Even though I would berate myself for it later, I couldn’t wipe the stupid smile off my face. James’s happiness was infectious; his easy joy at our newly declared feelings was palpable. “I would love to,” I said.
“Okay,” he said.
“Okay,” I said.
Our truce must have been patently obvious, because Cole smiled at us in approval when we finally made it out of our villa. We went to the restaurant by the enormous infinity pool; he and Jenny were sitting at the bar.
“I see some people who look like they had sex and made up,” Cole called, grinning at us.
“We didn’t have sex,” James said. I could see how Cole thought so: James’s skin was flushed and glowing, a happy smile on his face.
“You didn’t?” Cole asked. He looked impressed. “You might as well put a ring on it, bro. You’re done for.”
“Cole, leave them alone,” Jenny said, and she punched him playfully. “You two go have lunch and then come swimming with us.” She stood up and winked at me. I noticed she was wearing a crop top and a minuscule, black bikini bottom. Her curvy, luscious body was on full display. Cole was staring at her ass, a worshipful look on his face.
“I’m glad you two look happy again,” she said. They turned and headed toward the pool, holding hands; I noticed that Jenny was indeed wearing a thong bikini l
ike she’d threatened. Cole put his hand firmly on her ass, and she turned and winked at me again before putting her aviator sunglasses on.
I had to hand it to Jenny: she was certainly batting Cole Bryson around like a cat toy. And he appeared to like it. A lot.
“Don’t you dare look at her in that bikini,” I said to James accusingly.
“I would never,” he said, laughing. “But I might have to buy you one of those.”
* * *
We held hands all through our meal. I was so relieved to be with him again, to feel our connection back. Even though it had only been one night, it had been the longest one of my life. I didn’t let myself think about all the bad things that were on the flip side of my feelings for him. I couldn’t bear to spoil the moment.
Everything was perfect if I could let myself ignore almost everything but James. I’d never seen him so happy before, so relaxed. For once, I wasn’t going to be the one to take that away from him.
We ordered margaritas, fish tacos, and a curried vegetable rice. We ate every morsel. “I think I’m going to sink when I get into the pool,” James said, pushing his empty plate away.
“It was worth it, though,” I said. “Yum.” He grabbed my hand and beamed at me. Heat shot through me at his touch, the way I felt under his gaze. But just when I thought nothing could burst my bubble, Celia Preston’s slim figure cast a wide shadow over our table.
“Mother,” James said by way of a greeting. “How inconvenient of you to show up and ruin a perfectly decent meal.”
“You two look much happier,” she said, ignoring his comment. She eyed our entwined hands and empty margarita glasses.
“We are, Mother,” James said. He looked up at her, his face clear and calm. “I’ve actually never been this happy.”
If his directness shocked her at all, she didn’t let it show—not even the slightest ripple moved across her face. Of course, that could have been the result of all the filler she’d shot into it before the wedding. I’d never know for sure.
“How lovely for you,” she said. She gave me a filthy look.
I had a bad feeling I was going to hear about this from her later.
* * *
When you vacationed with billionaires, no one worried about how high the bar tab was getting. The older guests, including Mr. and Mrs. Preston, sat under umbrellas, playing cards and sipping an endless supply of white wine. Mrs. Preston intermittently cast disapproving scowls my way, which I pretended I couldn’t see in the glare of the tropical sun.
The rest of us drank rum punches, which seemed to be constantly served by the white-linen-clad waitstaff. By the time the sun started to set, there were a lot of extremely drunk, extremely rich people around the infinity pool. I almost wished there were a lifeguard on duty.
Not that I needed a lifeguard; I was hanging on to James as if he were my own personal flotation device. He had me pinned up against the wall of the pool, his arms wrapped around me, the crystal water splashing over his enormous, gorgeous chest.
It was actually his erection that had me pinned against the wall.
“You know we can’t actually have sex right here,” I reminded him as he leaned in to kiss me again.