“It must be the storm. Come on out, then. Let's just go back up the beach and wait.”
“Hey, don’t we even vote on it? Why do you automatically assume we do things your way?”
“Because I’m the man and I’m responsible for your safety.”
“What? That’s so chauvinistic.”
“That may be,” he said, “but we’re safer on land rather than floating around in the ocean with a navigator who can’t even read the instruments.”
Asia admitted defeat then. She certainly did not want to be lost out in the middle of the big blue sea. “Well, monsieur,” she said with a wry grin, “I guess you're stuck with my company for a few more hours.” He was smiling at her so she guessed he didn’t mind.
She hopped out of the boat and back on to the deck then took Rico’s hand. Together they walked back to shore where Rico plopped down on a sandy bank while Asia went off, but not too far away, to see if she could find where their blanket and picnic basket had gone.
Within a couple of hours of their setting up camp - lying on the damp blanket that Asia found and eating the rest of the food that, happily, had survived the storm - they heard the roar of a motorboat in the distance. As Rico had predicted, his personal staff had arranged a search party as soon as the storm lifted.
As they boarded the rescue boat Asia looked back on the island, so peaceful and then so passionate, and in her heart was a twinge of sadness. It was here that she’d found a new connection with Rico.
She’d shown him another side of her and she’d seen him at his most vulnerable. And then they’d lain down after the storm, side by side on the blanket, just talking about their families, their lives, and a whole lot more. Now it was time to go.
But would things change, would the balance be lost, when they got back to their own world?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Something about him had changed. Rico couldn’t quite say what but he just felt different. He didn’t take life quite so seriously these days and he’d actually caught himself singing in the shower. Twice this week!
Another week had passed before he knew it and, unlike his weekends of the previous few months, he was looking forward to this one. And the reason for his anticipation was no mystery. He was going to see Asia tomorrow.
Although he’d been embarrassed as hell when he’d lost his contact lenses on the island, things had turned out rather well in the end. After the storm he and Asia had relaxed on the beach, just talking, and for him it had been a rare and special experience. He couldn’t recall doing that with anyone before. His life had always been focused and driven. When had he had the time to just lie back, let the island breeze flow over him, and share his thoughts with a beautiful woman? And what a woman she was. She seemed to understand him so well. It was as if she could read into his soul.
He’d been anxious to call her during the week, just to talk to her some more, but each time he’d call she’d seemed distracted or busy. He began to wonder if he’d done something to offend her. But, as was his nature, he’d persisted until finally he got her to agree to see him again.
Rico frowned as he stared out the window at his office. Something about him had changed alright. He, Enrico Xavier Megalos, had just spent the better part of an afternoon daydreaming about a woman. God help him.
******
Tonight was the first time Rico had asked Asia out and not ordered her to wear jeans. It felt good to slip into her well-loved ‘little black dress’ and slide her feet into high-heeled sandals. For this date she would look and feel like a real woman.
She touched a little perfume to her pulse points, the final touch to her preparations, then sat back and stared at herself in the mirror. He’d told her he liked her hair down so she’d let it fall around her shoulders. She smiled, liking the look. Asia the tigress was back.
She chuckled to herself and got up. It was a minute to seven and she knew his car would pull up right on time. She picked up her purse and walked to the door just as a sleek black Lincoln town car pulled up to the curb.
Heart pounding in anticipation, she walked up to the car just as the chauffeur, the same one she’d met that first night, came around to hold the door open. She thanked him then peered in and was surprised to find it empty. She looked back at the chauffeur. “Where is Mr. Megalos?”
“Mr. Megalos had some final preparations to make,” he said mysteriously. “He asked that I take you to him as soon as possible.”
“Oh,” she said, still confused, but she slid into the seat and he closed the door.
Asia had other questions, like where exactly was Rico? And what preparations was he making? But she had a feeling the driver was instructed to keep the secret so she didn’t even waste her time asking. With a sigh she settled back into the seat to enjoy the ride.
It didn’t take long for Asia to realize that they were on the way to Fisher Island, the wealthiest neighborhood in Miami-Dade county, and also the wealthiest in the entire country. The ferry took the car across and into that exclusive community then they set off. She guessed that Rico was already at a restaurant, waiting for her.
But when the car turned through the gates of what could only be described as an island estate, she knew that this was no restaurant but Rico’s home. They drove up to a grand mansion of white and gold set in the middle of rolling green lawns and the ocean in the background.
As soon as the car pulled up in front, wide double doors opened and a uniformed butler came down the stairs to greet her.
“Welcome, Miss Miller," he said with a bow, his British accent crisp and polished.
Then he escorted her up the steps and into what looked like a grand ballroom. “I will take you to Mr. Megalos directly,” he said, and led the way down a wide marble-tiled hallway along which stood sculptures that looked like they were straight from the temple of Parthenon on top of the Acropolis.
At the end of the hallway the butler turned right and Asia found herself in an elegant dining room graced with a candle-lit table set for two. And there, looking for all the world like the hero on the cover of a romance
novel - tall, dark and extremely handsome - was Rico. Dressed in white shirt open at the collar and black pants, he could have been the gorgeous swash-buckling pirate that maidens loved to swoon over.