Chapter 52
Dom pulls back a huge palm frond that’s a good foot taller than me. “Here’s the pool.”
I step back in awe, gripping the stems of the last two plumeria blooms I’ve been carrying. This clearing is like all my wildest fantasies rolled into one.
I turn to Dom and smack him in the stomach.
“You’ve been hiding this? The whole time?” I step in front of him, not caring that my jaw is hanging open like a fly catcher.
An infinity pool stretches out with a shallow, soft sand entry on one side. There’s a two-story waterfall, made of natural red stone boulders, trickling fresh water into the side of the pool. There’s a matching smooth stone grotto beside it, housing an enormous hot tub. The hot tub is nearly hidden by tropical shrubbery of every shape and color, clinging to the stone and covered in flowers and moss, acting as a natural camouflage. In the middle of the pool, just above the surface of the glossy water, there’s a slick bamboo baja shelf with a pair of creamy white day beds. Matching linen drapery blows gently in the barely there breeze. A collection of matching chaise lounge chairs encircles the deck, each with their own umbrella and side table for holding drinks or snacks from the wide stone bar. Behind the bar, there’s an aquarium the size of a small SUV, filled with an army of colorful fish illuminated by a clear blue light.
He laughs, pulling me into him. “You told me your dream was to write in a garden, not on a pool deck. Besides, you know I prefer the ocean.”
Beyond the glass edge of the pool is another stunning view of the sea, with a grand flagstone staircase leading down to the sandy beach. The moon casts its light along the water, rippling across it like a puddle of milk pooling on the surface. Millions of stars glitter across the waves, like tiny diamonds encrusted in black velvet. They sparkle in Dom’s eyes when he turns to look at me.
I’ve never seen a sky like this. Or a view like this. It’s like something out of a movie.
“Pinch me,” I whisper.
He kisses me instead, but I pull away from him so I can get another look at the view.
“This is . . .”
For once in my life, I’m completely speechless. There’re no words to describe this kind of heaven. I didn’t realize places like this actually existed outside of hotels, or that people actually lived in them. “Why don’t you just live right here? In the pool? I’ve never seen anything like it. I’d never leave.”
He smiles and takes my hand. “Quinton has really done well for himself, hasn’t he?”
“Why do I feel like yours is better?”
“Because it is.” He grins before kissing me again. I love that Dom is humble, about everything, really — but there’s something really hot about those sparse moments when he owns his success.
I press my hip gently into the bulge in his pants. “I’m not surprised.”
“I can’t wait to show you.” He grabs me around the waist from behind. We watch the waves reflecting the stars as they roll into shore for a few minutes. Every now and then he kisses my neck, shooting lightning bolts of desire through my hips.
“Your life here is incredible.” I finally turn to face him. “I had so much fun with your friends again tonight. They’re starting to feel like family to me too.” His face melts into surprise. “That probably sounds weird, they were just so warm from the start. So welcoming. People don’t act like that back where I’m from. I would have had to run through a wicked gauntlet if my boyfriend introduced me to his gang of friends at a bar.”
“The way you describe your life back home — I just don’t see that side of you here. It all sounds so stuffy, so contrived, and not like you at all.”
“Then what do you see when I’m here?”
“I just see a beautiful woman, sitting in a garden, writing to make her biggest dream come true.”
Dom’s simple yet beautiful description of me makes my eyes water, just a little.
“I’m going to get that tattooed down my arm.” I start laughing. “I can honestly say that this whole harebrained idea of mine has turned into the best wrong move I’ve ever made.”
He kisses me sweetly.
“You’ve changed my life.” I can’t hold back any longer. “No matter what happens, I’ll never be the same again. But I have to go back to New York. My job is there. You could give me everything I could ever dream of here, I know that, but I’m not entirely ready to leave everything I’ve worked for without a solid plan for this next stage of my career. It could take a long time for a production house to pick my film script up, especially if Quinton doesn’t go for it. And, in the meantime, I need to figure out how to be here with you, not depending on you. But I fully plan to be bi-coastal.” I smile, searching his eyes. “I want us to stay together, but temporarily we’re going to need to be apart. I hope you can understand that.”
“I know how important your career is to you, Liv. I had a feeling you’d be stubborn about leaving everything behind without a solid plan in place for your next career move.” He breaks into a sad smile, before his eyes brighten again. “I already have Phil working on closing a real estate deal on a penthouse in New York for me. So we’ll have a place to land there too when you get back. We’ll have my place here in Hawaii, and a place in New York. We can be together no matter what city we’re visiting.”
I jump into his arms and he spins me around, squeezing me to him.
“You have no idea how happy that makes me,” I tell him. “One day I’ll be ready. I can feel that in my bones. I belong here. We belong here. But I have to work out the logistics first. Make a plan. Stand on my own two feet.”
“It’s something I love about you.” He kisses me while dropping one shoulder strap off my dress, so he can continue kissing down my neck uninterrupted. Then I step back, staring into his eyes as I slowly unzip the front of my sundress, stopping only when I reach my navel.
“Tell me something else you love about me,” I beg him, my voice dipping provocatively.
He gently brushes the other strap off my shoulder and, just like that, my dress falls to the ground.
“I’d rather show you.”