One Weekend in London

13. Sadie

Our plates now clean,Rhys rises.

A devilish glint sparkles in his eyes, making me shift in my seat as he extends his hand. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”

More than a little intrigued, I let him pull me up and lead me to the bow of the yacht. The once-in-a-lifetime view is awe-inspiring, leaving me thunderstruck as I stare at London, in all its resplendent glory, stretching out before us, the iconic skyline a glittering jewel against the gray sky.

From where we sail down the Thames, I can see the Tower Bridge in the distance, its majestic towers reaching toward the heavens as the Tower of London stands sentinel, and the gleaming skyscrapers of Canary Wharf pierce the horizon.

Honestly, it’s like a postcard come to life.

“This is...” I struggle to find the words. “Holy crap, it’s breathtaking.”

“It is.” Rhys squeezes my hand, his warmth enveloping me. “Yet, once more, it pales in comparison to you.”

He moves behind me, his arms sliding around my waist, anchoring me against his chest. It’s a gesture I’m learning he favors, a declaration of his desire to keep me close.

“Let me show you the world, Sadie. Every corner, every hidden gem. With you by my side, everything seems brighter, more alive.”

A surge of emotion swells in my chest, threatening to overflow, taking with it the last of the walls protecting my heart.

“You hardly even know me and—”

“Bollocks!” My head spins when he turns me in his arms until we’re face-to-face, his eyes boring into mine with an intensity I haven’t seen from him before now. “We’ve already had this conversation, love, but allow me to reiterate. I know, with every fibre of my being, you’re the one I’ve been waiting for.”

His hand comes up, pinching my chin, his thumb caressing my skin with a tenderness that nearly undoes me. “Your heart, your kindness, the way you immediately lit up my world, snuffing out the lonely darkness the second you burst into it—that’s all I need to be certain of the way I feel.”

Tears blur my vision, my heart swelling with an emotion I dare not name.

“But I... This is all happening so fast.”

And here comes the anxiety-riddled verbal vomit, followed swiftly by my habitual overthinking. Seriously, why do I do this to myself?

“I want to believe everything you’re saying, everything I feel. But I’m terrified at any moment, I’ll wake up and find out it was all just a beautiful dream. That I’ll still be stuck in grief and hurt, with no signs of healing or breaking free. That my British Prince Charming didn’t really find me; that he isn’t truly determined to save me from the pain.”

“Then let me prove to you this is real.”

Backing me against the bow’s railing, nearly bending me over it, he sinks his hand into the hair at my nape, pinning me in place. My hands fly to his shoulders when he dips his head, capturing my lips in a kiss that douses my insides in accelerant and strikes a match, setting me on fire.

It’s a kiss that brands me—body and soul—a desperate promise of what could be.

That’s if I allow fate to have her way.

When we finally break apart, I’m left breathless and trembling, my lips swollen and aching as I cling to him like a lifeline. As if I’m drowning and he’s a lifesaving buoy, ready to keep me afloat.

“That felt... incredibly real.”

“Oh, believe me, we’re just getting started.” A wicked grin spreads across his handsome face, his eyes glinting with unfiltered mischief. See? Absolute menace. “But first, I need to see you laugh. I crave it, beautiful. More than I crave making love to you.”

Before I can respond, he sweeps me into his strong arms, and tosses me over his shoulder as if I weigh nothing. A surprised shriek escapes my lips, followed by a fit of genuine laughter as he spins me around, his own vibrating through me.

It’s an amazing feeling.

One I never want to lose.

Because in this moment, I suddenly feel lighter than I have in years, the weight of my past lifting from my shoulders with each of Rhys’s turns. It’s as if he’s awakened a part of me I wrongly thought was lost forever, buried beneath the rubble of my shattered heart and broken dreams. It’s now I start to suspect he truly is my missing puzzle piece.

The unexpected key to my redemption.

I don’t know how I ended up here—in a place that was only meant to serve as a temporary escape but has suddenly become much more. As the weekend’s minutes continue to count down, London is turning everything on its end by gifting me something I never thought would be possible again.

A possible second chance at love.

One day, with more time and shared moments spent at his side, I know I’d fall in love with Rhys Kensington. And maybe, just maybe, he could truly fall in love with me too. Only time will tell what the future truly has in store for us, but knowing that happily ever after may be in the cards for me after all makes my heart leap, practically somersaulting in my chest.

I can’t pass this—or him—up.

When he finally sets me back on my feet, we’re both giddy and breathless, our cheeks flushed from laughter. I feel like a kid again, standing atop the world. Impulsively riding the high he’s given me, I stretch up on my toes, pressing a soft kiss to his granitelike jaw.

An idea suddenly strikes, and I quickly reach into my barely-there pocket—yet another feature that makes this particular dress a favorite—and pull out my phone.

Tugging Rhys close, not that he seems to mind, I unabashedly snap a series of selfies, each one perfectly angled to capture the magic of the moment.

In the first, my head rests against his chest, his chin nestled atop my hair. The second shows him nuzzling my cheek, his eyes radiating pure contentment. The third captures him pressing a kiss to my temple, while in the fourth, he playfully nips at my neck, our laughter frozen in time.

Each picture is perfect.

A treasure.

And way too good not to share.

Smirking to myself and intending to stir up a maelstrom back home, but not finding it in myself to care, I open up my family’s group chat without hesitation. It’s perfect timing too because Rhys’s phone rings and he glances at the screen, annoyance dancing across his face.

“I have to take this, love.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

I press a second kiss to his jaw before he turns and answers the call, my focus falling to my phone as well. Biting my lower lip, I start quickly typing, nearly bouncing in place.

Me: [photo] Guess who’s on a day-long date with her very own Prince Charming?

Knox: What. The. Fuck, Sadie?!?! A date? Who is this guy?

Of course Knox would reply first. More overbearing and overprotective than all of my other male cousins combined, he’s a complete pain in my rear. But he’s also one of the best men I know, even if he doesn’t believe it most of the time.

Still, where’s Lillian when I need her?

Tasha: Oh holy crap! Is that Rhys Kensington??? Tell me this isn’t some kind of joke because I’m pretty sure I’m gonna faint. #sexyAF

I should’ve known it wouldn’t be long before my favorite troublemaker, albeit a harmless one, showed up. And I’m not the least bit surprised she knows who Rhys is. She’s more up-to-date on celeb gossip and news than I am on my own life.

Weston: Who the hell is Rhys Kensington? And @Tasha, what do you mean sexy? Keep it up and I’ll lock you in a closet and throw away the key. You’re too young for a boyfriend, much less to be gawking at full grown men!

Tasha: Boy, please. Some girls my age are already getting engaged and having babies. And I gawk at men all the time. Why, just this morning I saw Hendrix Cole at the gas station and lemme tell you...

She has a point about Hendrix.

Too bad he’s married and twice her age.

Weston: You’re a teenager! And Hendrix? If he’s your type, then somebody kill me now. Just go on and put me outta my misery! @Papaw, come get your granddaughter!

Great. The looney family patriarch has been summoned. This whole conversation is about to go to hell in a handbasket faster than I can blink.

Me: Glad to see nothing has changed since I left.

Lillian: @Sadie, nope! You know how the men in our family are—pure ridiculous at times. How’s the date going? Miss you so much! Can’t wait until you’re back home.

Me: [photo] @Lillian, it’s perfect! He’s perfect! So glad I followed your advice and took a chance. Now he says he wants me to stay longer. Maybe it makes us both crazy, but I’m starting to think that might not be the worst idea...

Knox: Again, WHAT THE FUCK? @Papaw stop talking to your chickens and get on here! @Sadie no way in hell are you staying in London. The last thing I need is to leave Tate right now, but if I have to get on a plane and drag you home, I will. @Eli, @Weston, @Deacon, @Emmett, @Rhett, @Sutton, get your passports ready!

I nearly snort. I’d like to see them try and take me from Rhys. But then my smile falters when I think of Tate, Knox’s teenaged daughter and my baby cousin. Scarred by trauma and lost in darkness, she’s been lashing out as of late, dangerously rebelling each and every way she can.

It breaks my heart to see.

I’ve tried everything to help her, our entire family has, but nothing’s working. Therapy, medications, group interventions—none of it has made a dent in the grief-constructed walls she’s built.

The only person who has a snowball’s chance in Hades of saving Tate is Wendy, the single mom Knox has been shadowing ever since she rolled back into Garrison a few years back.

But Knox is too blinded by his own pain to see what the entire Winslow family already knows—Wendy is the key to fixing both his and Tate’s broken hearts.

Hopefully, he’ll soon realize that.

Before it’s too late.

Me: [photo] Not your choice, Knox. Nor anyone else’s. I’m living my life for me now. And my life = my choices. I appreciate you being protective and wanting to keep me safe, but I’m a full-grown woman who doesn’t answer to anybody. Except Papaw.

Tasha: Cue Knox’s heart attack in 3, 2, 1...

I chuckle to myself over Knox and his dramatics. But mainly because I’m enjoying this so much. Biting my lower lip, I type out one last, quick message as Rhys silently waits for me to finish.

Me: @Everyone, don’t expect a call from me tonight! Probably gonna be busy. Love you guys, even when you’re being complete pains in my derriere. Toodles!

I silence my phone before slipping it back into my pocket, knowing full well that I’ve, once again, stirred up a hornet’s nest back home. But I’ll deal with the fallout and Knox’s huffing and puffing later. Right now, I’m exactly where I want to be.

“All done?” Rhys asks, amusement lacing his voice as if he knows I was busy working my family into a tizzy.

“Yup. Just checking in with everyone back home.” A mischievous grin plays on my lips. “I may have sent them a picture or two of me and you. Hope you don’t mind.”

The look of pure male satisfaction that crosses his handsome face as he tucks me into his side, his hand resting possessively on my hip, tells that nope, he doesn’t mind one bit. In fact, I think me sending photos of us together pleases him greatly.

“No, I don’t mind.” His grip on my hip tightens. “So, have you enjoyed your ride thus far?”

“M’hm.” I nod, a wicked idea forming in my mind. “But you have yet to take me on a tour, show me the master suite.” Where I plan to take a different kind of ride. “And truth be told, I’m very interested in seeing that.”

He arches a brow, his fingers flexing on my hip sending sparks of desire reverberating all through me, the memory of the pleasure he wrung from me back at the Eye flashing in the forefront of my mind. The way he made me feel with just his fingers...

I nearly shiver.

“Is that so?”

“It sure is.” Emboldened, I let my hand drift down his chest, feeling the hard muscles contract beneath my touch. “In fact, I’m requesting an up close and personal inspection. You know, just to ensure it meets my swanky standards and all. Then I thought, once I’m finished with that, maybe you could inspect me.”

A low, primal growl rumbles through his chest. “Careful. You keep teasing me, and I might just toss you over my shoulder again. Only this time, it won’t be for laughs as I spin you in circles. It’ll be so I can carry you straight to my bed.”

Heat pools low in my belly, my core clenching with need. “Promises, promises.”

His jaw clenches, his gentlemanly restraint clearly being pushed to its limits as he quickly leads me below deck. The tension between us, swirling around us like vapor, is so thick you could cut it with a knife, even as we make our way through the galley, coming to a stop at a closed door.

“Welcome to the master suite,” he whispers, his voice a sinful caress. “Where I’ll be more than happy to make your filthiest fantasies come true.”

He gives me no chance to reply.

Not before he pushes open the door, revealing a spacious, sunlit cabin dominated by a king-size bed piled high with plush pillows and crisp, white linens.

It’s like a scene straight out of my most forbidden daydreams.

Dreams that, to be honest, I’ve been having since the moment Rhys first approached me at The Opulence, even if I fought to push them from my mind.

“That bed looks awfully comfortable.” My pulse quickens, desire pooling between my thighs. “Think it feels as comfy as it looks?”

“Oh, it’s comfortable. The real question is...” He leans in closer, his breath hot against the shell of my ear, making me shiver with anticipation. “How loud will you scream my name when I make you come apart in it, over and over again?”

My knees practically give out and all I can think is...

Best. Damn. Yacht. Tour. Ever.