Alex swallowed. ‘We lived in so many different places while I was growing up. I just want to feel settled for once.’
Ellie searched his eyes. ‘I get it.’
Despite their obvious differences, Alex knew that she did understand. They had similar values, if not upbringings. They both cared about their families – even though they drove them mad – and they both wanted a place where they could be themselves.
He was dreading introducing Ellie to his family. It would be like introducing her to a school of sharks. To them, success was measured in awards and accolades; to be ordinary was to be less, and he couldn’t stand their silent judgement.
They’d proven how shallow and uncaring they could be, choosing his lying, cheating brother instead of him. Alex clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to relieve some of the tension building up inside him.
He’d managed to lock away the bitterness and hurt until this moment. Meeting Ellie had definitely helped, but now that he was about to face them again all his old insecurities and demons came flooding to the surface.
This may be paradise, but seeing his family again would be hell.
Chapter Sixteen
Two men in crisp white shorts and matching polos pulled up in golf buggies and started piling their luggage into a little trailer attached. Well, her luggage; Alex only had one battered suitcase, while she had her giant case, her hand luggage and a bag of shopping. She’d treated herself and her family to make-up and perfume from the onboard duty free. Her stuffed plastic carrier bag looked like an afront to nature in this setting, and she shoved it deep into the belly of her straw tote.
‘Want to walk to the house or take the buggy?’ asked Alex, in between greeting the men.
‘Oh, let’s walk. I don’t think I can bear sitting down a minute longer.’
‘I’ll give you a little tour on the way,’ he said, helping her off the boat.
They strolled up the polished wooden pier and through the gardens, using a sandy path that looked like a trail of brown sugar. As they reached a fork in the path, Alex gestured to the right. ‘That goes direct to the house, and this one goes everywhere else.’
They took the fork to everywhere else, and she breathed in the scent of tropical flowers and salty ocean.
She flicked Alex a playful look. ‘Couldn’t they have bought something a bit nicer?’
‘I know what you mean. It’s so small.’
‘Yeah, absolutely tiny, and so… basic.’ She frowned at the beautiful palm trees and gardens as if they were offensive.
Alex gave a solemn nod. ‘It sure is.’ Their eyes caught one another’s and Alex roared with laughter, and Ellie collapsed into a fit of giggles.
‘This is a nice place to hang out,’ he said, pointing to a pristine beach to the side of them, the sun sparkling across the white sand. A couple of hammocks swayed in the trees, and the turquoise water gently lapped against the land. It was all so peaceful and tranquil. The gardens on this side of the island grew a little wilder. There were fruit and palm trees, with colourful birds flitting between them. A little lime-green lizard sped across their path and Ellie grinned.
Next, they passed a tennis court and the staff lodges, before heading towards the back of the house, with its kidney-shaped pool, sandstone steps and a fountain with stone dolphins leaping through the air, spurting water out of their blowholes. When they reached the house, they walked along its veranda, complete with rattan furniture and porch swings, and arrived back at the front of the house.
He opened the tall double doors and stepped aside to wave her into the marble hotel-sized lobby.
‘Your parents don’t lock their front door?’
‘Oh, don’t worry, my parents have plenty of security. You just don’t see them.’
Ellie looked around and spotted a camera up in the corner of the ceiling. She gave a little wave, and then immediately felt like an idiot.
‘Alex!’ cried a jubilant voice from the massive, curved staircase above. Ellie gulped as Hollywood star and legend Jessica King skipped down the stairs like a gazelle in a relaxed kaftan. She could have passed for Ellie’s more glamorous – and only slightly older – sister, with nary a wrinkle or dark circle on her perfectly smooth face. In contrast to Alex’s dark hair, his mum’s was caramel blonde and shoulder length, and her soft blue eyes were a little lighter than her son’s.
‘Darling…’ Jessica King cooed, reaching for Alex, and embracing him with a grasping hug, Parisian kisses and jangle of boho-chic jewellery.
‘Mom, meet my girlfriend, Ellie Jones.’
‘Hello, thank you for having me,’ said Ellie, as if she were a schoolgirl on a playdate.
‘Oh, sweetheart, aren’t you just gorgeous!’
Ellie was grabbed by the shoulders and pulled forward into a warm embrace followed by another sweet bookend of Parisian air kisses.
