Her smile hits me like a drug, warmth flooding through my veins and making my heart palpitate as if I’ve been done a mountain of lines. “I like the sound of that,” she says, “but are you gonna feed me or taunt me with the rest of the fruit we have here?”
“Do you want me to feed the rest to you, or are you going to satisfy yourself?”
“Oh, as much as I love satisfying myself, I think this is a punnet built for two.”
Her words slay me, but I can’t help throwing back a cheeky, “Any ideas?”
“I’ve got many ideas.” She seductively licks her lips for emphasis. “But nothing we could do on a public beach.”
When Olivia stretches out on the sand, arms raised above her head it’s as if the sun decided to bathe her in a glorious glow. The clouds suddenly disappear and there’s only Olivia and me, her body calling to every part of me.
To heal.
To hold.
To claim her as mine.
And this time, I won’t fuck it up.
Tonight
Olivia
The evening air iscool against my skin as we walk back from the restaurant, hand in hand. Hunter hasn’t let go of me all night, and my body tingles with anticipation for what’s to come. It’s been five years since I felt Hunter’s touch, and now, after spending these days getting to know each other again, I feel as giddy as a schoolgirl at the thought of being more than friends again.
He used to be my everything, until he …no. I refuse to let the past destroy our future. If I can’t learn to trust him again … if I’m not prepared to trust him again, then I might as well find the first flight to who-the-fuck-knows-where and never see him again.
“I heard about the deal you closed with AMZ Motors,” Hunter says, breaking the comfortable silence and my self-destructivethoughts. I’ll never admit it aloud, but he was right in wanting us to wait. We’ve both changed during our years apart and having these days to get to know each other again as friends has been necessary to find out who we are as people today. I have to keep reminding myself, what’s one or two rebuffed kisses when we might have a lifetime to share?I’m enough. I have to believe that Hunter wants this as much as I do.
“You heard about that?” I had done all the research, developed the pitch and the negotiation strategy for Mitch and his team to lead. But when it came time to approach AMZ, Mitch’s father wanted me to take the lead. It had taken almost six months of working eighty-hour weeks and I never knew that work could be such a rush. Closing the deal had been a tremendous coup and cemented my reputation as more than the girlfriend of the boss’ son, but Mitch had blown it off as beginner’s luck. I let his resentment slide because his career seemed to go from disaster to disaster.
“I heard about it from friends in London who couldn’t believe they got bested by an Aussie chick.” Hunter offers me a high-five and a genuine grin. “I could have told them people have been underestimating you since the grade school mathematics championships. But still, how did you get them to agree to the transition clause.”
I shrug, thinking back to the intense negotiations that seemed impossible more days than not. “I locked all the lawyers in a room for a weekend and refused to let them out until we reached an agreement. I leaked an announcement date to a friend in the financial press. It was risky, but it worked.”
Hunter’s pride in me is palpable. “Seriously, Liv, most people work their entire careers to build the reputation you created with that one deal. Well done, kiddo.”
“Would you stop calling me that!”
“Why?”
“Just because I’m one month younger than you doesn’t make me a kid.”
“Doesn’t make you older than me either. And in any case, would you want me to call you my old woman?”
“Not unless the name comes with a shiny bike.”
Hunter laughs, a deep, rich sound that sends shivers down my spine. “Never seen you as a girl who could handle helmet hair.”
“I used to love you so much,” I say, the words slipping out before I can stop them.
“I loved you,” Hunter responds softly. “Probably never stopped. But we don’t need to talk about that, yet.”
Instead of heading straight back to our villa, Hunter takes me on a scenic route along the beach. The remnants of last night’s fire are barely visible, hidden beneath the sand. By the time we climb the stairs to our temporary home, his arm is around my waist, and my head rests comfortably in the crook of his neck. It’s as if the past five years have melted away.
“Where do you want me?” Hunter nods towards the spare room, a safe alternative.
Not tonight. I have a plan.
