On The Beach (Modern Vintage)

29. Bottoms Up and Outta Luck

CHAPTER 29

bottom's up and outta luck

MICK

" B elle, come on," I said, exasperated, following her up the rocky path toward the Coral Cove. "You're actually staying at the Cove instead of my place? Don't tell me you're too good for the beach hut now."

She shot me a withering look over her shoulder. "Oh, I'll gladly take the Cove over your hut, thank you. At least there, I don't have to deal with hammocks, rusty showers, or you ."

"Hey, I cleaned that place up for you and have a bed. And you like the waterfall." I slid an arm around her, which pissed her off even more. "I made sure Franco busted his back making sure the hut was pristine for your arrival."

She raised an eyebrow, pure sarcasm written across her face. "Pristine? Mick, I had to kick a hermit crab out of the bathroom the last time I was there."

"Come on, those guys are harmless! Practically family." I held back a grin because she was inclined to throw a punch at me. "Besides, you're making me sound like I'm uncivilized, which I'm not."

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as if she was physically restraining herself from throttling me .

I couldn't help but laugh. "Admit it, Belle, you're happy about being here."

She stopped, turning to face me, looking furious and beautiful at once. "For how long am I here?"

I kissed her then. I didn't mind her angry, but I did mind when she was sad. I did mind when I could see the panic on her face. "Belle, the clinical trials are under control. I need you to delegate. Let's start with a week off and then we'll see how it goes. Alright?"

We began to walk toward the Coral Cove.

"A week isn't so bad," she admitted.

Good thing I didn't tell her that I was planning on her staying here for at least a month. The team would start collecting the preliminary clinical trial data soon and crunching it so we could see some results. Belle could do a lot of the work from here where the sun was shining, and she couldn't sleep in her lab.

I leaned in, meeting her gaze with a grin. "Just admit it. You're glad you're back."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "The only thing I'm glad about is that RiRi's letting me stay at the Coral Cove and not forcing me into that hermit crab–infested excuse for a hut."

"You love the hut but fine." I feigned defeat. "Stay at the Cove. But just so you know, it doesn't have my patented, world-famous sunset view."

She paused, looking at me like I'd sprouted a second head. "Did you just call a sunset view patented?"

I shrugged, trying to keep a straight face. "It's all part of the package deal."

She shook her head, marching off without another word, but I caught the smallest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

The Coral Cove regulars were delighted to see Belle again. She couldn't see it or even realize it, but since we'd landed, she'd started shedding the stress and the scientist away to just be herself . This was exactly what I wanted for her.

I took a picture of her laughing with Cato and Franco as she sat at the bar and sent it to her family with a note that simply said: Mission Accomplished!

They all texted back that Belle looked much better than she had in months.

Nothing seemed to have changed except geography for me. Emotionally, I was fine in Reef Harbor. And despite my concerns, I had been fine in Boston, probably because I was with Belle. I enjoyed working again, albeit not like I used to.

The role of consultant suited me.

Dr. Kher and the new leadership team in my old company agreed and asked me to come back in that capacity. I'd be able to choose the projects I worked on, how much I worked on them, and from where. I'd told Dr. Kher that I'd talk to Belle about it and get back to him. It would mean that Belle and I would have to commute between the Caribbean and Cambridge.

That was the other thing she didn't realize or maybe she did but didn't accept—we were a couple, had been for months. She tried to kick me out of her life, but her attempts were half-hearted at best. We enjoyed each other—at work and out of it. I'd never thought I'd fall in love with someone who could discuss the intricacies of an AAV9 gene therapy construct over breakfast and still keep me captivated. But there she was—rattling off vectors, promoters, and transgene expressions like some people talked about the weather.

I was completely hooked on every part of her.

I loved that she could argue with me about the optimal vector genome length one minute and then have me laughing the next.

She was madly in love with me as well, and not just because I made her say it when we had sex, and she was desperate for an orgasm.

I had gone to London for a few days around Christmas to see my mother and told her about Belle. She was thrilled and determined to become a grandmother now that her only child had succumbed to matters of the heart.

However, my mother, ever the aristocrat, had her priorities set—and chief among them was what Belle and our future children would call her. " Nicholas, they'll simply have to come up with something dignified. Grandmother sounds so dreadfully elderly. I can't possibly stand for that ," she stated, lifting her chin with that regal air.

I pulled Belle's bar stool in close, sliding onto the one behind her so I could wrap my arms around her. She didn't protest; she just leaned into me. Yeah, she was madly in love with me!

"Oh, hey, Belle." Franco grinned in a way that immediately made me wary. "Did we ever tell you how we kept you on the island the first time you were here?"

Cato raised his glass, smirking. "Ah, yes. The infamous Operation Ferry."

I groaned. "Now, wait?—"

Belle's eyes darted between them, intrigued. "What operation?"

RiRi leaned forward, laughing. "Mick didn't tell you? Well, these three idiots—Mick included, obviously—sabotaged Papa Lou's ferry to keep you from leaving."

Belle's mouth dropped open as she turned to look at me. She was both horrified and amused. "You sabotaged the ferry?"

I put my hands up defensively. "Now, hang on. It wasn't actual sabotage. Just some creative maintenance delays."

Cato burst out laughing. "Yeah, sure, creative maintenance . It took poor Papa Lou a couple of days to figure out why his engine kept sputtering, and you had to special order parts for him."

"That's because Franco kept yanking shit he shouldn't have," I protested.

Franco leaned back, enjoying himself. "Mick said he couldn't let the most interesting woman he's ever met get away so soon."

"I never said those words," I retorted confidently.

"You could've just asked me to stay." Belle kissed my cheek.

"That would be way too much of a commitment for Mick," RiRi cut in with a smirk. "Though, funnily enough, right after you left, he chased after you and spilled his heart and guts for everyone to see. Quite da spectacle, really."

"Never seen a man run after a woman so hard," Cato agreed.

I stroked a finger down Belle's cheek. "A good woman is hard to find; a crazy woman is harder to find, and since I'd found my brand of nuts, I wasn't going to let her get away."

Belle's gaze stayed fixed on me, a half-smile forming on her lips as she processed this new information. "Is that so?"

I kissed her softly. "Yes, it is so."

She laughed, shaking her head, and I couldn't help but savor the small victory. “You're unbelievable, Mick. Manipulative, sneaky, and… completely ridiculous.”

" And completely yours."

Her expression softened. "So, let me get this straight. You sabotaged a ferry to stop me from leaving the island, followed me all the way to Cambridge and barged into my lab, conspired with my family to drug me, hauled me halfway across the world, and now you expect me to… what? Be flattered?"

She was flattered. More than that, she knew she was loved; she knew that I was mad about her.

"Well, yeah. After all, Babycakes, you know that love makes people do crazy things."

She had no idea these were words I never thought I'd say again. I never believed I'd fall in love. It still felt surreal to wake up in the morning and see her lying next to me in bed after I'd finally convinced her to move into my hut. To glance across the lab and catch her wrinkling her nose as she crunched data. To feel this overwhelming joy—something I never thought I was capable of—just by being with her.

"You're lucky I find crazy a little bit charming," she said somberly.

"Babycakes, I've been getting lucky ever since you stepped on the island."