to the villa.’
‘Bingo.’ He’d relished the fresh air and the freedom. For the first two kilometres.
‘While carrying a rucksack.’
Eight weeks ago he’d have been able to carry twice the weight for ten kilometres without breaking a sweat.
She picked up his glass of half-finished Scotch and strode into the kitchen. As she reached up into a kitchen cupboard her singlet hiked up to expose a band of perfect pale skin that had his gut clenching. She pulled out a packet of aspirin and sent it flying in a perfect arc towards him—he barely needed to move to catch it. And then she lifted his glass to her lips and drained it and stars burst behind his eyelids. It was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.
She filled it with tap water and set it in front of him. ‘Take two.’
He did as she ordered because it was easier than arguing with her. And because he hurt all over and it seemed too much trouble to find the heavy-duty painkillers his doctor had prescribed for him and which were currently rolling around in the bottom of his backpack somewhere.
‘Which room do you usually use?’
‘The one at the top of the stairs.’
‘You’re out of luck, buddy.’ She stuck out a hip, and he gulped down more water. ‘That’s the one I’m using.’
He feigned outrage. ‘But that one has the best view!’ Which was a lie. All the upstairs bedrooms had spectacular views.
She smirked. ‘I know. First in and all that.’
He choked down a laugh. That was one of the things he’d always liked about Audra. She’d play along with him...all in the name of one-upmanship, of course.
‘Right, which bedroom do you want? There are another three upstairs to choose from.’ She strode around and lifted his bag. She grunted and had to use both hands. ‘Yeah, right—light as a feather.’
He glanced at her arms. While the rucksack wasn’t exactly light, it wasn’t that heavy. She’d never been a weakling. She’d lost condition. He tried to recall the last time he’d seen her.
‘Earth to Finn.’
He started. ‘I’ll take the one on the ground floor.’ The one behind the kitchen. The only bedroom in the house that didn’t have a sea view. The bedroom furthest away from Audra’s. They wouldn’t even have to share a bathroom if he stayed down here. Which would be for the best.
He glanced at that singlet top and nodded. Definitely for the best.
Especially when her eyes softened with spring-rain warmth. ‘Damn, Finn. Do you still hurt that much?’
He realised then that she thought he didn’t want to tackle the stairs.
‘I—’ He pulled in a breath. He didn’t want to tackle the stairs. He’d overdone it today. He didn’t want her to keep looking at him like that either, though. ‘It’s nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix.’
Without another word, she strode to the room behind the kitchen and lifted his bag up onto the desk in there. So he wouldn’t have to lift it himself later. Her thoughtfulness touched him. She could be prickly, and she could be mouthy, but she’d never been unkind.
Which was the reason, if he ever ran into Thomas Farquhar, he’d wring the mongrel’s neck.
‘Do you need anything else?’
The beds in Rupert’s villa were always made up. He employed a cleaner to come in once a week so that the Russel siblings or any close friends could land here and fall into bed with a minimum of fuss. But even if the bed hadn’t been made pride would’ve forbidden him from asking her to make it...or to help him make it.
He fell into a chair and slanted her a grin—cocky, assured and full of teasing to hide his pain as he pulled his hiking boots off. ‘Well, now, Squirt...’ He lifted a foot in her direction. ‘I could use some help getting my socks off. And then maybe my jeans.’
As anticipated, her eyes went wide and her cheeks went pink. Without another word, she whirled around and strode from the room.
At that precise moment his phone started to ring. He glanced at the caller ID and grimaced. ‘Rupert, mate. Sorry about—’
The phone was summarily taken from him and Finn blinked when Audra lifted it to her ear. Up this close she smelled of coconut and peaches. His mouth watered. Dinner suddenly seemed like hours ago.
‘Rupe, Finn looks like death. He needs to rest. He’ll call you in the morning and you can give him an ear-bashing then.’ She turned the phone off before handing it back to him. ‘Goodnight, Finn.’
She was halfway through the kitchen before he managed to call back a goodnight of his own. He stood in the doorway and waited until he heard her ascending the stairs before closing his door and dialling Rupert’s number.
‘Before you launch into a tirade and tell me what an idiot I am, let me apologise. I’m calling myself far worse names than you ever will. I’d have not scared Audra for the world. I was going to call you in the morning to let you know I was here.’ He’d had no notion Audra would be here. It was a little early in the season for any of the Russels to head for the island.
Rupert’s long sigh came down the phone, and it made Finn’s gut churn. ‘What are you doing in Kyanós?’ his friend finally asked. ‘I thought you were in Nice.’
‘The, uh, cast came off yesterday.’
‘And you couldn’t blow off steam on the French Riviera?’
He scrubbed a hand down his face. ‘There’s a woman I’m trying to avoid and—’
‘You don’t need to say any more. I get the picture.’
Actually, Rupert was wrong. This time. It wasn’t a romantic liaison he’d tired of and was fleeing. But he kept his mouth shut. He deserved Rupert’s derision. ‘If you want me to leave, I’ll clear out at first light.’
His heart gave a sick kick at the long pause on the other end of the phone. Rupert was considering it! Rupert was the one person who’d shown faith in him when everyone else had written him off, and now—
‘Of course I don’t want you to leave.’
He closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath.
‘But...’
His eyes crashed open. His heart started to thud. ‘But?’
‘Don’t go letting Audra fall in love with you. She’s fragile at the moment, Finn...vulnerable.’
He stiffened. ‘Whoa, Rupe! I’ve no designs on your little sister.’
‘She’s exactly your type.’
‘Except she’s your sister.’ He made a decision then and there to leave in the morning. He didn’t want Rupert worrying about this. It was completely unnecessary. He needed to lie low for a few weeks and Kyanós had seemed like the perfect solution, but not at the expense of either Rupert’s or Audra’s peace of mind.
‘That said, I’m glad you’re there.’
Finn stilled.
‘I’m worried about her being on her own. I’ve been trying to juggle my timetable, but the earliest I can get away is in a fortnight.’
Finn pursed his lips. ‘You want me to keep an eye on her?’
Again there was a long pause. ‘She needs a bit of fun. She needs to let her hair down.’
‘This is Audra we’re talking about.’ She was the most buttoned-up person he knew.
‘You’re good at fun.’
His lips twisted. He ought to be. He’d