land. I have been there out at night and I learnt from my mistakes, ’ he added. She realized that he was talking about the wild nature and trusted him on that.
‘It is safer and more enjoyable inside our room at night, ’ he reassured Rose. They entered their allocated room and the experience of the ocean was exactly as from the game room and Rose gasped with joy. James burst out laughing with relief.
‘I knew it. You love it, ’ he said boasting with self-confidence. The room was large with a high ceiling and the floor to ceiling balcony glass doors were open letting the breeze in. Rose could identify a new fragrance to the ocean smell and she looked around to locate the cause. It was coming from the fresh flowers in the room: mint, rosemary and basil were placed strategically among the cottage flowers.
Rose’s heart was full of joy but she was worried that she appeared too sentimental if she said too much. She noticed that James was keeping an eye on her reactions again.
‘The columbines and coral bells attract the hummingbirds, ’ Rose said to James bending again to smell the fresh flowers that she was looking at. He smiled but his eyes were intense. He had 2 glasses in his hand and offered Rose one without saying a word or moving. She approached him and took the glass. His hand reached her waist and draw her closer to him. They walked together onto the balcony and silently stood there admiring the view. It was peaceful and they could hear the sound of waves.
‘Finish your drink, Rose. We have unfinished business and I want to wake up early, ’ James said sternly and avoiding her eyes.
Rose realized that he was playing again and said nothing. He turned to her and his next words found her unprepared. They touched her heart.
‘To walking into my life, ’ he toasted.
‘Same, ’ she replied pretending to be cool. She was not entirely sure about that, and wanted to say it but that would have spoiled the moment. She knew she was being too cautious. Leave it to fate girl, she reminded herself.
They made love on the balcony and then they moved to the bedroom. Rose’s body was aching at 06:00 am when the breakfast in bed arrived. James was firm and insisted that Rose had a coffee and then left the bed. He used praise and cuddles and kisses to jolly her out of it.
‘Any other man would want me in bed, ’ Rose tried to get her way around with a joke but it didn’t work.
‘I promised you time on the beach and this is the perfect time. I don’t want you to miss it, ’ James insisted. ‘Life is short, ’ James added. ‘We can sleep more tonight. Still happy to have met me? ’ he asked smiling when Rose joined him for a walk. There were beach clothes waiting for her on the bed when she finished the shower.
‘I got the essential beach clothes in a hurry. I’m not sure it’s what you like but I’m good with measurements. I think they’ll fit you as size, ’ he said. There was a one piece swimsuit, a blue floral kaftan beach cover, towels, beach bag and two pairs of shades. James was already dressed and looked very masculine.
‘I feel spoiled, ’ Rose admitted. He smiled. Rose returned back in a minute in her swimsuit and she saw that James was pleased. She hoped that it was the view not the fact that he was pleased with himself for getting the correct size. She was pleased with the swimsuit herself as it was showing off her body to her best advantage.
‘Let’s roll before I change my mind and I take you back to bed, ’ James said.
‘Sunscreen? ’ Rose reminded him.
‘Come here, ’ he said. The speed of cream application was fantastic.
‘You? ’ she asked trying to be helpful.
‘Done, ’ he said and he was at the door. Very determined man!
The beach was sandy and empty of people at this time of the day. They were the only beachcombers and had the first opportunity to look at the sea shells washed up on the beach: coral pieces and various shells.
James was patient with Rose and even taught her their various names: the clam shells and the chiton and the snail. The cidaroid sea urchin was the most spectacular, thought Rose. She was about to reach for another shell when James stopped her from touching it. It was a beautiful shell shaped as a cone but James said that it was a dangerous one. He rang the club to report the shell and told Rose that the staff from the club usually came to the beach in the morning and removed the dangers such as this.
‘Are there any other dangers? ’ Rose asked.
‘No need to worry. Life is full of danger but awesome anyway, ’ James said.
They walked along the beach hand in hand and then they chase each other for a bit of fun and exercise. They collected more shells; more precisely James helped Rose to carry them. He even came prepared with a plastic bag, anticipating the event. James had a swim in the sea but Rose was content to watch him. It was a bit cold so early in the morning.
They drove home after lunch and some more bed exercise.
‘You know a lot about the ocean life, ’ Rose said to James on their way back.
‘Just enough for survival in the Aussie outback, ’ he said. ‘Nature is harmless if you respect its rules, ’ James added.
‘Rules? ’
‘Like everything in life, Rose, ’ he murmured.
‘Like staying in the house at night and not touching the cone shells? ’ Rose said.
‘That’s some of them, ’ James replied grinning. ‘Is that a complaint? ’ He asked playfully.
‘No sir!’ Rose said cheerfully.
‘I’ll show you some more, ’ he promised and Rose knew the meaning of that. They smiled at each other. They were content, Rose thought, and as soon as they got home James took Rose to bed again. Life was simple and beautiful again! Rose was following fate, she told herself. She was aching all over and still she could not take her hands off him so she thought that they needed some geographical separation.
‘Aren’t you inviting me to stay? ’ He said.
‘I thought that you had a busy week, ’ Rose replied.
‘That’s what I tell people that I try to avoid, ’ he replied back.
‘Good one. I’ll have to remember that!’ Rose said.
He laughed and then said: ‘I’ll actually be busy next week; out of city on a business trip. Take care, Rose, ’ he said when he left.
Rose was hoping that she did not hurt his feelings but she was not ready to give up totally on her independence.
Driving away James recalled the incident at the party the night before. He managed to obtain the name of the guest after bribing one of the staff members at the hotel. He had no doubt that it was more than admiration in his glare targeted at Rose and James was not sure if Rose was actively involved or just a victim. In some way James was surprised as it was supposed to be a small party and he brought Rose as companion not for observation. He asked himself if he missed any communication between Rose and that man during that night. He now had to place some surveillance on the man. Wait till I tell the boss, James thought. He’s going to be furious if he finds out about me and Rose, so I better leave that out of the picture for the moment.
James was following Rose’s movements since her arrival in Australia and found nothing suspicious so far. No one had tried to approach her either. That is, until last night. He was sure about that but he realized that emotionally he was getting very close to Rose and wondered if that was actually becoming an obstruction for his job. From what he started to learn about her she could be whatever she chose to be. But there was something about Rose that suggested a good, friendly and caring nature.
The Right Tools
Rose went and checked her answering machine for messages from her grandma. Letitia was in good shape but people die suddenly all the time. No bad news there. She then checked the house for signs of intrusion in her short absence. Rose did not know why but she did. Nothing there either. Fate!
Rose had no pets yet and as she was not planning to stay more than January she thought that it would have been inappropriate to take one. She was pretty lonely when she was at home. She needed a
project, she thought. Maybe do some volunteer work at the club or at the vet. Or enroll in a new course. Or maybe just finish cleaning the house: a huge project by itself if taken seriously.
As Rose was reflecting on this she was changing her clothes and cleaning her handbag. She called it a clean but this business consisted of transferring main items in the everyday bag. Things like mobile phone, money, paper tissues…She was in the process of doing this when she discovered a bulging envelope that was filled with money. Rose did not know when it was placed there but she suspected the person was James again. The first time that happened was after that game organized by him about a month ago. It was becoming now a pattern and Rose started to worry about the implications: legal and otherwise.
Of course it was a nice addition to the money she was receiving from the lawyers and it was keeping her comfy but she dreaded the possible painful consequences that she was exposing herself to.
She was making herself a cup of coffee when the phone rang and her neighbor Adele asked if she can come and visit. Two minutes after that Adele was seated at Rose’s table and the two of them were having a lovely chat about their weekend experiences. Adele taught history at the university and in her spare time she traveled a lot. She was now working part time and planning a trip to New Zealand.
As they were waiting for the coffee Rose’s front door bell rang and she went to open the door. Adele chose that moment