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normally one he associated with women. Once they were with the Mahlers, he had carte blanche to touch that body as much as he liked – and she would respond.
    “So ground rule number one would be to give each other some space and privacy when we’re not with the Mahlers. That way we won’t feel like we’re living on top of each other.”
    “Fine by me,” murmured Nicole, her eyes closed against the sun’s rays. “I’m looking forward to exploring the island and working on my tan.”
    Ryan’s gaze dropped once again to the concave dip of her belly where little rivulets of water were rapidly evaporating. “And there’s no need to continue with the charade when we’re alone.”
    “Of course.”
    “And once this week is over,” he added, “everything returns to normal. There will be no ties between us.”
    “No ties,” Nicole confirmed with a half-smile. “Don’t worry. I get the picture.”
    “Good.” Ryan nodded, relieved she didn’t have a problem with that.
    Nicole was quite unlike any other girl he’d ever dated. But then he wasn’t dating her, was he? This was a pre-arranged agreement. She didn’t have the hots for him, clearly. And she was quite happy to let him go at the end of it. He was grateful she had no expectations, but he had to admit, it was a novel experience.
    “What about sleeping arrangements?” asked Nicole, turning over onto her stomach.
    “You take the bed,” offered Ryan, gazing at the sensual curve of her spine. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
    “If you insist.” Nicole smiled. “I hope you won’t be too uncomfortable.”
    Not as uncomfortable as sleeping next to you . Ryan was pretty sure of that.
    “I’ll be fine.”
    He sank to the bottom of the pool, feeling the cool fingers of water thread through his hair and freshen his hot face. This holiday was going to be interesting, that was for sure.
     
    “You know, couples in love usually know quite a bit about each other’s pasts. Perhaps we should fill each other in on the basics so we can answer, or field, any difficult questions.”
    Nicole was in the lounge, pouring herself a G&T from the mini-bar. She still wore her bikini, but had wrapped a sarong around her waist. It was more for decency’s sake than because she was self-conscious. Nicole didn’t have a problem with her body. She’d always been slim with big breasts – much to the envy of her best friends. As a consequence she’d never had to diet or worry about her weight. The up-side of that was she had never developed the paranoia associated with yo-yo dieting and poor body image, like so many other girls.
    After their little dip in the pool earlier, she’d grabbed a bread roll and some cheese from the lunch buffet and gone for a leisurely walk around the island. Why not take advantage of ground rule number one? As Medjumbe Island was only a kilometre long, walking the circumference was hardly taxing, but she’d taken her time, stopping to admire the sandy beaches and swim every now and then in the lukewarm ocean.
    “Good idea,” called Ryan from the patio. He had his laptop open in front of him and was sipping an ice-cold beer. Nicole didn’t ask what he’d got up to for the last few hours – but judging by the complicated-looking spreadsheet in front of him, she could guess.
    “Why don’t you start?”
    Nicole took a seat next to him, also facing the beach. The still waters of the Indian Ocean lapped at the sand only metres away. It was truly an idyllic setting... perfect for a honeymoon.
    “Okay.” She paused to think for a moment. “I suppose the best place to start is with Stephen.”
    “Stephen?”
    “My ex-husband.”
    “Ah.”
    “Stephen and I met at a work convention. He was an aeronautical engineer. Really smart.” She raised her eyebrows. “Much cleverer than me.”
    She sipped her G&T, gathering her thoughts. Ryan waited patiently. In this place the pace seemed to slow down to a crawl. There was no rush, they had all