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Audrey
I’d lied to Jenny: I’d told her I’d be brave and that I’d be smart. But lying nak**ed and waiting for James was not brave, and it was not smart. It was, however, all I had. It was my last-ditch effort to make him just a John and to save him from me.
It hadn’t worked. He had shown me who he was. And he had told me that he loved me.
When he said it, it was the best thing that had ever happened to me and the worst thing that had ever happened to me. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So I cried. A lot.
And then he’d held me, and I’d tried to tell him that it wasn’t going to work out, but he’d just kept holding me.
After a while, we just snuggled together on the bed and fell asleep. Neither one of us had slept much the night before. I nestled into his arms, feeling protected and for once in my life, absolutely happy.
I woke up a little while later in my normal state: absolutely petrified about the future.
“Hey.” James opened one eye and looked at me, a smile spreading over his face. “Hey—I love you.”
I couldn’t help it. It was contagious; a huge smile broke out over my face, too. “Hey. I love you, too.” We grinned at each other, and I kissed him then, hungrily. But as soon as I thought of the word “hunger” my stomach started howling loudly.
“We need to eat,” he said, still grinning at me. “Does my girlfriend want to have an early dinner by the pool?”
Even though I would berate myself for it later, I couldn’t wipe the stupid smile off my face. James’s happiness was infectious; his easy joy at our newly declared feelings was palpable. “I would love to,” I said.
“Okay,” he said.
“Okay,” I said.
Our truce must have been patently obvious, because Cole smiled at us in approval when we finally made it out of our villa. We went to the restaurant by the enormous infinity pool; he and Jenny were sitting at the bar.
“I see some people who look like they had sex and made up,” Cole called, grinning at us.
“We didn’t have sex,” James said. I could see how Cole thought so: James’s skin was flushed and glowing, a happy smile on his face.
“You didn’t?” Cole asked. He looked impressed. “You might as well put a ring on it, bro. You’re done for.”
“Cole, leave them alone,” Jenny said, and she punched him playfully. “You two go have lunch and then come swimming with us.” She stood up and winked at me. I noticed she was wearing a crop top and a minuscule, black bikini bottom. Her curvy, luscious body was on full display. Cole was staring at her as**s, a worshipful look on his face.
“I’m glad you two look happy again,” she said. They turned and headed toward the pool, holding hands; I noticed that Jenny was indeed wearing a thong bikini like she’d threatened. Cole put his hand firmly on her as**s, and she turned and winked at me again before putting her aviator sunglasses on.
I had to hand it to Jenny: she was certainly batting Cole Bryson around like a cat toy. And he appeared to like it. A lot.
“Don’t you dare look at her in that bikini,” I said to James accusingly.
“I would never,” he said, laughing. “But I might have to buy you one of those.”
* * *
We held hands all through our meal. I was so relieved to be with him again, to feel our connection back. Even though it had only been one night, it had been the longest one of my life. I didn’t let myself think about all the bad things that were on the flip side of my feelings for him. I couldn’t bear to spoil the moment.
Everything was perfect if I could let myself ignore almost everything but James. I’d never seen him so happy before, so relaxed. For once, I wasn’t going to be the one to take that away from him.
We ordered margaritas, fish tacos, and a curried vegetable rice. We ate every morsel. “I think I’m going to sink when I get into the pool,” James said, pushing his empty plate away.
“It was worth it, though,” I said. “Yum.” He grabbed my hand and beamed at me. Heat shot through me at his touch, the way I felt under his gaze. But just when I thought nothing could burst my bubble, Celia Preston’s slim figure cast a wide shadow over our table.
“Mother,” James said by way of a greeting. “How inconvenient of you to show up and ruin a perfectly decent meal.”
“You two look much happier,” she said, ignoring his comment. She eyed our entwined hands and empty margarita glasses.
“We are, Mother,” James said. He looked up at her, his face clear and calm. “I’ve actually never been this happy.”
