something disturbing start to uncoil inside her at the mere memory, and she shivered uneasily.
The truth was that she was more afraid of that feeling than of the cockroach coming back.
And there was no point going there, she reminded herself sternly. This should have been Tom’s wedding day, remember? It should have been Julia standing here, feeling her skin tingle with that heady mixture of sea water and slightly too much sun.
Imogen was fairly sure that Julia wouldn’t have screamed at the sight of a cockroach. Or, if she had, she wouldn’t have stood there stark naked while those glacial grey eyes swept over her.
But then, of course, Julia would be used to Tom looking at her, Imogen reflected glumly as she dressed. In fact, Julia wouldn’t have been showering alone, would she? Tom would have been in there with her, and they would have been too busy making love under that glorious cascade of water to notice a whole parade of cockroaches.
Imogen’s cheeks burned at the thought. How awful for Tom to see her instead of Julia at every turn, to have come face to face with his naked PA, whose body could most kindly be described as curvaceous, instead of Julia’s slender, perfect beauty. It must have been a horrible shock for him.
Still, she was glad that they had been able to laugh together like that. It felt as if everything had changed now. At least the awkwardness of finding themselves alone together had passed. Of course, there could be few things more embarrassing than your boss catching you stark naked, but there was no point in being shy after that, Imogen decided philosophically. The change in the atmosphere was worth the humiliation.
CHAPTER FIVE
IMOGEN felt quite positive as she dressed, in spite of knowing that her pale aqua sundress was a far cry from the perfect sexy, stylish outfit that Julia would inevitably have had to slip into after her shower. But it would just have to do. OK, so it looked cheap and a little crumpled in these luxurious surroundings, but it might not be a bad thing to have a reminder that she could loll all she wanted in the lagoon but she would always be out of place in these fabulous surroundings.
It wouldn’t do to start thinking that the fact that she was here with Tom was anything other than a face-saving measure. He was a successful businessman; she was a temp. He took this kind of designer luxury for granted; her style was cheap, cheery and chain-store. It would be very foolish of her to forget that.
On the other hand, since she was here, she might as well make the best of it. Now they had broken the tension with laughter, perhaps they could at least be friends for the next three weeks. She was never going to replace the svelte, sophisticated Julia, but she could be a friend, even if it was only a temporary one.
Temporary secretary, temporary friend…When would she ever settle to anything permanent? Imogen wondered wistfully.
Not until she was sure that what she had was perfect, she reminded herself firmly.
In the meantime, she was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, on an idyllic island with a man who needed a friend right now. That would be enough, she told herself.
An image of Tom in his swimming shorts flickered distractingly in her brain, but Imogen forced her mind away from thoughts of that lean, tautly muscled body.
Away from the image of his hands.
Of his mouth.
From the memory of how he had looked when he was laughing.
Friends would be enough for now.
Slipping her feet into her favourite sequinned flip-flops, Imogen went out to find Tom.
He was waiting for her on the veranda, his feet up on the railing and a beer in his hand, looking more relaxed than she had ever seen him.
‘Better?’ he asked as he saw her.
‘Much, thank you.’
Tom swung his legs down. ‘Would you like a drink?’
He made her a gin and tonic. It was deliciously cold and refreshing, and Imogen sipped it appreciatively as she leant against the railing.
It looked as if she had missed a glorious sunset while she was in the shower. She could see through the coconut palms to where the lagoon gleamed dark and still, and beyond to a vivid streak of crimson along the horizon. Unseen insects were working themselves up into a frenzy of creaking and whirring and sawing and rasping in the tangled foliage, and the air was hot and heavy with the intense scents of the tropical night.
Suddenly something swooped in front of her, and she straightened in surprise. ‘Was that a bird?’
‘A bat, I think.’
Imogen wrinkled her nose. ‘First cockroaches, now bats…Somehow this isn’t how I imagined paradise!’ she said dryly as she watched the creatures, darting and diving through the hot dark air.
‘Don’t tell me you’re afraid of bats too?’
‘Of course not,’ she said, shooting him a look. ‘I’m not afraid of cockroaches either,’ she said, not entirely truthfully. ‘I know I screamed, but it was just a shock seeing it there. I wasn’t expecting it,’ she finished lamely.
Tom looked down at his beer and reflected that he knew how she had felt. He hadn’t been expecting to see her without any clothes on either, and that had been just as much of a shock, if in a different way.
‘About earlier,’ he said abruptly. ‘I’m sorry if I embarrassed you, bursting in like that.’
‘That’s OK. I’m glad you were there. I would never have been able to scare that cockroach away by myself.’ Her smile glimmered. ‘My flamenco dancing isn’t up to much!’
The corner of Tom’s mouth lifted at the reminder of what had set them laughing. He was glad Imogen had mentioned it. When she had appeared, looking lush and glowing after her shower, her hair falling damply to her shoulders, he had wondered if the idea that had come to him while she was showering might be asking for trouble, but now the constraint had eased he decided to put it to her after all.
‘I’ve been thinking,’ he began.
‘Oh?’
He gestured around him. ‘This place…it’s much more intimate than I was expecting.’
‘It’s meant for honeymooners,’ Imogen pointed out. ‘It would be surprising if it
‘I know,’ said Tom with just a touch of his old irritability. ‘I wasn’t thinking clearly.’
‘That’s understandable,’ she said, instantly feeling guilty. ‘None of this can be easy for you.’
‘The thing is…’ Tom frowned, wondering how best to put it. ‘We’ve got three weeks here,’ he began again. ‘The chances are that we’re going to find ourselves in more embarrassing situations when there’s just the two of us.
‘I thought with it being a whole island we’d have more space,’ he tried to explain himself. It had all seemed so obvious when he was working it out in his mind, but it felt more difficult with Imogen’s eyes on his face. He was no good at this kind of stuff. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be talking about his feelings.
‘As it is, we’re going to be effectively living together for the next three weeks,’ he ploughed on. ‘That’s going to be awkward unless we agree to be…I don’t know…
‘That’s just what I was thinking,’ said Imogen eagerly.
‘I’m just not quite sure what normal is,’ confessed Tom.
‘Let’s be friends. Just temporary ones, of course,’ she added quickly in case he thought she was trying to take advantage of Julia’s departure.
‘Temporary?’
‘Well, it would be difficult to go back to working together if we were friends, wouldn’t it?’
‘Perhaps,’ he acknowledged. There was no use pretending it wouldn’t be awkward, anyway.
‘But, in any case, I’m leaving soon,’ Imogen went on, ‘so I won’t be around much longer.’
‘Leaving?’ Tom asked, startled. ‘Why?’
‘I’m going to travel,’ she said. ‘I’ve never been outside Europe before. I’ve always wanted to go to India, so I’m going to start there and make my way down through South-East Asia to Australia, and I hope that on the way I’ll
