ELEVEN

 

Xan awoke in an unfamiliar bed, shrouded in crisp white sheets that screamed hotel room. Definitely not her unit, where she only used the blue sheets she'd bought in town. She lifted her head to look around, and that's when the tides turned – from drowsy calm to pounding surf, beating at the inside of her head. Nope. Just...nope. She subsided onto the pillow.

Something on the bedside table caught her eye – a scrap of paper. Xan groped for it and held the note in front of her eyes.

Jay Felix's Fuck That Hangover Cure, she read.

1. Take the pills and drink the water. All of it.

2. When the pills kick in, take a shower or if you're feeling up to it, join me for a swim.

3. Room service said they're working on Step 3.

What pills, she wondered, risking a glance at the nightstand. He'd left her two tablets, still in their plastic and foil blisters, and a bottle of water. They turned out to be pain relief, the sort sold over the counter in the supermarket, which was safe enough, Xan decided, downing them with a gulp of water.

She sipped the rest of the bottle slowly, feeling distinctly seedy, but not like she was going to be sick. And as for joining Jay for his morning swim...no bloody way was she swimming naked with him in the hotel pool. She'd shut herself in the shower and lock the door so he couldn't walk in. He might like wandering around with everything hanging out, but she had higher standards.

Her headache ebbed away slowly, until the weak sunlight filtering through the blinds no longer seared her eyes. When Xan felt halfway human again, she heaved herself out of bed, grabbed her overnight bag from the dresser, and headed for the bathroom.

She stood under the spray for ages, luxuriating in the unlimited, high-pressure, hot water, so unlike the eco-friendly facilities back at the resort. Well, those in the staff accommodation, at least – she knew the villas had much better bathrooms than this one, though the main hotel rooms were probably on a par with this. No surprises there, seeing as Steve had refurbished these rooms with the same contractors that Meier had used for the island. Yet another small town thing.

Reluctantly, she shut off the water and towelled herself dry. Just as she hung up the towel, she heard a door slam. Jay returning, she guessed, hurrying to dress in case he burst into the bathroom. She had locked the door, but it wasn't exactly a super-secure deadlock.

Sure enough, Jay knocked on the door. "You decent in there? Or getting into your bathers so you can join me for a swim? I'm done, but I'll go down again if you want the company. The pool's colder than the lagoon, by the way."

"I'm always decent," Xan called back, pulling her t-shirt over her head. She reached for the door handle and hesitated. "What about you?" The last thing she needed was to get an eyeful of Jay's nude body first thing in the morning. Watching him swim naked in the lagoon was one thing, but in this hotel room, it'd be much more intimate.

"Nope!" he replied. "Rock stars are born to be indecent. Goes with the territory."

Xan took a deep breath, opened the door and strode out, fixing her gaze on the ceiling. "Can you put a towel on or something and let me know when it's safe to look?"

Jay laughed. "You're not this squeamish most mornings. And yes, I've got a towel round me. Happy now?"

Xan risked a glance. "You're wearing board shorts! I thought you said you weren't decent?"

"I'm not. But their pool is colder than the lagoon, like I said, and there's a difference between swimming naked in the lagoon on your own private island and skinnydipping in someone else's hotel pool."

Maybe Jay did have a little common decency, after all. Not that Xan intended to tell him. "I'd have thought you'd like having a new audience to show off to."

"Not the audience I had in mind. It's not as much fun unless the audience appreciates your performance." Jay's grin turned wicked.

"I'm sure all the other hotel guests wouldn't have minded waking up to a naked rock star outside their window," Xan said.

Jay shrugged. "Probably not. You don't."

Xan saw red. "How many times have I told you to put something on in the mornings? Maybe I just got sick of wasting my breath."

"Maybe. Doesn't explain why you still watch me swim, every morning."

Xan turned away, hoping to hide her flushed face. He could see her through her kitchen window as clearly as she saw him?

"I'll go see about that room service, then I'd like to take a shower. You'll be done in the bathroom by then, yeah?" Jay tossed over his shoulder before he closed the door behind him.

Xan sank onto the bed, her head in her hands as her headache returned with a vengeful stab. She knew she shouldn't watch her boss swim his perfectly sculpted body past her window every morning, but it's not like she was peeping through his bedroom window to see him naked. He put everything on very public display in the island's lagoon, where anyone walking past could see him!

When she got home, she resolved, she'd have her morning coffee at the kitchen table in future, with her back turned firmly to the window.

She noticed her phone blinking, meaning it had received a message. Sure enough it had – a text message from Jerome, apologising for last night and asking to meet her for breakfast this morning. Not bloody likely. Xan stabbed her finger at the delete button, feeling a peculiar satisfaction as Jerome's words vanished. Good riddance.

Jay burst back into the room, grinning. "Room service has arrived!" He carried a tray loaded with more food and drink than two people could eat. Definitely more than Xan could eat.

"I don't want anything," she said. If Jerome's message hadn't made her feel sick, her hangover definitely did.

Jay set the tray down on the table by the window. Overlooking the pool, damn it, as if to continue mocking her. "You want the rest of my hangover cure, don't you?" he coaxed. "I mean, after dancing on the tables, accepting my marriage proposal and then having wild sex with me all night, you've got to have a hangover."

"I didn't drink that much, and I've never danced on a table in my life." Xan said. "Cut the bullshit, Jay."

He sighed. "Well, I tried. Another time, maybe. But my hangover cure's gold, and it only works if you follow all the steps. That means breakfast."

Her head throbbed. "If I eat anything, I'll only bring it back up," Xan said. "I might manage a black coffee. But that's it."

"I'll make a bet with you. You try my rock star hangover cure, and if it works, I win."

"You win what?" Xan asked.

"If you lose your hangover by the time we check out, you'll dance with me at Angel's wedding."

"And if I throw up?"

Jay frowned. "Dunno. What do you want from me, Xan?"

"If I win, you stop swimming naked past my kitchen window," Xan said. If he removed temptation altogether, she'd never have to look at it.

He shrugged. "If that's what you want. You won't win, anyway." He lifted a frosty glass jug and poured two tall glasses of something pink and icy, before handing one glass to her. "Deal. Drink up."

Gingerly, Xan accepted the glass. "What is it?"

"Iced watermelon juice. The secret cure to all hangovers," Jay said smugly. "Ask the chefs at the resort. It was my standing breakfast order, when I first arrived, and after Phuong...yeah. Then. They're talking about adding it as a permanent item to the room service menu next season. Calling it the rock star detox or something." He chugged down half his glass, looking expectantly at her over the rim.

Xan sighed. Oh well, if she was going to be sick anyway, at least she'd get something out of the deal. She took a cautious sip, then a second one. It wasn't half bad.

Jay wasn't even watching. He threw himself on his bed, remote control in hand, and clicked on the TV to the morning news.

With his attention elsewhere, Xan poured herself a second glass of juice, feeling her headache finally retreating.

"See? It works," Jay said softly.

So he hadn't been ignoring her after all. So much for the end of temptation. "I'm not dancing on a table," she said.

"The dance floor's fine by me," Jay replied, uncovering the rest of their breakfast tray. "Now, how do you feel about pancakes?"

Xan eyed the fluffy stack, topped with berries and what looked like maple syrup. To her surprise, her stomach rumbled with hunger. "Optimistic."

"Good. Because I wanted the eggs." Jay grabbed the other plate, piled high with protein, and proceeded to dig in.