Chapter Three

She wringed out her hair as she stepped out of the shower and snagged a towel off the railing. God, she felt alive, there was something about the beach that made you feel like you that way. She stepped into her panties and slipped the light sun dress on over her head, and adjusted the straps. She rolled her hair up loosely and held it in place with a clip.

Her brow rose when the clang of china floated in from the kitchen. “Jon?” She peeked around the corner of the doorframe and stifled a giggle as he tried to manoeuvre something from the oven.

He held up his hand, “don’t, just don’t. Just go and sit outside.”

She nodded and bit back the smile as she walked through to outside, bands of purple and pink stretched high above them as the St Barth’s sun disappeared into the night. Small tea-light candles dotted the porch in red and blue glass votives that surrounded a table set for royalty. A bottle of wine was cooling on ice, and the china place settings gleamed in the candlelight. She sighed and slid into the chair and looked out over the ocean, why couldn’t all days be like this? She couldn’t even remember being at work, trying to massacre the holiday crowds for last minute shopping. It felt like another world away.

She sat up when he came out, and placed a shrimp cocktail in front of her, before putting down his own. “Tonight, I wine and dine you,” he slid into his chair and reached for the wine.

“This looks spectacular, Jon, it’s almost magical. Are you sure you don’t need a hand?” She remembered how well his cooking skills stretched. The man could do many things, cook just wasn’t one of them. It wasn't that he lacked the passion to, it was the patience.

He chuckled, “I had some help, don‘t panic it was delivered while you were in the shower.”

She laughed as she lifted her glass to his, “only you Jon, would order in a romantic dinner.”

“It came as a package.”

She plucked the little cocktail fork off the table, “Even the candles?”

“No, that was all me, my attempt at being romantic...I’m not a mushy guy LJ, but I wanted to make this special.”

She speared some shrimp and slipped it into her mouth, god that was divine. “You’re more romantic than you think Jon, I mean the house? The idea of being here alone for a week, was all you.”

He waggled her brows, “that was just to get you alone, so I could have my wicked way with you.”

“Well it worked. It’s more than I could hope for.”

He picked up his wine again, and held it in thought. She could see those eyes that didn’t ever seem to stop thinking, working overtime.

“This living apart thing is getting hard LJ.”

“Oh?” That line between them was not uncommon, but the way his eyes stayed on hers and his mouth didn’t move in a little quirky grin meant he was serious this time. She’d gone over this in her head and she’d tried to make sense of their living arrangements, there was no issue with the money thankfully, it was more the time. The time that they both had to take leave from their own lives to see the other was becoming harder.

Panic whirled in her belly, he didn’t want to end it did he? It had never been an option, and had never been even hinted at. She took a big gulp of wine; she knew this would eventually come up. Frustrated phone calls and many emails finding gaps in calendars were just many of the little cracks that had started to form.

He reached across the table and took her hand in his, “but let’s enjoy the meal that I slaved for hours preparing.” He squeezed her hand, winked and leaned back.

“All in the space of me having a shower, none the less.”

“You have long showers.”

She narrowed her eyes and smirked, mentally filing away the worry niggling at her.

“Hey, I’m not complaining, it’s worth the effort. Plus you’ll need it for what we’re doing for dessert.”

“Doing?” She asked as he cleared away the glasses and headed back into the kitchen.

“You heard, doing now wait for this main. I asked specifically for this.” He disappeared from her sight and she was left to think against the cooling night breeze in the candlelight glowed through the haze of the sea air coming in off the water. They were seriously alone out here, she couldn’t see a soul anywhere, it was true, something money could in fact buy. Paradise.

“Ta-Da!”He placed down the plate in front of her and she squealed, a fat lobster tail dripped with garlic butter next to fresh asparagus and carrots.

“Lobster, ok I might just marry you.” Their eyes locked, and he smiled before setting down some bread between them.

“If I’d known it was just ever going to take a Lobster Tail, I would have down that ages ago LJ.”

She beckoned him with her finger, “come here.” She leaned up and met his mouth as he bent down, wine and shrimp blended between them as they shared a sweet kiss. Her heart pounded against her chest as he broke away. “I love you Jon.” Be Damned if he was angling for a break up, she was completely in love with him.

He sank into his chair and pointed his fork at her, “you’re just angling for my lobster, admit it.”

She half-laughed as she picked up her glass, they always didn’t say it back to each other straight away and now she was just being silly, but a little reassurance would have been nice. God she sucked at this. Until Jon, Lily couldn’t even remember the last serious relationship she’d had. No one had been worth the effort, and most people were intimidated by her. But not Jon, he was very much the male version of herself at times but they both had qualities that complimented each other. He could at an instant, make her relax with his way and remove whatever stick she had up her ass. Over the last year, Lily had found herself being the one Jon talked through his business decisions to, she challenged his decisions and in turn made him validate his own thoughts.

Now she wasn’t so sure if she could go back to not having this.

“You know me so well.”

They concluded dinner with talking about his kids, and he touched on the latest developments for the new record and that the song-writing process had revealed that they were aiming for a social. He cleared away the plates and returned out to the porch and held out his hand. She took it and lifted it out of the chair and gasped when he dragged her in fiercely for a kiss.

She relaxed and wound her arms around his neck, pushing back his hair. “Dinner was wonderful,” she murmured.

“Uh huh,” he whispered as his mouth left hers for the curve of her neck. He nuzzled into her neck and sighed, “you’re not wearing a bra?”

Her cheek pressed against his hair, “nope.”

“That’ll make it much easier for what I have planned next.”

“Which is?” He pulled away from her, and tugged her off the porch into the sand, dragging her down the beach towards the water.

“Jon! What the hell are you doing?” She laughed as they reached the packed sand and he kicked off his flips.

“We’re going for a dip.” He pulled the shirt off, over his head and popped the button on his cargo pants.

“We are? Here?” She looked around, “now?” They were alone right? What if they weren’t really?

“C’mon LJ, don’t be a chicken.” She watched his perfect naked ass jog away from her into the surf.

She wrapped her arms around herself, “Jon? Seriously couldn’t we just use the spa bath?” She was a wimp, dammit. “Ok, ok..sneaky man.” She quickly discarded the dress and her panties and made her way into the water wincing as the cold spray unmanned her slightly. “Man.” Mortified, she made her way over to him, she had to admit that was kind of liberating.

He hauled her up into his arms catching her disbelief in a slanting kiss. He pressed her back until she arched with the force of it. Teeth clicked as they laughed and he eased her into the situation. This wasn’t so bad after all, and she’d long forgotten if anyone else was out there. Her hands slid down his shoulders to his chest and brushed her thumbs over his nipples.

He growled against her mouth as the beach faded and the water deepened surrounding them in cocoon of warmth as their bodies acclimatised to it. Using the natural buoyancy of the salt water, he curled her further around his hips. Kisses lingered from sweet to hot as they lost themselves in each other.

“I love you LJ.”

She looked up and met his gaze, smiled and crashed her mouth down on his. “Show me, right here, right now.”