LITMIR.BIZ

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bungalow, Raj stepped out. ‘Hello, my friend. Had a good day?’

      ‘Yeah. Thanks for the Jeep. I had a great time down at the cove.’

      ‘I’m sure you did. Sujit phoned me and said you had a beautiful lady companion with you today.’

      He groaned. ‘I can’t believe you two old gossips.’

      Raj’s grin broadened. ‘He also said you were so ga-ga over this woman you could hardly finish your dahl. Must be serious. Care to tell me more?’

      ‘Maybe. Though I’d kill for a cold beer first.’

      Raj clapped both hands to his head. ‘Where are my manners? Come in.’

      As Zac sank into a comfortable cane chair with a beer in his hand, Raj raised an eyebrow.

      ‘So my friend. Time to tell all.’

      He had two choices: stay silent and listen to the hum of the ceiling fan, or get an objective perspective on a situation that was complicated at best.

      ‘Lana’s different from anyone I’ve ever met. I want to get to know her better, but I only have a week before I head to Europe. Not enough time to really get involved.’

      Especially when the likelihood of her retreating back into her shell was high. He’d seen her growing confidence—the perfume, staying on after the kiss last night, the hot new bikini today—but small changes didn’t mean she wouldn’t retreat at the first sign of an over-eager sailor laying a possible future relationship on her after knowing her for a week.

      He took a long slug of beer, savouring the icy brew sliding down his throat. ‘That’s the short version.’

      ‘Do you have to return to Europe?’

      He nodded. He’d let his uncle down once before. Not this time. He’d make sure of it.

      ‘Jimmy’s sick again. The cancer’s back and it’s spread.’

      Raj’s bleak expression mirrored his. ‘I’m sorry. Is it—?’

      ‘Terminal? Yeah.’ He downed most of his beer in one gulp, hating the injustice of this disease that had no cure and robbed a man of his health, his dignity, his life.

      ‘How much time?’

      He shrugged. ‘He’s seen all the best docs in London and had varying opinions. Some say six months; some say a year, max.’

      Raj shook his head and clicked his tongue. ‘Very sad.’

      ‘He says he wants to be left alone, but I know the stubborn old coot better than I know myself. That’s why I’m moving head office to London for the next year. So I can visit him whether he damn well likes it or not.’

      ‘Ah… ’ Raj nodded like a wise old guru. ‘So this is the problem with your woman. She lives in Australia and you’ll be based in London for at least the next twelve months?’

      Zac leaned forward, rested his head in his hands. ‘It’s more complex than that.’

      ‘Matters of the heart often are.’

      He leaped out of his chair and started pacing, wishing he hadn’t mentioned Lana to his friend. ‘Why are we even having this conversation?’

      ‘Because you have fallen, and fallen hard.’

      He pulled up short. ‘You know the biggest problem? I’ve lied to her, and she’s a straightforward, no-nonsense person. She’s been lied to before and it cut her up badly. How the hell am I going to tell her the truth now, when she barely trusts me as it is?’

      Raj’s eyebrows shot heavenward. ‘She doesn’t know your true profession?’

      ‘No. You know secrecy’s been paramount, to give me a chance to catch our saboteur.And I only met her a week ago.’

      ‘For a woman you only met a week ago, you’re sure doing a lot of soul-searching.’

      Zac picked up his beer and slugged the rest, desperate to ease the dryness in his throat. ‘Crazy, isn’t it? Happily single for years, then I take one look at this quirky, captivating woman and can’t get her out of my mind.’

      ‘If she cares for you, she’ll forgive you. Besides, it’s only a little white lie. You have worked on ships as a public relations manager.You just also happen to manage the entire fleet.’ Raj chuckled, doing little to soothe Zac’s nerves.

      ‘I’m glad you find this situation amusing.’

      ‘You’re really in a bind, aren’t you?’

      ‘I feel so much better after talking with you.’

      ‘Sarcasm won’t help, my friend. I suggest you go back to your ship and think long and hard about your dilemma of the heart.’

      ‘Very poetic,’ Zac muttered, knowing all the soul-searching in the world wouldn’t get him out of this quandary. The way he saw it, there was only one solution: tell her the truth, start a relationship with her now and pray she’d be interested in continuing it.

      Though he’d never been a fan of long-distance relationships, had seen them consistently fall apart around him over the many years he’d worked on ships, the thought of keeping in touch with her till he returned to Sydney, maybe seeing her on the odd flying visit, sent a thrill of hope through him.

      ‘You know, between you and Sujit you two old reprobates could start your own relationship counselling service.’

      Raj laughed, picked up the car keys and slapped him on the back. ‘Come on, I’ll drop you off. Everything will work out for the best.’

      He grunted in response and hoped to God his friend was right.

      Lana finished her aerobics class still feeling stressed, despite rave reviews from the participants. How could she keep her mind on the job when flashes of her afternoon with Zac kept popping into her mind at the most inopportune moments?

      Take the rowing machine: it reminded her of boats, which reminded her of water, which reminded her of beaches and ultimately Zac.

      The treadmill wasn’t much better: walking hand in hand to the pristine lagoon, with Zac.

      As for her towel, slung casually over a set of free weights, she wouldn’t even go there, considering her skin prickled at the mere thought of his hands stroking her back while she’d been lying on that towel.

      Thankfully, she made it back to her cabin without any more flashbacks, though once she set foot in the small space and closed the door she slumped against it.

      Of all the fish in the sea, she had to get hooked by a sailor.

      She smiled at the pun, though there was nothing funny about the situation. She was falling for him. There was only so much a girl could take, and with that non-stop charm chipping away at her defences almost twenty-four-seven what hope did she have?

      Considering he was a sailor and she was merely a landlubber, they had little hope of making a relationship work. Especially the type of relationship she wanted: husband, kids, noisy Sunday afternoons in her very own backyard, rolling in autumn leaves with her brood, face-painting, playing tag, scoffing sticky toffee apples. The kind of childhood she’d never had. The kind of childhood she’d yearned for.

      Beth understood. She’d wanted the same thing: they’d role-played happy families countless times as lonely six-year-olds, when their mums had died in the same car crash.

      Beth had found her happily-ever-after, and while Lana was pleased for her cousin there wasn’t a day that passed when she didn’t secretly crave the same for herself.

      Taking this cruise had been a first. Well, chalk up another—it was also the first time she’d met a guy who saw beneath her prissy veneer; the first time since Jax that she’d trusted a guy enough to get to know him better; the first time she’d felt real passion, if his kisses were anything to

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