Kate Hoffmann - Who Needs Mistletoe?

“See, this is the Lear I was talking about,” Gabe said, pointing to Trey’s father’s plane. “Nice, n’est-ce pas? ”

“Very nice,” Sophie murmured.

The plane drew to a stop and Gabe shut off the engine, then crawled out the pilot’s side, leaving Trey and Sophie alone for the first time. “Don’t say anything to the reporters,” Trey warned. “Just do as I said and everything will be all right. I’ll come back later, after everything has cooled down.”

Sophie nodded, giving him a weak smile. Then the passenger-side door opened and Gabe reached in to help Sophie out. “What is lost is now found,” Gabe said as he grabbed her waist and lifted her from the plane.

Trey found his bag and prepared himself for the crush of photographers and reporters. If he was able to draw their attention away from Sophie by answering a few questions, then maybe she could get away. He waited until she’d reached her father, then, taking a deep breath, Trey stepped out of the plane to the flash of cameras.

“Trey, tell us about your time as a castaway!”

“Are you all right, Trey? Do you have any injuries?”

“They say your pilot was a woman. Was the crash her fault?”

“There was no crash,” Trey said with a warm smile. “We had to make an emergency landing, that’s all.” He kept his eye on Sophie, watching as she threw herself into her father’s embrace. “There was a minor mechanical problem with the plane and the pilot did an amazing job putting us down on the lagoon at Suaneva.”

“My son will answer all your questions later!” Trey stopped at the sound of his father’s voice, then turned to watch Peter Shelton the Second emerge from the Learjet. He slowly strolled down the steps as the cameras turned their attention toward him.

“Mr. Shelton, were you worried about your son?”

“Did you think he was dead?”

“Tell us how you felt when you got the call.”

“I said we’d answer questions later,” Trey’s father said. “I’ve arranged for a press conference at the Sofitel in a couple of hours. You can get all the photos you want and ask all your questions then. Right now, I’d like to talk to my son.”

His father crossed the tarmac to where Trey stood, then pulled him into a fierce hug. Trey couldn’t recall the last time his father had showed the least bit of affection toward him. “A press conference?” Trey muttered.

“Good to see you, Trey,” he said. “I was worried.”

“How did you get here so fast?” Trey asked.

“I got the call late last night while I was in Tokyo. It didn’t take me long. Your mother is on her way. She’s flying in from New York and should be here early this evening. I chartered a plane for her.”

“That wasn’t necessary. I’m fine.”

“Well, good.” He clapped Trey on the shoulder and to his surprise, Trey saw tears glistening in his father’s eyes.

“I’m glad you came,” Trey said. “And it will be nice to see Mom. We haven’t spent a Christmas together in years.”

His father smiled. “We’ll have a big celebration.”

Trey thought back to the simple celebration he and Sophie had enjoyed the night before. His father’s parties were always overblown affairs. “Maybe we could just have a drink and talk?”

A taxi screeched to a halt near the hangar and Trey turned to watch as an oddly familiar woman crawled out of the back. She pulled off her sunglasses and surveyed the crowd, immediately catching the interest of the photographers. “It’s Tania!” one of the reporters shouted.

“Oh my God! Oh, Trey, thank God you’re alive.”

Trey cringed. Tania Richardson. What the hell was she doing here? Though he’d broken off the relationship six months ago, since that time, Tania had managed to perpetuate the rumor that she and Trey were about to announce their engagement. Obviously this was some silly publicity stunt.

Tania came from a famous acting family in Britain and was rather used to over-the-top dramatics. But this was too much. She rushed over to him, making sure to stop a few times for photographs. Tania was wearing clothes more suitable for a nightclub-a skimpy little dress that left nothing to the imagination.

When she reached him, Tania threw herself into his arms and the flashes began popping continuously. Trey tried to extract himself from her embrace, but she wouldn’t let go. “Stop,” he gasped, unwrapping her arms from around his neck.

“I’m so glad you’re alive, darling.”

Trey glanced over to see Sophie watching them both, her eyes wide, her expression marked with confusion. “How did you get here, Tania?”

She stepped back and gave him a plastic smile. “Well, darling, when I heard you were going to be here for the holidays, I thought it would be nice if we’d spend some time together. With your schedule and mine, we’ve been apart for too long. Imagine my horror when I heard you were missing. So of course, I called the press. News like this is important.”

“No doubt you were anxious to try out a new role-that of the grieving fiancée,” Trey said. “It would have been a good part, Tania, but unfortunately, I survived. And I suppose now would be a good time to tell the press we’re not really engaged.”

In fact, now would be the perfect time, Trey thought. He glanced around at the small crowd gathered around him. He’d lost track of Sophie and he stepped away from Tania, searching for her. A moment later, he saw her, standing at the door of the hangar.

“Sophie!”

The reporters and photographers immediately turned their attention to her. He tried to walk toward her but no matter which way he moved, they stepped into his path. Trey gave one of the reporters a shove and the guy stumbled back, falling against a photographer. “Sorry,” Trey muttered. “Just let me get by.”

“Son, come on.” Peter Shelton grabbed Trey’s arm and pulled him back. “I have a car waiting to take us to the hotel.”

Trey glanced back and forth between his father and Sophie. His gaze met hers and held and for a moment; he felt as though they were back on the island, all alone. He could read the confusion in her eyes and he wanted to explain. But not here and not with everyone watching.

Sophie gave him a little wave goodbye, then turned and walked inside the hangar. The moment she was gone, Trey felt an incredible loneliness set in. He knew things might be bad when they got back. But he’d never imagined this.

“Come on, darling,” Tania said. “Let’s get out of here. You need to change out of those awful clothes and have something decent to eat.” She turned to Trey’s father and gave him a blinding smile. “You don’t mind if I ride with you, do you?” She looped her arm through Trey’s and pulled him toward the waiting town car.

“By the way, who was the girl?” Tania murmured through clenched teeth as they wove back through the photographers.

“She was the pilot,” Trey said. “Her name is Sophie.” Tania had a jealous streak a mile long. It had been one of the things that had quickly put an end to their short relationship.

“I think you should sue,” she added in a clipped tone. “The girl is obviously incompetent. You could have been killed.”

Trey crawled in the backseat of the car, Tania getting in after him. His father brought up the rear, scowling as if he wasn’t pleased they had an extra passenger, either. But Trey couldn’t think about the politics of what was going on. All he could think about was getting back to Sophie.

They pulled away from the hangar and the reporters and photographers quickly gave chase, some in cars, some on motorcycles. Trey sank back into the soft leather seats, not listening to the incessant chatter coming from Tania. Sophie was always so careful with her words. She never wasted any and everything she said was endlessly interesting. Tania talked because she loved the sound of her own voice.