Something skated across his eyes. ‘And there would be no other possible reason for me to make a phone call, not even to inform the island to have a buggy waiting for us by the helipad?’
She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. She sounded worse than paranoid; now she was practically blaming him for losing the booking. ‘I’m sorry. But what else was I supposed to think? You’ve been determined to have this wedding here ever since you accepted that there was nothing you could do to prevent it.’
‘I just want what’s best for Monica. I suspect you do too. Which is why maybe we should be working on this together.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I think when Monica calls from Honolulu we should both be there to talk to her—find out what she really wants to do. And maybe put her mind at rest that I’m serious about having the wedding on Kallista.’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t see how. It could be a while before she calls, given even after they land they’ll have to clear customs before their hotel transfer. I’ll probably be back in Brisbane by then.’
‘Then don’t leave. Stay here, on Kallista.’
Sophie blinked, his seemingly simple words performing cartwheels over and over in her head, her thoughts in turmoil. How could she stay when she wanted nothing more than to be out of this man’s company as soon as possible? Already once today that escape had been denied her, pulled from beneath her feet as effectively as the proverbial rug.
But she wanted Monica and Jake happy and, now her morning meeting with the Tropical Palms had been cancelled, it wasn’t as if she had to be back in time for the commute to the Gold Coast first thing tomorrow.
It was the last thing she wanted, but maybe she should delay her departure a little longer. There was a lot to be said for Monica knowing her brother was more supportive of the marriage than she’d anticipated, and perhaps Jake might benefit from hearing it too. Perhaps this was actually what everyone needed, a chance to talk things through and get over whatever it was in the past that was potentially such a barrier. After all, if they were going to be family, they’d all have to learn to communicate with each other some time.
And after the call maybe there might be a red-eye that would still get her back to Brisbane tonight.
Please God she could get back home tonight. It could be hours that she was forced to hang around waiting for Monica’s call. And the longer she was in Daniel Caruana’s company the more his presence messed with her head, muddled her brain and her thought processes along with it, even while setting her other senses alight. It wasn’t a state she was used to. It wasn’t a state she particularly enjoyed.
She was used to being in control, cool, detached and unaffected. Her mother had taught her that a woman didn’t need a man to validate her, in fact that sometimes she would be better off without one. While she knew her mother’s view had stemmed from a failed marriage, and a couple of aborted relationships since, her own experiences with men had only lent weight to her mother’s advice.
Which had proved a positive boon to her job. She could stand back unemotionally and deliver the best, most romantic wedding in the world without getting all misty-eyed herself. She was the practical one, the unemotional one. The rational one.
Until now.
Until Daniel Caruana.
Oh no; it would be better—safer—to be gone.
Daniel watched the indecision swirl in her violet eyes. She was gnawing her bottom lip again, a gesture that took years off her. She looked young and vulnerable. Her hair was loosened by the breeze so that tendrils had escaped, wisping around her face, and he had the insane desire to kiss her again, if only to soothe her besieged lip.
He liked the way she tasted. He liked the way she battled with her conscience as she gnawed on that lip, and he couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel if she turned those nibbling teeth on him.
He almost growled. There was no way she was leaving the island before he found out.
‘What are you so afraid of?’ he asked, moving closer, dropping his other arm to the vehicle behind. ‘Why is it so hard to make a decision?’
She looked up at him, surprise at his sudden move turning her eyes wide, shock at finding herself trapped neatly against the vehicle when she tried shuffling backwards filling them with alarm. ‘Oh, nothing. I’d have to call Meg at the office, get her to take care of a few things. And change my flight booking, of course, although I don’t know what time I’ll be able to get away.’
She was babbling, flustered again, and delightfully so. ‘Is that all you’re worried about?’
Her eyes darted from one side to the other, checking the positioning of his arms as if assessing her chances of escape.