Page 7

‘Can I … can I let you know in the morning?’

Shauna arrived back at their hostel slightly shell-shocked from her visit to the St Helena and still trying to make up her mind as to what she should do. By the time she’d climbed the final flight of stairs, she’d decided to turn the job down. But when she opened the door, Roxy was stuffing her clothes into her rucksack while Thierry looked on. Her face lit up in excitement when she saw Shauna.

‘Shauna, Thierry has saved our lives!’

Shauna looked at Thierry. He was middle-aged, craggily handsome with salt-and-pepper hair and tanned skin that spoke of years in the Mediterranean sun. Shauna realized she didn’t know anything about this man that Roxy seemed so taken with, and she wasn’t sure she shared her friend’s enthusiasm.

Roxy continued, her words an excited babble: ‘Thierry owns a house in the South of France, he’s an artist and he’s friends with all sorts of people – designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano, I could really learn a lot from them. Thierry says we can both go, it’s really near the beach and we wouldn’t have to pay …’

Thierry and Shauna eyed each other.

‘That’s right, isn’t it, Thierry? Me and Shauna come as a pair, we’re completely inseparable.’

‘Oui.’ Thierry shrugged, but didn’t smile. ‘You may come along, if you wish?’

Shauna could sense that Thierry would much prefer that she didn’t come.

‘Look,’ Shauna blurted, ‘I’ve just been offered a job on a yacht. I was going to turn it down because I didn’t want to abandon you. But now it seems … well, it would be for the best.’ She flashed them a smile. ‘Three’s a crowd, and all that.’

‘Shauna, you’re not a gooseberry.’ Roxy dropped the clothes she was stuffing into her bag and rushed to embrace her friend. ‘This could work out brilliantly for both of us. Where is this yacht going?’

Shauna told her that they’d be dropping her off in Greece at the end of August. Roxy clapped her hands. ‘That’s perfect!’ I’ll come and meet you in Greece; that way we can have a couple of weeks together before we have to go home! Oh, Shauna, going on a yacht sounds so glamorous.’

‘I’ll be mopping the decks and cleaning bathrooms,’ Shauna said, hugging Roxy back. ‘But I’ll miss you.’ Suddenly feeling anxious, she leaned in close and whispered, ‘Are you sure about Thierry? We don’t know anything about this guy.’

‘Don’t worry, he’s a pussycat,’ Roxy whispered back. ‘And who knows who else I might meet? It’s who you know in the fashion world.’

Shauna felt a tightening in her tummy. What if something went wrong and she ended up stranded, without Roxy?

Roxy saw the look that passed across her friend’s face. ‘Hey, none of that. This is what we both wanted: an adventure, right?’

‘It’s bijou,’ said Chantelle with a laugh later that afternoon when she was back at the St Helena, opening the door to a tiny cabin with barely room for a bunk bed. ‘But you have got an en suite. You’ll be sharing with Freya, she’s one of the engineers, so she’s on the bridge most of the time. She’s nice. Earthy Scandinavian, with a good sense of humour, but don’t play poker with her whatever you do; she’ll take you to the cleaners.’

Shauna nodded, trying to take in the information and gazing around the cramped cabin that was to be her home for the next eight weeks.

‘Tell me about the people who own the boat.’

‘The family’s in shipping.’ Chantelle shrugged. ‘They’re incredibly wealthy. Demetrios Theodosis is the eldest son, and his father wants him to take over the business.’

‘He seems a bit of a playboy.’ Shauna felt herself blushing again as she remembered the flirtatious way Demetrios had looked at her.

‘He’s a red-blooded male, that’s for sure, and he’s a bit torn – wants to please his family, but wants to have a good time, too. He’s still only in his late twenties.’

Shauna thought about Normandie, the glamorous woman in the skimpy bikini who had been with Demetrios. ‘Who is the girl he is with?’

‘Normandie Chappelle? You obviously don’t read the glossy gossip mags! She’s a French model, already been linked to Jack Nicholson and Sting. She’s got everything, and now she’s got Demetrios wrapped around her little finger.’

Shauna felt her heart sink, and was surprised by the feeling. She told herself to stop being ridiculous. She might as well be invisible in this world. Demetrios was way out of her league, and she was just a glorified chambermaid. She could look, but that was all she’d ever be able to do.

Chapter 5

‘Shauna, when you’ve finished those, can you take a couple down to the master cabin?’ said Gordana, the St Helena’s housekeeper. According to Chantelle, she knew everything that went on aboard the yacht, from who was sleeping with who, to the guests’ medical conditions – whether they wanted them known or not.

Shauna nodded and pulled the last of the warm towels from the tumble dryer, folding each of the soft, plump bath sheets into a neat stack. She couldn’t wait to trade the hot stuffy confines of the laundry in the bowels of the yacht for the glamour of the upper decks.

Their trip to Corsica had been cancelled, so they’d spent the week in Port Hercules. Shauna didn’t mind as it gave her a chance to get to know her way around the St Helena. As a member of the housekeeping crew, she was also mastering the art of being invisible so far as the well-heeled guests were concerned. Jeremy had drilled into her that staff should be discreet when slipping in and out of rooms to carry out the necessary tidying, cleaning and changing.

Some of their guests had departed, including the exquisite Normandie. Shauna had not seen much of her and Demetrius, though she had been given the task of tidying up the master bedroom suite one morning. Try as she might to maintain a professional distance, it was impossible not to let her mind run riot when she picked up the Chanel silk camisole and knickers thrown carelessly across the bed. Shauna could imagine the fevered passion, Demetrios’s hands lifting the camisole over Normandie’s head as his lips travelled across her body …