The Rock Star's Wedding

Part 3

THREE

Xan stood by the helipad, biting her nails. She'd lost count of the number of times she'd considered calling Philly and telling her to cancel the meeting she'd asked the girl to set up. But every time, she hadn't cancelled, because she needed to get this mess sorted. She was the manager of a multi-million-dollar resort. She shouldn't want to hide under the desk every time the phone rang. What was she afraid of, after all?

Not Jerome. Not that lying, cheating, smarmy schoolteacher-in-training who'd broken off their engagement because he couldn't keep it in his pants while she was away. He should be afraid of her. After all, she kept rock star Jay Felix in check on a daily basis.

Well, mostly in check. She hadn't managed to stop him from swimming nude in the lagoon this morning, like every other morning. She'd pretty much given up on that. This morning, she'd just raised her coffee in salute to the daft bugger, watching to make sure the sharks didn't get him until he swam out of sight. Just another morning at Romance Island Resort.

And today would be just another lunch at the brewery. There'd be plenty of people she knew. The food would be wonderful, as always, and the beer would be brewed to perfection. She could only have one and still be able to drive, but she didn't want to be drunk for this meeting. Sober would be best, or nearly so. She could get drunk afterwards, if she had to. Hours afterward, when she returned to the resort, in the privacy of her unit. Or on the Penguin jetty. She'd gotten accustomed to walking out there of an evening while Jay was filming that reality TV show, and he hadn't asked her to stop when he'd returned. If anything, he seemed to welcome her company. He needed to spend more time with Penelope, his bride-to-be, or a gaggle of fans in town, like the first time she saw him. She'd still been the manager of the backpackers then, driving a vanload of guests into town for the day. How things had changed, she mused, waving to Shou as he circled his helicopter in to land.

It wasn't until he touched down on the helipad that Xan realised he had a co-pilot today. A co-pilot who jumped down from the helicopter and marched past Xan without a word, though she did wave to Shou before she disappeared through the gate.

For a moment, Xan considered chasing the girl down so she could introduce herself and demand to know her business at the resort, but she didn't have time. If she didn't fly off now, she'd miss the meeting...and she'd have to reschedule. No. She couldn't endure another day of this dread. This ends now, she told herself as she climbed into the seat behind Shou.