“You look great,” he said, then hastily added, “not that you didn’t before.”
Her heart soared. This whole…thingwas confusing as hell, but that was a good sign, right? He thought she looked good? He’d thought she’d looked good when she’d looked like crap in her day-old scrubs?
“You’re not too bad yourself,” she blurted, and then immediately had to resist the urge to clap her hand over her mouth.
Still… maybe it was best to just say these things, rather than dance around the issue. Because hedidlook good. He looked fuckingfantastic, and she wanted to climb on top of him and eat him up.
One step at a time. Just stick to complimenting his looks for now.
Rhys smiled for a moment – he quickly schooled his face back to something more neutral, but he’d definitely smiled.
I saw you! You can’t fool me, you handsome man!
“Let’s get to the gate,” he said, and, at least, that was something she could agree on. She couldn’t get to Queensland and its beaches fast enough.
Maisie nodded. “Lead the way.”
Chapter 10
As Maisie and Rhys disembarked from the luxury yacht that had carried them to Burr Island, Rhys had to admit, he wasn’t really sure he was cut out for all this.
Hedidhave to admit that it’d been nice to experience leg room for the first time on a commercial flight – he was a tall, broad guy, and this wasn’t something he usually got to have. But with the upgraded seats Michael had gotten for them, he’d been pretty much able to extend his legs all the way out in front of him.
He’d even managed to have a bit of a nap – not that that had been intentional. But Maisie, despite her saying she never slept on planes, had fallen asleep pretty much the moment after take-off, her much smaller form curled up in the spacious seat, her head pillowed on her arm, her face utterly peaceful, strands of her honey-colored hair falling down over her cheeks. Rhys had watched her sleep for a while, marveling at the fact that any of this was happening and how unbelievably lucky he was.
He hadn’t been able to stop his jaw from dropping when she’d emerged from the store in the floaty blue dress she’d picked out. She’d already lookedstunningto him, even in herscrubs, but seeing her in something like that had truly taken his breath away.
She’s our mate! She would look breathtaking even in a hessian sack with bags tied to her feet,his griffin had grumpily informed him, and of course Rhys knew that was true, but still – he was allowed to appreciate the way the dress had showed off her shoulders, right? And the way it had flowed over her hips? And the fact it was just a tiny bit low-cut, the tops of her full, rounded breasts showing above the neckline? Or the –
Okay, stop!
Rhys had to stop thinking about it, or else he was going to find himself in a kind of embarrassing situation. It was bad enough that Maisie was right here next to him, and yet, he wasn’t able to kiss her, touch her, hold her until he’d found a way to explain to her that she was his mate.
He’dalmosttold her in the airport after breakfast – but despite the fact his griffin had been keen on him doing exactly that, he’d felt that he wanted to do it in a more romantic setting than a kind of shitty airport restaurant while a bunch of drunken yobbos hooted and screeched in the background. He didn’t think that was unreasonable! Plus, Maisie had told him that she didn’t need any more surprises dumped on her at that point, and he’d wanted to take her seriously.
Soon, though we’ll be in a private hotel room, which, if Michael is to be believed, is luxurious as fuck, as he put it, and surely that’ll be a better time to tell her?Rhys thought, as he turned to watch as Maisie descended the gangway onto the dock.
“Please tell me I’m not the only one who feels just alittleout of place?” she whispered, as she came to stand alongside him.
Rhys had to admit, he was feeling the same way. The plane seats had been welcome, but the yacht to the island had been entirely too much – all plush cream leather and gold accents, free champagne as they sped their way across the waves, andall the other passengers were obviouslyridiculouslywell-heeled – ‘posh’ didn’t cover it. And since Rhys hadn’t bothered getting new clothes at the airport, he’d attracted more than one arch-eyebrowed stare.
Not that he cared – he’d never been a fancy dresser, and he wasn’t about to start now just so he could fit in with a bunch of moneyed-up snobs. But it’d very much driven home that this wasn’t really the type of holiday he’d usually choose to go on.
“Nah, you and me both,” Rhys told her. “C’mon – let’s just get to our room.”
Yes – and then, we can tell her everything,his griffin urged him.You will have to overcome your cowardice sometime.
Rhys knew it was pointless to argue. He could explain until he was blue in the face that it wasn’tcowardice,he was just waiting for the right moment. But the griffin would never listen.
A luxury shuttlebus service to the resort had been set up for the guests, but the thought of being stuck in a bus with a bunch of rich yuppie types would have been unappealing at the best of times. When he could instead be out in the fresh air with Maisie – well, it was an absolute no-brainer.
“Should we walk it?” he asked, silently hoping Maisie felt the same way as he did – and, strangely enough, he wasn’t at all surprised when she nodded firmly.
“Yeah. After being cooped up in a plane and then a yacht, the thought of getting straight onto a shuttle bus isn’t really doing it for me.” She glanced up at him, biting her lip. “Not that the first-class seats and theamazingly fancyyacht weren’t nice! I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. Believe me – this is already awaynicer holiday than I could have imagined. I guess it’s just that when I think of the words ‘beach holiday’, I tend to think of fresh air and walking around. And it’s not like we have any luggage to worry about.”
“Good point,” Rhys laughed. “Though I’m sure even if we did it’d somehow just magically materialize in our room with no effort from us. Seems like it’s that kind of place.”
The sunshine on his face and faint salty scent of the oceandidseem to be unlocking some of the tension that had been building up in his body over the past few days – he could feel some of the knots in his shoulders loosening.
