Page 15 of Duty and Desire

I was on a mission.

Chapter Six

April 7

Nick

“Have I told you how good it is to see you?” Except it was better than good. Claudia seemed to time her visits perfectly, as though she’d known I needed a dose of her.

I was way overdue for my medication.

Claudia raised her glass, and we clinked. “To reunions.” She grinned. “And better weather to enjoy them in.”

I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her until her message arrived to say she was on the plane from Tahiti.

Claudia’s coming.That had put a bounce in my step, and more light in my day.

I wasn’t unhappy on the island, far from it. I’d chosen to live there after a vacation one summer while I was at university. Claudia and I had been enraptured by the place, and when I’d decided to make a change, it was the first location that had come to mind.

Maybe I’d exaggerated about needing a visit. My life was fine, if a little lonely at times. The work counteracted that, but doing jobs forpeople only served to bring me into contact with them. As for the island’s inhabitants, I had acquaintances and few friends, and right then I needed a friend.

She smiled. “I figured it was time I checked in with you. And I had a week’s vacation coming to me, so I thought why not spend it here?”

I smirked. “You sound more and more like an American each time I see you. Are you living there permanently now?” After graduation, she’d applied for several jobs in the States. One of the companies had snapped her up in a heartbeat.

Obviously a company with sense. Claudia was intelligent, diligent, and pragmatic, an asset to any enterprise. I was biased, but we’d been friends since I was nineteen, and I’d always known she’d go far.

“I go home every three or four months. Only for short visits, mind you. That’s about all I can stand.” She tilted her head to one side. “Want to hear my news?”

“Only if it has nothing to do with home.” I gestured to our surroundings. “Is this okay?”

I was avoiding the conversation I knew was coming.

“It’s fine.” She glanced toward the rear of the bar, where Kai was busy flirting with a tall guy in long shorts and a button-down shirt. I didn’t miss the gleam of appreciation in her green eyes. Claudia inclined her head in his direction. “Who’s the hunk? And how come you’ve never brought me here before? Were you hiding him from me? Because he is quite a dish.” She widened her eyes. “Oh,Iget it. You like him. You’ve been keeping him for yourself.”

I snorted. “Hardly. He isn’t my type.” Kai was good for a laugh when I needed it, however, not to mention a cocktail or two.

She leaned back, her arm resting on the chair next to hers. “NowI remember. You had a thing for older guys. Wasn’t there a teaching assistant who caught your eye at university? And then there was that professor.” I stiffened, and she flushed. “I’m sorry. That was mean of me.”

“Yes, it was.” I didn’t want to think about my university days.

My home life had cast its shadow over my studies, and although I’d thought myself safely out of sight, I hadn’t reckoned on my father.

He saw everything, even what happened in the hallways of the University of Zurich.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I know it was a long time ago?—”

“Five years,” I interjected.

She nodded. “But it must still hurt, and I should’ve thought about that before I opened my big fat mouth.”

I fired her a warm glance. “It’s a pretty mouth, though. And most of the time what comes out of it is worth listening to, so you’re forgiven.” I took a breath. “Unless it’s something about my family.”

“They must miss you.”

I shrugged. “Fine. Let them miss me. If they want to see me, they know where I am, right?” I gestured to the bar. “Do you see them here? They haven’t once set foot on the island.” I glanced to the right and stiffened. “Then again, they don’t have to, do they?”

She expelled a sigh. “Maybe it’s time for you to go home. Even if it’s just for a short visit. You know, re-establish connections, negotiate a truce…”

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