Although Cal had hoped that all the contractors would be off the site before he and Lucy arrived at the Calypso on the morning of Tuesday the twenty-first of April, he had been realistic. After all, he had been expecting a great deal from them, cramming at least two months of work into just over a fortnight.
He’d noted the lone painter’s pickup truck as the black limousine he’d hired entered the driveway of the fourteen-story hotel off Main Beach Parade, the major street along the parallel coastline. While he couldn’t see the owners of the vehicle, he hoped they were inside finishing up the last of their tasks, so that there wouldn’t be any issues with the placement of internal or external furnishings. After today, they had one final day as a grace period before the public would arrive and inundate the rejuvenated building.
As instructed, the chauffeur parked the luxury car just outside the shaded awning of the hotel’s grand porte-cochere. Once Cal had exited the limo, he held the door open for Lucy to do the same and then they both stepped back to admire the striking view before them.
The entire facade of the Calypso had been modernized. It’s once colorfully bright paint job had been replaced with a clean, classy ivory complemented by royal blue accentuating necessary design lines. The previously shabby sign on top of the elegant porte-cochere had been completely redesigned in the new colors the Insight Marketing team had chosen to match the Calypso’s fresh family-friendly persona and was outlined with neon tube lighting. The crisp whites, ocean blues and sparse beach yellows gave the complex a fashionable, inviting feel. Cal was certain, once lit up for the evening, the development would look just as impressive in the night.
“Wow.” Lucy’s gasp of admiration mirrored his own feelings perfectly.
Glancing in her direction, he grasped onto her hand as the limo’s chauffeur retrieved their luggage from the trunk. “A little different from the last time you were here, isn’t it?”
She nodded, but didn’t take her gaze from the impressiveness of the Calypso’s welcoming entry.
“Come on, let’s—” Cal began, before noticing Paul dash out of the sliding glass doors at the entrance and hurry toward them.
Although his large blue eyes and thick head of dark, possibly dyed, hair gave him a youthful appearance, Cal knew the older man was nearing sixty. He was positively beaming, his smile nearly splitting his face, as he rushed over to greet them in his pristine black suit, white business shirt and royal blue tie. Seeing the elation in Paul’s eyes, Cal found himself grinning like an excited child again. The man was almost kin to both him and Lucy. He had witnessed them grow up and had regularly been present for some of the most enjoyable times in both their lives. Until now, thinking of how many years it had been since he’d last seen Paul in person, Cal hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed his quasi-uncle.
“Mr. Gillies?” Lucy posed the surprised greeting as a question.
Slowing as he neared her, Paul opened his arms and dragged Lucy into a tight hug. “Little Lucy,” he sighed nostalgically. “When did you get so tall?”
Lucy laughed. “I’m sure it’s just the high heels.”
Chuckling, Paul released her, but kept his hands on her shoulders. “It’s so good to see you.” He glanced at Cal, his affectionate grin tugging at Cal’s heartstrings. “Both of you. It’s been too long.”
He enveloped Lucy into a second cuddle, before releasing her again and wrapping his arms around Cal for a brief, but very warm, masculine embrace. As the two men let go of each other and stepped back, Cal noticed the light glistening of unshed tears in the hotel manager’s eyes.
“It’s Paul now,” Paul said, glancing at Lucy. “No more Mr. Gillies, can I please have an ice-cream? Or Mr. Gillies, can we please use the inflatable tires for the pool? It’s just Paul, okay?”
Lucy giggled and then reached out to rub Paul’s upper arm tenderly. “Of course, Paul,” she agreed. “We’re family after all.”
Appearing very pleased with that announcement, Paul nodded and then took Lucy’s hand, before linking her arm in the crook of his. He gently patted the back of her hand as his expression filled with excitement. “I can’t wait to show you what a wonderful job the contractors have done inside. You’re both going to love it!”
As Paul led Lucy toward the Calypso’s entrance, Cal followed close behind them, a stupidly happy smile still spreading his lips. His heart hadn’t felt so full, his chest so light, in such a long time. His plans for the Calypso were travelling well, his efforts to save the beloved building were actually paying off, and the love of his life was about to spend the next few days enjoying the coastal lifestyle of the sunny Gold Coast with him. It seemed as though life was finally starting to go his way.
***
Arms wide in a starfish style, Lucy let herself fall backward into the cloud-like embrace of the brand-new bed. She had just left Cal in the hallway, promising to meet him outside their rooms in an hour to continue on to dinner. The day had been a lengthy one, but it had been a wonderful experience overall.
It may have taken hours, but Paul had finally finished showing them the extent of the improvements that had been made to the Calypso. Besides the stunning changes to the outside of the building and the enticing facade, the whole inside of the establishment had been painted, cleaned, and decorated to match the newly chosen crisp beach theme.
To Lucy’s delight, there was no longer a bar lounge adjacent to the spacious reception desk, which was set to receive a collection of plush, midnight blue sofas in the morning. Instead, the bar had been completely removed and a big game room with pale blue walls had been created. She’d become even more excited once she’d seen that the space was already decked out with numerous modern arcade games, a regular red slate pool table, an air hockey table, and a foosball table. It looked like the average kid’s dream playroom and suited the big kid in her just fine. If she was lucky, maybe she’d be able to challenge Cal to a game of car racing on the driving machine during their stay.
Once all three of them had moved into the Great Hall where so many of Toby’s interesting childhood plays had debuted, Lucy appreciated just how much had been achieved with its revamp. The Insight Marketing team had spent a great deal of time heavily promoting the unappreciated area as a suitable space for extravagant weddings and business seminars alike and had managed to create a huge public interest. Walking inside, Lucy could see the fruition of their vision. Where she clearly remembered short, narrow maroon drapes hanging in front of the tall windows that overlooked the flower garden outside, she now saw spectacular silk, iceberg white curtains cascading to the floor. Even the carpet of the sizeable function area had changed and become uniform with the rest of the new design, blossoming from a dark red and dull gold pattern to blue and silver hues. Touched by the magnificence of the room, Lucy looked forward to seeing the Great Hall in its element once again with its brand-new tables and chairs full of cheerful guests.
After wandering through the hotel, noting that the majority of the internal and external furnishings had been added and finalized, Paul had proudly offered to escort them around the rest of the hotel’s grounds to show them the extent of the landscaping that had been completed the day earlier. As they’d exited the building, the painter and his young female apprentice, who had been finishing the last of the painting in the back-of-house staff area, had waved to them on their own way out. Appearing relieved, Cal had grabbed an affectionate hold of Lucy’s hand again and had continued to follow Paul outside. It was as they stepped out into the warm sunlight that the child in Lucy’s heart fell in love with the Calypso’s pool all over again.
It had been the last of the more extravagant changes and it had been completely redesigned. The kidney-shaped in-ground pool was at the beach-side of the complex and had always been relatively ordinary—but that description no longer applied. At one end, a large circular area had been added to incorporate a spa, while at the other, a huge section of the lawn had been dug out to lengthen it into a tropical, free form shape. As Paul had mentioned to them previously, landscaping around the entire pool had already been laid, including a small, rocky waterfall in the far corner and an arrangement of short palm trees, Hawaiian hibiscus shrubs, and giant, spiky green agaves lining the tiled edge.
Paul had been quick to lead them closer, across the stylish grey and teak sandstone tiles that surrounded the pool and the courtyard area. As they’d gazed down at the empty inner section, he’d explained that it had been set with a cement and quartz mixture called Quartzon, which had created a strong finish to the design and which would sparkle beneath the water in the sunlight. Although it was yet to be filled, with that task having already been organized for tomorrow, the Calypso’s contemporary-looking pool appeared to Lucy to be an idyllic, tropical escape for any happy family, fun-loving child, or affectionate couple. Excited by the opportunity of a late-night swim, she’d mentally added it to her list of things to talk Cal into while she was there.
When their excursion of the complex finally came to an end, it seemed obvious to both her and Cal that things were on track for the grand re-opening. There were only a few items, including the outdoor furniture, the reception’s sofa set, a second batch of new bed linen, and the embroidered bath and beach towels, that remained and all were supposed to be delivered and arranged the next day. Lucy just couldn’t believe how much her once beloved holiday resort had transformed in the last few weeks. All their hard work and long hours and that of all the diligent contractors, had paid off and created the wonderfully, picturesque creation that was the Calypso.
Still reclining on the hotel bed, her eyes closed as her mind raced over the events of the day, Lucy sighed contentedly. It felt incredible to be back in one of her favorite places in the world and to be sharing the experience with the man she loved—even if she wasn’t quite ready to admit that to him yet.
Even though Cal had done his best to convince her, less than forty-eight hours ago, to give their blossoming romantic relationship a chance, neither of them had pushed the boundaries to take things to the next level. Whether it was out of fear—for her especially—or because Cal didn’t want to pressure her, Lucy was especially grateful for the time they’d had to relax into their new relationship. It had given her a chance to accept her feelings for him and time for their physical mannerisms to develop organically into something comforting and loving, rather than purely lustful.
Her turquoise-blue eyes snapped open at the thought. She couldn’t deny that, more often than not, her thoughts of Cal were full of desire and longing. Touching him, even when her hand sat snug in his, was enough to send delicious tingling sensations throughout her body. She ached for him to make love to her, to touch her deeply, intimately and they had come very close a couple of times. Yet, Lucy was still thankful that they hadn’t yet taken that final step. Although she was already aware of just how dearly she loved him and that her naïve heart had welcomed him back with open veins, she was still terrified of how much that love would overwhelm her, would consume her once they’d slept together. If he didn’t already possess all of her now, her mind, heart, body, and soul, then he definitely would once she’d felt him at home inside her. The thought almost petrified her. She had never loved anyone that much, but knew deep in her very being, that Cal was the one. The one who could give her everything she’d ever wanted and needed, the one who could love her as whole-heartedly and unconditionally as she would love him. Or the one who could destroy her, who could use her, take everything from her, who could break her heart into irreparable pieces and leave her to live alone, empty and despairing.
Even though Lucy had tried, she could never forget the pain he’d inflicted upon her all those years ago. He had broken her heart so deeply that, for a time, she’d actually thought that she’d never be able to love again. But she’d been wrong. She’d always loved Cal; she’d never stopped loving him. Yet, still she wanted him to understand what had happened, needed him to know what he’d done to hurt her so severely that she would want to hide from him, to stay away from him for fourteen long years. It still seemed to elude him and so she avoided bringing it up. She wanted to give him another chance, she really did, but everything, all of it, her love for him, the love he said he had for her, none of it would be enough without that final piece of the puzzle. Lucy needed him to understand the agony that had consumed her back then, so that he would never ever hurt her in that way again.
Another sigh rattled free of her lips, this time full of fear, desperation, and hope. Her chest felt tight and her eyes had widened. As the feelings overcame her again, Lucy sat up, making the firm mattress bounce beneath her with the rapid movement. She took a few steadying breaths and then forced her stiff limbs to relax.
She had to give Cal a chance, had to give the obvious chemistry they had together an opportunity to bloom. He was the one for her, her other half—she knew it, he knew it, and her heart would not let her forget it. As Cal had told her, there was no point in fighting it any longer. It seemed that her destiny had finally caught up to her—and her fourteen years of freedom, of fighting against her fate, had reached their conclusion. Fear or no fear, she owed it to herself to take this leap.
Having calmed herself and become resignedly determined, Lucy reached for the black handbag that had been brought up and left beside the bed with the rest of her luggage. Grabbing her mobile phone, she pressed the power button at the bottom to ignite the screen. Seventeen missed calls and five text messages greeted her. All appeared to be from Trent. Not wanting to deal with the jealous, supercilious, and domineering subject matter that was sure to be in all of them, Lucy resorted to the only thing she thought suitable. With a few, quick taps to the screen, she blocked his number. Whatever Trent needed to share with her that was work related, he could pass through Steph or Julia, otherwise he could keep his personal opinions, accusations, and desires to himself.
After placing her phone on the royal blue bedspread beside her open handbag, Lucy stood up and lifted her purple travel suitcase off the floor and laid it on the mattress. She undid the zip around the bag’s edge and then flipped open the top to look inside at its contents. Gazing down at the neatly packed clothes, underwear and toiletry bags, Lucy gnawed at her lower lip.
Where had Cal said they were going to eat again?
Did she dress up, dress down, or cover up? Although her acutely active libido would be begging for her to jump his bones as soon as she saw him, Lucy was pretty sure that tonight, both of them were too tired, if not completely wrecked by the extent of the day’s events, to enjoy that experience. After all, when it did happen, it would be their first time together, and that, to Lucy, meant it needed to be special.
***
“Are you freakin’ serious?” Steph’s voice shrieked out of the smartphone’s speaker. “How come I wasn’t invited? I’d totally put my hand up to date Cal if it meant I got to go to Dreamworld.”
“Um, excuse me.” The unimpressed tones of Mia’s voice piped up in the background of the call. “First of all, you’ve already got me remember? Your girlfriend? And secondly, if anyone is being invited to Dreamworld it’s me.”
Lucy laughed. “Maybe next time. After today, I think I’ve had my fill of junk food and theme park rides for a while.” The groans that answered her on the other end of the line were enough to have her burst into laughter once more. “Okay. Okay. Maybe we have to make a long weekend of it one day?”
There was a loud cheer, most likely from Steph, before Mia spoke again.
“Put her on loudspeaker.”
After a short beep, everything on Steph and Mia’s end of the line began to sound louder.
“Luce, hon, how’re you going?” Mia’s tone had become sweet and sincere.
Lucy smiled, feeling comforted and appreciative of her friend’s concern. She knew that both Steph and Mia had been apprehensive about her trip to the Gold Coast with Cal. While they had wanted her to get to know him better and give him an opportunity to show her his true colors and how much he’d matured, they were still aware of how much he was capable of hurting her. Lucy knew that it had been difficult enough for them to hold back their protective instincts when she and Cal had been just down the road from them. But now, only two states away, she was sure it must have been harder. Although they did have their differences at times, they had become as important to her as Maddy, as close to her as sisters. She loved them and would always be grateful to have them watching out for her.
“All good,” Lucy told them, making sure they could hear the certainty in her tone. “I’ve loved seeing the Calypso being reborn. It looks amazing and has already been booked out for the next few months. Cal and Paul are ecstatic. I think they’ll reach Cal’s target, no trouble.”
There was a squeal and Steph chuckled.
“As you can probably tell,” Steph said almost matter-of-factly, “Mia is very happy to hear that news.”
“We are so staying there when all this is over,” Mia told them excitedly. “Girls’ weekend. Dreamworld weekend!”
Lucy giggled. “Sounds like a plan, Mia.” Then she paused and thought about the question that had been bothering her for the last few days. “So, is everything okay back there? Has anything happened with Trent?”
“Not real—” Steph began, but Mia cut her off.
“He’s just being an asshole as usual.”
Lucy swallowed. “But, he’s okay? He hasn’t been too upset?”
Mia scoffed and Steph spoke over her.
“He’s fine. A bit grumpy, but otherwise he seems himself. He acted like a tool, Luce, don’t feel bad about cutting him off. I’ve already tried to explain things to him myself, but he wants none of it. I guess it’ll just take some time for him to come to terms with the fact that it’s not going to happen between the two of you.”
“Thanks,” Lucy said, nodding in response to Steph’s explanation and as a way of reassuring herself. “I guess I’m just dreading having to face him when I get back to work.”
“Don’t worry, babe,” Mia chirped. “We’ve got your back.”
Lucy smiled at the amusing, but kind sentiment.
“Anyway, enough Trent, more Cal. What have the two of you been up to while you’ve been away? Anything naughty happen that you feel desperate to get off your chest?”
“Mia,” Steph scolded her girlfriend.
“What?” Mia’s tone was all sweetness and innocence. “I’m allowed to ask.”
“Sorry, Luce.” Steph’s apology was almost a grumble.
Chuckling again, Lucy answered appropriately. “Well, yesterday we went on a day trip to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and then to Mount Tamborine for the afternoon. It was a tour through one of the companies we’d organized to be affiliated with the Calypso so that our clients would get great discounted deals, especially for families. Cal and I had a lot of fun. He got attacked by Lorikeets during one of the bird feeding sessions at the wildlife park and I got a bit freaked out because of the height of the Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk.”
Laughter filled the line before Steph answered.
“That’s great, Lucy-cakes.” Steph sounded very pleased with Lucy’s safe response. “And I’m thrilled that the arrangement Insight Marketing made with Coastal Tours and the like on behalf of the Calypso has worked out so well. Hopefully that will be yet another way to entice customers.”
“Hopefully that will be yet another way to entice customers,” Mia said in a fast, high-pitched tone as she mimicked her partner. “We get it, Lucy, the Gold Coast is super fun. Now, get to the juicy stuff—has Cal proposed?”
“Ugh,” Steph grunted in disappointment. “Mia, babe, cool it. It’s early days.”
Lucy fought back another laugh. “If he had, Mia,” she told her decisively, “I would have started the phone call with that news.”
***
Cal was lying in bed in his private room at the Calypso, alone—again. Four nights had passed since he and Lucy had arrived at the hotel and six had passed since he’d convinced her to give their romantic relationship a shot. It had been killing him to wait, to keep his desire for her under control, but he’d had to. He’d needed to be on his game when they’d first arrived, to be prepared for anything and everything that could have happened leading up to the Calypso’s re-opening. It was important for him to stay on task, not just for the complex and all its wonderful, loyal staff, but for the fond memories it held of his childhood and for his father’s legacy. He’d had to be certain that everything moved smoothly and as planned so that they could be sure to make the same weekly profit as Hawthorne Incorporated’s famous resort in Sydney.
But, it was now after ten on Saturday night and he and the Calypso had survived three whole days of being inundated with new—and old—cheerful clients who were more than delighted to see the changes and improvements that had been made. So far, the grand re-opening had been a success. Even though he hadn’t yet done the sums or fully discussed the issue with Paul, Cal was almost certain that they had already exceeded the amount he’d needed to produce to secure the property within Hawthorne Incorporated’s portfolio. Although he didn’t want to jinx anything, he was beginning to feel more at ease with what had been achieved and was starting to trust that everything would succeed as he’d hoped.
With that weight lightening, Cal’s thoughts had turned back to Lucy and his yearning to show her just how much he needed her in his life. It had been an incredible couple of weeks. Cal hadn’t realized just how marvelous things could be without the constant shadow of secrets around them. Now that Lucy was no longer hiding from him, now that they could visit Madison and Rob, even Toby, together without their friends and family members feeling obliged to keep things from each of them, their lives had become that much simpler.
Of course, there was still one thing that grated on him, one thing that he still couldn’t figure out, one secret Lucy still would not spill—how he had hurt her all those many years before. It bothered him more than he wanted to admit to himself that he still couldn’t work out what he’d done to injure her so deeply.
Fourteen years ago, he’d been consumed with thoughts of her, he’d wanted her to be his, wanted them to date, to make love, to be together forever. But, he’d been terrified that she’d reject him, that she’d say no, that he’d lose, not only the love of his life, but also his best friend. At that time, in his ignorant youth, he just hadn’t been brave enough to take that risk. Instead, he’d been weak and had tried to hide his feelings for her in the empty relationships he’d developed with her friends. He wanted her to see that he was happy, to conceal any hint of romantic feeling toward her so that he didn’t scare her away, so she didn’t leave him. But that had done the complete opposite and she had still left him, anyway.
Tearing his thoughts away from the painful memory, Cal focused back on their progress, on the new romantic relationship that they were building together. They had both slotted so neatly back into their natural affection for each other, their innate chemistry, a more normal way of life, that Cal couldn’t understand how they’d managed before—or how he could ever endure something so horrifically agonizing again. Now that Lucy was back in his life, Cal intended to keep her there and he would do whatever was necessary to ensure that they remained together forever.
In the dark room, Cal stretched an arm above the covers and over to the far side, the empty side of the bed. He caressed the soft cotton, silently wishing Lucy would materialize beneath his fingertips. Sighing disappointedly, Cal moved his arm back and interlocked his fingers over the muscles of his naked chest. He stared at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting back to the blissful moments he had already spent in Lucy’s embrace.
Tomorrow, he thought to himself.
Tomorrow would be different. Tomorrow, he would focus all his attention on Lucy and do his best to win her whole heart—and, at the very same time, he would bare all of his to her.