AUDRA WOKE EARLY, and the moment her eyes opened she found herself grinning. She drummed her heels against the mattress with a silent squeal as her mind sparked and shimmered with plans and purpose.
She threw on some clothes and her running shoes, before picking her way down to the beach and starting to run.
To run.
Unlike the previous three mornings—when she and Finn had been avoiding each other—she didn’t time herself. She ran because she had an excess of energy and it seemed a good idea to get rid of some of it. The decisions she was about to make would impact the rest of her life and, while joy and excitement might be driving her, she needed to make decisions based on sound business logic. She wanted this dream to last forever—not just until her money ran out and she’d bankrupted herself.
She reached the sheer wall of cliff at the beach’s far end and leaned against it, bracing her hands on her knees, her breath coming hard and fast. Who’d have thought she could run all this way? She let out a whoop. Who knew running could feel so freeing?
She pulled off her shoes and socks and ambled back along the shoreline, relishing the wash of cool water against her toes as she made her way back towards the villa.
When she walked in, Finn glanced up from where he slouched against the breakfast bar, mug of coffee clasped in one hand. His eyes widened as they roved over her. He straightened. ‘Have you been for a run?’
Heat mounted her cheeks. ‘I, uh...’
One side of his mouth hooked up in that grin, and her blood started to pound harder than when she’d been running. ‘That’s not a “truth or dare” question, Audra. A simple yes or no will suffice.’
She dropped her shoes to the floor and helped herself to coffee. ‘You got me kind of curious when you wanted us to run that day.’ He’d made her feel like a lazy slob, but she didn’t say that out loud because she didn’t want him to feel bad about that. Not after everything he’d done for her yesterday. ‘Made me wonder if I could run the length of the beach.’
‘I bet you rocked it in.’
His faith warmed her. ‘Not rocked it in,’ she confessed, planting herself at the table. ‘But I did it. And it gets a bit easier every day.’
He moved to sit opposite. ‘You’ve been for more than one run? How many?’
She rolled her shoulders. ‘Only four.’
‘And you don’t hate it?’
‘It’s not like my new favourite thing or anything.’ But she didn’t hate it. Sometimes it felt good to be pounding along the sand. It made her feel...powerful. ‘I like having done it. It makes me feel suitably virtuous.’
He laughed and pointed to a spot above her head. ‘That’s one very shiny halo.’
He leaned back and drained his coffee. ‘Who’d have thought it? You find you don’t hate running, and I find I don’t hate lying on a beach reading a book.’
He hadn’t seemed restless for any of his usual hard and fast sports. She opened her mouth to ask him about it, but closed it again. She didn’t want to put ideas into his head.
He rose. ‘I had a couple of new thoughts about some designs for your shop. Wanna see them after breakfast?’
That caught her attention. ‘Yes, please!’
An hour later she sat at the outdoor picnic table with Finn, soaking up the sun, the views and the incredible designs he kept creating. ‘These are amazing.’ She pulled his laptop closer towards her. ‘You’ve gone into so much detail.’
‘You gave me good material to work with.’
She flicked through the images he’d created, loving everything that she saw. ‘You said—that first day when you showed me what you did—that the first step was the “dreaming big with no holds barred” step.’
He nodded.
She pulled in a breath. ‘What’s the next step?’
‘Ah.’ His lips twisted. ‘The next step consists of the far less sexy concept of compromise.’
‘Compromise?’
He pointed towards his computer. ‘These are the dream, but what are the exact physical dimensions of your shop going to be? We won’t know that until you find premises and either buy them or sign a lease. So these designs would have to be modified to fit in with that.’
Right.
‘You’ll also need to take into account any building works that may need doing on these new premises. And if so, what kind of council approvals you might need. Does the building have any covenants in place prohibiting certain work?’
Okay.
‘What’s your budget for kitting out your shop? See this shelving system here? It costs twice as much as that one. Is it worth twice as much to you? If it’s not, which other shelving system do you settle on?’
‘So...fitting the dream to the reality?’
‘Exactly. Deciding on the nitty-gritty detail.’
He swung the computer back his way, his fingers flying across the keyboard, his brow furrowed in concentration and his lips pursed. As she stared at him something inside Audra’s chest cracked open and she felt herself falling and falling and falling. Not ‘scream and grab onto something’ falling, but flying falling.
Like anything was possible falling.
Like falling in love falling.
Her heart stopped. The air in front of her eyes shimmered. Finn? She’d...she’d fallen in love with Finn? Her heart gave a giant kick and started beating in triple time. She swallowed. No, no, that was nonsense. She wasn’t stupid enough to fall for Finn. He didn’t do serious. He treated women as toys. He was a playboy!
And yet... He did do serious because they’d had several very serious discussions while they’d been here. She’d discovered depths to him she’d never known. He wasn’t just an adrenaline junkie, but a talented designer and canny businessman. The playboy thing... Well, he hadn’t been out carousing every night. And he hadn’t treated her like a toy. Even when she’d wanted him to. So it was more than possible that she had him pegged all wrong about that too.
In the next moment she shook her head. Rupert had warned her against Finn, and Rupert would know.
But...
She didn’t want to kill the hope trickling through her. Was it really so stupid?
‘Okay, here’s a budget version of your shop.’
Finn turned the laptop back towards her. She forced herself to focus on his designs rather than the chaos of her mind. And immediately lost herself in the world he’d created.
‘What do you think?’
‘This is still beautiful.’
He grinned and her heart kicked against the walls of her chest. She brushed her fingers across the picture of the barrel of flowers standing by the front door. ‘You have such a talent for this. Don’t you miss it when you’re off adventuring?’
Very slowly he reached across and closed the lid of his laptop. ‘That’s a “truth or dare” question, Audra. And the answer is yes.’
Her heart stuttered. So did her breath.
‘I’ve been fighting it. Not wanting to acknowledge it.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I want to be more than a boring, driven businessman.’
‘That’s not boring!’ She pointed to his computer. ‘That...it shows what an artist you are.’
Hooded eyes met hers. ‘I lead this exciting life—living the dream. It should be enough.’
But she could see that it wasn’t. ‘Dreams can change,’ she whispered.
He stared down at his hands. ‘I’ve had a lot of time to think over the last fortnight...and our discussions have made me realise a few things.’
Her mouth went dry. In a part of her that she refused to acknowledge, she wanted him to tell her that he loved her and wanted to build a life and family with her. ‘Like?’ she whispered.
‘Like how much the way I live my life has to do with my parents.’
‘In what way?’ She held her breath and waited to see if he would answer.
He shrugged, but she sensed the emotion beneath the casual gesture. ‘I hated not having a home base when I was growing up. I hated the way we were constantly on the move. I hated that I didn’t have any friends my own age. But when my parents died...’ He dragged a hand down his face. ‘I’d have done anything to have them back. But at the same time—’ the breath he drew in was ragged ‘—I didn’t want to give up the life Uncle Ned had created for me. I liked that life a hundred times better.’
Her heart squeezed at the darkness swirling in his eyes—the remembered grief and pain, the confusion and strange sense of relief. She understood how all those things could bewilder and baffle a person, making it impossible to see things clearly.
‘And that made me feel guilty. So I’ve tried to mould my life on a balance between the kind of life they lived and the kind of life Ned lived. I wanted to make them all proud. Similar to the way you wanted to make your mother proud, I guess. I thought I could have the best of both worlds and be happy.’
‘But you’re not happy.’
He wanted it to be enough. She could see that. But the simple fact was it wasn’t. And him wishing otherwise wouldn’t change that fact.
She swallowed. ‘Have you ever loved a song so much that you played it over and over and over, but eventually you play it too much and you wreck it somehow? And then you don’t want to listen to it any more, and when you do unexpectedly hear it somewhere it doesn’t give you the same thrill it once did?’
Hooded eyes lifted. ‘I know what you mean.’
‘Well, maybe that’s what you’ve done with all of your adrenaline-junkie sports. Maybe you’re all adrenalined out and now you need to find a new song that sings to your soul.’
He stared at her, scepticism alive in his eyes. ‘This is more than that. This is the entire way I live my life. Walking away from it feels as if I’m criticising the choices my parents made.’
‘I don’t see it as a criticism. You’re just...just forging your own path.’
He shrugged, but the darkness in his eyes belied the casual gesture. ‘The thing is I can no longer hide from the fact that racing down a black ski run no longer gives me the thrill it once did, or that performing endless laps in a sports car is anything other than monotonous, and that trekking to base camp at Everest is just damned cold and uncomfortable.’
But she could see it left him feeling like a bad person—an ingrate.
He speared her with a glance. ‘I can’t hassle and lecture you about living your dreams and then hide from it when it applies to my own life. That’d make me a hypocrite on top of everything else.’
Her heart burned. She wanted to help him the way he’d helped her—give him the same clarity. ‘How old was your father when he died?’
‘Thirty-five.’
‘So only a couple of years older than you are now?’ She gave what she hoped was an expressive shrug. ‘Who knows what he might’ve chosen to do if he’d lived longer?’
‘Give up extreme sports, my father?’ Finn snorted. ‘You can’t be serious.’
‘Is it any crazier than me opening a shop?’
He smiled. ‘That’s not crazy. It’s what you have a passion for. It’s exciting.’
Her heart chugged with so much love she had to lower her gaze in case he saw it shining there. ‘We can never know what the future might’ve held for your father, but he could’ve had a mid-life crisis and decided to go back to Australia and...and start a hobby farm.’
A bark of laughter shot out of him.
‘I know a lot of people have criticised the way your parents lived, wrote them off as irresponsible and frivolous.’ And she guessed she was one of them. ‘But they didn’t hurt anyone living like they did; they paid their bills. They were...free spirits. And free spirits, Finn, would tell you to follow your heart and do the things that make you happy. And to not care what other people think.’
His head snapped up.
‘If they were true free spirits they’d include themselves amongst those whose opinions didn’t matter.’
She watched his mind race. ‘What are you going to do?’ she asked when she couldn’t hold the question back any longer.
He shook his head. ‘I’ve no idea.’
She swallowed. He needed time to work it out.
When his gaze returned to hers, though, it was full of warmth and...and something she couldn’t quite define. Affection...laughter...wonder? ‘It’s been a hell of a holiday, Audra.’
Her name sounded like gold on his tongue. All she could do was nod.
A warm breeze ruffled her hair, loose tendrils tickling her cheek. She pulled it back into a tighter ponytail, trying to gather up all the loose strands. For some reason her actions made Finn smile. ‘I’m going to get it cut,’ she announced, not realising her intention until the words had left her.
His eyebrows shot up.
‘Short. Really short. A pixie cut, perhaps. I hate it dangling about my face. I always have.’
‘So how come you haven’t cut it before now?’
She had no idea. ‘Just stuck in the old ways of doing things, I guess. Walking a line I thought I should and presenting the image I thought I should, and not deviating from it. But now...’
‘Now?’
‘Now anything seems possible.’ Even her and Finn didn’t seem outside the realms of possibility. He cared for her, she knew that much. And look at everything they’d shared this last fortnight. Look how much he’d done for her. Look how much of an impact they’d had on each other. It had to mean something, right?
‘I’m going to ask Anna in the village if she’ll cut it for me.’
‘When?’
‘Maybe...maybe this afternoon.’ If she could get an appointment.
He stared at her for a long moment and she had to fight the urge to fidget. ‘What?’
‘I did something.’
There was something in his tone—something uncertain, and a little defiant, and...a bit embarrassed, maybe? She didn’t know what it meant. ‘What did you do?’
He scratched a hand through his hair, his gaze skidding away. ‘It might be best if I simply show you.’
‘Okay. Now?’
He nodded.
‘Where are we going? What’s the dress code?’
‘Into the village.’ His gaze wandered over her and it left her burning and achy, prickly and full of need. ‘And what you’re wearing is just fine.’
* * *
They stopped at the hairdresser’s first, because Finn insisted. When Anna said she could cut Audra’s hair immediately Finn accepted the appointment on her behalf before she could say anything. Audra surveyed him, bemused and not a little curious.
‘It’ll give me some time to get set up properly,’ he explained when he caught her stare.
She shook her head. ‘I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘I know.’ He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her brow. ‘All will be revealed soon. I’ll be back in an hour.’
He was gone before the fresh, heady scent of him had invaded her senses, before she could grab him by the collar of his shirt and kiss him properly. Dear God, what did she do with her feelings for him? She had no idea! Should she try to bury them...or did she dare hope that, given time, he could return them?
Don’t do anything rash.
She swallowed and nodded. She couldn’t afford to make another mistake. She and Thomas had only broken up six weeks ago. This could be a rebound thing. Except... She’d not been in love with Thomas. She’d wanted to be, but she could see now it’d been nothing but a pale imitation—a combination of loneliness and feeling flattered by his attentions. She pressed her hands to her stomach as it started to churn.
Don’t forget Rupert warned you against falling in love with Finn.
Yeah, but Rupert was overprotective and—
‘Audra, would you like to take a seat?’
Audra shook herself, and tried to quiet her mind as she gave herself over to Anna’s ministrations.
* * *
As promised, Finn returned an hour later. Audra’s hair had been cut, shampooed and blow-dried and it felt...wonderful! She loved what Anna had done—short at the back and sides but still thick and tousled on top. She ran her fingers through it, and the excitement she’d woken with this morning vibrated through her again now.
She and Anna were sharing a cup of tea and gossip when Finn returned, and the way his eyes widened when he saw her, the light that flared in his eyes, and the low whistle that left his lips, did the strangest things to her insides.
‘It looks...’ He gestured. ‘I mean, you look...’ He swallowed. ‘It’s great. You look great.’
Something inside her started to soar. He wanted her. He tried to hide it, but he wanted her in the same way she wanted him. It wasn’t enough. But it was something, right? She could build on that, and... Her heart dipped. Except their holiday was almost over and there was so little time left—
He frowned. ‘You’re not regretting it, are you?’
She tried to clear her face. ‘No! I love it.’ She touched a self-conscious hand to her new do. ‘It feels so liberating.’ She did what she could to put her disturbing thoughts from her mind. ‘Now put me out of my misery and show me whatever it is you’ve done. I’m dying here, Finn!’
‘Come on, then.’ He grinned and took her arm, but dropped it the moment they were outside. She knew why—because the pull between them was so intense.
What if she were to seduce him? Maybe...
That could be a really bad idea.
Or an inspired one.
Her heart picked up speed. She had to force herself to focus on where they were going.
Finn led her along the village’s main street. She made herself glance into the windows of the fashion boutiques with their colourful displays, dragged in an appreciative breath as they passed the bakery that sold those decadent croissants. She slowed when they reached the bookshop, but with a low laugh Finn urged her past it.
At the end of the row stood the beautiful whitewashed building with freshly painted shutters the colour of a blue summer day that had silently sat at the centre of herÁ dreams. The moment she’d seen the For Sale sign when she’d clambered off the ferry a fortnight ago, she’d wanted to buy it. Her heart pounded. This place was...perfect.
‘I remember you saying there was a place for sale in the village that would be the ideal location for your shop, and I guessed this was the place you meant.’
She spun to him, her eyes wide.
‘So I asked around and found it belongs to the Veros family.’
‘The Veros family who own the deli?’
‘One and the same. I asked if we could have a look inside.’ He brandished a key. ‘And they said yes.’
Excitement gathered beneath her breastbone until she thought she might burst.
‘Shall we?’
‘Yes, please!’
He unlocked the door. ‘Do you want the shutters open?’ He gestured to the shutters at the front window. She could barely speak so she simply nodded. She wanted to see the interior bathed in the blues and golds of the late morning light. ‘You go on ahead, then, while I open them.’
Pressing one hand to her chest, she reached out with the other to push the door open. Her heart beat hard against her palm. Could this be the place where she could make her dreams come true? Was this the place where she could start the rest of her life? She tried to rein in her excitement. This was the next step—making the dream fit the reality. She needed to keep her feet on the ground.
Inside it was dim and shadowy. She closed her eyes and made a wish, and when she opened her eyes again, light burst through the spotlessly clear front window as Finn flung the shutters back. Her heart stuttered. The world tilted on its axis. She had to reach out and brace herself against a wall to stop from falling.
Her heart soared...stopped...pounded.
She couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing, but in front of her the designs Finn had created for her shop had taken shape and form in this magical place. She squished her eyes shut, but when she opened them again nothing had changed.
She spun around to find Finn wrestling a tub of colourful flowers into place just outside the front door. Her eyes filled. He’d done all of this for her?
He came inside then and grinned, but she saw the uncertainty behind the smile. ‘What do you think?’
‘I think this is amazing! How on earth did you manage to do this in such a short space of time?’
One shoulder lifted. ‘I asked Angelo to whip up a couple of simple display arrangements—don’t look too closely because they’re not finished.’
‘But...but there’s stock on the shelves!’
‘I borrowed some bits and pieces from Angelo, Eleni, Kostas and Christina. They were more than happy to help me out when I told them what it was for. You’re very well thought of in these parts. They consider you one of their own, you know?’
It was how she’d always felt here.
‘So you’ll see it gets a little more rough and ready the further inside we go.’
He took her arm and led her deeper into the shop and she saw that he’d tacked pictures of all the things she meant to sell on temporary shelves. It brought her dream to magical life, however—helped her see how it could all look in reality. The layout and design, the colours and the light flooding in, the view of the harbour, it was all so very, very perfect. ‘I love it.’
‘Wait until you see upstairs.’ Reaching for her hand, he towed her to the back of the shop. ‘There’s a kitchenette and bathroom through here and storeroom there.’ He swung a door open and clicked on the light, barely giving her time to glance inside before leading her up a narrow set of stairs to a lovely apartment with a cosy living room, compact but adequate kitchen, and two bedrooms. The living room and the master bedroom, which was tucked beneath the eaves on the third floor, had exceptional views of the harbour. It was all utterly perfect.
‘I can’t believe you did this!’
‘So you like it?’
‘I couldn’t love it any better.’
His grin was full of delight and...affection.
Her mind raced. He was attracted to her, and he cared for her. He’d done all of this for her. It had to mean something.
‘I made enquiries and the price they’re asking seems reasonable.’
He named a price that made her gulp, but was within her means. She pulled in a breath. ‘I’m going to get a building inspection done and...and then put in an offer.’
He spun back to her. ‘You mean it?’
She nodded. She wanted to throw herself at him and hug him. But if she did that it’d make his guard go back up. And before that happened she needed to work through the mass of confusion and turbulence racing through her mind.
She followed him back down the stairs silently. His gaze narrowed when they reached the ground floor. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘My mind is racing at a hundred miles a minute. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed.’
His eyes gentled. ‘That’s understandable.’
She gestured around. ‘Why did you do this for me, Finn? I’m not complaining. I love it. But...it must’ve taken a lot of effort on your part.’
‘I just want you to have your dream, Princess. You deserve it.’
She stared at him, wishing she could read his mind. ‘You’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my future, and I’m grateful. But don’t you think you should’ve been spending that time focussing on some new directions for yourself?’
His gaze dropped. He straightened a nearby shelf, wiped dust from another. ‘I’ve been giving some thought to that too.’
The admission made her blink. He had?
‘Kyanós, it seems, encourages soul-searching.’ He shoved his hands into the back pockets of his cargo shorts and eyed her for a long moment. ‘I’ve been toying with a plan. I don’t know. It could be a stupid idea.’ He pulled his hands free, his fingers opening and closing at his sides. ‘Do you want to see?’
Fear and hope warred in her chest. All she could do was nod.
‘Come on, then. We’ll return the key and then I’ll show you.’
* * *
The car bounced along an unsealed road that was little more than a gravel track. Audra glanced at the forest of olive and pine trees that lined both sides. She’d thought he’d meant to take them back to the villa. ‘I’ve not been on this road before.’
‘I’ve spent some time exploring the island’s hidden places these last few days.’
Along with exploring all the ways she could make her dream a reality. He’d been busy.
‘It brings us out on the bluff at the other end of the beach from Rupert’s place.’
The view when they emerged into a clearing five minutes later stole her breath. Finn parked and cut the engine. She pushed out of the car and just stared.
He shoved his hands into his pockets, keeping the car between them. ‘It’s a pretty amazing view.’
Understatement much? ‘I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more spectacular view. This is...amazing.’ Water surrounded the headland on three sides. From this height she could only make out a tiny strip of beach to her left and then Rupert’s villa gleaming in amongst its pines in the distance.
Directly out in front was the Aegean reflecting the most glorious shade of blue that beguiled like a siren’s call, the horizon tinted a fiery gold, the outlines of other islands in the distance adding depth and interest. It’d be a spectacular sight when the sun set.
To her right the land fell in gentle undulations, golden grasses rippling down to a small but perfectly formed beach. A third of the way down was a collection of run-down outbuildings.
‘This plot—thirty acres in total—is for sale.’ He pointed to the outbuildings. ‘The farmer who owns it used those to store olives from his groves...and goats, among other things apparently. They haven’t been used for almost fifteen years. The moment I clapped eyes on them I knew exactly how to go about transforming them into an amazing house.’
It was the perfect site for a home—sheltered and sunny, and with that beautiful view. Audra swallowed. ‘That sounds lovely.’
‘I even came up with a name for the house—the Villa Óneira.’
Óneira was the Greek word for dreams. The House of Dreams. He...he wanted to live here on Kyanós? Her heart leapt. That had to mean something.
She tried to keep her voice casual. ‘What would you do with the rest of the plot?’ Because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t see Finn as an olive farmer or a goat herder.
He gestured to the crest of the headland. ‘Do you remember once asking me what activities I couldn’t live without?’
She’d been thinking of the rally-car racing, the rock climbing, the skydiving. ‘What’s the answer?’
‘Hang-gliding.’
She blinked. ‘Hang-gliding?’
‘It’s the best feeling in the world. Sailing above it all on air currents—weightless, free...exhilarating.’
Her heart burned as she stared at him. He looked so alive.
‘That was a great question to ask, Audra, because it made me think hard about my life.’
It had?
‘And when I stumbled upon this plot of land and saw that headland, I knew what I could do here.’
She found it suddenly hard to breathe.
‘I’ve been fighting it and telling myself it’s a stupid pipe dream.’ He swung to her, his face more animated than she’d ever seen it. ‘But after our talk this morning, maybe it’s not so daft after all.’
‘What do you want to do?’
‘I want to open a hang-gliding school. I’m a fully qualified instructor.’
He was?
‘And I’ve had a lot of experience.’
He had?
‘The school would only run in the summer.’ He shrugged. ‘For the rest of the time I’d like to focus on the work I do for Aspiration Designs. But I want to work off the grid.’ He flung out an arm. ‘And here seems as good a place to do it as any. Kyanós has a great community vibe, and I’d love to become a part of it.’
He stopped then as if embarrassed, shoved his hands in his pockets and scuffed a tussock of grass with the toe of his sneaker.
She stared at him. His dream... It was lovely. Beautiful. ‘Your plan sounds glorious, Finn.’
He glanced up. ‘But?’
She shook her head. ‘No buts. It’s just... I remember you saying island life wouldn’t suit you.’
‘I was wrong. Being on a permanent holiday wouldn’t suit me. But being in an office all day wouldn’t suit me either. I’d want to leave the day-to-day running of Aspirations to my partners—they’re better at that than me. Design is my forte. But the thought of sharing my love of hang-gliding with others and teaching them how to do it safely in this amazing place answers a different need.’
‘Wow.’ She couldn’t contain a grin. ‘Looks like we’re going to be neighbours.’
He grinned back and it nearly dazzled her. ‘Looks like it. Who’d have thought?’
This had to mean something—something big! Even if he wasn’t aware of it yet.
He tossed the car keys in the air and caught them. ‘Hungry?’
‘Starved.’