Daisy watched, her breathing shallow, as the swimmer spotted his grandmother walking towards him and his mouth drew back into a wide smile. He grabbed a towel from a nearby sun lounger and shook his head, sending a shower of droplets around him as he walked towards her.
‘I’ve seen him in the pool before,’ Fi said breathlessly. ‘Those tight muscles, that gorgeous bum. He’s so hot.’
Daisy clenched her pencil so tightly she snapped it in half. He looked like some sort of Greek god with the sun shining on his tanned shoulders. This wasn’t happening.She heard the unmistakable deep voice that had pleaded with her to stay with him in H?i An. She would have given almost anything to say yes. Now he was here and she was totally unprepared. She took a deep breath and looked up from the remains of her pencil to see the unmistakeable face of the man she’d fallen desperately in love with in Vietnam and whom she thought she’d never see again.
As she watched him hugging his tiny grandmother, her brain slowly processed the realisation that not only was he here at the Encore hotel, but he was also the son of her employers, Francesca and her singer husband. No wonder she hadn’t connected them with Gabe; they had different last names to him. She couldn’t believe her stupidity. Of course, actors and musicians usually had pseudonyms! Well, it was too late to leave now – she’d just have to face him and any resentment he still held for what she did to him.
His dark hair was much shorter than when she’d last seen him, she noticed, as he bent his head down to listen to something his grandmother was saying. Throwing his head back in delight, he laughed loudly; it was a sound Daisy remembered only too well. Her heart was in her mouth.
She didn’t want him to see her here. What could she do? She saw him kiss his grandmother’s cheek.
Daisy stared in horror as Lydia looked over her shoulder towards her and pointed into the reception area. The next thing she knew he was following his grandmother inside. Willing herself to become invisible, she closed her eyes briefly, opening them as he stepped into the hotel. He stopped suddenly, a wide-eyed look of shock on his face as he registered who was standing in front of him. Apparently, she was very much recognised and probably looking more gormless than professional. It wasn’t the best impression she would have liked him tohave of her after all this time.
‘Daisy?’ He shook his head slowly as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. ‘Daisy Woods,’ he whispered, almost to himself.
She sympathised with his shock. She still couldn’t believe he was in front of her and she’d had a few moments to get used to the idea of seeing him again. She cleared her throat, reaching out to shake his hand.
He brushed it away gently, hesitated a moment, then said. ‘You’re not going to greet me like that. Come here.’
Now it was his grandmother and Fi’s turn to look surprised.
He lifted the barrier and joined her behind the reception desk, holding out his arms. ‘It’s good to see you.’
She automatically walked towards him, breathing in the chlorine smell from his T-shirt-encased chest as he wrapped his arms around her. She’d missed this so much. ‘It’s good to see you too, Gabe,’ she said honestly, barely able to force the words out.
If Lydia or Fi spoke she didn’t hear them. It dawned on her that he was speaking. She leant back slightly and looked up into those unforgettable eyes, the colour of the richest chocolate. She forced herself to speak. ‘Sorry?’
He looked down at her and smiled. ‘I can’t believe it’s you. Here in Jersey and at the Encore, too. How come?’
‘Never mind that,’ Lydia said, interrupting their closeness. ‘How do you two know each other? Fi and I are intrigued.’
Daisy stepped back from Gabriel and shrugged. ‘We met in Vietnam,’ she explained, trying her best to sound calm. ‘Almost two years ago.’
Lydia clapped her hands together. ‘How perfectly lovely,’ she said. ‘You must come to supper tonight then, Daisy. It’ll give you and Gabriel a chance to catch up.’ She grinned. ‘And I can discover more about mygrandson. I didn’t know you’d been away travelling too.’
Daisy nodded. ‘Yes. We met when I was finishing my year away and just as Gabe was beginning his trip to Asia.’
Lydia narrowed her eyes. ‘Well, you can have all the time in the world to catch up now you’re both here,’ she said, looking, Daisy thought, very pleased with herself.
‘Gabriel will collect you at six-thirty. That will give you a bit of time after your shift ends to freshen up.’
Knowing Lydia well enough to be aware that she wasn’t asking as much as telling Daisy what her evening arrangements would be, she nodded. ‘Lovely.’ She looked at Gabe, realising he was still staring at her in amazement, and smiled. ‘I’ll be waiting for you at the back of the hotel.’
He nodded. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’
‘Right,’ Lydia said, waving her grandson over to join her. ‘Come along; I was expecting you earlier and there’s a few things I need to show you.’
‘Of course, the fire.’
Daisy watched them walk down the corridor together. Gabe followed in silence as his grandmother spoke excitedly, telling him about the night a week before when they’d all been woken by the alarms sounding off throughout the hotel. He glanced over his shoulder at Daisy, who gasped and sat back down in her chair. She reached out to take a new pencil from the tub on her desk and spotted the time on her computer screen. She didn’t have long if she was going to get this lot to balance before her shift ended.
‘He’s gorgeous,’ Fi murmured, staring after him. She sat down next to Daisy. ‘So, tell me, then?’
‘Tell you what?’ Daisy asked, having no intention of doing any such thing.
‘I’m not blind; you two were clearly much more than just friends.’ She nudged Daisy. ‘Oh, go on, Daiz, tellme.’
‘Don’t call me that,’ she said, hating the nickname that her ex, Aaron, had given her. ‘There’s nothing to tell,’ she lied, pushing away any thoughts of the man who’d controlled two years of her life. ‘Now let me get on with this or Francesca is going to go mad. You know she leaves tomorrow for that shoot and she wanted to see this lot reconciled. I want her to go away relaxed and not worried about how things are carrying on while she’s away.’
