Island for Dreams (16 page)

CHAPTER
SEVEN

Despite h
er worries Nora
’
s sense of wellbeing increased enormously. She was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow at night and she woke up every morning filled with the joys of being perfectly fit. Each morning now, weather permitting, she went for a swim in the sea or at the swimming pool on the promenade.

She had been for a swim in the sea, returned to the flat to dress and was going for her daily newspaper when she noticed the familiar big car parked not far from the newsagents in the shopping precinct. Juan strolled towards her as she left the shop.

‘
Good morning,
’
he greeted her with a grin.
‘
Did you have a lie-in this morning?
’

‘
No. I
’
ve been for my early morning dip.
’

Slowly his dark eyes moved from her bright hair to the clear brown eyes, and her glowing peach
-
bloom complexion. Her sundress, tiny pink polka dots on white cotton, was fresh and enchantingly revealed golden limbs.

‘
I can see what they mean about the early bird catching the worm,
’
he murmured, his eyebrows raised in appraisal.
‘
What enticing bait for any man who gets up in the morning
!
Meeting you on the beach is going to give them an appetite for something more than food.
’

Nora
’
s heart beat suffocatingly. It wasn
’
t fair for vital and dangerously attractive young men like Juan Cregeen to take one unawares, she thought, deliberately steeling herself against his undoubted charm.

‘
Swimming gives one an appetite for food in
my case,
’
she said demurely.
‘
So I
’
m sure you
’
ll excuse me, since I have yet to have my breakfast.
’

‘
Close your windows, won
’
t you, while you
’
re preparing it. I have yet to have mine.
’
He gave her a quizzical look.
‘
You could spare a cup of coffee? I won
’
t go further than that. Bit early yet for coffee locally.
’

Nora eyed him warily.
‘
Run out of coffee on the boat, have you?
’

‘
The boat isn
’
t there. It
’
s gone in the local shipyard for repairs.
’

‘
It was there when I went bathing.
’

‘
So you did notice it?
’

Again that infuriating eyebrow shot up and Nora could have kicked herself for her slip of the tongue.

‘
One becomes accustomed to seeing it there. It kind of blends in with the surroundings. Incidentally, it
’
s company for me when I look out of my window at night.
’

Her eyes shied away from probing dark eyes and the faint smile on the well-cut lips. Juan was not in sailing garb this morning. He was wearing superbly cut slacks in beige with a matching safari style jacket, and a brown silk shirt with a cravat tucked in at his firm brown throat. He wore no hat, and the crisp curling hair looked as strong and vibrant as the man himself.

‘
I didn
’
t go to the boat last night. A workman from the shipyard towed it away this morning. About that coffee?
’

Nora found herself resenting his assurance and he was surveying her with an enigmatic look which was maddening, to say the least.

Reluctantly she answered,
‘
So long as your appetite only concerns food, you
’
re welcome to a coffee.
’

He smiled and her heart lurched. Her sympathy
was for all the girls who adored the contrast of white teeth against a good-looking masculine face, and crisply curling hair accentuated by a yachting cap.

‘
The trouble is,
’
she told him, following him into the lounge of her flat,
‘
you make this place look cramped with your height and breadth of shoulder. Better sit down and read the newspaper while I get the breakfast. What do you say to a slice of succulent ham and two eggs?
’

He grinned.
‘
My stomach is already answering for me! It
’
s applauding without reservations. At least let me help.
’

‘
Very well. You can fry the ham and eggs while I get the bread and butter for my boiled egg.
’

Nora laid the table in a place reserved for eating at one end of the lounge, boiled her egg and filled a plate with bread and butter. She gave Juan a slice of bread to fry along with the ham and eggs and placed a slice of melon beside his plate, another beside her own.

They sat down to the pleasing aroma of freshly made coffee. Nora
’
s heart had thudded away during the preparation of the meal which continually brought her in close contact with Juan. Now she was seated opposite to him at the table, and she was not feeling very much at home with him. He made her feel elegant and cherished, like a teenager being entertained by Prince Charming. Furthermore, he had cooked his breakfast to an appetising golden brown.

‘
You
’
re very self-sufficient, aren
’
t you?
’
she remarked, spooning out the soft flesh of the melon.
‘
I couldn
’
t have cooked it better myself.
’

‘
Can you cook?
’
he asked mockingly.
‘
I know you can boil an egg—or can you?
’

He looked darkly at the brown egg set in an eggcup near to her melon.

‘
Very funny,
’
she said witheringly.
‘
Allo
w
me to demonstrate.
’

Having finished the melon Nora tapped the top of her egg with a spoon, and looked challengingly at his twinkling eyes.

‘
I like the yolk to be soft but the white firm,
’
she said, and deftly took off the top of the egg.
‘
There! What do you think about that?
’

Proudly she showed him the perfectly cooked egg. He nodded.
‘
You can boil an egg,
’
he conceded.

‘
Thanks.
’
Her voice was filled with sarcasm.
‘
You
’
d be surprised what I can do.
’

‘
I
’
ll bear that in mind,
’
he said, eating with slow obvious enjoyment.

‘
Don
’
t they feed you at Finn
’
s place?
’
she asked sweetly, spooning up the golden yolk of her egg.

‘
I didn
’
t have time for anything this morning. I left early. I
’
m taking
Aimée
to the Wild Life Park this afternoon. She wants you to come too.
’

‘
What about Tricia? Isn
’
t she going?
’

Nora reached for a slice of bread and butter and avoided his eyes. She was trying to figure out why Juan should spend most of his time taking
Aimée
around. While he would never regard the girl
’
s mother as a potential wife he appeared to be working quite close to some relationship between them.

Juan said softly,
‘
No, Tricia is not going.
’
He reached out for his coffee.
‘
One thing women have in common—they all need a man as a status symbol to spell security with the usual money bags. If their spouse has bags under the eyes through making his money they can ignore them by looking down at his cheque book.
’

Nora heard herself saying casually,
‘
There are men who hunt the fleshpots as well, men who marry women for their money.
’

‘
True,
’
murmured Juan coolly and agreeably.
‘
It
’
s all in the game.
’

‘
So you think Tricia is out for a husband?
’

He shrugged, looked at her shrewdly as he put down his half empty cup.

‘
Not getting bored going out with us, are you?
’
he commented.

Nora gave a small laugh.
‘
Of course not
!
I want to go out and see more of the island, that
’
s all.
’

‘
The Wild Life Park is pa
r
t of the island, and a very interesting part.
’

She nodded.
‘
I know, but I just want to take it in my own time.
’

‘
You mean you wouldn
’
t enjoy it with
Aimée
and me?
’

Nora gave a pained smile.
‘
You know I would, only I have the car and ...
’

‘
You want to get on with it?
’
he picked her up sharply.

‘
Oh dear, I seem to have put my foot in it, don
’
t I? I
’
d like to come with you.
’

Juan said curtly,
‘
Come off the rack
!
You don
’
t have to. Kids are very perceptive and
Aimée
would know right away whether you
’
d come with us because you want to.
’

Nora coloured slightly.
‘
I
’
m never moody and I would never take anything out on a child. Furthermore, I
’
d planned on borrowing a book from the local library and taking a picnic out in the country.
’

‘
So I
’
ll tell
Aimée
you have another engagement and won
’
t be able to come with us. Did you know that at home
Aimée
is left mostly in care of a neighbour? I thought it would have been a treat for her to go out for a change with a couple who would give her a taste of family life.
’

Nora paused with the last spoonful of egg on its way to her mouth.

‘
But isn
’
t that rather cruel, encouraging her in daydreams? I mean, she has to get used to being part of a one-parent family. That is, until her mother marries again.
’

‘
Tricia loves her father. He takes her out once a month and she stays with him for that weekend.
’

Nora popped the spoonful of egg into her mouth and met the worldly-wise expression on his tanned handsome face with the impression that he regarded her as denying an unhappy child a treat.

With more vigour than she intended she turned the eggshell bottom up in the eggcup and drove the point of her spoon through the centre of the shell.

‘
What did you do that for?
’
enquired Juan in soft jibing tones.
‘
Were you unconsciously stabbing at me?
’

Nora answered honestly and frankly.
‘
No, I wasn
’
t. You
’
re supposed to make a wish. It was something my mother taught me as a child to
e
ncourage me to eat my egg. I still do it.
’

‘
And does the wish come true?
’

Her brown eyes met his dark ones disarmingly.
‘
Sometimes. I suppose you think it
’
s childish? Well, a lot of childish things are fun.
’

He said darkly,
‘
A lot of grown-up things can be fun too. Why not combine the two and enjoy an afternoon at the Wild Life Park with that intention?
’

‘
I
’
ve said I
’
ll come,
’
she reminded him.