Page 5

I was done with men for life. There was no such thing as love or Cupid’s arrow.

As I stood there waiting for my double shot espresso, I dreamed of buying a boat and sailing the world by myself.

Ten minutes later I was still dreaming of sailing into the wild blue yonder as I stood at the observation window watching the planes on the tarmac below.

‘No, not that one. Red and white isn’t a good look.’ The familiar voice came from behind me and I recognised the first coffee man’s voice without turning around.

I glanced down at my red jeans and white polo top with the sailing club insignia on the pocket.

Who the hell did he think he was?

‘And she’s way too heavy at the arse end,’ came the voice of the man whose good looks had sent that tingle through me

What the—? Humiliation washed over me. I froze; there was no way I was going to turn around and let them know I’d heard every word they said. Okay, I knew I was thin, but I was out of proportion in the boobs and hips department. Brad had often told me I had an interesting shape.

Interesting!

I backed into a seat and sat down heavily on my wider than acceptable “arse end” and sipped my coffee until the embarrassment passed and my face had cooled.

Finally, the flight to Deception Island was called, and when I stood there was no sign of either of them.

I slipped my handbag over my shoulder and headed for the gate. The stewardess smiled at me, and the coloured flowers woven into her dark hair bobbed as she nodded at my boarding pass. The cigar-shaped plane was so small I had to bend down as I walked along the aisle to my seat in the second back row.

Oh no. I hesitated as I approached my allocated seat. The good looker from the coffee lounge was sitting across the aisle from my seat. He gave me a huge smile, and I would have smiled back if it hadn’t been for the conversation I’d overheard. Not to mention the comment about my fat rear end.

Of course, he was good-looking; that usually went with the confidence and the sexist attitude. So, I raised my eyebrows and stared at him without acknowledging his smile and then slid into my seat, working up my courage to survive the take-off, the short flight ahead and the landing. I leaned back, folded my arms and closed my eyes. Within a couple of hours, I would be on the water—in my comfort zone—happily ensconced on the yacht I had hired for ten days.

Gold provisioning. Caviar, seafood and Moet champagne. I pulled a face.

What a waste by myself.

The propellers began to spin, the motors vibrated, and that uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

Almost there, Jane. You can do it.

Maybe I could get a job on the island, and I wouldn’t have to face the flights back. I nodded to myself thoughtfully. That wasn’t such a bad idea; I’d heard about the huge international marina on Deception Island, with privately-owned boats, and a few different companies chartering boats for the trips around the islands. There was a cluster of small islands and coral atolls between Deception and Columbus Islands. I’d had fun choosing the luxury sailboat for our holiday.

Anger with a slight tinge of disappointment mixed to settle in my stomach again and it stayed there as the small plane droned on towards our destination.

It was a bad time for the guy across the aisle to reach over and touch my arm—not that any time would have been good. I looked at him as though he had crawled out from beneath a rock, but he kept that damn happy smile on his face.

‘If you look down now, you’ll be able to see Deception Island.’

‘Thank you.’ No matter what sort of mother Gloria was, she had drummed good manners into me. I nodded and did as requested, leaning over and looking down. The water was sapphire blue and as the plane banked to the left, I could see the small white caps on the ocean below.

The island came into view, and I was surprised by how small it was. A township ran along the front of the lagoon, and up to the foothills of the extinct volcanoes I’d read about in the tourist brochures. At the northern end I could see the boats in the marina. At each end of the island, the sides of the two mountains were covered in lush green forest and on the eastern side, a lagoon was fringed by reef where the breakers were spewing white foam into the air. My mood improved as happy anticipation kicked in. A good sea was running. Excellent— that meant wind, and wind meant good sailing.

The plane shuddered and dropped a little during the descent and I swallowed and gripped the arm rests.

Yep, a job on the island was a real possibility.

‘It’s okay.’ The voice from across the aisle was soothing and again I felt that strange tingle. ‘We always get strong crosswinds between the two mountains. Johnny’s one of the best pilots around. They don’t let many pilots take this flight. The runway’s extra short too, and passengers always think we’ll end up in the surf on the other side of the island. You watch how smartly Johnny pulls us up.’

‘Thanks,’ I said drily. ‘I can’t wait.’

‘Your first visit to the island?’ he persisted.

Again, I nodded, but didn’t engage this time.