§ § § -- January 25, 1998

Josie slept late Sunday morning and was awakened only by a patient but persistent knocking on her bungalow door. She stumbled out of bed and to the main room, pulling the door open and squinting at the native islanders standing on the other side.

"Breakfast, miss," said one of them. Josie rubbed her eyes and managed to open them enough to get a good look at the wheeled table containing a large covered dish and a clean plate, atop which a cloth napkin had been folded to resemble a rose. There were utensils and a pitcher of orange juice; a small vase of flowers and the morning newspaper completed the setup.

"Wow," said Josie. "Okay, come on in." She moved aside and watched the natives swiftly roll the table in, set it up so that it was ready for her to begin eating, and then leave with nods and smiles. Josie smiled back, thanked them and closed the door.

"This is really cool," she murmured appreciatively, surveying the spread and taking in the breakfast menu. There was French toast, eggs sunny-side-up, a small bowl of fruit and another of oatmeal. Wondering what she had done to deserve the royal treatment, she sat down and dug in, picking up the paper and leisurely reading the front-page news items before putting down her fork and opening it up—only to gasp so hard she nearly aspirated a bite of oatmeal and began to cough violently. All the while she was gaping at the colorful advertisement that covered all of page three. There was a photo of a smiling Devin Reilley; atop the picture was an announcement in red block letters: "I APOLOGIZE!" Underneath the picture, in smaller red block letters, was the heading "TO ALL RESIDENTS AND GUESTS OF FANTASY ISLAND:" And finally, in regular black type, a short paragraph that read as follows: "I, Devin Reilley, hereby apologize to all of you. I've taken advantage, steamrollered over most of you, belittled and criticized you, and taken you to task for the smallest things. I've been rude and uncivilized, unheeding of others' feelings, and generally a complete pain in the neck to anyone and everyone. In short, I'm a total cad. I'm going to change that, starting this very day. I understand that most of you reading this may not believe me; if you need proof, just come to the set of Beneath a Tropical Moon and you'll see for yourself. Free autographs and tours of the set to all comers. I wish to extend a special thanks to Mr. Roarke, Leslie Hamilton, and a certain Miss J.W. for bringing me to my senses. Thank you for your time and your generous hospitality." Taking up most of the remaining space at the bottom of the page was Devin's sprawling signature. Josie stared at it in sheer amazement till she'd gotten control over her coughing fit, then sat down, lifted the page off the floor where it had fallen and reread the entire thing, trying to make herself believe it was real.

She ate the rest of her breakfast in slow motion, remembering in the middle of it that she had said she'd spend her entire day with Devin Reilley if Roarke and Leslie could get him to do exactly what he'd just done. It might not be so bad if he really meant it, she mused, but who knew? She glanced out the window. So far she had been left in peace, even though she could see by the little clock on the end table that it was well after ten. Maybe if she just holed up in the bungalow all day, they'd forget all about her.

Presently Josie finished her breakfast and had just decided to go back to bed and get some more sleep when there was another knock on the door. Either the natives had come for the breakfast dishes, or it was time for lunch, she thought. Shrugging, she went back to the door and opened it—only to see Roarke and Leslie there. Leslie smiled brightly, and Roarke said, "Good morning, Ms. Waring! Are you ready to join Mr. Reilley on his tour of the island?" He took in her comfy old bathrobe and raised both eyebrows. "It appears you aren't. Surely you don't intend to keep him waiting?"

"Especially after he apologized," Leslie added.

Josie closed her eyes and moaned as if someone had kicked her in the knee. "Do I really have to do this?" she whined.

"You said you would," Leslie reminded her. "You told us, in so many words, that if Devin Reilley took out a full-page ad apologizing for his actions, you'd spend your entire Sunday with him. Right, Father?"

"Precisely," Roarke concurred, "and since Mr. Reilley has kept his end of the bargain, it's time for you to do the same. We will give you ten minutes to dress."

"Fifteen?" Josie pleaded weakly. "I need a shower."

Leslie and Roarke looked at each other; in her distress, Josie missed the sparkle in their eyes. "Do you think we need to post someone at the back of the bungalow in case she tries to escape out the bathroom window?" Leslie wondered.

"I don't know," Roarke mused thoughtfully. "But it's worth consideration…"

"Please," Josie burst out in desperation. "I promise I won't try to run away. It's just that I can't believe it really happened. Are you sure he's really sorry?"

Leslie grinned. "About as sorry as you could possibly hope for."

Roarke looked puzzled. "Why else would he have taken out that advertisement?" he asked, with what sounded like honest curiosity.

Josie thought it over and sighed wearily. "Oh, all right," she grumbled. "I'll be back out shortly." She closed the door, and Roarke and Leslie grinned at each other, settling their stances for the wait.

When Josie emerged, she was fully dressed, although her hair was still damp. She carried a canvas tote bag and was pulling a brush through her hair. "Well, I suppose I'm ready," she said. "I'm telling you right now, though, I'm extremely skeptical."

"That's your prerogative, Ms. Waring, but you are obligated to give Mr. Reilley the chance to redeem himself," Roarke said pleasantly. "He will meet us at the main house, and you will have a jeep to use for the remainder of the day. If you'll come with us?"

The walk wasn't long, and sure enough, Devin Reilley was waiting in Roarke's office, sitting in one of the leather chairs whistling to himself. He stood up when the threesome entered the room. "Oh, thanks, Mr. Roarke and Leslie. Hi there, Josie."

"Hi," Josie mumbled warily, with a hooded look.

"The jeep is waiting for you in the lane," Roarke said. "You may leave anytime you wish, and we both hope you will enjoy your day together."

Devin grinned. "Oh, I definitely will," he said, "and I'll do my best to make sure Josie does too. Thanks again, Mr. Roarke, I really appreciate this." He turned to Josie and offered his arm, eliciting an astonished look from her before she slowly slid hers through it. Roarke and Leslie watched them go; then Roarke casually held out his hand, palm up, and Leslie playfully slapped hers palm down onto it before they both began to laugh.

"Our carriage awaits, my lady," Devin said cheerfully, handing Josie up and into the passenger seat of the jeep. "First stop, the hotel. Chef Miyamoto has very kindly agreed to provide us a picnic basket. Besides, I want to see if his wife's okay."

Confused, Josie watched him walk around the front of the vehicle and climb into the driver's seat. "His wife? What's wrong with her?"

Devin started the engine. "She had a baby yesterday—about three weeks early. I heard the labor took almost all day." He piloted the jeep along the lane and onto the Ring Road as he spoke. "I don't even know what they had, but once I find out I'm going to do some shopping for the kid. For that matter, I'll get some stuff for the whole family. They're going to have their hands full with a preemie in the house." Josie gaped at him openmouthed the entire time he was talking; she barely noticed when they pulled into the hotel parking lot. "Wanna come with me?" Devin suggested.

"Oh…s-sure," Josie said dazedly and followed Devin through the hotel lobby, where he waved genially at the desk clerks and beamed at all the folks having brunch in the dining room. Josie tripped over several chair legs from her amazement, and each time Devin caught her and asked if she was all right. By the time they'd reached the kitchen entrance, Josie's toes all throbbed from repeated stubbing, though she was hardly aware of it.

Chef Miyamoto came out and bowed a little to Devin. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"Could I impose on you for a picnic basket for myself and the lady here?" Devin asked, ultra-polite, shocking Josie still more. "I understand you're the most talented chef in several countries, and I'm looking forward to enjoying your handiwork."

The chef looked almost as surprised as Josie, but he smiled and bowed again. "Of course, Mr. Reilley, of course! Would you prefer to come in or wait out here?" Devin opted to watch, so he and Josie trailed the chef into the kitchen and looked on as he deftly assembled a delectable-looking lunch, packing everything into a large basket that came complete with plates, cutlery and even a red-and-white-checked picnic cloth. All the while they discoursed on the Miyamotos' new baby, a girl to be named Chikako. In about fifteen minutes the picnic basket was full, and Devin and Josie departed with fulsome thanks on Devin's part, mixed with a few faint ones from Josie.

"Okay, how about you help me do some shopping?" Devin asked cheerily once they were back on the road. "I hear there're some really nice shops in town."

"Yeah," said Josie and gave her head a very hard shake. "Right."

Devin peered sidewise at her, trying to keep at least one eye on the road, and let out a laugh. "I know, I know—you still can't quite get your head around the idea that maybe I really meant what I said in that newspaper ad, huh?"

"Well, that's part of it," Josie said. "What really gets me is that you even placed that ad to begin with."

"Oh," said Devin and laughed again. "Just between you and me, Josie, I admit to being talked into it. Mr. Roarke and Leslie tracked me down at the luau last night and took seats at my table without waiting for me to invite them, and then Mr. Roarke proceeded to guess why I was sitting around moping and told me what I could do about it. At first I thought he was insane, but Leslie assured me you were still plenty disgusted with me, and that if I truly wanted another chance with you, I'd do it."

"And I suppose you're going to tell me you did truly want another chance with me," Josie said with a sort of "harrumph" in her voice.

"Yep, I did," Devin said amiably, "and I still do." He pulled the jeep into a space in front of a shop and killed the engine, then shifted in his seat, reached out and gently turned her head till she was looking at him, however unwillingly. "I realize you're skeptical, and you have every right to be. But there's something I think you ought to know, something I already told Mr. Roarke and Leslie. I'm serious about you because you're the first person in years to stand up to me, tell me where to get off, and refuse to be either impressed or intimidated by my movie-star status. After you gave me that daiquiri shower at lunch yesterday, you stuck to your guns and kept chopping down my ego all day long…and the more you did it, the more I wanted to get through to you." He chuckled self-deprecatingly and looked away, a bit abashed. "For that matter, you got to me so much that by the time I agreed to put that ad in this morning's paper, I'd fallen half in love with you."

Josie gave him a long stare, still not entirely convinced, but wanting very much to believe him in spite of her better judgment. Finally she warned, "Don't exaggerate."

"Do you call this exaggerating?" Devin countered softly, tipping toward her and gently kissing her. Josie's eyes popped wide open and stayed that way till he deepened the kiss; then something else entirely crept over her and her eyes slid shut as she lost herself in the one thing she'd spent so many years dreaming about.

"Wow," she breathed when he finally pulled back from her.

"Do you believe me now?" Devin asked.

She regarded him quite solemnly for about ten seconds, then mused, "I think I need a little more convincing."

He grinned. "Happy to oblige." And he kissed her again, more thoroughly than the first time, till they absolutely had to come up for air. That was when they realized they had an audience, which when Devin and Josie looked around began to clap loudly.

They grinned foolishly at the gathered locals and then at each other. "Well, first of all, let's do some baby shopping, and then we're going off to a nice secluded picnic," Devin decided. "That way I can finish convincing you in private." Josie giggled and nodded.