“Nice picture” he drawled. Hearing his voice she had jumped, quickly reaching out to flick a key to make the image disappear from the screen, a guilty action he thought frowning.
“What do you want” she asked her voice cold.
He raised an eye brow
“Whenever and wherever sweetheart” he said softly.
Kira looked up at him from behind dark glasses which hid her expressive eyes. Her mouth clenched tight.
“I know the deal” she bit out her body stiffening.
“You want to just do it right out here at the pool, Craig. Any particular stroke that goes with that” she said her voice dripping with sarcasm “Doggy paddle maybe”
She was surprised when Craig laughed loudly a warm sound which made her lips twitch before joining him suddenly breaking the tension between them.
“I had forgotten about your sense of humour” he said with a smile sitting down on one of the loungers close to her. Peering over at her while distractedly running one finger along a shapely leg unaware of the effect his touch was having on her as she fought to keep her leg still, he could feel the anger in him quickly draining away.
“Would you settle for a drive around the island instead of the doggy paddle” he asked eventually.
Surprised Kira had nodded with a smile
“Let me put something on” she said with a grin before grabbing her stuff and moving back to their room. She reappeared 10 minutes later wearing a baby blue floaty armless shirt and white cotton gypsy skirt which clung to her legs as the wind gently blew the material against her. It had always amazed him how she could make herself look so good in such a short time, she was not one of those women who would waste half a day deciding on the right outfit.
They had called into the kitchen where his housekeeper had quickly put together a picnic basket for them, Maria smiling kindly at Kira as she shushed away her offers of help, and soon they were seated in his large powerful sports car. With the hood down she had giggled as the wind had caught her hair blowing it high in the air before she was able to trap it with a scarf which she had magically found in her oversized bag full of sun cream, repellent and an assortment of other handy items. He had laughed asking if she kept a sink in there too, to which she had pulled out a bottle of water with a wicked smile “will that do”
She had enjoyed the trip around the island. He had stopped often to point out different areas or coves and she had found herself listening in fascination as he told her the stories of the islands past. Although not big it was a wonderful place and she had found it one of the most beautiful spots she had ever seen.
Driving up to the side of a cliff, he had unpacked the picnic basket and lain it close to the edge, so that they could look out over the sea
Kira had blinked in awe. “What a wonderful view” she had breathed
Craig watched her for a second a strange sad look in his eyes, before saying softly
“It was my mother’s favourite place; she used to come up here all the time to think”
She looked over at him in surprise. He had mentioned his mother often when they had first been together. She had been very important to him Kira remembered. When they had first met it had not been long after she had died in a plane crash and Craig had always talked about her with such sadness. She knew that his father had died when he was a young child, and it had been left to Craig to provide for the two of them. They had been very close – just as she and her mother had been she thought to herself.
He looked back at her holding her gaze for several seconds before leaning forward and opening the basket.
“Looks like Maria has done us proud” he said removing a chicken leg which he bit into with relish.
Kira joined him suddenly finding herself very hungry, and they ate happily together while Craig pointed to the different islands dotted around the smooth green of the sea, seeming to know everybody on them as far as she could tell.
“See that one over there” he pointed to one of the closer outcrops
“That’s Toms”
Kira had grinned “God my friends think their outdoing each other if they have a new spoiler on their car”
He chuckled. “Well mine does have a bit which looks kinda like a spoiler” he grinned, as she laughed softly.
After clearing up the picnic things they both lay back enjoying the sun beating down on them while the wind blew softly. They took it in turns to make up stories about the clouds which blew past, many of which were so outlandish that they were constantly laughing. Briefly Kira thought how familiar this seemed, reminding herself of what had brought her to the island, reminding herself that this was a very different Craig, as a passing twig blew past and caught in her hair. Propping himself up on one elbow Craig reached over to remove it, grinning down at her.