the weather wait ten minutes.’
Phoebe pinned back her hair and then delved back into her bag for her mobile. Hauling it out, she flipped it open and switched it on. Hmm. She frowned. No signal.
Alex glanced up as she waved it around. ‘I wouldn’t bother. There’s no coverage.’
Oh. ‘None at all?’ She didn’t think she’d ever been anywhere where she hadn’t been able to pick up a signal.
‘Nope. And there’s no landline either.’
‘What about the Internet?’
‘I’m afraid not.’
There was no need for him to look quite so cheery, thought Phoebe darkly. Her phone was like a third limb. She needed to be available every minute of every day, just in case any nasty little surprises popped up.
But there wasn’t much she could do about it now.With a sigh, Phoebe dropped her phone back into her bag and resigned herself to twenty-four hours of being incommunicado. At least weekends tended to be quiet on the PR front.
The island was smaller than she’d imagined, and far more remote. She’d envisaged a buzzing harbour, bright colours and exotic smells. All that had been true of the island that housed the capital, but Ilha das Palmeiras was quiet and peaceful. After a lifetime of living in London Phoebe had imagined she’d have been more freaked out by the absence of noise, but instead she could already feel herself beginning to unwind.
Palm trees swished in the breeze. The sun warmed her skin. The distant sound of waves crashing onto the shore filled her with a sense of wonderful restfulness.
Maybe after the party, when she’d smashed her target and proved she was more than capable of handling Jo’s career, she’d do a spot of sunbathing. Relaxing. God knew how long it had been since she’d had a day off.
‘Hop in.’
Phoebe’s eyes snapped open. Oh, she had to be careful. If she allowed herself to be lulled into a false sense of tranquillity, if she didn’t keep her wits firmly about her, she could find herself struggling to pass Alex’s test.
She grappled with the handle of the car door that was welded shut and it dawned on her that she would literally have to ‘hop in’. Which she’d never manage with any sort of elegance. Alex had vaulted in, but as she hadn’t been inside a gym for years if she tried that she’d land in a heap on the grass. Perhaps if she just perched her bottom on the edge and then levered herself up…
‘I would offer you a hand, but I can still recall what happened when I last tried that.’
‘Try it again,’ she said with uncharacteristic sweetness while batting her eyelashes at him in an exaggerated fashion, ‘and I can guarantee you’ll get a different response.’
Alex grinned, got out of the car and walked over to her side. ‘Turn round.’
Phoebe did and he reached down, put his hands on her waist and lifted her so that she could swing her legs round. He dropped her into the seat and Phoebe untangled her legs and arms. ‘Thank you,’ she said, determinedly ignoring the tingles zapping around her body and her galloping pulse. ‘And since you mention it, thank you for your help with Mark the other night.’ Hindsight had made her realise that she might not have been able to manage him on her own, and the fact that she’d never got round to thanking Alex had been niggling away at her ever since.
‘You’re welcome.’ He fired up the engine. ‘I probably owe you an apology.’
‘Oh?’
‘I might have overreacted. Just a bit.’
Phoebe sat back and grinned. ‘Accepted. It sounds like you’re out of practice.’
‘Could be,’ he said dryly. ‘I don’t often have reason to apologise.’
‘It must be wonderful being right all the time.’
‘Most of the time,’ he said with a grin and hit the accelerator.
‘So this island must be privately owned,’ said Phoebe, clinging onto the top of the windscreen in a futile effort to lessen the jarring on her poor battered body as they bounced over the terrain.
‘It is.’
She gave up
Phoebe pinned back her hair and then delved back into her bag for her mobile. Hauling it out, she flipped it open and switched it on. Hmm. She frowned. No signal.
Alex glanced up as she waved it around. ‘I wouldn’t bother. There’s no coverage.’
Oh. ‘None at all?’ She didn’t think she’d ever been anywhere where she hadn’t been able to pick up a signal.
‘Nope. And there’s no landline either.’
‘What about the Internet?’
‘I’m afraid not.’
There was no need for him to look quite so cheery, thought Phoebe darkly. Her phone was like a third limb. She needed to be available every minute of every day, just in case any nasty little surprises popped up.
But there wasn’t much she could do about it now.With a sigh, Phoebe dropped her phone back into her bag and resigned herself to twenty-four hours of being incommunicado. At least weekends tended to be quiet on the PR front.
The island was smaller than she’d imagined, and far more remote. She’d envisaged a buzzing harbour, bright colours and exotic smells. All that had been true of the island that housed the capital, but Ilha das Palmeiras was quiet and peaceful. After a lifetime of living in London Phoebe had imagined she’d have been more freaked out by the absence of noise, but instead she could already feel herself beginning to unwind.
Palm trees swished in the breeze. The sun warmed her skin. The distant sound of waves crashing onto the shore filled her with a sense of wonderful restfulness.
Maybe after the party, when she’d smashed her target and proved she was more than capable of handling Jo’s career, she’d do a spot of sunbathing. Relaxing. God knew how long it had been since she’d had a day off.
‘Hop in.’
Phoebe’s eyes snapped open. Oh, she had to be careful. If she allowed herself to be lulled into a false sense of tranquillity, if she didn’t keep her wits firmly about her, she could find herself struggling to pass Alex’s test.
She grappled with the handle of the car door that was welded shut and it dawned on her that she would literally have to ‘hop in’. Which she’d never manage with any sort of elegance. Alex had vaulted in, but as she hadn’t been inside a gym for years if she tried that she’d land in a heap on the grass. Perhaps if she just perched her bottom on the edge and then levered herself up…
‘I would offer you a hand, but I can still recall what happened when I last tried that.’
‘Try it again,’ she said with uncharacteristic sweetness while batting her eyelashes at him in an exaggerated fashion, ‘and I can guarantee you’ll get a different response.’
Alex grinned, got out of the car and walked over to her side. ‘Turn round.’
Phoebe did and he reached down, put his hands on her waist and lifted her so that she could swing her legs round. He dropped her into the seat and Phoebe untangled her legs and arms. ‘Thank you,’ she said, determinedly ignoring the tingles zapping around her body and her galloping pulse. ‘And since you mention it, thank you for your help with Mark the other night.’ Hindsight had made her realise that she might not have been able to manage him on her own, and the fact that she’d never got round to thanking Alex had been niggling away at her ever since.
‘You’re welcome.’ He fired up the engine. ‘I probably owe you an apology.’
‘Oh?’
‘I might have overreacted. Just a bit.’
Phoebe sat back and grinned. ‘Accepted. It sounds like you’re out of practice.’
‘Could be,’ he said dryly. ‘I don’t often have reason to apologise.’
‘It must be wonderful being right all the time.’
‘Most of the time,’ he said with a grin and hit the accelerator.
‘So this island must be privately owned,’ said Phoebe, clinging onto the top of the windscreen in a futile effort to lessen the jarring on her poor battered body as they bounced over the terrain.
‘It is.’
She gave up
Similar Books
