Chapter 18
Daisy was content to stay with Lydia at her home while Gabriel dropped off his mother. No one seemed to think it odd that he’d left her here. I’m being paranoid again, she mused, deciding to make a concerted effort to worry less about what others thought of her. She wasn’t her mother and she’d seen how poisonous it could be to focus too much of negative thoughts. Above all, it was a waste of energy.
Lydia stared out across the garden towards the beach before she began to speak again. ‘I think I realised for the first time since running away from Lorenzo with Francesca how much long-term damage his infidelity had caused me, when I watched you and Gabriel coping with your relationship. I knew it deep down, of course, which is why I’ve been so determined to see you and Gabriel find a way to work through your issues,’ Lydia said.
Daisy swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She couldn’t help thinking of her own mother and her wasted life waiting for Peter who was never free to be with her. ‘So many wasted lives,’ she said quietly. ‘Why do people make choices to spite themselves, do you think?’ she asked, aware she’d almost done exactly the same thing.
‘I have no idea,’ Lydia said. ‘Foolish pride, most probably. None of us want to lose face or be humiliated.’
Daisy watched the beautiful lady she’d come to love and wished she could erase the hurt she’d suffered for far too long. ‘Thank you for being so bossy with me and making me at least give Gabriel the chance to put things right.’
‘Bossy?’ Lydia laughed. ‘I supposed I can be, but you’re both well-suited. I could tell the instant I saw you together that you felt about each other the same way Lorenzo and I had done when we were young. I couldn’t bear to sit back and watch two people I was fond of make an unnecessary mistake. You and Gabriel didn’t deserve to suffer because of a bad choice he’d made, and any preconceived ideas where you were concerned.’
‘You’re right,’ Daisy said thoughtfully. ‘I’ve spent too many years watching Mum suffering because of her choices with my dad after he walked out on her that time. I didn’t want to have to go through the same thing.’
‘And that’s completely understandable,’ Lydia said, giving her a hug. ‘But you’re clever enough to listen to advice and act on it.’
They sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.
‘Gabriel showed me the pictures he’d taken of your paintings,’ Lydia said. ‘They’re exceptionally good, you know.’
Daisy couldn’t help smiling gratefully. ‘Thank you. I wasn’t sure I should have let him take the pictures,’ she said. ‘But he was so insistent and I do know that I have to step out of my comfort zone if I want to eventually have the confidence to exhibit them somewhere.’
‘You were right to let him take the pictures,’ she said. ‘Others should be allowed to appreciate your work. It would be a dreadful waste for them to be kept languishing in your room at the back of the hotel.’
They heard the low roar of Gabriel’s Triumph Stag. Daisy’s heart contracted.
‘He’s back quickly,’ Lydia said, unable to hide her amusement. ‘I suppose he didn’t want to waste any of the time he could spend alone here with you.’
Daisy could feel the heat rising through her cheeks.
Lydia smiled. ‘I shouldn’t tease. I enjoy the fact that two young people who I care so much about seem to be falling in love with each other. It brings out the romantic in me.’
In love? She didn’t doubt for a second that her feelings towards Gabriel were exactly that, but could she dare to believe that he could feel as strongly towards her? She didn’t have time to mull over the idea because seconds later Gabriel called out to them both and joined them back at the table.
Lydia smiled. ‘I think you gave your mother a lot to think about tonight, Gabriel,’ she said.
Gabriel frowned. ‘Do you think I should check if she’s OK?’ he asked.
He looked at Daisy while his grandmother mulled over this suggestion.
‘No, darling,’ Lydia said. ‘I think I should call your mother. I need to have a quick word with her anyway. Why don’t you to enjoy the rest of this beautiful evening and I’ll catch up with you both in the morning?’ Without waiting for them to reply, she stood up, blew them both a kiss and headed back inside.
Neither of them spoke until Lydia had disappeared, then Gabriel smiled at Daisy and said, ‘Did you get the impression she was trying to be subtle just then?’
Daisy giggled. ‘Just a little.’ She wasn’t sure what to say next. The thought of an entire evening ahead alone with Gabriel caused her stomach to flip over. Stay calm, she told herself.
He looked a little uncertain. ‘What would you rather do?’ he asked, leaning towards her slightly over the table, his eyes narrowed. ‘We could go for a walk again. The tide is fairly high, but it should be quiet at this time of night.’
‘Sounds lovely,’ she said, picturing their stroll.
‘Or I could show you round the tower?’
She could see he was trying to keep from smiling, but didn’t quite manage to achieve a serious expression.
She pretended to consider her options. ‘The beach,’ she said eventually, standing up. ‘It’s a glorious evening and we should make the most of this hot weather.’
She noticed his expression slip very slightly for a split-second, only for him to smile and stand to take her hand. ‘Great idea,’ he said.
Daisy enjoyed him being disappointed in her choice, but didn’t want to appear too keen. They might have spent glorious nights together when they were in Asia, but they were on his home turf now and she didn’t want his grandmother to discover that she’d gone with him to the tower as soon as she’d turned her back.
She breathed in the warm salty air, enjoying the scent of tea roses and jasmine that she’d become to associate with this beautiful place. ‘I love it here so much,’ she said, not meaning to voice her thoughts aloud.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and looked down at her, smiling. ‘I’m so pleased you’re happy here,’ he said. ‘I want you to stay here, with me.’
He led her down the steps onto the beach where the sand was warm and the lowering sun coloured the sky in the brightest oranges and golds Daisy thought she’d ever seen.
‘With you? I…’
He looked out across the gently rolling waves. ‘I probably shouldn’t have said anything.’
She was glad he had.
They came to the end of the small beach and turned a slight corner past a large rock. Daisy spotted an opening and without giving herself time to think, pulled him with her into the dark recess. He opened his mouth to speak, but she reached up and pulled his head down so his lips met hers in a kiss.
Gabriel let go of her hand and pulled her into his arms. Holding her tightly he kissed her with a passion she’d fantasised about since leaving him behind in Asia. Daisy’s heart pounded against his firm chest. He held her so tightly her body was almost crushed against his. She hoped she wouldn’t wake up and discover that these delicious sensations were something from a dream.
Unable to resist, she let one hand travel down his back, over his gorgeously tight bum. Gabriel froze for a second and she thought he was holding his breath. Neither spoke. She drew her hand around between them and ran her fingers down the front of his trousers.
‘I don’t want you to stop,’ he whispered hoarsely, ‘but if I have to walk back to the tower without being reported for indecency, then I think you’ll have to.’
She moved back lightly and looked down to where her hand was resting on him. ‘Sorry,’ she fibbed. ‘I couldn’t help myself.’
He cleared his throat. ‘Don’t apologise. I’d love for you to carry on, but maybe we should do so somewhere a little more private.’
She let her hand drop. ‘I thought this was private, sort of.’
He kissed her cheek and lowered his voice. ‘It is, to a degree.’ He motioned his head so she looked up over her left shoulder. ‘But I don’t want to give my Nan’s elderly neighbour too much excitement for one evening.’
Daisy couldn’t see anything apart from the edge of a house. ‘What do you mean?’
He bent his knees so he was her height and pointed a little further to the left. ‘The sun room, can you see it?’
She gasped. Sitting at the window staring out to sea was a wizened old man. ‘You don’t think he saw anything, do you?’ she asked, horrified.
‘Put it this way,’ Gabriel said trying not to laugh. ‘When I spotted him a few moments ago, he wasn’t as interested in the horizon as he now seems to be.’
Mortified, Daisy turned away. ‘I’m so embarrassed.’
Gabriel hugged her tightly to him. ‘Don’t be silly,’ he soothed.
She looked down at the bulge in his trousers. ‘Maybe I should walk slightly in front of you,’ she said, unable to help laughing. ‘Come along, I don’t want to give that old guy anything more to think about.’
They made their way towards Lydia’s garden as the sun set down behind the hills towards the west of the island. Just as they reached the steps Gabriel hesitated.
‘What’s the matter?’ Daisy asked, noticing his troubled expression.
‘I need to tell you something,’ he said.
Her heart pounded. It had been such an exciting evening so far, she didn’t think she could bear for him to disappoint her by confiding something that would ruin everything between them. ‘Go on then,’ she said.
He stared at her and then down at the sand for a few seconds. Then taking a deep breath, he said, ‘I showed the photos I took of your paintings to my grandmother.’
Was that it? Daisy smiled, relieved. ‘I know, she told me. She was very complimentary too, which was lovely.’
He narrowed his eyes. ‘I also showed my mother.’
She could sense there was more. ‘Go on,’ she said warily.
‘She loved them too,’ he said.
‘She did? And what else, because I can tell there’s more.’
‘They’ve both agreed to hold an exhibition of your paintings at the hotel.’ He stared at her as she thought about this unexpected turn of events.
She could see he was concerned about her reaction, but how could she be angry with someone who was making a dream of hers come true?
‘Seriously?’ She almost held her breath, unable to believe what he’d just told her, picturing how her paintings would look hung on the pristine walls of the Encore.
Gabriel’s mouth drew back in a wide smile. ‘Yes, of course seriously,’ he laughed. ‘How do you feel about it?’
She shrugged, trying to gauge how this news made her feel. ‘Scared that people will see what an amateur I am, embarrassed that they’re not more professional…’ She tried to think of other things to add. ‘Um…’
‘But you don’t mind?’
She squealed and jumped up and down a couple of times. ‘Why would I mind? I’m delighted.’ She grabbed hold of him and kissed him.
He took her in his arms and kissed her back with such force she wondered if her lips would bruise – not that she cared if they did. He kissed so beautifully and she would happily spend the rest of her life wrapped in his arms with her lips pressed against his.
He let go of her and took hold of her hand. ‘I’m relieved you’re not angry with me for being so presumptuous,’ he said, as they ran up the stairs.
They slowed to a walk as they crossed the lawn and took the pathway towards his front door. ‘It’s open,’ he said, motioning for her to go inside. ‘Welcome to my humble abode.’
‘I feel like Rapunzel,’ she giggled, as he poured them both a drink and showed her the way up to the roof terrace.
‘Well, I hope no one comes here to rescue you from this particular tower,’ he teased, handing her a drink. ‘I want you all to myself tonight.’
She pretended to peek around looking for something. ‘No more nosy neighbours lurking anywhere then?’
‘Better not be,’ he said.
They sat down on the bench and Gabriel put one arm around Daisy’s shoulders. ‘I’ve imagined you sitting up here with me many times,’ he said.
‘I’ve imagined being with you, too,’ she admitted. ‘But it never occurred to me to picture us up on top of a granite tower staring out to sea like this.’
He bent down and kissed her. ‘I’m glad you came to work at the Encore.’
‘So am I.’
They leant back and slowly drank from their glasses, each lost in their own thoughts and memories.
‘Remember getting up really early and going to the river bank to sit and watch the boats go by?’ he asked eventually.
She didn’t like to admit that she thought about it far more than was probably good for her. She nodded. ‘I do.’ She shivered involuntarily and he mistook her reaction for the coolness of the evening.
‘It’s amazing how the temperature drops here when the sun goes in,’ he said.
Daisy nodded.
‘Shall we go inside? It’s more comfortable there anyway.’
‘OK.’ She let him take her glass so that she could climb back down the ladder to his room below. Somehow he managed to hold both glasses while following her down.
‘I also recall being on that train journey when you insisted we could fit in the same bunk together,’ she giggled. ‘I had a bruise on my hips for weeks from when I fell out.’
He winced. ‘Yes, I still feel guilty about not catching you that night.’ He glanced down at her hip. ‘Is it all right now?’ he asked, touching it lightly with the side of his finger, a glint in his dark eyes.
She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to one side. ‘If it isn’t then I’ve got a problem.’
They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds and Daisy wasn’t sure where to look, especially as his double bed covered with its stark white sheets seemed like some sort of beacon.
‘Would you rather we go downstairs?’ he asked.
She thought about his offer, and realising that she’d waited for almost two years for this moment, shook her head. He seemed surprised by her reaction, then placing the glasses on his bedside table, he sat down on the bed.
She stared at him, not quite knowing what to do next.
He leaned towards her on the white sheets. ‘Are you going to join me?’ His eyes narrowed slightly. ‘If you’d rather not stay in the tower with me tonight I can always ask Nan if you can sleep in one of her spare rooms. She wouldn’t mind.’
‘Would you?’
‘What, mind?’ He shrugged one shoulder. ‘Of course not. I want you to be comfortable with me.’
She couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed by his answer.
He smiled and his dark brown eyes twinkled mischievously. ‘But if you mean would I mind not making love to you tonight, I can’t lie. I’d mind very much. I’ve waited a long time to lie next to your beautiful body.’
She wasn’t going to hold back from him any longer. Hadn’t he proved how much he wanted to be with her? Hadn’t he done all that she’d asked? She couldn’t help smiling as she stepped forward and onto the bed next to him.
Gabriel smiled a long lazy smile. ‘Hello again,’ he said, when she lay down. He bent down so his lips connected with hers in a kiss that was so perfect she never wanted it to end.
‘I’ve missed you so much,’ he said, kissing her neck, moving down to her breasts and then her stomach.
Daisy gasped and covered her mouth with one hand. She didn’t want to distract him, this was too delicious.
He peeked up at her. ‘You’re so beautiful,’ he murmured as he moved lower. ‘But these need to come off.’ He undid the fastening on the side of her skirt. ‘Lift your hips,’ he murmured.
She did as he asked.
He slipped her skirt down past her thighs and dropped it on the floor, leaving her in her knickers. ‘These too?’ he asked, that familiar twinkle in his dark eyes.
She nodded. ‘Go on then,’ she said, barely able to force the words from her mouth as she looked down at his broad shoulders.
He kissed the insides of her thighs and slowly inched higher, each step causing her to catch her breath in delight. His tongue began doing things to her that she remembered from their time away, and Daisy was beginning to think that she couldn’t take much more when Gabriel looked up at her and smiled.
Kissing his way back up her stomach, then her breasts, he smiled at her. ‘Yes?’ he whispered.
‘Yes,’ she replied impatiently.
Gabriel finally entered her, kissing her as he did so. Daisy didn’t want to close her eyes. She’d imagined this moment so many times. Watching his beautiful face as they made love was like living a dream. Unable to think clearly, she closed her eyes, climaxing just before he did. Gabriel whispered something she couldn’t hear, holding her to him as her mind splintered and she knew nothing could ever be this perfect again.
Daisy woke slowly the following morning.
‘I love you,’ she heard him say, so quietly she wasn’t sure she’d dreamt it. She opened her eyes and stared through the small window at the rolling waves as they hit the sandy beach. Had she imagined those words? She squeezed her eyes shut, willing her memories of the previous night to be real. She’d dreamt so many times of hearing him saying exactly what she’d just heard, or thought she’d heard.
‘Did you hear me?’ he whispered, kissing her bare shoulder.
‘I’m not sure,’ she teased. ‘What did you say?’
‘I said I love you.’
She turned to face him and snuggled up against his chest, loving him more at that moment than she could ever have thought possible. ‘I love you too.’
His hand glided down over the small of her back, stopping at her bottom. ‘You’re my very own Jersey Bombshell,’ he laughed, his eyes soft with love.
She pushed him onto his back and sat astride him. ‘Say it again.’