He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. ‘I’m enjoying having you here.’
‘So am I.’
The person knocked again. ‘Hey, are you going to let us in or not?’
‘Erin never did have much patience,’ he grumbled, opening the door.
‘Riley?’ Tasha was taken aback to see him with Erin.
‘I thought I’d bring him with me,’ Erin explained. ‘You have been ignoring his calls since the one when you asked about us getting married and he’s been driving me nuts going on about you. I thought if he came here with me he could say what he needs to and you can do the same.’
Tasha suspected Erin wanted there to be as little antagonism as possible between her and Riley and supposed it would make things easier, especially now she and Callum were together. Not that Erin knew much about their situation yet.
Callum gave Tasha a questioning look. ‘It’s fine, Callum. I don’t mind.’
Tasha led the way into the living room and sat down on one of the armchairs.
‘We’ve been chatting,’ Erin said, sitting on the arm of the sofa next to where Riley had taken a seat. She rested a hand on his shoulder. ‘I explained to him why you probably left and how he should treat someone who works for him.’ Tasha was surprised to hear Riley had listened to anyone. It dawned on her how much he must really love Erin if he was willing to do this so readily.
‘Go on,’ she said, folding her hands on her lap.
‘Erin’s right,’ Riley said, focusing his attention on Tasha after a quick glance up at his wife. ‘She explained to me how she treats her staff.’ Tasha tensed, and he noticed, immediately adding, ‘And especially those people she really respects, like I do you.’
Tasha felt mollified by his assertion but waited for him to finish what he was here to tell her.
‘The thing is, Tasha,’ Riley said, ‘I’ve missed having you around.’ He shrugged one shoulder. ‘I’ve told you that already on the phone that time, but I want you to consider coming back to work for me.’
‘Go on,’ Tasha said, not giving away how she felt.
‘Um, well, I’d obviously increase your wages and the number of holidays you are free to take each year. And to be honest with you, I’ll agree to pretty much whatever you want.’
Assuming he had finished when he didn’t continue, Tasha took a deep breath. ‘I appreciate you coming here and offering me these things, but if I were to come back to work for you, Riley, there are a couple of other stipulations I need to make,’ she said, aware that if she wanted to ensure things changed to suit her, now was her best chance to make that happen.
‘Go on.’
‘I know that in my line of work it’s difficult to keep set working hours; however, Callum has offered for me to stay here in his flat and I will therefore want most evenings free to spend them with him. Obviously if we’re away at an event, or filming, then that’s different, but when I’m here… Which is another thing. I know you’re based in England, but I like it here and would like to at least give it a go to see how I would settle here on the island.’ She smiled at Callum. ‘And see how my relationship with Callum pans out.’
He laughed. ‘I’m hoping it’ll be permanent,’ he said, taking her hand in his.
She smiled up at him, loving the idea. ‘Me, too.’
‘You two are a thing?’ Erin asked, interrupting their moment. ‘I knew it would happen.’ She tapped Riley’s shoulder. ‘Didn’t I say that?’
He nodded. ‘She did.’
‘I’m so pleased.’ Erin stepped forward and kissed Callum on the cheek, then did the same to Tasha.
Tasha loved that they were so happy for her and Callum, but didn’t want them to get carried away. Neither she nor Callum were going to run off and get married like they had done.
‘It’s early days for us yet,’ Tasha said, taking hold of Callum’s hand nearest to her. ‘But we’re enjoying it, aren’t we, Callum?’
‘We are,’ he said, his face lit with happiness. She loved that she was the one to make him feel this way. Remembering what she was saying, Tasha tore her gaze from the man she was falling in love with and back to Riley and their negotiations.
Not wanting to miss the opportunity to finalise things between her and Riley, she held up her hand. ‘With regards to us two, Riley, I’ll expect you to also mind your manners. You humiliated me on set and that’s not acceptable. If you do that to me again I will walk away from you and will not give you another chance.’
She knew she was pushing her luck with him, but it needed to be said. He didn’t seem about to react in his usual defensive way when criticised, so she continued. ‘And I don’t only expect you to be more considerate to me but also to everyone else you work with in future. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, do you?’
He stared at her silently for a moment. Tasha braced herself for him to get angry, ready to tell him to keep his job.
