Billionaire's Island Temptation
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Rachael Stewart
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CHAPTER ONE
JESSIE ROSE CLENCHED her hands in her lap and gritted her teeth.
Below, the ground peeked between the clouds, flashes of vibrant green and sandy white amidst turquoise-blue waters...she should be appreciating it. Should being the operative word.
The plane juddered and she flung her hands out to grip the seat, squeezing her eyes shut. The dual propellors were doing their best to shake her insides out of her body, and she didn’t need the added fear that at any moment the rickety and ridiculously small plane would simply fall from the sky.
She was used to the cold sweat, the tightness in her chest...but this was meant to be a holiday, a chance for some R and R, not cause for another panic attack.
Just breathe, Jessie. Breathe and count.
Her counsellor’s gentle words were on repeat in her brain.
In...one, two, three, four. Hold...one, two—
The plane swooped and her stomach lurched. She gave the tiniest squeak, her eyes flaring open. Thank heaven there was no audience to witness her losing her cool. Just the pilot, and he was doing everything he could to keep the toy plane in the air. Momentary turbulence, he’d assured her. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.
Only...it didn’t feel like nothing.
And her brain was only too happy playing out every devastating scenario possible. A trick it had perfected ever since Mum’s accident a few years ago. An accident that had retriggered her anxiety and swamped her positivity.
She’d masked it well enough—the insomnia, the panic attacks, the fight to function. She’d had to, for Mum. As her carer twenty-four-seven, she’d quit her job, moved back home, quit her life according to Adam... Adam.
She shook her head, unwilling to think about him and his sudden departure from her life. Good riddance, her big sister Hannah had said, but Jessie wasn’t so sure...not now Mum was gone and she was alone. No purpose, lost and unsure.
Unlike Hannah, who had a handle on everything...
How could her sister begin to understand how it felt when they lived in different worlds? Hannah’s was all champagne and caviar, swanky and successful, living it up in London in her flash city pad, with her even flashier husband.
And hers—
The plane dipped again and she bit her cheek, swallowing the curse that wanted to erupt and shame over her inner whinge.
Her sister had worked hard to get where she was, and it wasn’t Hannah’s fault that Jessie hadn’t been able to find a career she loved. It wasn’t Hannah’s fault she’d chosen the wrong man to fall in love with. It wasn’t Hannah’s fault that she’d given up her life in London to return home to their small village and care for Mum.
And though Hannah hadn’t come home as often as Jessie would have liked, she got that her sister had her own stuff going on. She also suspected this trip was her big sister’s attempt at making up for her lack of presence.
Yes, she’d wanted to coax Jessie back into the land of the living, but there was more to it than that. She’d caught the hint of guilt as she’d sold it to her: ‘It’ll do you good to get away, get some sun, be looked after...time to reflect, re-energise and be reborn.’
A smile teased at her lips—reborn? Had Hannah really said that? The phrase was so...hippyish. For Hannah at any rate. Not for their mother, who even on her deathbed had taken Jessie’s hand, squeezed it and said, ‘Life is the adventure you make it, Jessie—live it, love it, no regrets.’
Well, she was doing that, or trying to...with her sister’s helping hand.
When Hannah had offered her this escape, she’d said no. The idea of staying in a holiday home belonging to a partner in Hannah’s law firm, a man she’d only met a handful of times, felt wrong. Especially when she wasn’t expected to pay a penny...not that she could afford it anyway. Even her inheritance was a drop in the ocean compared to the level of wealth she was walking—flying—into: Mustique Island, exclusive retreat for the rich and famous, and as far removed from her world as one could get.
But maybe Hannah was right, maybe this break was what she needed. Meds certainly hadn’t been the answer. Counselling had helped...kind of. Though nothing could fill the hole her mother had left behind six months ago.
Her phone buzzed inside her bag and she unclenched her fingers to pull it out. A message from Hannah glared up at her, her sister’s timing as impeccable as ever:
Don’t forget to let me know when you get there, Jess x
She shook her head and typed:
If I don’t die on the plane first x
Jess! x
JOKE! x
She could sense her sister rolling her eyes, genuine despair in their clear blue depths, and her heart softened with her posture.
Sorry. I will. Just facing some turbulence xx
Since when have you feared some turbulence? x
Since life had got real... She bit her lip, her thumb hovering over the ‘Send’ button. No, she couldn’t say that. It wasn’t fair. Not on her sister, or her attempt to treat this holiday as a fresh start. She erased it and went with:
Landing soon. Promise to message so stop worrying. Shouldn’t you be concentrating on your next big win? Those cases don’t win themselves... x
Right now, you’re my priority, not work. Take care, little sis. I love you x
She stared at the message, tears choking up her throat as her chest contracted. Nothing to do with her anxiety now and everything to do with family. What family she had left.
Three simple words, thrown around carelessly by some, but never Hannah. She wasn’t one for sentiment. Even after Mum had passed, there’d been an awkwardness, a hesitancy...
Either the panic attack her sister had witnessed Jessie suffer a few weeks ago had totally freaked her out, or something else was going on with Hannah, and Jessie wasn’t sure which scenario she’d prefer.
Whatever the case, she needed to pull herself together.
A, to prove to her sister she was mentally sound and capable of running her own life without her big sister’s interference.
And B, to be there for Hannah should she need her to be. Not that she could believe it. Her sister was the strong one. Fierce, independent, career driven...
She raised the phone and typed:
Take care of yourself and less of the little. Love you too xx
She slipped her phone back into her bag and resumed her clenched position...
‘Dream vacation and new me,’ she muttered between her teeth, ‘here I come.’
Joel Austin eyed the surf and toyed with catching a few more waves before the weather truly turned.
It was getting choppy, the waves irregular and unpredictable. But heading back in meant his time was up and he’d rather be wiped out than face a return to reality.
‘Mr Austin!’
His head snapped around, his eyes scanning the shore for the person willing to break his peace.
Ah, Anton.
Even from this distance, the man looked harried, and he let out a sigh. Reality beckoned, his life not so much.
‘Hey, Anton!’ Joel gave him a wave as his board bobbed beneath him, its undulation building with the increasing swells. ‘You going to join me?’
Of course Anton wasn’t, but Joel couldn’t resist the tease, especially when the man’s presence could only mean one thing—his best mate, Brendan, was after him.
‘Sorry, sir, you’re wanted!’
For all the wrong reasons...
Anton waved his mobile in the air to add to his point and Joel sighed. Definitely Brendan.
‘I’ll be right in.’
Giving the surf one last longing look, he caught the next wave back to shore. He’d been out for hours already. He might be an arse, on occasion, but, when his best friend had given him the use of his holiday home and all the luxury that came with it, the least he could do was keep his staff sweet.
He hopped off the board, yanked it against his chest and stepped through the foam, his trusty smile pasted in place. This wasn’t Anton’s fault. It wasn’t Brendan’s. It was his own. And no amount of surfing the waves or living his life to the max would fix it...try though he might.
‘What’s up?’ He combed his hand through his hair as he paused before his friend’s butler and feigned ignorance. He knew exactly what was wrong.
‘Mr Hart’s been trying to call you, he knows the storm is incoming and wants to make sure your plans are still in place.’
‘You mean my exit plans?’ He gave him a lopsided grin. ‘Tired of me already, Anton?’
The man’s deep brown skin flushed deeper. ‘Not at all, sir. Only we have our new guest arriving and want—’
‘Hey, chill, Anton. I’m only joshing with you.’
‘Joshing, sir?’
‘Winding you up.’ He dropped the grin and dipped to grab his towel and phone from the sand. ‘It’s all good, my flight is due to leave this afternoon and I’ve not heard otherwise.’
Not that Joel would mind getting stranded here, but Anton clearly would as the man’s worried gaze drifted to the horizon and the obvious storm brewing.
‘Relax, man, it’s all good.’ He started off in the direction of the villa. ‘So, who’s the guest that’s kicking me out of paradise?’
Falling into step beside him, Anton flicked him a look. Likely assessing whether he was genuinely disgruntled or continuing with the wind-up, and Joel swiftly reinstated the grin.
The gesture was foolproof. No one questioned it. They saw nothing beyond the foppish blond hair, bright white smile, and crystal blue gaze...not hiding anything. Anything worth analysing at any rate.
‘She is a friend of a friend, I believe.’
‘A she?’ Joel cocked a brow. ‘Is there a man-she too?’
‘A man-she?’ Anton was back to frowning.
‘A man to accompany the said she?’
Anton shook his head, choking on what Joel would like to think was a laugh but was more likely to be disdain. ‘No. I believe she is travelling alone.’
Interesting.
Maybe a quick call to Brendan wouldn’t go amiss after all.
Maybe this short adventure could turn into something a little more adventurous.
‘You go on ahead, Anton. I’ll pack this board away and give Brendan a call.’
‘Very well, Mr Austin. Can I—?’
‘Please, please, please, drop the mister, and the sir—it’s Joel. Just Joel, okay? We’ve been over this a thousand times.’
‘It’s not very usual...’
‘And I’m not your usual kind of guest, so humour me.’
‘Very well. Can I bring you anything... Joel?’
‘I’m good. Are my bags packed?’ Another question he already knew the answer to... Brendan’s staff were ever efficient.
‘Of course, aside from the clothes you asked June to keep out for your journey.’
‘Perfect! Then I need nothing more. Thank you.’
He waited for Anton to leave before dialling Brendan’s number and his friend picked up in two rings. One day he might even hit three. ‘You need to get a life, my friend.’
‘And you need to find yours again, my friend.’
He laughed at Brendan’s swift retort, masking the painful pang of such a direct hit. He wasn’t ready to make any such move. Hell, maybe he never would be.
‘You’re in no place to judge me when you live for your work.’
‘It wasn’t so long ago you were the same.’
‘And look where that got me.’ All humour stripped from his voice, Joel felt the chill seep into his bones and he forced a breath, forced his body to relax as he sensed the tension on the other end of the line. The tension, the sympathy, the blasted pity, and the words that were about to spill from his friend’s lips if he didn’t get there first.
‘Joel, I’m—’
‘So tell me, who’s the lucky lady you have arriving?’
There was a momentary silence, punctuated by a heavy sigh as Brendan battled the need to say what he wanted or permit his change in topic. But tough. Some things were better left unsaid.
‘How do you know it’s a lady?’
His shoulders eased with his friend’s capitulation.
‘Anton may have mentioned it...’
Brendan muttered an expletive that had Joel choking out a laugh. ‘Did you just swear at me?’
‘No.’
‘You did.’
‘I did.’
‘Why in the hell would you...?’
‘She’s Hannah’s little sister,’ he said over him.
‘As in Hannah, super-sexy-business-partner-in-your-law-firm Hannah?’
‘I really wish you wouldn’t talk about her like that.’
‘And I really wish you’d made your move on her before that jerk of a husband got his sweaty mitts on her, but hey, we can’t all get what we want.’
‘Jesus, Joel.’
‘What? Leon is a jerk. God knows what you ever saw in him. He was clearly only ever sponging off you and your connections and—’
‘And right now he’s the last man on earth I want to be discussing, so quit deflecting and tell me you’re packed and good to go?’
Joel laughed, his eyes returning to the horizon and the delightful storm brewing.
‘Are you that eager to see me gone?’
‘It’s not that. You know you’re welcome to use the place as much as you like, but...’
‘But you don’t want me here when she arrives?’
A delay, then. ‘Not particularly.’
He’d be offended if not for the fact he deserved it. In the last year, he’d built up quite the reputation...even if most of it was the press and their hyped-up nonsense. Not that he’d bothered setting anyone straight.
‘Fair enough.’
‘Look, I’m sorry, Joel, you know I love you but she’s Hannah’s sister. I can’t risk you upsetting her and you’ve zero restraint when it comes to the opposite sex.’
‘I’ll have you know, I’ve plenty, as proven by your great-aunt when she made a pass at me that summer.’
Brendan managed a chuckle. ‘Aah, good old Aunt Mags, I miss her.’
Joel gave a mock shudder. ‘I don’t.’
‘But I’m serious—’
‘Look, don’t worry, bud, I read you loud and clear.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Thank you for letting me stay here.’
‘You’ve had a good time?’
‘The best. This place never lets me down.’
‘The place or the guests across the way?’
Joel laughed with his friend. ‘You know me, I’m nothing if not social with the neighbours...’
‘If only you could be as social with your family.’
Joel pretended he hadn’t heard him. ‘So, if you want to change your mind, I’d be happy to stick around and show Hannah’s little sister the sights.’
‘Don’t you have a meeting in Tokyo?’
‘Do I?’
‘Simon called...’
And just like that they were back to his family. ‘Did he, now...?’
‘Don’t say it like that.’
‘How else can—?’ A gust of wind cut off his speech and he turned his back to it, tried again. ‘How else can I say it when my little brother is keeping tabs on me?’
‘He’s just concerned, we all—’
‘And I’m thirty-five, old enough to go through life without having my hand held. Now, do you want me off this island or not?’
‘Joel, that’s not how it—’
‘It absolutely is how it is,’ he interjected, turning as a flurry of activity along the coastline caught his attention. Staff appearing from the flora, collecting anything that wasn’t tied down, shutters being drawn on beach huts... Brendan’s own being tended to by Paolo, the driver-cum-groundskeeper. ‘Look, I need to go. The storm’s going to hit soon, and it looks like your staff could use a hand before I leave.’
‘They’re plenty capable of looking after the place themselves—it’s what they’re paid for.’
‘While I sit back and observe?’
‘No. You have a plane to catch...before the storm hits.’
‘Yeah, yeah, keep your knickers on, bro.’
Joel cut the call. He’d feel guilty if he wasn’t so irritated by his brother’s interfering and his friend’s dogged concern.
He was doing just fine.
As for Hannah’s little sister...
The sound of a light aircraft approaching drew his eyes to the sky...well, well, well, if it wasn’t the woman in question. A little greeting wouldn’t hurt. Contrary to popular opinion, he was quite capable of acting the gentleman when required. Especially when presented with a woman as off-limits as she certainly was.
And that suited his bachelor lifestyle just fine.
He had no interest whatsoever in getting caught up where he didn’t belong.
No interest at all.
A bit of light flirting, on the other hand...now, where was the harm in that?
