37. Millie
Millie
As they walked to the beach, her hand slotted into his like it had waited for him for ten years. His was more calloused than the last time they’d walked like this, but it was as if the world was spinning back in the right direction.
She was home.
“I was terrified when I realised you’d gone,” he said. At the strain in his voice, she squeezed him.
“I’m sorry. I’m used to being independent, and when I need to think, I walk, but with you in that house, I couldn’t process. I also process by talking. I didn’t know who to talk to.” The buttercream scent from the cupcake box tucked under her arm added to her joy.
“Who do you normally talk to?”
“Mum.” They walked the path she’d taken to the town. The water was impossibly bluer, and more boats dotted across the water. She’d love to live somewhere like this. For the first time in years, she considered what it would be like to live with someone else.
“Do you tell her everything?”
A stab of cold hit her back. “No, I guess not,” she admitted, remembering the sexting app. It had been her secret shame until Liss. “I spoke to her and Dexter about what happened years ago.”
Strike froze.
“They admitted it all. Dexter told me what you did for him. They didn’t deserve you.”
Millie pulled him onto the beach. He trudged through the sand, but his hand never left hers.
“Not enjoying this, soldier? Would you prefer a city street?” She winked at him as she plopped down onto the sand and dragged him down with her. The sand was hard against her butt from where the sun hadn’t thoroughly dried it after the tide disappeared.
He sat close and turned to her. His lips were full and his gaze hesitant. “I’d go anywhere with you if you’d let me.”
“What’s changed?”
“Telling you about the past and learning you don’t hate me anymore and imagining a world where we could be together but I push you into the arms of someone else. I want you to be happy, and I think I could make you happy. I’m yours, if you’ll have me.”
Her mouth dried. “Are you sure? I’m not the wide-eyed teenager I was. I have baggage and secrets and a broken heart that will take time to heal.”
He cupped her cheek. She leaned in and closed her eyes.
“Open your eyes, Sunset. I need you to see I’m telling the truth as I say this. I need your counsellor skills honed in.”
She opened her eyes. “I’m not a witch. I can’t decipher if you’re telling the truth by looking at you.”
He rolled his lips into his mouth. “Then I’ll spend the rest of my life convincing you I’m not going anywhere. You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted. I’ll fix your broken heart and not just because I broke it.” His blue eyes were heavy with pain and promise as he held her stare.
She ran her fingers along his hair, teasing his rough cut. She wanted to touch all of him, but her trembling fingers highlighted her fears.
He pressed a kiss to her temple.
“I have shoulders broad enough to carry your heaviest baggage and a heart that’s been closed for so long, waiting for you and this moment.
” He held her palm to his lips. “I’m ready for your secrets whenever you’re willing to share them.
I haven’t just got you; I’ve got the past, present, and future you. ”
Millie shivered. It was like hope was teasing her, telling her she could have him. But there was too much baggage.
“You don’t need to say anything. For now, we can try to rebuild our friendship.” He said all the right things. It couldn’t just be words. “But first, give me whatever you’re hiding in that bakery box and tell me what your family said. I need sugar for this.”
She ripped open the box and handed him a cupcake. He slowly licked the top of the frosting with the tip of his tongue. Her face burnt hotter than the sun above them as she stared at him.
He side-eyed her and grinned. “I hope you’re not having dirty ideas about me.”
She swallowed as he licked again.
His smile was wicked. “And I thought you were such a good girl,” he growled, teasing the buttercream off while staring at her.
“And I thought you were a robot bodyguard,” she quipped breathlessly.
“I guess you have a lot to learn about me.” His eyes twinkled like the sun hitting the sea. “It’s going to be fun sharing that side of me with you.”
She cleared her throat several times, but it was strained with desire.
“Now eat your cake and tell me about your family.”
“Okay, soldier, but this conversation about hidden sides isn’t finished.”
She updated him about her family, and he nodded along. Sharing the discussions helped her process in ways that chatting with her mum never had. When she finished, he held her close.
The past was over, but the future hung in the air before them.
“So what now?” he asked.
“We return to our holiday home for safety. Life must pause until this thing with Hugo is over. But can we take a photo of us for Rylee? I won’t send it to anyone else or post it anywhere.”
“Sure.”
She pulled her phone from her pocket and took a photo, sending it to Rylee quickly.
“My turn,” he replied. Before she questioned him, he grabbed his phone and held it. “Smile for the camera, beautiful.”
He dropped a kiss to her cheek. Her belly butterflies fluttered like they were playing kiss chase.
Was it time to do the thing she always told her clients to do? Sometimes, you have to reassess and readjust. She’d spent so long seeing what couldn’t be, she hadn’t searched for what could.
“I needed a new screensaver,” he said as she turned and pressed her lips to his.
His hands paused long enough to drop his phone into his lap and push her glasses on her head. He cupped her face with both hands and licked the seam of her lips. She murmured for more, and he took advantage of her open mouth and slid his tongue in.
His kiss was soft and his touch gentle.
She scooted closer to wrap her arms around his neck.
He hummed against her mouth. He tasted of sugary goodness and smelt of the warm spice she’d imagined against her skin.
Where their previous kiss was fire and passion, this was a promise of more. He growled against her mouth as he threaded his hands through her soft waves. Her hand slid up his back under his Henley.
He matched her tentative touches, not pushing her too far. Her fingers trembled against his skin, her nails scratching slightly. Each time she skimmed his skin, he murmured noises of encouragement.
Slowly, they eased apart. He pressed his forehead against hers as she closed her eyes, too frightened to witness the regret across his face.
“That was the kiss I’ve waited a lifetime for.” His voice rumbled.
Her brow furrowed as she opened her eyes. “But we kissed in the lake.”
He pressed her palm to his lips and brushed her skin. “But this kiss was like two friends who might have a future.”
“Strike, there’s something I need to tell you,” she said, turning away but keeping her grip on his hand.
“About your family?”
She shook her head. “About intimacy and why I’m not sure I can be the woman you want.”
“You already are.”
They sat side by side as water lapped the beach. It was warmer, and people filled little spaces on the sand.
“As your friend,” he stuttered on the word friend, “we should stay here and enjoy the sun. But as your bodyguard, we need to return to the house.”
They stood and took turns brushing sand off each other’s bottoms. His hands lingered on hers, which made her stomach flush. She spanked his heartily.
“If I weren’t doing my best not to draw attention to us, I’d throw you over my shoulder for that,” he growled.
“Maybe you’ll have to do it when we’re in the house,” she replied, striding to the path and winking at him over her shoulder.
“Don’t tempt me.”
She wiggled her bum, and he ran up behind her, tickling her hips before grabbing her hand. She clung to him.
Maybe he was a robot to everyone else, but to her, he was her first and only love.
She wanted to ditch her baggage and make him her future, too.