Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
He wanted me.
He could have me.
His eyes promised things later that made my knees go weak with anticipation.
And yet, there was that fatalistic note in his voice, like no matter how good it was, no matter how much we gave each other, it would never be enough. There were too many complications.
I dressed absently, pulling on a pair of shorts and a loose blue crop top. Noemi’s invitation had spelled out the dress code for every event, and this morning was casual because we were going to the conch bar caves after. At least, I was. She’d given us half a dozen options, all of which would have tour guides. I wondered what Garrett had chosen.
Probably the casino.
When I stepped out of my villa, I was surprised to see him standing outside his. From all appearances, he was looking for his key, but when he saw it was me who had stepped out, he dropped the act.
An aching feeling filled my chest as he straightened up and gave me a quick, intimate onceover, then tilted his head in the direction of the resort. “Are you heading to breakfast?” he asked, his voice casual.
I nodded as I began walking toward him, and we fell into step together. While we were closer to the villas than breakfast, we walked very close together, the backs of our hands brushing every now and then. When we walked into the resort, though, we made sure to keep an extra foot between us. I wondered if even that would be enough or if when we walked into the sumptuous private dining room with full length windows that overlooked the water, people would take one look at us and know.
It felt so obvious to me, like there was a neon sign over our heads. Surely the glowing sensation in my body was shining out of my eyes and hair and pores. And Noemi would recognize that glow, the glow of being in love with Garrett Thompson.
No, not in love, my mind hurried to correct itself. Infatuated. It was just infatuation. This was one of the dangers I’d associated with sex and its antecedents–the last thing I needed to do right now was waste time thinking I was in love, wondering if he felt the same way, drawing our initials in hearts and wondering what our future children would look like. I needed to focus on my career. The movie was wrapping soon, and I had auditions coming up, and I needed to think of a way to get into that indie movie.
Still, when Garrett happened to sit right across from me at breakfast, my heart fluttered. We were careful not to look at each other, but if I moved my foot forward, I could rest the toe of my sandals against his. Stupid that just from the feel of my sandal against his sent flashes of last night through my head. It was hard to make conversation over eggs and avocado toast while remembering how his tongue felt licking into my most sensitive space.
Finally, Noemi stood up and announced that the tour guides were waiting out front to take us to our respective destinations.
“Where are you going?” Noemi’s sister-in-law, Jamie, asked me.
“The conch bar caves,” I said, my eyes sliding to Garrett’s.
He nodded almost imperceptibly.
“Go on the catamaran with us!” Jamie exclaimed. “I don’t think anyone else is going to the caves.”
It took some work to convince her that I really wanted to see those caves. Enough to go on my own. Really, I didn’t mind. And it was true. Even if Garrett hadn’t nodded, I would rather see the caves than scuba dive or parasail.
Chris finally pulled Jamie away, realizing that they were going to miss their tour if they didn’t leave me to my conch bar caves. Everyone else drifted out, too, until only Garrett and I were left. I felt giddy and incandescent as we walked out to meet our tour guide.
Even away from our group with only the guide–a nice man named Javier who spoke six languages–we didn’t hold hands or kiss, but it was enough to sit next to him in the car, to feel our hands brush as we walked through the caves. The tour wasn’t long, only thirty minutes, but afterward the guide took us up to walk the cliffs.
Garrett reached for my hand when we’d wandered far enough away from the tour guide that we felt like we were alone. I pulled down the brim of my straw hat, and we stayed away from the scattered groups of people. Luckily, there weren’t many. November wasn’t the high season for Turks and Caicos. For a while, I almost felt like we were a normal couple. A man and a woman who liked each other. No A-list ex-wives or fake relationships to complicate things.