Page 5 of Finding Cory

Chapter Three

Half an hour later, Olivia felt a good deal more human. She'd showered and washed her hair, put on the fluffy bathrobe she'd found hanging on the back of the bathroom door, and was now sorting through her suitcase rather despairingly, wondering what on earth she could wear. Everything she'd brought now looked far too formal, even though she'd selected the most "casual" items from her wardrobe before putting everything into storage back in New York.

A light tap on the door leading out to the veranda made her look up. She could only make out a vague shape through the sheer curtain. "Who is it?" she called.

"Rosie!"

Smiling, Olivia went to let her new friend in, her smile widening even further as she saw the armload of clothes Rosie was carrying. "Oh, you star. I was just wondering what to wear in order not to look completely overdressed."

Rosie smiled shyly back at her, piling the clothes on the bed. "I think you look great. Your clothes are just gorgeous."

"They are," Olivia agreed, "and they're perfect for New York City life, or even Sydney, but here on Sunfish I'll just look... I don't know. Like I think I'm better than everyone else. I want to fit in here, be part of this lovely staff-family vibe you all seem to have going on."

"You will! Everyone's really nice and welcoming. And... well, to be honest, probably falling in the harbor really helped, because now they all know a funny story about you and it'll be a good icebreaker for you to get to know everyone."

Olivia smiled wryly, choosing a pair of shorts and a flowered blouse from the pile Rosie had put down and taking them to the bathroom to dress. "And here I was thinking I'd made a disastrous first impression," she called back.

"Well"—Rosie looked at the laptop and tablet lying on a soggy towel on the desk—"I mean, it was a disaster in some ways, but in others it could be a blessing in disguise?" She looked up at Olivia as she returned from the bathroom.

"I've seen the funny side now, anyway." Olivia grinned back at her. "When Luke said he wished he'd seen it, I got a mind's-eye picture of how I must have looked and almost cracked up laughing on the spot."

"That's the spirit," Rosie said warmly. She took a pair of pink rubber flip-flops—thongs, Olivia remembered, sternly telling herself not to snicker—from the pile of clothes and held them out. "These ones are fairly new. Should last you awhile."

"I'm only borrowing these until I have a chance to go back over to Hamilton Island and go shopping," Olivia told her, accepting the shoes.

"Oh, don't. Everything there is really expensive because it's all brought in for tourists. Take the other boat over to Airlie Beach on the mainland—that one goes every day too. The supermarket is only a five-minute walk from the marina, and there are plenty of other shops too."

"That's good to know, thanks!" Olivia made a mental note to ask Luke which day she could do that. "And how about doing laundry?"

"I'll show you where the staff laundry is on the way to lunch. You ready?"

Olivia scooped her keys and access card off the desk. "I am now."

As they left the cabin, Rosie pointed to their right, away from the main resort building. "I'm in the next cabin, by the way, number 7. Jill and I share it. Suze, your roomie, is a close friend; she often comes over and hangs out with us. You're welcome too, anytime."

Olivia nodded. "Thank you," she said genuinely.

They girls turned to walk back toward the main resort, and a deep voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Well, well, it's the Little Mermaid! How's tricks, Ariel?"

Cory leaned on the veranda rail of the cabin next to her own, a broad grin on his face. Remembering the way he'd apologized to her as she left the boat, and thinking of Rosie's advice to look at the whole incident as a blessing in disguise, Olivia flipped him the bird with an answering grin. Cory laughed, vaulted easily over the rail, and fell into step beside them.

"Good to see you can laugh about it." He smiled down at Olivia. She had to fight not to be knocked sideways from the impact of his good looks again; that combined with an intoxicating, spicily masculine scent as he stood close to her made her head reel.

"I can laugh about it, but call me Ariel again andyouwon't be laughing," she said in a mock-menacing tone, narrowing her eyes at him.

Cory laughed again and nodded amiably.

Stop being nice, you're making it very hard for me to keep my mind out of your pants, Olivia thought with an internal sigh, and resolutely turned her eyes away from his chiseled, handsome features. She caught Rosie giving her a speculative look and did her best to smooth her face to neutrality.

"Cory's single, y'know," Rosie murmured as they stood in line for the lunch buffet in the staff dining room. Cory had peeled off to go speak to someone else and was thankfully out of earshot.

"Oh?" Olivia tried to keep her tone light and disinterested. "Why?" she had to ask. "I mean..."

"I know, and trust me, it's not like he doesn't get offers." Rosie gave her a conspiratorial grin. "Every week there's a few tourists trying to throw themselves at him, but Cory's not the sort to have flings." She handed Olivia a plate. "I've known him forever. We were in school together in Cairns as kids."

That explained how comfortable the pair of them seemed; they really were childhood friends. Olivia did her best to divert the subject, though. "You grew up in Cairns, so you're a North Queenslander?"

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