Claudia smiled. ‘Thanks.’ She often thought rosters should be done with a bottle of vodka but a cup of tea would suffice.
‘Last night was a huge success,’ her mother said as she sat in the chair on the other side of the desk. ‘The phone’s been running hot down at the retreat all morning.’
‘Yes. And we raised fifty grand too. Not bad at all.’
They chatted for a while about the party and the Tropicana before her mother gave her that look.
‘I saw you and Luke disappear down to the beach last night.’
Claudia almost told her to stop but she’d noticed things were a little tense between her and Gloria and she didn’t want that. Maybe if they knew the truth they’d see there was never going to be anything between her and Luke.
‘It’s never going to happen, Mum. We want different things.’
Her mother put down her cup of tea. ‘Claude...we didn’t give you this place to tie you down, to act like some kind of anchor to keep you here. If you want to be with Luke and he’s on the other side of the world then go and be with him. Do whatever you need to do. We can get managers in. I know you love the Tropicana but it’s not worth losing someone you love over.’
Claudia blinked, mentally rejecting the suggestion outright. Leave the Tropicana? It had never occurred to her. She stared at her mother, who looked deadly serious.
‘It is okay, you know.’
Claudia opened her mouth to tell her mother no, but her quiet words of acceptance hit like a truck. Was it okay?
Maybe she’d been waiting for permission all these years. For someone to say it was okay to leave.
The thought was foreign; she’d never wanted to do anything else, but hadn’t Luke said last night that people were allowed to change their minds?
What would she do, who could she be if she stepped outside the security of the Tropicana?
The thought was terrifying but if she had Luke?
She put her cup of tea down, her heart racing a little as she stood. ‘Thanks, Mum.’
She smiled back. ‘He’s down at the beach.’
* * *
Luke stood on the near-deserted beach, his ankles in the water, looking at the Tropicana glowing white and proud in the morning sun like the glorious old relic she was. He could see the new spa building through the foliage and a couple of the luxury tents. In a year’s time the foliage regrowth would obscure most of it, hopefully.
A surge of satisfaction rose in his chest. He was looking forward to that.
Now he understood what Claudia had been rabbiting on about every time she mentioned their legacy. This place—the place of his childhood, the legacy of his heart—was in his DNA as surely as she was.
Sure, he’d thrived in London. Hell, he’d needed London. He’d had to go away to appreciate what he’d really had. What had been right under his nose.
Including Claudia.
But he got it now.
A movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye and he glanced over to find Claudia coming his way looking resplendent in polyester and a ponytail. Avery had shown him the new sample uniform last night and it was a vast improvement but in some ways he’d be sorry to see the old, ugly one go—it had some very hot memories.
She didn’t bother greeting him, just stood in front of him with folded arms and said, ‘You love me?’
Luke’s heart pounded. Could this be...? ‘Uh-huh.’
She looked at him a bit longer. ‘I’ll come to London with you,’ she said and turned to go.
Luke frowned. Wait. What? ‘No.’
Claudia whipped around. ‘What do you mean, no? You love me, I love you. Let’s just go to London already.’
Luke chuckled at her crankiness. ‘No,’ he said again.
‘I swear to God, Luke, I’m trying to compromise here.’
‘No, you’re not. You’re trying to sacrifice what you want for what you think I want.’
‘London is where your career is. I’m not going to hold you back.’
‘I don’t care about London. Not any more. But you...you care about that...’ he pointed to the Tropicana ‘...and here’s a newsflash—I do too. I can do my job anywhere. I don’t need a fancy office or a city skyline. But there’s only one Tropicana.’
Claudia glared at him looking all cool and clean-shaven. Even in his boardies and T-shirt the man screamed London. ‘You’re being impossible.’
He chuckled again. ‘I don’t think I’m the only one.’
She shook her head and turned on her heel and marched away.
* * *
The following morning, after another long, restless night with her on the other side of the connecting door, Luke looked at himself in the bathroom mirror.