The Holiday (5 page)

"A glass of wine would be
lovely."

Waving to a couch, she picked up
an empty glass on the table and walked to a gleaming vintage rolling cart.
"Sit down and tell me about your trip."

"It was blissfully
uneventful." She sank into the plush couch. After a moment's thought, she
kicked off her shoes and tucked her feet under her. "Thank you for
arranging my travel."

"Of course, love." She
returned to the couch with a glass of wine and a clear cocktail for herself.
Handing Leilani the wine, Mel nestled on the other end of the couch. "If
you haven't gathered, you're staying here with me, of course. I hope you don't
mind. It'll be easiest this way, getting to the gallery and such."

"Of course," she
murmured, taking a sip.

"We'll discuss work
tomorrow, after you've settled in and rested. Tonight George is making a
special dinner in honor of your arrival."

"Is George your..." She
frowned, not sure what to call him.

"Heavens no." Mel
laughed, and it sounded like whiskey at dusk. "He's been a dear friend for
most of my life. He's Colin's cousin. You remember Colin, don't you?"

"Yes," she said,
flushing.

Mel arched a brow. "You look
like a schoolgirl who's been up to no good. Do you have something you need to
confess?"

"No." She pursed her
lips. "I haven't been up to
no good
in longer than I can remember."

"Then we need to remedy that."
Mel arched a brow knowingly.

For some reason—her fatigue,
or the alcohol on her empty stomach, or the shock of being greeted by a man in
white briefs and a frilly apron—she blurted out, "That's why I came."

Mel arched a brow.

"That's not exactly what I
meant. I came to work with you. I'm excited about that. But I also came
to..." She broke off, not sure how to end that, because she couldn't very
well say she came here for sex.

Mel took a sip of her cocktail
and waited patiently.

Leilani groaned. "I was
engaged for a long time to a competitive surfer. He died over a year ago, but
on my island I'm still his fiancée. No one will come near me out of respect for
him. Here, no one knows me. Here, I can..."

"Get shagged?" Mel
asked.

"That's what I was hoping,
yes." Her face went up in flames. How awkward, even if it felt like she
and Mel had known each other forever. "It's a crazy, I know."

"It's not so very crazy. In
fact"—Mel leaned in—"I have a proposition to make you."

The front door chimed.

Mel's smile curved slowly as she
stood. "There's the proposition now."

Colin had been friends with Mel
for over fifteen years. He'd met her at a party his cousin George threw, right
after he graduated from Oxford.

They weren't compatible in any
way physically, but he loved her. She was his best friend. She'd saved him from
himself, by insisting that he had to break out of his groove before he turned
into a stodgy old man like their fathers. They talked most days, by text at
least, which was Mel's favored mode of communication.

Therefore, he knew
her—really well. So when he arrived at her home and she opened the door
for him, he immediately knew she was plotting.

"Darling," she
exclaimed, overly chipper, lifting her cheek.

"What are you up to?"
he asked, dutifully kissing her hello.

"I'm not entirely certain
what you mean." Smiling devilishly at him, she slipped her arm through his
and led him inside.

"I feel like the spider's
prey, being led straight into its web."

"If you're calling me thin
and slinky, thank you, love." She winked at him as she led him upstairs to
the reception room.

He stalled in the doorway when he
saw the stunning woman from Maui.
Leilani
.
Her name rolled smoothly in his mind.

And why shouldn't it? He'd
whispered it to himself a hundred times since he'd been back. He'd pictured
her—just like she was now—here in London, a splash of exotic color,
waiting for him.

Could today be Christmas? He
glanced at his watch. May. An early birthday present? A reward for being good,
the way Nanny gave him lemon cakes when he was a boy?

Why
was
she here? He arched a brow at Mel, who looked like she'd
swallowed the canary.

"Colin, you remember
Leilani, don't you?" She pulled him into the room.

Dear Lord, her eyes were amazing.
The endless blue of the ocean. Even ringed with fatigue, they snared him with
their candor and light. He could see his children in them.

"Colin?" Mel shook his
arm, scowling at him in disapproval.

He noticed that Leilani held her
hand out, waiting for him to shake it. "Oh. Yes." He reached forward
and took her hand. "I remember you."

Like the last time, when their
palms touched, electricity flare between them. He felt scorched, a searing of
heat all the way to his soul.

As if she felt it too, her lovely
eyes widened, and her lips parted as though she was inviting him to kiss her.

He dropped her hand before he
could do anything untoward, putting his behind his back so he wouldn't be
tempted to seize her. He couldn't imagine the wrath Mel would unleash on him if
he pawed her guest.

Both women watched him with
varying degrees of confusion. He cleared his throat. "What brings you to
London?"

"I asked her to come."
Mel gave him a pointed look as she walked to the liquor cart. "I asked
Leilani to work on an installation with me."

"That's—"
Fortuitous. Amazing. Fabulous. "Nice," he said finally.

Mel rolled her eyes as she
carried over a tumbler of whiskey for him. "Tell us how you really feel,
love."

How he really felt? He looked at
Leilani. Randy. Like a teenager, who noticed a girl for the first time and
couldn't wait to get her alone in a dark corner so he could feel her up. Like a
man who laid eyes on his soul mate for the first time and caught a glimpse of
forever.

Mel sighed and gave Leilani a
look he couldn't decipher. Leilani shook her head, almost imperceptibly, as she
lifted her drink for a sip.

George burst into the room,
bouncing on his toes. He clapped his hands once. "Dinner is served, dear
ones."

Colin did a double take at his
cousin's outfit, or lack there of. "George, you seem to be missing some
articles of clothing."

George looked down at himself.
"Just a shirt and pants."

"Yes." He waited for
further explanation, but when none was forthcoming, he prompted, "And
where are they?"

"In the dryer." He
shrugged expressively. "I had a mishap in the kitchen, and I have a date
later with a most amazing girl. I can't go out with her looking like a beggar,
can I?"

Colin shook his head. George
looked like a beggar even in clothes. He used to think his cousin was just
compensating for being one of the wealthiest men in Britain, but he'd realized that
George just didn't care. He was as likely to wear a bunny suit as a tuxedo,
depending on his mood, without any regard to the situation.

"Let's go in, shall
we?" Mel led the brigade, as she was wont to do, dragging George with her.

Leaving him to walk in with
Leilani.

His palms began to sweat.

For God's sake. He shook his head
at himself. He needed to get a grip.

"Is something the
matter?" Leilani asked him softly.

"Yes." He looked at
her. He was tall, but she matched him, aligned so that he wouldn't have to bend
much at all to kiss her. Being so close, he could smell the scent of her skin, like
the lightest, most delicious French dessert topped with cream and dark berries.
"I have a sweet tooth."

She blinked. "Do you indulge
it?"

"I'm not often tempted to."

"That's too bad."

He nodded. "I'm
particular."

"Maybe George might have
something that'll tempt you."

"It's a possibility."
Unable to help himself, he placed his hand on her lower back as they followed
Mel and George to the dining room.

He heard her intake of breath,
and when he glanced at her saw the flush in her cheeks. Was she as affected by
him as he was by her?

The thought made him stumble over
his own feet.

"Are you okay?" she
asked in concern.

He wasn't certain he'd ever be
just
okay
ever again. Superb, maybe.
Touched, surely. Incandescently happy, he could only hope. But to her, he said,
"The day didn't go as I would have wished it, but everything seems to be
looking up now."

She studied him, her smile
growing slowly. "I'm glad."

"Me too." More than he
could say.

Mel looked over her shoulder,
taking in the situation. When she winked, he knew she was Santa Claus, and that
she'd brought his present early this year, especially for him. He'd just have
to make sure he was a good boy, so he could keep it.

The first thing Leilani noticed
when she woke up was the scent of lavender tickling her nose.

Confused, she opened her eyes and
inhaled, wondering why she couldn't smell the salty tang of the ocean. She
lifted her head and looked around, disoriented by the stark white walls and the
Klimt reproduction on the wall.

London. Mel's house, she
remembered at once. And the Klimt was probably
not
a reproduction.

Sitting up, she waited for the
usual weight to settle on her shoulders, but oddly she felt light. She wiggled
her toes, realizing that she actually felt free in a way she hadn't
in—well, forever. At least not since before she and Aaron had gotten
engaged.

Humming, she hopped out of bed
and went into the adjoining bathroom to shower. Dual showerheads, plush
Egyptian cotton towels, and heated granite floors. Amazing. As the water
sluiced over her body, she gave a mental prayer for Mel, a goddess among
mortals. Whatever the reason for befriending her, Leilani was grateful. The
luxury of her surroundings was one thing—how incredible to
live
with great works of art—but
the chance to feel unencumbered, even if it only last this one morning, was
priceless.

She got dressed, did her hair and
makeup, grabbed her purse and coat, and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

Mel was there, leaning against
the counter, her thumbs furiously tapping on her phone. Next to her, there was
a steaming cup of coffee.

She glanced up as Leilani walked
in. "Don't you look fresh. You rested well, I trust? There's coffee in the
carafe, cups are in the cabinet to the right, and cream is in the
refrigerator."

"Thank you." She set
her things on a chair and helped herself.

"I just need to finish
this." She worked her phone with intensity. Finally, she tossed it into
her open purse, next to her on the counter. Crossing her arms, she studied
Leilani. "Are you still happy you came?"

"Definitely." Leilani
smiled as she added cream to her coffee. "More than happy. You may have
saved my life."

"You're doing it all, I just
offered you an open window to escape through." Mel took one sip of her
coffee and put the cup, still full, in the sink. "I thought we'd go to the
gallery to give you a lay of the land. On the way, we'll discuss what I'm
imagining and you can offer your thoughts."

Leilani nodded, hungry but not
wanting to be an imposition. "That sounds great."

Her hostess hauled the purse onto
her shoulder. "Bring your coffee."

With a longing look at the
fridge, she topped off her coffee, took her coat and bag, and followed Mel to
the car.

Jasper waited for them out front
with the door open. Mel breezed right past him with a little wave, taking an
incoming call.

Leilani smiled at him as she got
in the car. "How are you, Jasper?"

"Well, thank you,
miss." He tipped his hat. "You look rested."

"I slept well."

"Excellent, miss." He
smiled and gently closed the door after her.

She settled in the seat and tried
not to listen to Mel manhandle whoever was on the other end of the line. When
she finished her call, she turned to Leilani. "So about Colin."

Leilani startled, sloshing coffee
next to her. "Colin?"

"You want him." Mel
held up her hand. "Don't worry. He wants you too."

"How do you know? You didn't
say anything to him last night, did you?"

"I didn't have to. The man
is
gagging
for you, love."

"That doesn't sound
good," she said as she wiped the spill.

Mel rolled her eyes. "Trust
me, it is."

"It seems optimistic."
But even as she said it, her heart beat with hope.

"It's realistic." Mel
patted Leilani's hand. "He's as good as yours. We just need to give you a
good location to make your move. But I have just the place."

Leilani tried to laugh, but it
came out tremulous. "Should I feel scared?"

"You should feel excited. Tonight
I'm going to invite a few people over to meet you. Nothing formal, just a few
close friends. Colin will, of course, be on the guest list. You can corner him
and tell him you want to shag him until he can't move."

"I can?"

"You can." Mel gave her
a look that brooked no argument. "Am I wrong or are you here to have a
holiday fling?"

"Yes, but mostly I'm here to
work with you," she said weakly.

"You're here for Colin. I'm
a bonus." She grinned. "Now that that's settled, let's discuss the
show."

Leilani felt like a hurricane swept
over her, but she shook her head and dug in. The only thing that mattered was
that Colin was interested.

Later. She'd think about him
later. She pushed the thought aside and focused on Mel. She was mostly
successful, too.

A few close friends was actually
a house full of people. Leilani's head buzzed with all the new names. She stood
off to one side, trying to look like she was involved in the conversation next
to her, but really she was just exhausted. Jetlag combined with the long day
had caught up to her.