Chapter 40 #2
So I’d sent him a couple earlier, a time and a feel well enough to meet me tonight? He’d said he was looking forward to it.
I’d told him no pressure, that I could come by his place if he didn’t feel like going out.
SeaBreeze had brought back the war for Yosh, and the old way he used to survive it.
Leaving for Palm Oasis earlier had felt wrong, but I had to go. Not going would’ve made it worse. Jay would’ve found me eventually, and I couldn’t risk leading him to Villa Crumble Aparté.
Luckily, Tiffy had a couple days off and kept him company, showing up with her auntie’s stew, because Yosh’s skill set does not extend to the kitchen.
This morning, he replied with a string of hearts and nothing since. I guess he’s coming.
I’m sitting at a rustic wooden table in cream-colored sand, torches flickering along the shoreline.
The palms overhead are swaying in the wind, and the sun hangs low, seconds away from dipping beneath the horizon.
It’s perfect. Romantic. Expensive-looking.
My date deserves the effort.
The waitress lights a citronella candle in the middle of the table and drops off a bottle of water.
I check my phone again. Still nothing.
My nerves win, so I pour two glasses anyway. I set the bottle back in the cooler and look up just in time to see Yosh coming down the stairs.
He looks ridiculously perfect. Stone-gray linen pants and the black crochet shirt I gave him. It’s a bit see-through, just enough to tease but still dinner-appropriate. His hair’s in a half-up bun, a bit messy from the ocean wind.
Tonight there’s a different stone around his neck; not the usual black one, but something bright blue. For a second, I wonder if it’s a sapphire.
He scans the beach and smiles when he sees me. I mirror him like a lovesick teenager.
I stand as he comes closer, suddenly unsure how to greet him out here in public. There’s always someone from Arcadia lingering, always someone ready to sell photos to the gossip channels.
I want us past this hiding phase, show him off. But the ice is thin. His career’s on the line, and my controlling brother needs to stay in the dark a little longer.
Yosh stops in front of me and holds out his hand.
Alright, handshake it is.
“Hey, Sapphire,” he says, half flirty, half awkward.
“Love.”
I hold his hand too long, staring at his lips and the even softer look in his eyes.
“We can do a bro hug, right?”
He nods. “I assume we can.”
All my tension floats away the second his strong arm goes around me. I close my eyes and breathe him in.
“You smell really nice, love.”
“Considering the coordinates, I dressed for the occasion.”
“I see. You look good in my shirt.”
It makes him laugh close to my ear.
“Sapphire.”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t think this is a bro hug anymore.”
Fuck.
I release him and take a step back, probably more noticeable than I’d like. We sit. I scan the beach.
No one’s paying attention. Thank God.
“I’m surprised you managed to escape from your brother,” Yosh says.
“I told Cal I needed Jay off my back, so he set up a meeting with Laurent to talk business. Jay asked me to join, but I told him I had dinner with my Arcadia mate tonight. As a thank you, you know.”
“As a thank you?” The scoff he gives turns into a wicked teasing laugh. He leans forward.
“I’ll show you my idea of thank you when I suck you off in the car later tonight.” He says it soft and sweet like he’s picking daisies in a field.
I cough into my fist, trying not to make a scene.
“Baby, you need to stop choking every time there’s dick involved.”
I take a quick sip, my cheeks burning a deep pinot noir.
“You really have it out for me, don’t you? Why’s that? Something’s different about you, I can tell.”
He shrugs, staring dreamily at the ocean. “You make me happy, Sapphire.”
Then he looks straight into my eyes, like I’ve done something good. Like I matter. And fucking hell, I don’t know what to do with that.
Before I can make a total fool of myself by blurting out something reckless, the waitress appears with the menus. It does the trick, heat draining from my face.
Once she’s gone, I clear my throat, my eyes landing on the blue crystal at his chest.
“You make me happy too,” I say softly.
He gives me this shy, grateful smile, and suddenly all the years of emptiness inside my chest don’t mean a damn thing anymore. He makes me feel like a teenager again, the whole world wide open in front of me. Happiness doesn’t even cover it.
We look at each other. Smile. Look away. Smile again. No words. It feels stupid, perfectly stupid. Is that even a thing? It makes me nervous, because I don’t know what to say.
Luckily, Yosh takes it from here.
“How did things go with Jay?”
“He was weirdly reasonable,” I say, adjusting in my chair. “Didn’t try to drag me back to Amsterdam. Said he was proud of me, believe it or not. He even complimented the new tracks I’ve been working on. I guess he’s got bigger things on his mind these days.”
Yosh closes his menu. “I’m so glad he bought your story. I was worried he wouldn’t.”
I wave it off. “It wasn’t that hard. Calvin and Joan backed me up.”
Truth is, that psychological chess game had been anything but easy. I’m still walking on eggshells, half-expecting him to change his mind any second.
Yosh doesn’t need that anxiety on his plate. This one’s mine to carry.
“When is he leaving again?”
I smirk. “Asking for a friend, are you?”
He rolls his eyes but can’t hide the guilty smile tugging at his mouth. “It would be nice if my boyfriend could stay the night instead of racing home before midnight like Cinderella. So yeah, I want Jay gone.”
I look up from the menu. “Call me a princess one more time and I’ll make you polish my crown. With your tongue, just so we’re clear.”
“Like taking care of your royal highness would ever be a punishment.”
He looks so damn content with himself. It makes me want to climb over the table and devour him right there.
“Love, I think we should stop talking before things get out of hand, because I really do want to have dinner with you.”
“Totally agree,” he says. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Wait. I wasn’t finished about Jay. There’s more.”
His eyes narrow. “More?”
“Jay wants me to spend Christmas at Heatherfell.”
“Heatherfell? Your family estate?”
“Yeah. That’s the deal if I want to stay here. Next month I have to show up and play happy families.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“Scared. But maybe it’s my shot at making things right with Effy. It’s time.”
I look down, the cutlery looking fucking interesting all of a sudden. I line up the spoon and fork until they’re perfectly straight.
“Hey, Sapphire, look at me.”
I do. His warm brown eyes are there waiting for me.
“I think you’re fucking amazing. Easily the strongest person I’ve ever met.”
How does he do that? Somehow he always finds his way into the cage inside my chest where pain and fear rattle the bars. And in there, he touches every nerve, tells me it’s safe to break it open with him.
“I’m not perfect,” I mumble. I don’t even know why I say it, it’s not even relevant.
Yosh chuckles and it lightens the heavy mood.
“God no, McKenna. You’re a pain in the ass.” His lips twitch. “But at least you’re my pain in the ass.”
My lips part to fire back the obvious, but he points a warning finger at me.
“Don’t say it.”
I laugh, and instead of words, I shoot him a look that says everything I’m not supposed to say.
A polite voice interrupts. “Are you two ready to order?”
The leather-bound menu is still unopened in front of me. Shit. I was so wrapped up in us I completely forgot about food.
Yosh smoothly hands his menu back. “I’ll take the catch of the day, please. With jasmine rice as a side?”
“Of course,” she says, fingers swiping over the tablet in her hands.
I scan the menu fast. “For me, the saffron and fennel risotto, please.”
She smiles politely and walks off.
“Catch of the day, excellent choice,” I say with a smirk. “Almost went for that myself, but why bother? I’m already having it for dessert.”
Yosh lowers his lashes.
“I think we’re officially at that stage where we shouldn’t be apart for more than 24 hours or we turn into two horny rabbits who don’t know how to behave.”
“Yeah, I was trying to do something romantic and all that shit. Bad idea, obviously.”
He gives me a soft, wicked smile. “You did perfect, my Sapphire.”
As he speaks, I feel the subtle pressure of his knees coaxing my legs apart. His foot slides slowly up my inner thigh, as far as he can reach.
It’s driving me nuts.
My nuts.
Fuck, I hate him.
I jerk back, blurting the words I’ve been choking down ever since the idea crept in.
“Come with me.”
Yosh’s eyes widen, his finger hesitantly pointing toward a cluster of rocks at the end of the bay.
My jaw drops. “No! God no, not that! I meant Amsterdam.”
His eyes flick back and forth as he processes the sudden change. To be honest, I’m not sure which idea is worse: a quickie behind those rocks, or dragging him into my world of chaos. I sure as hell know which one would be more fun.
“Sapphire, are you serious?”
I watch him tuck his hair behind his ear, something he always does when he’s nervous.
Damn, what the hell was I thinking? Oh, right. I wasn’t thinking with my brain. My cock took over. Shit. No paddling back from this one.
“Yeah, I want to show you my life. Take you to Heatherfell, introduce you to my family. It’ll be fun!”
That last part was a failed attempt to convince him, and myself. But the truth is, I do want him there. I want him to see my home. Who I am there. He needs to know that side of me too.
He studies me with suspicion at first, then lets out a soft huff.
“I see. You want me there to make sure you behave.”
I start with no, but end up betraying myself with a guilty yes.
“I meant it. I want to take you home, show you my favourite places. It’s just…”
I search for words. “I don’t trust myself there on my own.”
The playful look in his eyes softens into something more serious.