Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Style guru Abby Weiss wows the fashion world with her incredible work for Australia's leading chic magazine Finesse. The Whitsunday islands proved a spectacular backdrop to showcase Weiss's talents who, thanks to her stellar work on this shoot, secured the number one stylist job at Finesse. Look out for more from this brilliant up and comer in the industry."

A bby envisioned the headline in her mind. She'd visualised nothing else since she'd received the phone call from Mark Pyman, CEO of Finesse , saying she'd scored the lucrative gig for the magazine's summer spread, boarded a plane for Sapphire Island, and checked into this exclusive resort.

What she'd seen of the island so far had fired her imagination and she knew with a little creativity and a lot of hard work this would be her best shot at the top job. Mark had hinted at it and the powerbroker of Australia's fashion magazine industry didn't hint at anything lightly.

Thanks to a little healthy visualisation she could definitely see those headlines: in huge Arial font, bolded, and cut out from Finesse's summer issue and taking pride of place over her desk back home in Sydney.

Finally, her chance at the big time.

Wandering into the hotel's poolside bar with an extra spring in her step, she marvelled at the staggering array of tropical plants and exotic orchids, her excitement growing as she scoped out another great site for a shoot.

Sapphire Island had proven to be a gold mine, providing the perfect backdrop for displaying the fashion of Australia's leading designers. True to form, Mark had organised several top models, which made her job a heck of a lot easier.

Dealing with professionals and seeing the results made her proud to work in the cutthroat fashion industry. Though she hadn't met the photographer yet, she knew Mark only used the best.

At the thought of photographers, she wondered which part of the world Judd currently lived in. They hadn't spoken for three months, an anomaly in their close relationship. Well, as close as they could get over the phone and internet.

She hadn't received one of his infamous one-line postcards lately either. She loved his corny, old school way of communicating and wondered what he'd say if he knew she'd kept every single one and made a collage that adorned her study wall? Probably something witty designed to cut her down in typical Judd Calloway fashion.

Some things never change.

And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Luckily, they'd moved past the thing on graduation night and had managed to sustain a strong friendship.

Nothing like denial to get through the last eight years as his best buddy and confidante.

"Well, well, well. Amazing what the ocean can wash up these days."

Abby startled and whirled around, seeing but not quite believing what she initially thought her imagination had conjured up.

"No way." She poked Judd in the chest to check he was real. Her excuse, she was sticking to it. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled, the same lazy grin that lit up the gold flecks in his hazel eyes and had her instinctively grinning back at him, despite not seeing him in person since that fateful night of the graduation dance.

"Is that any way to greet your new photographer?"

She gaped, not sure she'd heard right. " You're doing this gig? But we're shooting fashion, not wildlife."

He slid onto one of the barstools and patted the seat next to him. "I'm not too sure about that. I've seen the way some of your crowd party and it looks pretty wild to me."

"They're not my crowd. I just work with them."

"And you date them." His teasing was as familiar as him reaching for a stray curl and tucking it behind her ear. "No accounting for taste, is there?"

Abby fought a losing battle with a blush as heat surged up her neck and settled somewhere in the vicinity where he'd touched her.

Judd hadn't touched her in a long time. Those hot dreams on sultry Sydney nights of him touching her like she wanted him to didn't count.

"My taste must be questionable, considering I keep in contact with you."

Judd chuckled, the timbre warming her like the hot chocolate sundaes with extra fudge they'd shared as kids.

"Your last postcard said you were in the wilds of South Africa shooting zebras, and now you're here. What on earth would tempt the world's best wildlife photographer to do a fashion shoot?"

He'd scoffed at what he termed ‘the shallow world of fashion' ever since she'd started working in the industry so she knew something, or someone, important had to be behind this.

"All will be revealed in time." Judd beckoned the waiter. "Drink?"

"The usual, please."

He grinned, his eyes crinkling in the corners like they used to. "Is this some kind of test?"

"You bet."

Shaking his head, he chuckled. "You're still drinking the same poison you used to in high school? How sad is that?"

"Like you'd remember anyway."

When he told the waiter, "Soda and lime for the lady and a beer for me, thanks, mate," she couldn't help but be impressed.

"Did I pass?"

"You always had a good memory," she muttered, secretly thrilled he'd remembered something as innocuous as her favourite drink. "Now, tell me why you're really here."

"A friend set this up. She begged me to do it as a favour for a guy she gets a heap of assignments from, some big shot called Mark Pyman, so here I am."

He signed for the drinks while one word penetrated her brain.

She.

He said she.

So who was this mystery woman he held in such high esteem to leave his much-loved wildlife and return home? Something he'd avoided doing at all costs once he'd finally escaped Pier Point like he'd always wanted.

"Do I know this friend of yours?"

"Probably. Paula does loads of work for Finesse ."

"Paula, as in Australia's top supermodel?"

He nodded and she tried not to turn a pale shade of green as she continued, "We've worked a few shoots together. She's nice." Feigning nonchalance, she said, "I didn't know you knew her?"

He continued to swig his beer, oblivious to her inane jealousy at the thought of Paula having influence on her best friend.

"We met in South America. I was shooting anacondas and took a short break in Rio afterwards where Paula was doing a bikini shoot."

"You never mentioned it," she said, aiming for casual yet knowing it sounded lame. Since when did he have to tell her if he met someone new?

He shrugged, drawing attention to the breadth of his shoulders; yet another thing that hadn't changed much. Hefting camera equipment had broadened his shoulders and she briefly wondered if they still felt as firm as they had that one night when her hands had gripped onto them for dear life while his lips wrought havoc on hers.

"Paula's a great girl. We have a lot in common."

"Oh?"

She barely managed to restrain herself from wrinkling her nose, another stab of jealousy nothing new. She'd been envious of the few lucky girlfriends he'd had, relieved when they hadn't lasted beyond a week or two.

Pitiful, considering she'd dated extensively—in the vain hope to prove to herself she'd gotten over him—and had confided in him about her dating disasters so they could spend hours laughing over her exes bad points.

Why did the thought of Judd hooking up with leggy Paula leave a sour taste in her mouth? Had to be the extra dash of lime in her drink.

Yeah, right.

She knew exactly why. The women he'd dated in the past had meant nothing to him, yet he'd left his precious travels to return home for the first time in eight years for Paula. Not good.

"You have loads in common, huh?"

He nodded. "We've both travelled the world and love doing it, we both hate being tied down to one place, and we share a passion for icecream sundaes."

How sweet. Not.

"You're kidding, right? Paula the Pretzel eats icecream?"

His eyes narrowed. "It's not like you to be bitchy. What's up?"

Abby shook her head, wondering if the heat on the island had melted her brain. Judd was her best friend, she hadn't seen him in eight years, and here she was giving him grief over a favour for a friend.

"Nothing. Just tired, I guess."

His expression softened as he placed a finger under her chin and tipped it up. "Sounds to me like you're jealous."

"In that case, you need your hearing checked."

His touch confused her and it shouldn't. She'd been there, done that, and had the T-shirt to prove it—before she'd folded it up and stored it along with her giant crush when he'd left town never to return.

More than a little disconcerted by the erratic beat of her pulse, she tried not to react as he leaned towards her, glimpsing tenderness in his eyes before he planted a brief peck on the end of her nose.

"I've missed you, Weiss."

His aftershave wafted over her, an expensive musk blend that suited him. He'd never worn the stuff in high school yet had smelled as good. She should know. She hadn't washed the rugby jersey he'd given her the day after the dance for almost a month, preferring to wear it to bed every night and dream of him.

Sadly, she still had it folded neatly in the back of her underwear drawer, a memento of the one time she'd thought they might have a chance at more than friendship.

She jerked away, annoyed by flashbacks to a time best forgotten, and saw surprise flicker across his face.

"We talk all the time," she said. "How could you miss me?"

"Talking over the phone isn't the same as this."

He reached for her hand, the warmth of his fingers enclosing hers more than welcome despite the hyper reaction of her body in response to seeing him after all this time. She missed their physical contact: the playful pinches, the casual hand-holding, the bear hugs.

They'd been inseparable in high school, probably the main reason she still harboured a tiny smidgeon of the same crazy crush she'd had back then.

Judd was right. Regular phone contact had nothing on this, the shared affection of two close friends chatting like they'd never been apart.

"It has been awhile."

"Hey, what's eight years between friends?"

"True," she said, twirling the lime wedge in her glass with the straw, wondering why she felt so edgy around him.

This was Judd.

Her best buddy.

Why the strange feeling something had changed between them? She'd handled her crush, delegated it to the past, enjoyed their long distance friendship more than she could've thought possible all these years. She'd matured, so what had shifted in the last few minutes to leave her feeling edgy, panicky, and too aware of Judd as a sexy guy?

Eager to change the topic and break the sudden intimacy that had enveloped them, she said, "How's the job going? Is the wild world of primates and big cats everything it's cracked up to be?"

"It's better. You should try it some time." He released her hand to pick up his beer and she wondered why his smile faded like she'd insulted him somehow.

"I don't have time to travel. Besides, if this shoot is perfect, Mark mentioned a major deal for me."

"So this job is important to you?"

"Of course." She didn't add, ‘it's what drives me these days.' Though she loved being a fashion stylist it wasn't enough at times.

Her closest friend spent his life travelling the world and she never saw him, while the rest of her social circle consisted of work colleagues and acquaintances hellbent on partying their way through life. And she'd let go of the conga line a long time ago.

Abby didn't understand the emotion that played across his face at her response; it bordered on disappointment. His job meant everything to him, too. Why else would he have spent the last eight years leading a nomadic existence?

"Here's to us doing a good job over the next week." He raised his glass towards her.

A week, seven days in the company of her best friend, the one guy known to bring a smile to her face and who she'd missed terribly over the years if this strange jittery feeling was anything to go by.

"I'll drink to that."

As their glasses clinked, a tiny crack appeared in hers and she hoped a similar thing wouldn't happen to their friendship.

Maybe she'd been pushing herself too hard lately.

Maybe it had been too long between dates.

Maybe she needed a day or two in Judd's teasing company to put the smile back on her face.

But whatever was causing the tiny trickle of tension between them, she needed to get over it. Judd meant the world to her and there was no way she'd jeopardise their friendship.

For anything.