Chapter 31 #2
Then she narrowed her eyes at him, realization dawning. He’d just breached the terms of the nondisclosure he’d signed, and by the way she was staring at him like that, surprised, Libby knew it too. “I won’t tell anyone,” she said. “I promise.”
“I know. I trust you, Libby. I believe you.”
And he hoped that she’d trust and believe him back.
Or at least be brave enough to try.
Finally, Karim had fallen asleep. Libby crept into the kitchen, and through the glass door, she saw Dan lying outside on a blanket, surrounded by candles. Next to him lay a bowl of chopped pineapples, mangoes, and bananas.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Dessert.” Dan sat up to make room for her, his face scrunching in pain a little as he swung his legs around. She wished she could soothe his aches. “I also hope we can loosely call this our first official date,” he added.
“We’re a little past that now, aren’t we?”
“Call me old-fashioned.”
Her heart danced, and her lips twitched.
He wanted her in his bed.
He wanted to be more than friends.
He’d confided in her, like they were a team.
But what now?
Kneeling beside him, she reached for a piece of pineapple. Despite their past intimacy, this actually did feel like a first date. At dinner, Karim had diluted the intensity of their conversation, but alone, just the two of them, nerves mixed with excitement.
“No man has ever flat out told me they like having me in their bed,” she blurted.
“Did it ever occur to you that you might’ve been dating idiots?”
She laughed. “Maybe.”
He lay back down, his right arm making a pillow for his head. His left arm didn’t stretch that way anymore. “My ex-agent, Suze, emailed me today about that BBC project. They want to talk to me about a documentary on my life.”
“No surprises there,” she said, lying next to him. She propped her head on her elbows. “It sounds like a great opportunity.”
“For what?”
“To prove that you’re moving on, that all those conspiracy theories about you were nonsense. Another step—”
“—closer to my old life?” he finished for her. “Yeah, I remember.”
But he wasn’t looking too happy about it. He shifted to his side, so they were face to face, eye to eye.
“The thing is,” he added, “I’m just getting used to being left alone.
I like not having to look over my shoulder for photographers.
I like that no one knows who I am here. As soon as I go back to England, I’ll be faced with how things were when I left, and accepting the BBC offer now will mean getting back on that wheel. ”
Which was why she’d be wise not to get too carried away by his words earlier. Dan might want to carry on with what they’d started on that couch, but he was on vacation here. This wasn’t how he usually lived his life. This—being out here in this tropical paradise, with her—was a fantasy world.
She snagged a piece of pineapple from the bowl and took a bite.
What if a relationship with her was part of his newfound freedom? What would happen when he tired of it?
Could she ride the coaster for a little longer?
“Part Five,” Dan said. “We’d better crack on with that. We only have a few days left before New Year’s.”
She winced, glad for the change of subject but also feeling guilty. “I’m sorry. I still haven’t seen your clips.”
“It’s okay. I know it’s hard with Karim.”
But still, she’d been going on about Part Five for days, and now Dan was finally doing something about it, she’d been too nervous to hear what he had to say. She swallowed the pineapple and licked her lips. “We could watch them now?”
“No. There’re other things I’d like to do now.” He placed a hand at the back of her head and drew her face toward his. “First date things.”
“You British men move fast.”
“Life’s too short not to. I know firsthand how our worlds can change in a matter of seconds.” His lips grazed hers, soft and gentle, testing, exploring. “And you still don’t know how lethal you are when you eat juicy fruits.”
She smiled against his mouth. Things with Dan swung from intense to relaxed, but her heart felt safer now that they’d talked. “Are you still extending your visa to stay out here for another month?” she asked.
He nodded. “Are you?”
She nodded back, helpless to stop her grin from spreading.
“We’re still heading to Australia afterwards.
I’ve planned to rent a camper van that Karim and I can live in for a while.
We won’t return to the UK until April.” She gazed into his deep, patient eyes.
“If you have no other plans, you could come with us. I mean, we’d have to look at bigger vehicles.
And maybe the BBC will fly out to interview you. ”
“I’m turning them down. I don’t want to work for the BBC. I want to work with you.”
Did he mean it?
“What if I drive you nuts?” she asked.
“You already do.” He leaned in and grazed his lips against hers, teasing, drawing her to him. She kissed him back, lighting the fuse between them. Then he rolled to cover her with his big body, holding her tight and leaving his mark wherever he touched.
Trees rustled in the nighttime breeze. Warm air caressed Libby’s bare skin like a soft cotton sheet. As Dan shifted to deal with the condom, she sat up and gazed at the slither of moonlight across his bare shoulders.
Their lovemaking had been different just now.
Dan had always been a very generous lover, but tonight there’d been something else.
Something deeper, burning brighter.
They packed up the blanket and candles, scooped up their clothes, and walked naked into the hut. They took a shower, and then later, with her head resting on his chest, in the quiet of his bedroom, Libby watched the moon’s shadows flicker on his ceiling. The wind had picked up outside.
“Australia,” she said. “You really want to come? You want to travel with us in a camper van?”
“Mmm…I do.”
She raised her head and smiled. It was late. Dan was already dozing. She snuggled back against his chest. Could they do it? Her, Dan, and Karim. Traveling together. Living together. Like a family.
Visions of the three of them breezing along the wild Australian coastline danced before her. Her stomach swirled with happiness and excitement.
And a whole ton of nerves that were soon soothed and lulled to sleep by Dan’s beating heart.