Free The Far Side of Paradise by Robyn Donald Page A

from her face when movement caught her eye. Swivelling, she realised that Cade had walked to the edge of the terrace and was bending to pick a hibiscus flower.
    For some peculiar reason, her heart lurched at the sight of his long fingers stroking the ruffled, satiny petals—only to freeze a moment later when a casual, dismissive flick of his fingers sent the exquisite bloom onto the ground.
    It shouldn’t have affected her so strongly. Yet she almost gasped with shock, and took an instinctive step sideways to hide from sight.
    After a few seconds she told herself she was being ridiculous. She forced herself to breathe again and glanced sideways into an empty garden. Her heartbeat settling into its usual steady rhythm, she scolded herself for being so foolishly sensitive. Nothing had happened. He’d merely picked a flower and tossed it away.
    Later, when she emerged from her room, Cade was standing just outside the glass doors with his back to her. He had to have excellent hearing because, although she moved quietly, he turned the moment she came into the big, cool living room.
    Their eyes met, and another little chill ran the length of her spine until he smiled. ‘Enjoy your swim?’ he asked.
    ‘It was lovely,’ she said, oddly disconcerted. Had he seen her walk up from the beach? She repressed a sensuous little shiver. She’d been perfectly decent with her
pareu
draped around her—and he was probably bored by the sight of women parading around in bikinis.
    ‘How did you find the computer set-up?’
    She blinked, then hastily reassembled her wits. ‘Oh, excellent. No problems.’
    He nodded. Now, he thought stringently—give her that opportunity now. Yet it took all his notorious drive to say casually, ‘Your computer skills would have come in handy when you were in London.’
    Taryn smiled. ‘Not at first. I worked in a coffee shop, until a friend found me a job cataloguing a library, which was perfect. I could dash over the Channel or around the country whenever I wanted, providing I got the work done.’
    ‘A very good friend,’ Cade observed. ‘One who knew you well.’
    ‘Yes, a good friend indeed,’ she said tonelessly.
    Cade sent a keen glance, but could read nothing from her smooth face. He let the silence drag on but all she did was nod.
    Cade held out a sheaf of notes. ‘I’d like you to get these down now.’
    Heart thudding, Taryn took the notes and escaped into her room. It was a relief to sit down at the desk and concentrate on the swift, bold handwriting, and an even greater relief when he left to meet someone.
    When she’d finished getting his clear, concise notes into the computer and backed them up, she closed things down and stood up. Cade had just returned and the sun was heading towards the horizon. It would seem to fall more quickly as it got closer to the clear, straight line where sea met sky, and there might be a mysterious green flash the instant it slipped over the horizon. She’d seen it a couple of times, and looked forward to seeing it again.
    She picked up the printed copy and walked into thesitting room. Cade got up from the sofa where he’d been reading the work she’d collated after lunch.
    After a quick perusal of the copy, he said, ‘This is exactly what I need, thank you.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘You have half an hour to get into whatever you’re wearing to cocktails and dinner.’
    When she frowned, he said smoothly, ‘I assume you’ve chosen something suitable to wear.’
    Under the boutique manager’s interested survey she’d chosen something, but whether it was suitable or not time would tell. Impulsively, she said, ‘It still seems too much like gatecrashing for me to feel comfortable about going.’
    ‘We’ve already had this conversation. You’ve been personally invited.’ His mouth curled up at the corners. ‘Of course, if you met someone on the beach you’d like to further your acquaintance with—’
    ‘No,’ she interrupted,