Maid for the Rock Star

Part 37

Thirty-Seven

Jay threw down his fork. "So, what do you want to do today?"

Audra swallowed her mouthful of muesli. "What do you mean? I'm supposed to tag along with you. I should clean the bathroom, too. After the mess last night..."

Jay waved as if he could sweep it all away. "Not your problem. I'm not staying cooped up inside. I had enough of that in hospital. Let someone else clean the damn house. Come with me to a secret beach I found at the south end of the island. You have to scramble a bit and you'd have to watch the tides because it looks like it might be cut off from the rest of the island at high tide, but it's worth it."

"But you shouldn't swim. Doctor's orders. You'll get your stitches wet."

"We won't. Last time I just took a book with me. I've read the ones you gave me, though. Is there anything else?"

Audra permitted herself a small smile. "Oh, plenty of books. I'll take you to the resort library and show you. You can pick your own then."

Jay nodded. "Sure. Can we get lunch sent down to us?"

"Can we get a room service trolley to your secret beach?"

Jay eyed the breakfast trolley doubtfully. "Don't think so. It'd probably get bogged and if it doesn't, it won't handle the rocks too well."

"Catering make up picnic baskets for day trips. People take them heli-fishing or sightseeing when they're out on a charter flight. I can pick up one of the menus on the way to the library and we can order one, if you like."

"A picnic for two, yeah? You're joining me for lunch."

"If you insist."

After stacking the breakfast dishes on the trolley, Audra found Jay pacing around the lounge room.

"Get your shoes on and let's go."

Audra balked at the note of impatience in his voice, but let it go. She'd seen the bruises hidden under his shirt and she was fairly sure she was responsible for a few fresh ones last night. He was allowed to be grumpy from the pain. She nodded, then watched in amusement as he shoved a cap on his head and put on an enormous pair of mirrored sunglasses. "You're trying to hide from people? I thought you loved the attention."

His mouth set in a grim line. "Not today."

"It's harder to smile when you're in pain. I understand."

Jay flashed a smile. "And that's why I want to spend today with you. You're the only one who does. So show me this library of yours."

Audra let Jay set the pace at a leisurely stroll and walked beside him instead of hurrying like she normally did when she was working. A pair of rainbow-coloured birds she'd never seen before flew across the path to a palm tree, where another pair screeched at the uninvited guests.

"Bloody lorikeets," Jay said. "We used to get them all the time at home. Drove me nuts early in the morning."

"Where did you grow up?"

"Perth, of course, but I had this old place in Cottesloe and they used to screech in the trees by the beach over the road. Working gigs late at night, then coming home and being woken up a couple hours later by those feathered pests almost made me want to take up shooting."

Privately, she thought they were pretty and she'd have welcomed their chirping over the neighbours screaming as they beat the shit out of each other at all hours of the day and night. Her parents might've been poor but she had nothing to complain about; with five children, it was a miracle they'd never tried to kill one another.