He nods. “I’m having my quarters prepared for you as we speak. I’ll move into the staff quarters. The renovations should be complete within forty-eight hours.”
“Aren’t you worried it’ll happen again?”
“It’s the first time it’s happened. As part of the renovation, another team will be fixing the breakwater, with a temporary fix, but it won’t last.”
I nod. “My team will get this resolved properly, Mr Baskin. If you can find me somewhere to work, I’ll send off the relevant requests.”
“You can either work from my office or the library. The library is probably more comfortable. I can also send someone to bring you food and drink.”
“Kat?”
I look up at the sound of Jaxson’s voice.
“Oh hell,” he says, taking in the destruction of the villa.
Mr Baskin moves away, giving us space.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I gathered something was wrong when Bethany spirited me away, so I asked her. She told me what happened.”
“It’s a bit of a wreck, at least for the next forty-eight hours.”
“Where are you staying? According to Bethany, the island’s fully booked.”
“It is. Mr Baskin is having his living quarters prepared for me,” I admit.
I walk back towards the villa, my ankle catching on the sand, making me stumble. Jax reaches out, catching me, his hand wrapping around my bicep, sending sparks of awareness up my arm.
He speaks close to my ear, his breath making my stomach somersault despite my exhaustion. “You take my villa, I’ll take the manager’s room.”
I shake my head, turning to face him.
“For goodness sake, Kat. Why not? You look like you’re on the verge of collapse.”
I scowl at him.
“Is that what you say to charm all the girls?” I ask.
He scowls, his forehead furrowing.
“I know you, Kat, even if you’d rather I didn’t.”
I wrap my arms around my stomach and concentrate on placing one foot in front of the other.
“That’s kind of you. However, guests can’t stay in staff quarters. It’s against company policy. It’s also not fair on the staff, as it’s their space,” I say.
Jax steps back and shakes his head.
“Fine, then we share. My villa is more than big enough.”
I let out a bark of laughter, which draws the eyes of the staff.
“Share? We’d kill each other in hours.”
“Would we?” he says, his voice dropping, making my stomach contract. “We didn’t the weekend we snuck away.”
Heat rises in my cheeks.
