
‘A fact that occurred to her only after you left.’
She stopped then, her eyes searching his face. The hurt mirrored inside them made his heart burn. ‘Really? Or are you just trying to make me feel better?’
He crossed his heart.
Her gaze raked across his face again before something inside her seemed to relax. ‘And I’m guessing she perhaps reached that conclusion with a little gentle persuasion from you?’
He didn’t answer and she started walking again.
‘She is sorry, you know?’ he ventured.
She nodded, but still didn’t speak. He touched her arm to make her halt. The silk of her skin an invitation hard to resist. ‘I saw how upset you were when you left the house, Imogen. I...’ He didn’t know what it was he wanted to say—that he was worried about her, or that he was sorry she’d argued with her aunt, or that he thought her the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on?
He tried to dismiss that last thought to some dusty dungeon of his mind. It was just the moonlight talking.
‘It’s sweet of you to worry about me, Jasper, but I’m fine. To be perfectly honest I’m a bit cranky with both of them for turning me into piggy in the middle.’
She stared out to sea, her hands on her hips. ‘Do you know what they fell out about?’
He stared into the dark waves. ‘All she said is that she was tired of Gloria pressuring her to return home for good.’
‘They’ve always been chalk and cheese, you know? Mum’s the extrovert who’s super social while Katherine’s the one who has always relished peace and quiet. Mum’s also seven years older and still sees Katherine as her little sister who needs brisking up.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘It makes her bossy. I don’t blame Katherine for getting her nose out of joint and telling Mum to pull her head in.’
‘But?’
She shrugged. ‘Despite all that, they’re really close. I mean, they bicker, but it really rocked everyone when Katherine didn’t come home for Christmas. It sent Mum into one of her panics. She was convinced something was wrong.’
And she’d infected her daughter with her own anxiety. ‘About Christmas...’
She glanced at him. ‘What about it?’
‘Your aunt does have something on her mind, and she’s given me permission to share it with you.’
She turned to face him fully and it made him hyper-aware of the warm breeze brushing against his calves and the lazy, languid elegance of the nearby palm trees and the rhythmic sound of the sea.
‘Which is?’
He snapped back to attention. ‘She wants to keep it just between us for the time being. So if you have a problem keeping things from your mother...’
Her eyebrows rose. ‘I’ll respect my aunt’s confidences.’
This really should be coming from Katherine, but he knew how much the older woman hated fuss of any kind. He sympathised with that. He preferred to avoid the spotlight too. ‘Well, the truth of the matter is a couple of years ago your aunt had a novel accepted for publication.’
Imogen stared at him in incomprehension for a moment and then everything inside her seemed to electrify. She straightened, her shoulders shot back and she stared at him with huge eyes. ‘She’s been writing a book?’
‘Well, a series, actually. She’s had three books accepted so far and is working on her fourth—pulp fiction.’ He grinned because he couldn’t help it. ‘Imogen, you have to read her stuff. It’s so much damn fun. A crazy blend of zombie horror and romance, but it works.’
Her jaw dropped. ‘You’ve read them?’ And then she thumped his arm. ‘I’m so jealous.’
‘But now you can read them too.’ Warmth radiated from where she’d touched him. He tried to ignore it.
She jumped up and down then, clapping her hands. ‘Oh, this is the best news. So exciting.’ She stopped bouncing to purse her lips. ‘She’s been keeping it a secret because she thinks my mother will poke fun at her. Mum’s a high school English teacher with a high regard for the classics, but she’s not a literary snob. In her spare time she reads...’
‘Zombie horror?’
A laugh gurgled out of her and it washed over him, rich and warm. ‘Cosy mysteries and family sagas. I bet she’d love Katherine’s stuff.’ She lifted her chin. ‘But you know what? They can sort that out for themselves. I’m not getting involved.’
Good for her.
Her face clouded. ‘So that’s why she didn’t want to come home at Christmas?’
‘Not exactly. Her publisher wants her to make significant changes to her latest manuscript before they’ll agree to publish it. She’s been trying to make those changes and struggling with it big-time.’
Comprehension dawned across her face. ‘And that’s what she’s been doing in the evenings—not working on the household accounts but working on her book.’
He nodded because it was too hard to speak when he was fighting to get air into his lungs. The play of emotions across her face in the moonlight, the bounce of her hair and the vulnerable mobility of her lips all held him spellbound.
‘Jasper, thank you. I—’
She broke off as their gazes caught and clung.
CHAPTER SEVEN
JASPER WANTED TO kiss her. She recognised the desire alive in his face. It shimmered like the light on a piece of Thai silk—prisms of luminescence arcing delicately against fragile cloth to form rainbows of luxuriant colour. Her every atom yearned towards him. She didn’t just want him to kiss her—she ached with it.
Hovering between breaths, she waited, but he blinked, and she saw him fight to find the strength to gather his resources and step back.
A protest keened through her, but she understood why he did it. He was her boss. Making a move on her would be dishonourable, even though her employment status in his house fell firmly in the temporary category.
But she could make a move on him first, right?
She moistened her bottom lip. His gaze zeroed in on the action, hunger darkening his eyes and making his breathing ragged. The pulse at the base of his throat raced.
&nbs
p; Why, yes. Yes, she could.
A thrill raced through her. ‘Have you ever seen a more glorious moon?’ she whispered, pointing to it though her gaze didn’t leave his.
His gaze didn’t leave hers either. ‘No.’
‘I once strolled along the Seine in the moonlight on a warm spring night, and I didn’t think there could be a more romantic setting in the world. But I was wrong.’
His nostrils flared. ‘You think my island is romantic?’
She nodded. ‘Standing here on this beach now with a moon like that—all bright and vibrant—hovering just above the horizon like some kind of jewel, and with a warm breeze playing across my bare skin, that gorgeous perfume I’ve never smelled before drifting across from the forest and mingling with the scent of the sea...’
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
‘It feels like magic. And very romantic.’
His eyes throbbed into hers.
‘I want to kiss you, Jasper.’
‘Imogen.’ Her name was barely more than a groan wrenched from his throat.
‘I won’t if you don’t want me to.’
He closed his eyes, all the muscles in his jaw bunching.
‘You know those moments you wished you’d taken, but you let slip away? And then spend the rest of your life kicking yourself for?’
His gaze returned to hers.
‘This feels like one of those moments.’
A slow breath eased out of him, drawing her attention to the strong column of his throat and down to broad shoulders that made her mouth dry.
She forced her gaze back to his, not bothering to hide her need. ‘I know it can’t be anything more than a kiss. I’m not usually impulsive like this. I’m not into flings. But once I leave your gorgeous island, I’m starting a new phase of my life. This might be my last chance...’
He edged closer. ‘To?’
‘To seize the perfect moment—to live in it—without worrying about the consequences. To revel in a moment out of time one last time.’
His face gentled. ‘A moment out of time?’
The Maid, the Millionaire and the Baby Page 10