Stand-In Star Read Online Free PDF

delight at the meal on the tray in Ruby’s arms.
    Ruby laughed. “Shall you have it on the balcony?”
    “Yes, please.” Holly stared down at the Caesar salad, fresh crusty bread and a dessert of yogurt and fruit, before crossing the room, yanking back the curtains and unlocking the glass doors.
    Ruby followed and placed the tray on an ornate steel table.
    “You’re not going to stay and eat with me?” Holly asked.
    “Ah, no.” Ruby waved the suggestion away and blushed a little. “I need to get home to my man and feed him. Way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and all.”
    “Of course.” Holly smiled, trying not to show her disappointment because Ruby seemed the chatty type and she was certain she’d be able to share a few things about the elusive Nate. Yet, Ruby’s glow and the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about her partner warmed Holly’s insides. “Have you been with Mr. Ruby long?”
    “Ooh, yes, years. We’re celebrating our thirtieth anniversary with a huge party next month.”
    “That’s awesome. My parents had a big celebration for their thirtieth a few years back.”
    “Ah, nothing I like better than hearing about a true romance.”
    “Me neither.” And although this was true to an extent, deep inside Holly ached. She’d married Ian hoping for long-lasting marriage, babies and a happy ever after and yet now she’d been divorced longer than she’d been married. Not that that was difficult when emotionally you’d been married less than twenty-four hours.
    “Well, my dear.” Ruby poured Holly what looked like fresh orange juice from a funky little pitcher. “I must be going but please enjoy and when you’ve finished just pop the tray in the kitchen.”
    When Ruby left, Holly sat down on one wicker chair and stretched her legs out on the other. She scooped up a fork and the bowl of salad and admired the view as she ate. The late afternoon sun baked down on the pool below, making the water glisten appealingly. If she forgot about her circumstances, this could be paradise. She’d never be able to afford to stay in a place like this on her salary. A gourmet meal prepared by someone else, weather and a view to die for, no essays to mark, no jobs that needed her attention… She could while away the evening in any way she wanted.
    And right now, the water below was begging for her to play in it.
    She finished the salad, devoured the bread, savored Ruby’s homemade yogurt and then piled everything back onto the tray. Before going in search of the kitchen, she unpacked her clothes and located her faithful black one-piece. Stella had threatened to take her scissors to it when she’d watched Holly pack her suitcase but Holly calmed her by promising to buy a new bikini when she arrived. She hadn’t been out in public in a two piece in years and she certainly wouldn’t risk wearing one around someone like Nate.
    Still, despite not wanting him to see her in a skimpy swim suit, she couldn’t help the debauchery of her own imagination as she undressed and slid into her sensible one-piece. She imagined Nate’s large, unquestionably skillful hands sliding up her body and cupping her where the material did. Heat flooded her secret spots as she pictured him finding her in the pool, ripping off his shirt, coming into the water and…
    Good God! She flopped back onto the bed, flushed at the thought and let out a scathing groan. How could she possibly be having such lustful thoughts about Daisy’s boyfriend of all people? Pulling herself together, she stood, found an orange and purple sarong in her suitcase, wrapped it round her body, slipped on a pair of flip-flops and vowed to eradicate all pathetic crush-like thoughts from her mind. She wasn’t fifteen for goodness sakes—she could control her hormones.
    Although large, Nate’s home was easy to navigate. With lots of open spaces, each room flowed into the next with little need for doors. She guessed the kitchen would be on the