Page 101 of The One That Got Away

I hung up then saw Jasmine had texted to confirm that everything had been prepared for tonight, so I headed back to the villa.

As soon as I stepped in the hallway, I heard the shower running, so went straight to my room to get dressed.

Half an hour later, my phone chimed with a message to let me know the car was waiting at reception.

It was only a short drive to the secluded spot that I’d chosen. We could probably walk there, but I wasn’t sure if Stella would be wearing heels, so I wanted to make it more comfortable for her.

We should really have a proper talk about how we were feeling at dinner. Then again, if the conversation didn’t go well, it’d ruin our last night. I’d just have to play it by ear.

As I stepped into the living room and saw Stella by the patio doors, with her back to me, my jaw dropped. She looked amazing. Stella was wearing an orange and yellow sleeveless mini dress which hugged her curves in all the right places.

The woman was a goddess. I wished we could stay here alone, but we had a dinner to get to. Aleavingdinner. Thinking about the fact that this could be the last night we ever spent together made my gut twist.

‘You look incredible!’ I said.

When Stella spun around and I saw her smile, my pulse raced.

‘You don’t scrub up too badly yourself.’ She bit her lip.

Knowing she found me attractive made me feel ten feet tall.

‘Cheers. Shall we go?’ I held out my hand.

Stella walked towards me and placed her palm on mine,instantly sending my body temperature through the roof. Now everything felt better.

I led her through the villa door and down to the car.

The chauffeur opened the door to the sleek black Mercedes. We barely travelled for five minutes before he announced we’d arrived.

‘That was quick!’ Stella slid out of the car. ‘Can’t wait to see what you’ve organised for our last night.’

‘Ladies first.’ I gestured towards the path.

‘Oh my God!’ Stella gasped as she saw the set-up.

Pretty pink flower petals lined the path which led down to a private candlelit table for two on the beach.

A giant love heart had been drawn into the sand and the table was directly in the centre. The edge of the heart was surrounded by red candles in glass jars.

‘Like it?’ I asked.

‘Like?’ Stella’s eyes widened. ‘It’samazing! Look at the views!’ She pointed at the stunning blue sea and the orange and yellow sky. The sun was starting to set and she was right – the views were just as incredible as I’d hoped. ‘And thetable!’

It was covered in a crisp white tablecloth, with a gold candelabra in the centre, matching gold crockery and cutlery and a stand holding a shiny gold bucket with a bottle of champagne chilling inside.

‘Not bad, eh?’ I smiled.

‘An intimate candlelit dinner on a private beach is what dreams are made of! And wait…’ Stella sniffed the air, taking in the scent of barbecued fish. ‘Is that…?’

Stella’s head swivelled as she noticed the chef further down the beach who was manning a barbecue and standing by a fire grilling skewers of small shiny silver fishes over an old fishing boat.

‘Wait? We have our own chef too?’ Her eyes were like saucers.

‘Yep! Only the best for you.’ I wrapped my arm around her waist. Seeing her so happy made my heart swell.

‘Hello, you two!’ I recognised Jasmine’s voice.

‘Oh, hi!’ Stella said as Jasmine stepped in front of us.

---