Читать книгу The Platinum Collection - Эбби Грин, Maisey Yates - Страница 61

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

ELIZABETH was on tenterhooks all morning waiting for news of Michael. She thought it would be Lucy who called, but it was Harry, instantly assuring her that his brother’s injuries were not life-threatening as they had feared.

‘He was hit on the driver’s side, right arm and hip fractured, broken ribs, lacerations to the face, a lot of bruising, concussion. The doctors were worried that a broken rib had punctured his liver but that’s been cleared and bones will mend.’ His sigh transmitted a mountain of relief. ‘He’s going to be incapacitated for quite a while, but there should be no lasting damage.’

‘That’s good news, Harry,’ Elizabeth said, her own relief pouring into her voice.

‘Lucy’s here. I’ve left her sitting beside Mickey, holding his left hand. She’s certainly a surprise, your sister.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘He’s not a pretty picture—face cut, bruised and swollen. I didn’t think it was a good idea, her going in to see him. Thought she’d have hysterics or faint at the sight of him. She gave me an earbashing on how much she cared about Mickey and she was no wimp when it came to facing anyone who was suffering anything.’

Elizabeth smiled, imagining the scene. ‘I told you she was good with Mum.’

‘Looks like she’ll be good with Mickey, too. Like Mum was with Dad. He’ll need cheering up in the days to come, that’s for sure. He’s sedated right now. Haven’t spoken to him, only to the doctors, who assure me he’s out of the woods.’

‘That’s the important thing, Harry. Whatever the future brings, he does have a future.’

‘Thank God!’

‘How did the accident happen? Lucy said he’d left her to find an all-night pharmacy...’

‘Drunken teenagers in a stolen car running a red light. They just slammed into him. All four of them are here in the hospital, undoubtedly ruing their stupid joy ride. I can’t say I’m feeling any sympathy for them.’

Harsh words, but justified, Elizabeth thought. Nevertheless, concern for him made her ask, ‘Are you okay, Harry? I know shock can hit hard and have lingering after-effects.’

He heaved another big sigh, releasing tension this time. ‘I’ll be fine. Got to step in for Mickey. I’ll have to run the Cairns office until he can pick up the reins again. I can delegate the running of the tourist side for a while, but Mickey has always kept a very personal control of the franchises. There’s no one I can hand it to.’

‘I know,’ she murmured understandingly, realising that his mind was racing, trying to foresee problems he had to deal with.

‘I’ll set up interviews with the two people we selected for the management position on the island, hopefully this week, then send the one I think is most appropriate out to you. If you’ll train whomever I choose...’

‘No problem,’ she assured him. ‘I’ll get Sarah and Jack and Daniel to come on board for that, as well. We’ll handle it for you, Harry. Don’t worry about it. You’ll have enough on your plate taking over from Michael. Just keep me informed on what’s happening.’

‘Will do. And thanks for...’ He paused a moment, his voice gathering a husky note as he added, ‘for being you, Elizabeth.’

The emotional comment brought a lump to her throat. It had been a stressful morning and she teetered on the edge of weeping now that the practicalities of the situation had been sorted out. She knew intuitively that Harry was close to breaking up, too, having held himself together to face the worst.

Having swallowed hard to clear her throat, she softly said, ‘Don’t be too alone in this, Harry. Anything you need to share...you can talk to me any time. Okay?’

Another pause, longer this time, making her wonder if she had stepped too far, assuming an intimacy he didn’t feel with her when they weren’t in bed together.

‘Though I’m not into phone sex,’ she blurted out.

He cracked up. Peal after peal of laughter sent her brain into a tizzy. She had no idea what it meant—a release from tension, amusement at her prudish restriction?

‘Oh, Ellie! I love you,’ he bubbled forth. ‘I really, truly do.’

She was stunned into silence. Was this a genuine declaration or was he funning her?

‘And it will kill me if you don’t love me back,’ he went on, slightly more soberly.

How was she to reply to that? ‘Umm... Well, don’t die any time soon, Harry.’

‘I won’t. I have too much to live for. And so do you, Ellie,’ he said with conviction. ‘Bye for now.’

Elizabeth didn’t know what to think. In the end she decided Harry’s loving her was simply an impulsive reaction to her helping him at a time of crisis. It was more comfortable putting it in that box than believing he was serious, because she didn’t want to feel pressured about loving him back. As much as she liked him—maybe loved him—she wasn’t ready to lay her heart completely on the line. It was too...hasty.

* * *

Harry knew he’d jumped the gun with the love words. They’d spilled out of him before he realised what he was saying, no consideration given to how they’d be received or interpreted and, worst of all, he couldn’t see Elizabeth’s reaction to them.

He’d spoken the truth. He knew that without any doubt now. The instinctive attraction had always been there and he’d never been able to give up on it, despite her constantly blocking it, preferring to see his brother as the more desirable man. But they were right together, right for each other. He felt it in his bones. Though he suspected she wasn’t quite ready to hear or accept it.

Having given her word, she would still stand by him during this crisis. But until he was actually with her again, he’d steer clear of pouring out personal feelings. He wasn’t absolutely sure that her emotions had been detached from his brother. Having sex with him—liking it, wanting it—that was certainly answering a need in her, but whether he’d won through to her heart was not certain at this point.

Patience, Harry, he cautioned himself.

Elizabeth Flippence was the woman worth keeping.

He had to convince her he was the man worth keeping.

* * *

Every day following Michael’s accident, Elizabeth found herself literally hanging on calls from Cairns. She cared about Michael’s progress—of course, she did—yet she grew impatient when Lucy went on endlessly about every little detail and her sympathy was sorely stretched at times. She really wanted to hear from Harry, not her sister.

Her heart always jumped when his voice came over the line and her body flooded with warm pleasure. Not once did he mention loving her, and despite thinking she didn’t want to hear it, weirdly enough she actually did, although she was happy to simply chat with him and it felt really good to help him with problems he was encountering in Michael’s office.

His confidence in her, his respect for her opinion, his desire for her input on everything, did touch her heart. Very deeply. None of her previous relationships with men had reached this level of sharing. She loved it. When he told her he was bringing his chosen candidate for manager over to the island himself at the weekend, she was thrilled at the prospect of being with him again, if only for a few hours.

He instructed her to hold a villa aside for herself from Saturday to the following Friday as the new manager would be taking over the apartment and she would probably need a week to ensure he was on top of the job. His name was David Markey and he was only twenty-eight, but he’d had experience as assistant manager at a resort on Kangaroo Island, which was down below Adelaide off the coast of South Australia. According to his résumé, he was keen to take up a position in a more tropical climate. Elizabeth had thought him a good possibility and she was glad he had interviewed well, leading Harry to choose him.

They were to arrive by helicopter on Saturday morning and the moment Elizabeth heard the distinctive noise of the rotors, her pulse started racing. She’d barely slept the night before, thinking of Harry and how it might be with him this time. It was difficult to contain the nervous excitement buzzing through her but somehow she had to keep it in check while she handled the business side of this visit.

Professionalism insisted that she couldn’t run down to the back beach, waving madly like a child as the helicopter landed and flinging herself at Harry the moment he stepped out of it. Waiting in the office for the men to enter it was the right and sensible thing to do—the Elizabeth thing, she thought wryly, not the Lucy thing. But Harry was counting on her to be sensible and helpful. This was not butterfly time.

She’d asked Jack to meet the helicopter, introducing himself to David Markey as well as giving any help needed with luggage. While she waited, she forced herself to check through items laid out on her desk in preparation for making the job transition as easy as possible for David—a list of the current guests and the villas they occupied with a notation of activities some of them had booked today, contact numbers for the chef and the Pickards, a list of staff names under headings of housekeeping, maintenance and restaurant. It was all there waiting...waiting....

Harry led the others into the office. His vivid blue eyes connected with hers with such riveting intensity, Elizabeth was pinned to her chair while her heart rocketed around her chest. She stared back, feeling as though he was wrapping a magnetic field around her entire being, claiming her as his, tugging her towards him.

She stood. Her thighs were quivering, but her legs moved as though drawn by strings, drawn by the power of an attraction that had become totally irresistible. His smile bathed her in tingling pleasure. She was so consumed by sheer awe at the strength of feelings shooting through her, the man moving in beside Harry didn’t register on her radar until her attention was directed to him.

Harry lifted his hand in an introductory wave, inclining his head towards the slightly shorter man. ‘David Markey, Elizabeth.’

‘Good to meet you,’ the newcomer promptly said, stepping forward and extending his hand.

Elizabeth met it with her own hand, belatedly smiling a welcome. ‘Likewise, David. I hope you’ll be very happy working here on Finn Island.’

He was a clean-cut, good-looking young man—short brown hair, bright brown eyes with a ready smile to charm, a typical front man in the hospitality industry. ‘I’m very glad to have the chance,’ he said enthusiastically.

Jack had manoeuvred around the two men, wheeling two suitcases towards the door into the manager’s apartment. Harry gestured towards him as he spoke to David. ‘If you’ll just follow Jack, he’ll show you your living quarters and answer any questions you might have about them. I want a private word with Elizabeth.’

‘Of course. Thank you,’ was the ready reply, and taking the privacy hint, he closed the apartment door after himself.

The brief business with David had given Elizabeth enough distraction to recover from the initial impact of Harry’s presence. Having regained some control of herself, she turned to him with a sympathetic smile. ‘Tough week?’

‘Mmm...’ His eyes twinkled teasingly as he spread his arms in appeal. ‘I think I need a hug.’

Her heart started racing again as she laughed and moved straight into his embrace, eager for the physical contact she had craved all week.

He hugged her tightly to him, rubbing his cheek against her hair, breathing in deeply and releasing a long, shuddering sigh before murmuring, ‘There is nothing like a warm living body to make you feel better. I have so much wanted you with me this week, Ellie.’

‘I wished I could have been there for you, too, Harry.’

‘Can’t be in two places at once,’ he said wryly, tugging her head back so they were face to face. ‘I’ll stay here overnight if that’s okay with you.’

‘I was hoping you would,’ she answered, openly showing that she welcomed every intimacy with him.

Desire blazed into his eyes. He lifted a hand and ran a feather-light finger over her lips. ‘If I start kissing you I won’t want to stop and there’s no time for it now. When Jack comes out I’ll leave you with David. Sarah wants me to lunch with them, hear all the news about Mickey firsthand. You should lunch with David in the restaurant, introduce him to the guests. I’ll catch up with the two of you afterwards, find out how he’s doing and hopefully get you to myself for a while.’

Assured they would be together later in the afternoon, Elizabeth didn’t mind seeing Harry go off with Jack, happy with the plan of action he’d laid out. She knew how fond Sarah was of both the Finn brothers, and it was nice of Harry to answer the housekeeper’s concern about Michael. It was also appropriate for her to introduce David to the guests since she was known to them, having been the resident manager all week.

Over lunch, David proved to have a very pleasant manner with the guests and the restaurant staff. Elizabeth quite enjoyed his company herself. He readily answered her questions about his experience on Kangaroo Island and was keen to question her experience at this resort, garnering as much knowledge as he could as quickly as he could.

It occurred to her that it might not take a week to fill him in on everything and make sure he understood the whole working process of the island. He wasn’t coming in cold to the job as she had. He was already a professional in this field. It might only take a few days and then she could get back to Cairns.

To Lucy...

To Harry...

To real life again...

Although the island getaway hadn’t really been a getaway for her. She’d been well and truly faced with real life here—forced to accept the reality of Michael’s connection with Lucy, having her misconceptions about Harry ripped apart, learning that an attraction based on sexual chemistry could gather many more levels, given the chance.

Her time here had been one of intense emotional turmoil, yet coming now to the end of it, she was ready to move forward, wanting to move forward, hopefully with Harry, who had become a very vital part of her world. No denying that. Though she was not going to spin rosy dreams about him, as she had with Michael. She would do the realistic thing and live in the moment with Harry.

The moment could not come fast enough today.

She accompanied David back to the office after lunch and they settled in front of the computer workstation to go through the booking system. It took an act of will for Elizabeth to concentrate on it. Anticipation was like a fever in her blood. She kept glancing at the wall clock, wondering how long Harry would stay with Jack and Sarah, aching for him to leave them and come for her.

It had just turned two o’clock when he entered the office, filling it with an electric energy that zapped through every nerve in Elizabeth’s body.

‘How’s it going?’ he asked.

‘Fine!’ Elizabeth managed to clip out.

‘Fine!’ echoed David.

‘Well, I need to have a meeting with Elizabeth now,’ Harry said, exuding the alpha male authority that had so surprised her when he’d sacked Sean Cassidy. ‘After we leave, you can close the office, David. It doesn’t need to be reopened until five o’clock. Take the time to settle in or stroll around, familiarising yourself with the island’s attractions. We’ll have dinner together this evening.’ His arm beckoned commandingly. ‘Elizabeth...’

‘See you later, David,’ she threw at him as she rose from her chair, her heart pounding with excitement at the prospect of spending at least three hours with Harry.

That gave her a lot of moments to live in...to the full.