Unfortunately Olivia wasn’t going to Ko Lanta to admire the verdant beauty of the island or to absorb the sun’s brilliant rays. Her remit was to meet with Zeb. Yet the anticipation refused to recede completely, still fizzed defiantly in her tummy. Worst of all, she had the feeling that the reason for its existence wasn’t the hotness of her destination—it was more to do with the hotness of her travelling companion.
She eyed Adam across the aisle of the private jet and felt heat seep into her skin; embarrassment still fresh over the whole crazy hot-and-heavy interlude in his limo. The only saving grace was that she’d stopped it. On the verge of what had promised to be the mother of all orgasms.
Yay. Nice timing, Liv.
Served her right. Shame twisted her tummy at the memory of herself straddling him in the back of a car, Adam’s hand up her skirt, the plea in her voice as she’d begged him for release.
Double yay!
This whole overwhelming attraction was so confusing. All she’d wanted to offer Adam was solace—not a quickie in the back of his car. Mind you, looking at him now, she had no idea how she had dared even to offer him comfort, let alone anything else. The past few hours Adam had been utterly unapproachable, a veritable machine of efficiency while she’d run around sorting out cover for her work for a week. But the man who had confided in her, the man who had kissed her senseless and nearly robbed her of every last vestige of control had vanished.
Which was a good thing.
The sigh she emitted was way too loud; Adam looked up from his laptop.
‘Is there something you need?’
‘Nope. I’m fine.’
‘Good.’
His attention was diverted straight back to the screen and a thoroughly irrational annoyance sparked inside her. If he’d deigned to tell her more about Zeb a little bit earlier instead of clinging to his stupid belief that she was a billionaire-bagger, maybe she might have had more time to prepare for this trip. Plus, how come he got to sit there all cool and collected whilst she sat here reliving the scene in the limo?
She sighed again, even louder, and tapped her nails against the table in a deliberate beat.
‘Olivia. If there is a problem please feel free to share. What is it?’
‘I was just wondering why you insisted I take a week off.’ An outright fib, but she didn’t care. It might be childish but she wanted him distract him.
‘Because it makes sense. Zeb comes and goes as he pleases. He only got to Ko Lanta a couple of days ago, so he should still be there. But if he’s moved on we’ll need to track him. It’s not worth the risk of losing him again.’
Her sigh was genuine this time; Zeb wasn’t exactly turning out to be the kind of man she had envisaged when she’d embarked on this search.
Though, come to think of it, Adam still hadn’t told her much about Zeb at all, really. A sideways glance confirmed that he had returned his attention to his laptop and clearly figured their conversation to be closed. His expression was shuttered, his forehead creased in a frown of concentration.
Olivia hauled in breath. Well, tough. They would be in Thailand soon, and she’d be meeting Zeb shortly after. Surely she was entitled to some information about the man?
‘Adam?’ she said.
‘Yes?’
Impatience tinged the air as he looked up and Olivia stiffened her spine.
‘Could you tell me something more about Zeb?’
‘More?’ Dark eyebrows rose, for all the world as if he’d already given her a three-tome biography of Zeb. ‘There isn’t any more to tell.’
‘Sure there is. So far all I’ve got is a man who wanders the world and has no wish to settle down.’
‘What else do you need to know?’
Olivia shrugged. ‘Well, what sort of father was he?’ She hesitated. ‘I noticed you didn’t mention him in your speech, and...’ And, man, she was an idiot. The penny plummeted down. ‘That’s why your mother brought you up on your own. Zeb didn’t stick around.’
Adam’s lips set in a grim line before he let out a whoosh of air and leant back, pushing his laptop back. ‘No, he didn’t,’ he said.
Compassion, confusion and anger threaded through her. ‘And you didn’t think to mention this earlier?’
‘No, I didn’t.’
Keep calm, Liv. ‘Care to expand on your reasoning?’
‘Sure. Zeb walked away when my mum told him she was pregnant. Thirty years ago. Doesn’t mean he’d do the same now. Plus, when Mum found out how ill she was she hired a PI to track him down. Zeb turned up a few weeks after the funeral and took me with him on his travels.’