The Bridesmaid's Baby Bump by Kandy Shepherd Page A

Eliza Dunne?’ He sounded more amused than mocking. ‘I like snorkelling and diving too. Port Douglas is the right place to come for that. All can be arranged. Do you want to start checking off your list with a swim?’
    ‘You bet.’
    He looked deep into her face. Eliza thrilled to the message in his green eyes.
    ‘The pool is very private. Swimsuits are optional.’
    Eliza smiled—a long, slow smile of anticipation. ‘Sounds very good to me.’

CHAPTER SEVEN
    E LIZA SOON REALISED that a vacation in the company of a billionaire was very different from the vacation she had planned to spend on her own. Her own schedule of playing tourist and enjoying some quiet treatments in her resort spa had completely gone by the board.
    That was okay, but she hadn’t had any time to plan her strategy to keep the company thriving without the hands-on involvement of Gemma, Crown Princess of Montovia—and that worried her. Of course Princess Gemma’s name on the Party Queens masthead brought kudos by the bucketload—and big-spending clients they might otherwise have struggled to attract. However, Gemma’s incredible skills with food were sorely missed. Party Queens was all Eliza had in terms of income and interest. She needed to give the problem her full attention.
    But Jake was proving the most enthralling of distractions.
    She had stopped insisting on paying for her share of the activities he had scheduled for her. Much as she valued her independence, she simply couldn’t afford a vacation Jake-style. Her wish to go snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef had been granted—just her and Jake on a privately chartered glass-bottom boat. Their games of golf had been eighteen holes on an exclusive private course with a waiting list for membership. Dinner was at secluded tables in booked-out restaurants.
    Not that she was complaining at her sudden elevation in lifestyle, but there was a nagging feeling that she had again allowed herself to be taken over by a man. A charming man, yes, but controlling in his own quietly determined way.
    When she’d protested Jake had said he was treating her, and wanted to make her vacation memorable. It would have seemed churlish to disagree. Just being with him was memorable enough—there was no doubt he was fabulous company. But she felt he was only letting her see the Jake he wanted her to see—which was frustrating. It was almost as if there were two different people: pre-divorce Jake and after-divorce Jake. After she’d spilled about her childhood, about her fears for the business, she’d expected some reciprocal confidences. There had been none but the most superficial.
    On the afternoon of Day Four, after a long walk along the beach followed by a climb up the steep drive back home, Eliza was glad to dive into Jake’s wet-edge pool. He did the same.
    After swimming a few laps she rested back against him in the water, his arms around her as they both kicked occasionally to keep afloat. The water was the perfect temperature, and the last sunlight of the day filtered through the palm trees. Tropical birds flew around the trees, squawking among themselves as they settled for the evening. In the distance was the muted sound of the waves breaking on the beach below.
    ‘This is utter bliss,’ she said. ‘My definition of heaven.’
    The joy in her surroundings, in him , was bittersweet as it was about to end—but she couldn’t share that thought with Jake. This was just a four-day fling.
    ‘In that case you must be an angel who’s flown down to keep me company,’ he said.
    ‘That’s very poetic of you,’ she said, twisting her head to see his face.
    He grinned. ‘I have my creative moments,’ he replied as he dropped a kiss on her forehead.
    It was a casual kiss she knew didn’t mean anything other than to signify their ease with the very satisfying physical side of this vacation interlude.
    ‘I could see you with a magnificent set of angel man wings, sprouting from your shoulder