Silver Linings

and saw Hugh leaning negligently against the upstairs railing, arms folded across his chest. “Uh, yes. We're flying out in a few minutes.”
    “Watch out for the kind that like to do favors for you,” Evangeline warned. “Sooner or later they get the idea that they own you.”
    “I'll remember. Good-bye, Evangeline. Take care of yourself.”
    “Bye, honey. Hey. Keep the dress, why don't you? It looks terrific on you, and I don't feel like letting it out again.”
    Mattie looked at the red dress thinking she never wanted to see it again. “Oh, I couldn't possibly—”
    “No, no, I mean it. A present, you know? One working woman to another. Like I said, we got to stick together.”
    “Thank you.” Mattie knew there was no polite way to turn down the gift. She stuffed the red sarong into her shoulder bag and smiled weakly. “Well, good-bye.”
    “See ya.” Evangeline yawned sleepily and closed the door.
    Mattie turned to find Hugh still watching silently from the railing. She stood there looking at him, unable to think of anything clever to say.
    “Ready?” He came away from the railing.
    “Yes.”

    The small chartered plane landed on St. Gabriel's single runway five minutes before the rain squall hit. By the time the pilot had taxied up to the main terminal, a building that was not much more than a large shack of corrugated aluminum, the rain was coming down in buckets.
    Mattie was surprised to find herself invigorated by the wild downpour. She actually laughed as she jumped down onto the tarmac and raced toward the metal shack.
    “Don't worry, it'll be over in a few minutes,” Hugh assured her as he grabbed her wrist and tugged her into the shelter of the terminal building.
    Mattie shook the rain from her hair and listened to the roar on the roof as she glanced around curiously. Several figures were lounging around inside the terminal. They greeted Hugh with easy familiarity, their eyes going straight to Mattie.
    “Hey, Abbott. What's that you brought back with you? A little souvenir?” one of the men asked.
    “Meet my fiancée , Mattie Sharpe.”
    Mattie winced. This was going to be more awkward than she had thought. Things were even more settled in Hugh's mind than she'd feared.
    “Pleased to meet ya, Mattie.”
    “Good luck to ya, ma'am. Abbott here could use a woman around to polish up his manners.”
    “When's the wedding?”
    Hugh was grinning as he led Mattie through the small terminal. “Don't worry, boys. You'll all be invited to the party.”
    Mattie found herself back outside and being stuffed into a Jeep. The rain was already moving on, leaving a steaming green landscape in its wake. In spite of her forebodings, a new sense of excitement gripped her. This was Hugh's island; his home. This was the place she had been willing to move to sight unseen a year ago. She could not help wondering what her life would have been like if Hugh had taken her up on her offer to follow him out here.
    “You're going to love it here, Mattie,” Hugh announced as he slid behind the wheel.
    Mattie said nothing.
    “First thing we'll do this afternoon is get you some clothes. That red thing is cute as hell, but you can't wear it all the time, can you?”
    “Probably not.”
    “We'll stop in town before I take you on out to the house. You can do some shopping while I check in at the office.”
    The road into the tiny town of St. Gabriel followed the cliffs above the sea. Thick jungle vegetation hugged it on one side, and down below on the other side Mattie could see pristine white beaches and foaming breakers. There was a gray Navy ship and a big, sleek white cruise ship anchored just off shore.
    “Navy puts in here regularly. Has for years. But now we're starting to get a little more tourist trade,” Hugh explained above the noise of the wind rushing past the open Jeep windows. “Cruise ship comes in once a week. One of the big hotel chains is talking about putting in a first-class resort. Lot of divers are starting to come here. St. Gabe is on the way, babe. You and me are going to be part of it.”
    Hugh drove the twisting, narrow road with the casually efficient competence that characterized everything he did. Mattie found her gaze straying to his strong hands as they curved around the wheel. Memories of those hands on her body during the night flooded her mind.
    Hugh's lovemaking could hardly have been described as artful, but there was a raw power and an elemental passion in it that had