LITMIR.BIZ

       CHAPTER FIVE

      ‘DID YOU JUST YAWN?’ Zac asked as they danced to the Eziboys’ music.

      Olivia shook her head. ‘Just doing mouth stretches.’ Did there have to be a smile in his eyes? It was devastating in its intensity. Made her happy to be with him, when she shouldn’t be. Exhaustion had returned as dessert had come to an end, yet somehow she’d still found the energy to shake her hips to the beat of the music.

      Zac’s eyes widened, and the tip of his tongue appeared at the corner of his delectable mouth. ‘Right,’ he drawled.

      She mentally slapped her head. Mouth stretches. She used to trail kisses all over his body, starting below his ear and tracking down, down, down. The memories were vivid now, in full technicolour, and heating up her cheeks. Hopefully he wouldn’t notice her heightened colour in the semidarkness of the dance floor.

      It would take very little to fall in against that wide chest and let him be her strength for a while. She’d never known what it was like to let someone be strong for her. If she ever loosened up enough to try it, Zac might be her man.

      How had she managed to leave him that morning? Fear. Always a powerful motivator. For her it had been fear of losing control, of never knowing which way was up. As an adult she had no intention of reliving the turbulent life she’d known growing up. Not for anyone.

      ‘Feel like taking a break, having a drink?’ Zac asked.

      Definitely. Anything to put some space between them. ‘Good idea.’ She immediately turned for their table.

      Waving at a waiter, Zac pulled out a chair. ‘Take the weight off.’

      When he sat down beside her his chair was way too close, but she was reluctant to make a show of moving away. Anyway, she didn’t have the strength to resist him at the moment. Glancing at her watch, she sighed. The band was booked for at least another hour. Sneaking off to her room and that huge comfortable-looking bed was not yet an option.

      The champagne was cool and delicious. ‘Perfect.’ She settled further into her chair. ‘You keep dancing, if you want. I don’t need babysitting.’

      Zac chuckled. ‘Dancing has never been one of my favourite pastimes.’

      ‘But you’re good at it. You’ve got the moves.’ Ouch. Shouldn’t have said that.

      That devastating smile returned briefly. ‘I’d say thanks except you seemed to nearly fall asleep while we were shaking our hips.’

      ‘I can’t believe how tired I am. Probably won’t go to sleep for hours when I finally make it to my room. My muscles feel like they’re pulled tighter than a tourniquet.’

      ‘What you need is a few days away somewhere where no one can reach you to talk about work, or fundraising, or anything more stressful than what you’d like for dinner.’ Zac sipped his drink. ‘When did you last take time off?’

      She thought about it. Glanced at him. Remembered. ‘It was a while ago.’

      ‘A little over eighteen months ago maybe?’

      ‘Maybe.’ Zac had booked three nights at a retreat on Waiheke Island. They’d only managed one night before he’d returned home after his brother had been admitted to hospital with a collapsed lung.

      While accepting he had to go, Olivia had been disappointed he’d not returned to the resort later. She sometimes wondered—if they’d had the whole time together would they have got to know each other a little better outside the bedroom?

      ‘I might as well have stayed with you,’ Zac muttered, as if reading her mind.

      Olivia’s stomach flipped. ‘What? Your family needed you.’ So had she, but not as much.

      ‘No, they didn’t.’

      ‘But they phoned you.’

      He shook his head. ‘My grandfather called to let me know about Mark. Not my parents.’

      She wanted to say that made sense if his parents had rushed to be with his brother, but something in his eyes stopped her, told her she was wrong. ‘You don’t get along—’

      ‘Mind if I join you both for a moment?’ Paul plonked himself down without waiting for an answer.

      Relief flicked across Zac’s face. ‘Can I get you a drink, Paul?’

      ‘No, thanks. I won’t take up much of your time.’ Leaning back in the chair, he studied first Zac then her so thoroughly she began to think she had chocolate mousse on her chin.

      The band stopped for a short break and most people were making their way to the tables. And Paul still wasn’t saying anything. She ran her fingers across her chin, came up clean. She glanced at Zac, who shrugged his shoulders.

      Finally, Paul pulled an envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket and Olivia instantly recognised it as an item that had been auctioned earlier. A trip somewhere. There’d been a few trips auctioned tonight but she thought Paul’s one had been to Fiji.

      As he laid the envelope on the table between her and Zac she felt a flutter of trepidation in her stomach. She couldn’t keep her eyes off that large white envelope or the finger tapping it, as though it was beating out her fate.

      ‘This is for the two of you. Five nights at Tokoriki Island Resort on the west side of Fiji’s mainland.’

       No. No, please, no. Tell me Paul didn’t say that. I can’t go anywhere with Zac, and certainly not somewhere as intimate as a resort in Fiji.

      Olivia slowly raised her gaze to Zac and saw him looking as stunned as she felt. ‘It’s kind of you, Paul, but I have to say no.’

      ‘Zac? What do you think?’ Paul looked a little smug.

      It didn’t matter what Zac thought. She wasn’t going.

       A few days far away from everything and everyone with only Zac for company held a certain appeal. White beaches, warm sea, palm trees bending in the breeze, and … And Zac.

      ‘It’s a no from me too. Thank you, though.’

      Paul wasn’t easily fobbed off. ‘Think before rejecting my offer out of hand, both of you.’

      Olivia shook her head. One evening with Zac had her in a state of longing and wonder. She would never cope with being stuck on a tiny island with him for a week.

      ‘What’s this about?’ Zac asked in a surprisingly level tone, his eyes fixed on the man issuing the challenge.

      ‘Look at you. You’re exhausted. I know you haven’t had a break all year. You need a holiday. So does Olivia. Why not someplace exotic? This timeshare bure is on an island catering for approximately twenty couples at any one time. No children allowed. All meals provided, massages as well.’ Paul smiled.

      Any other time she’d be drooling at the thought of going. But never with the man sitting beside her, looking as perplexed as she felt.

      ‘It sounds wonderful, but you’re expecting Zac and me to go together?’ Olivia shook her head. Not going to happen. Looking at Zac, she could see the lines at the edges of his mouth. He was tired. It had taken Paul pointing it out for her to notice.

      ‘You have two weeks to choose between, both in July, so you’ll need to

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