bills & moon on rotto

We apologise for no posts for more than a week, but we've been entranced with a book that was sent to us.

The manuscript doesn't have a title, but we're going to call it Rottnest Romance: it's a Mills & Boon-style novel that is set on the beautiful island.

Without further ado, let's leap into chapter one...we'll post more 500-word blocks in between non-fiction news about Rotto...

So that was Nicholas Montagu – Mr Moneybags himself.

Larissa felt like pushing him off the gangplank and into the blue water before he had a chance to step on dry land.

She watched as brightly-dressed holidaymakers chattered and laughed as they made their way down the gangplank and off the ferry. They fitted the happy and sparkling mood of Rottnest Island, Western Australia’s favourite holiday destination and portion of paradise.

Excited children carried surfboards and fishing rods or wheeled their bicycles. Their parents called out to them while struggling with beach towels and snorkeling gear. As they all surged off the ferry they created a high-spirited holiday mood that promised enjoyment and fun in the sun.

But two passengers stood out from the merry crowd. A man and a woman, both formally dressed, weren’t contributing to the laughter or anticipation of enjoyment.

Larissa thought they looked like the opposite of everything Rottnest stood for. The man was tall and dressed for business in a dark suit, blue shirt and red tie. His only luggage was a laptop computer bag. He was speaking to his female companion, who also looked she would be more at home in a boardroom than on a beach.

Nicholas Montagu was the man Larissa’s sister Marjorie had asked her to meet, when she rang Larissa earlier that morning. He was a man who, according to Marjorie, “…was going to do great things for Rottnest, so we’d better be helping him from the start.”

Larissa intercepted him and his companion at the foot of the gangway. Resisting the urge to send him tumbling into the water, she forced herself to smile.

“Mr Montagu?”

He faced her and she took and involuntary half-step backwards. He was well over six feet in height and she had to tilt her head to meet his look. There were flecks of steely grey in his short, thick black hair. His lean and hungry-looking face had strong and regular features, most striking of which were the eyes. They were very dark – almost black – and seemed to take in her presence in an instant.

“Good morning. I’m Larissa Kidd, aprt owner of the Blue Daisy, the ferry on which you’ve just traveled. You’ve met my sister Marjorie?”

He nodded.

“She called me earlier and asked me to meet you.”

He reached out and took her hand in his. His grip was firm and strong.

“And good morning to you, Ms Kidd. Thank you for meeting us…”

Larissa jumped as the ferry hooted to hurry off the last few passengers. She took a deep breath and realised he was still holding her hand in his. He hadn’t flinched.

“…this is my assistant, Ashleigh Kane.” He turned to the attractive woman in her mid-twenties who was at his side. Ashleigh was dressed for work instead of play: black pinstriped jacket and skirt, white shirt, black stockings and court shoes. Her long brown hair was tied into a braid which was draped over a shoulder.

Larissa extracted her hand from his grip and made a deliberate effort to draw her attention from the good-looking man. She focused her attention on Ashleigh, shook her hand and was flashed a short and insincere smile in return.

TO BE CONTINUED...