Isaac flicked through some reports in the boardroom as he waited for the other staff to arrive. Claudia was at the back of the room, sorting out the teas, coffees and pastries. Brian and Tina from the finance team were looking through a report and talking quietly to each other at the far end of the table and Madge was sitting halfway down the table, busily writing notes. He was still waiting on several people to arrive, including the woman he had just agreed to have a date with that night.

He should be nervous and worried about this. This broke every rule he had ever made. Don’t mix business and pleasure was one of the most important rules in all walks of life and he had done that several times since meeting Bella at the weekend. If things ended between them, it could be really difficult at work, and he certainly didn’t want anyone there to find out but as the woman herself came strolling in, he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

She was the most incredible woman he’d ever met and instead of thinking about what would happen if things ended between them, all he could think about was how he could make things last. He wanted to spend every day kissing her, talking to her, spending time with her and instead of being scared about that prospect, he was loving every minute.

‘Miss Roussel, I just wanted to talk to you about something before the meeting starts,’ Isaac said, indicating the seat next to him.

Bella walked round the table hugging her clipboard to her chest and trying to look as if him asking her to sit next to him was the most normal, professional request in the world. She sat down and looked at him.

He drew her attention to the minutes in front of him. As a few more people walked into the room laughing and talking and drew everyone’s attention on them, he shuffled closer to her so their knees were barely touching.

‘Are you OK to present a few minutes about forthcoming fundraising events?’ Isaac asked, quietly, knowing that she was fully prepared to do just that. He looked down at the minutes and wrote a brief note to her.

He watched her read the note and her pale cheeks flushed pink.

‘That’s fine, Mr Scott, I have a few notes prepared just in case,’ Bella said as she wrote her own reply.

He grinned. As much as he was really tempted to do that, he didn’t want to rush things with her. If he had any chance of this working between them, he knew he had to take his time, build her trust. It had been a long time since he had properly dated someone but this time round he was going to do this right.

She smiled at his note just as the last few people arrived. Thankfully there were quite a few people around the table now, which necessitated everyone sitting quite close to each other. So when Bella shuffled closer to him to make room for someone to sit next to her, it was quite innocent that she brushed arms with him.

As everyone got themselves comfortable, concentrating on the drinks and pastries that were being passed around, he slipped his hand under the table and very briefly, very gently, stroked the inside of her knee before returning his hand back to the table top again.

This was a dangerous game but he was loving it.

He stood up and everyone went quiet.

‘Thanks for coming; we have quite a few reports to get through so I’ll keep this brief. We’ve had a good few months since the start of the year. Some of the reports will go into that in a bit more detail. We’ve continued to help several hundred homeless people in towns and cities across the UK but a lot of the funding for the projects has come from BlazeStar. This year I want to concentrate on creating our own funding with the goal of being a self-sufficient charity by the end of next year. And that’s where our new fundraising events manager comes in. This is Bella Roussel who brings with her a wealth of experience, knowledge and a load of enthusiasm for the role.’

To his surprise and annoyance, there were a few whispers around the room, some of them were not good. Clearly people knew about the embezzlement at Magic Wishes and were surprised by her appointment.

He glanced down at Bella and the bold confident person he had seen a few moments before had dimmed somewhat. Bella smiled and gave a little wave but it was quite obvious she didn’t like being the centre of attention or appreciate the judgement from some of the people in the room. He was going to ask her to talk a little about herself and her experience but, considering the company she had worked in before, perhaps he had better skip past that part.

‘Bella has a lot of passion for this role. She only started in the job yesterday so we haven’t created a lot of events just yet, but Bella, why don’t you give us a brief summary of some of the events that we are to look forward to in the coming months.’

He sat down and Bella took a sip of water from the glass in front of her and stood up. She glanced at him and he gave her an encouraging smile.

She looked down at her clipboard and back at the room.

‘Firstly, we are launching a nationwide Easter egg hunt but with a difference. This is going to be a game-based app very similar to Pokémon Go. For those of you who don’t know, people would have to travel around real-world locations to collect virtual eggs on their phone. The eggs will add up to points and the points can be swapped for real chocolate eggs. There will be in-app purchases as well, which is how we will raise money.

‘A week on Saturday, the start of the Easter school holidays, there will be a funfair right here on the island. As many of you know, we used to have a big funfair with rides and food and fireworks every year on the island until they stopped when the Harrison family moved away and this year we’re going to bring it back. We have already booked the fair but there are several other things we need to organise for the event to run smoothly, one of the main things being transporting the lorries onto the island.’

Elsie put her hand up, unsure whether to interrupt Bella or not. Bella nodded encouragingly. ‘When the fair used to be held on the island, the Harrisons would organise landing crafts to bring the lorries over and the lorries would just drive straight onto Buttercup Beach and then into the park.’

‘Great idea. I’ll look into that. Thank you. In June we have a zombie run booked for Hyde Park in London…’

Isaac sat watching her, absolutely mesmerised. This was where she was in control, this was what she was good at. She didn’t like standing up and talking in front of people, making speeches, but events management was her thing and the fact that she could talk so confidently when she didn’t like this kind of thing showed how brave she was.

Bella talked about several other events that she had either booked already or was going to book and he was stunned with what she had achieved in just one day.

He glanced around the room to see what other people’s reactions were. Eric still obviously wasn’t happy about her appointment to the position but a lot of the others seemed to be impressed by her. Maybe she could win them all over with her charm, dedication and passion for the role.

He suddenly caught Claudia’s eye. She wasn’t watching Bella, she was watching him.

Crap.

Claudia knew him so well. She had been his PA for so many years now that he’d lost count. Thanks to a hefty bonus, she had moved down to Hope Island when he had made the move here, which he was glad for. She was so efficient, so organised and she knew him better than he knew himself.

Had he been staring at Bella with adoration? Had Claudia seen him touch Bella or the way they had almost flirted when she’d first walked into the meeting room? He thought he was being subtle but the way Claudia was staring at him now, he knew something was up.

He returned his attention to Bella and ensured that for the rest of her short speech his facial features were arranged in a much more professional expression. He even pretended to take some notes at one stage so he wasn’t staring at her the whole time she was speaking.

Bella finally finished and sat down and Isaac passed the meeting over to the different departments for them to give their reports.

Nicely done, Isaac wrote on the corner of his minutes.

She smiled briefly and then turned her attention to the rest of the staff and, although she didn’t look at him again, her knee was pressed up against his throughout the whole meeting.

Tonight couldn’t come soon enough.

* * *

The meeting finally came to an end and everyone got up and left, some of them taking the remaining pastries with them. Bella hung back for a little while on the pretext of gathering her notes and the handouts together. It was quite clear she wanted to speak to him but Claudia wasn’t moving so Bella eventually took the hint and left.

He stood up to leave himself but Claudia got up and closed the door and then rounded on him.

‘What’s going on with you and her?’

‘Nothing,’ Isaac said, way too quickly.

‘Don’t give me that, you were staring at her like a puppy would stare at a piece of chocolate cake. Don’t think that I didn’t see you touching her either. Do you want her to slap some kind of sexual harassment charge on you?’

He sighed and sat back down

‘Bella wouldn’t do that.’

‘No, I don’t suppose she would. I saw the way she was looking at you too. Have you slept with her?’

‘That’s absolutely none of your business.’

‘I’ll take that as a yes.’

‘No, I haven’t actually.’ Though it had come close too many times so he could hardly take the moral high ground, especially as he had kissed Bella on her first day at work.

‘After the horrible mess that Carter left behind with his affair, I wouldn’t think you would risk an office romance yourself. You know so many people thought that you starting this charity was a big mistake, everyone said that you moving to the Scilly Isles when your head office for BlazeStar was in London was a big mistake. Everyone is going to be watching us, waiting for us to drop the ball, you don’t need any scandal. Why risk it just for a bit of fun?’

Isaac stared down at the notes that he and Bella had written to each other throughout the course of the meeting. ‘She’s not just a bit of fun. I went to her house in disguise and she invited me in to stay the night. She had no idea who I was and she was prepared to share her last bowl of porridge with me. We chatted for hours. I’ve never had that with a woman before. And I left there Sunday morning knowing that I had just spent the night with this really remarkable, special person. I ended up going back there on Sunday night and we talked again and we ended up kissing. Well, she kissed me, but I damned well kissed her back.’

Claudia stared at him in shock. ‘I’ve never seen you like this before. Not once in all the years I’ve known you have you ever looked at a woman from work. You’ve always kept that part of your life separate.’

‘I know. Believe me I did consider not employing her so I could date her without any conflict of interest but you’ve seen her. She’s been here one day and she’s organised all that already. She’s brilliant.’

‘She is,’ Claudia said softly, sitting down. ‘You really like her, don’t you? She isn’t just some random woman that you’ll date a few times and never see again, is she? This is something serious.’

‘It is serious. At least it is for me,’ he sighed. ‘I don’t know what this is, this feeling I have for her, it’s not like anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s not love, it can’t be. I’ve only known her for a few days but this feeling is so strong she is all I can think about. And not just in a sexual way, but in a way that I just want to spend every single second of my time with her.’

Claudia half smiled. ‘That sounds like love to me. Love doesn’t work on a schedule. You can’t say because you’ve known her three months or a year then it qualifies as love.’

‘But love at first sight is a myth. No one really falls in love after knowing someone for a few minutes. Lust at first sight maybe, but not love.’

‘I think thousands of people out there would disagree with you. Personally I think love at first sight is impossible – as you say, you’re judging that person on looks and a sexual attraction alone – but that’s not to say you can’t fall in love with that person after half an hour of talking to them. You spent two nights talking to her; I’d say you know her well enough to know whether she’s important to you. Whether it could be love one day.’

Isaac looked out the window at the tiny glimpse of the sea. ‘So what do I do, Claudia? If people here find out then the gossip and the comments won’t be kind to her. If we do go for it anyway and it ends a few weeks or months down the line then it will be beyond awkward having to work together every day.’

‘I don’t think you really have a choice.’

Isaac looked back at her. ‘You think it’s too risky.’

‘Of course it’s risky. Love is always a risk. But if there is a chance that this could be love for you, if there’s a chance that Bella is the one that you’re going to settle down with and marry one day then you grab hold of this chance with both hands. Forget the gossips or the comments, forget the what ifs, because if this is really love then all of that will be worth it.’

Isaac grinned. ‘I could kiss you right now.’

Claudia gathered all her stuff up. ‘Save that for Bella. She will probably appreciate it more than me. And don’t worry about what people will say. There will always be gossip and it will only last until the next piece comes along.’

‘I want to protect her from all that though. You know what people will say, that she slept with the boss to get the job, or that I only gave her the job because we were sleeping together. I don’t want her exposed to that kind of crap.’

‘So keep it a secret. Keep it professional at work, no more looking at her with puppy-dog eyes, no more kisses in your office,’ she said, pointedly.

‘How did you know?’

‘Because she walked out of your office this morning with her hair looking like it had been dragged through a bush and the biggest grin on her face. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together. Keep your hands off each other and there’s a chance we can keep it out of the rumour mill for a while.’

Isaac nodded. He could do that.

Claudia moved to the door. ‘I’m happy for you.’

He laughed. ‘Steady there, we’ve not even had our first date yet. I wouldn’t go buying a big hat for our wedding day just yet.’

‘I wouldn’t do that.’

‘No?’

‘I’m much more of a fascinator type girl.’

He laughed and she left him alone.

He knew marriage was a very long way away but Claudia was right, he wasn’t going to pass up this chance. Bella was way too important for that.

* * *

Bella had spent the rest of the day working with Elsie and Roger organising the fair. With a little over one week until the fair kicked off the start of the school holidays there was a lot to do. She had organised fairs in the past but she had never organised one in such a short amount of time. She had a great list of reliable contacts and she knew several people on the island who would help her dot the i’s and cross the t’s in terms of the permissions needed to hold such an event. A large part of the organisation now was advertising it, getting the word out so people knew it was happening. And not just the people on Hope Island too, they needed to spread the word to all of the Scilly Isles and maybe as far as Cornwall as well.

She got in the lift with Elsie and Roger, thinking about what kind of radio advertising she could do.

‘Any plans for the evening, dear?’ Roger asked as Bella scribbled some notes on her pad.

Bella stuffed her notepad in her bag to hide the smile that had suddenly erupted on her face.

She shrugged. ‘Just dinner. I’ll probably be tucked up in bed by ten o’clock.’ She smiled to herself at the thought of who was going to be doing the tucking up. ‘What about you two?’

‘I’m having coffee and cake with the WI,’ Elsie said.

‘Oh be sure to tell them about the fair,’ Bella said.

‘Of course. I bet some of them would like to hold a cake stand there, would that be OK?’

Bella smiled. They really couldn’t get away from the cake sale but as it was going to be part of a much bigger event she didn’t think Isaac would mind. ‘I think that’s a great idea, just as long as there’s some chocolate cake, I’ll be happy.’

Elsie smiled. ‘My chocolate cake is one of the best on the island, even if I do say so myself.’

‘I’m sure it is,’ Bella said, knowing that no one on the island would be brave enough to dispute it.

The lift doors pinged open and she walked out into the foyer with them. Isaac was there talking to Mary, the receptionist. He had his suit jacket on and was clearly getting ready to leave for the day too.

As she walked past, he flashed her a brief smile which she returned but a second or two later he caught up with her as she walked out the front door.

‘Miss Roussel, I just wanted to catch up with you about the fair, do you have a second?’ Isaac drew her to one side and Bella smiled and waved at Roger and Elsie as they walked off together in the direction of the town. No one else was around but when Isaac spoke again it was very quietly. ‘I forgot to say that I have an outdoor hot tub at my house, so you might want to bring your swimming costume for later.’

Bella laughed. ‘You have a hot tub? That’s not at all pretentious.’

He grinned. ‘I know. When I bought my house in London, it already had one which I vowed I would get rid of as soon as I moved in. But after spending one night in it, staring at the stars, I loved it and knew I had to install one here too. I promise everything else in the house is quite tasteful.’

‘No animal-print bedspreads or disco balls, no mirrors on the ceiling?’

He laughed. ‘No, I promise.’

‘Well I have just the thing to wear in your hot tub tonight,’ Bella said and enjoyed the darkening of his eyes as he looked at her.

‘I’ll look forward to seeing it later. Seven o’clock and don’t be late.’

Ever so briefly, he touched the back of her hand and then turned and walked away.

Butterflies erupted in her stomach. She couldn’t wait to spend another night with this man and even if they weren’t going to make love to each other she knew there would be a lot more talking and kissing. And although spending the night in a hot tub was a little cliché and like something from an eighties porn film, she couldn’t think of anything more romantic.

* * *

Isaac looked around the kitchen. The red wine was open, the steaks were out and marinated, the crumble was slowly cooking in the oven, everything was ready.

He was so nervous about tonight; he needed this to go well. He felt like he had something to prove to Bella as the last time they had sat down to dinner he had been someone else entirely. Although to a large extent a lot of what he had told Bella was true, he wanted her to get to know the real him.

He walked into the lounge and Rocket, obviously sensing that he was nervous or excited, leapt off her dog bed and jumped up at him.

Isaac stroked her velvety head before he moved over to the mantelpiece and lit a few candles. He stood back to see the effect the golden light had on the room and then moved a couple of candles to the coffee table too. The log fire was burning merrily in the grate; even though it was probably a bit too mild to warrant it, it added a warm cosy ambience to the room.

Rocket leapt up at him again, wagging her tail, clearly as excited about the evening as Isaac was.

‘Stop jumping, you daft beast. After your behaviour the other night, I think you need to prove to Bella that you have manners and are perfectly respectable.’

Rocket took no notice and went to grab one of her toys from her bed and brought it back to Isaac to play with her.

‘In a minute, let me just go and get the summerhouse ready and I’ll come back and play with you for a while before she comes.’

Isaac walked out the back door fully expecting Rocket to follow him but he was alone when he walked up to the doors of the summerhouse; the silly dog had probably gone back to sleep.

He opened the doors to the summerhouse and set about lighting candles in there too. He plumped up a few of the cushions, shook out the blankets and spread them over the sofas and turned the heaters on to take the chill off the place. He switched on the fairy lights that were hung around the outside of the summerhouse, found the right music on the stereo and turned the volume down low and then stepped outside onto the decking at the back of the summerhouse. This was where the hot tub was with views over the whole bay. He had envisaged they might come and sit in the summerhouse and watch the sun set before dinner and then they could come back out here later and enjoy the hot tub and the view of the moon and the stars over the sea.

He lifted the lid of the hot tub and checked the temperature. It was warm but not hot yet. It would be another few hours before it reached its hottest but they had plenty of time and even if they used it now it would still be comfortable. He fished out a few leaves that had fallen in from the tree that hung over the top of the hot tub and then pulled the lid back into place. He walked back into the summerhouse, lit a few of the larger candles that were in jars and carried them out onto the deck.

He looked out over the bay again. The sky was that gorgeous pale gold as the sun made its way into the sea.

The smell of burning drifted past, maybe someone was making the most of the lovely weather and having a barbeque nearby.

He walked back off the deck and round the summerhouse and looked up at the sky behind his home which was painted with a flickering orange glow, almost as if the sky was on fire.

His heart dropped into his stomach, a horrible sick feeling twisting his gut as he realised that it wasn’t the sky that was on fire at all.

It was his house.

Great orange flames danced across the roof, burning through the windows, consuming the walls.

He ran forward, his blood freezing to ice in his veins. His house was on fire and it was spreading so quickly there was nothing he could do to stop it.