Page 39 of The One That Got Away

I knew she was only doing it because she was desperate, but knowing that holding onto me was keeping her calm made me feel so damn good.

Seeing her complete the walk, especially the bit over the suspended bridge, warmed my chest. There were a few times when I’d glanced at her that she looked like she was seconds away from quitting, but she’d stuck it out and I loved that. She was so brave.

Once it was all over, Stella gave me that same look of gratitude that she’d shown after the whole bikini top thing. And this time I really felt like we’d turned a corner. She seemed more comfortable around me. We’d made decent conversation and I was looking forward to chatting more with her on the journey back to the hotel.

But as soon as we’d got on the coach, she’d shut down and said she was going to sleep.

Clearly I was still at the top of her shit list.

That was why when her head dropped on my shoulder, even though she didn’t know it’d happened, it still felt nice. Comfortable. Familiar. Just like old times.

At one point, when a strand of hair fell onto her forehead, I caught myself wanting to move it away and stroke her hair. I resisted the temptation though. If she woke up and caught me, she’d think I was weird and I was already skating on thin ice.

So I’d sat there, alternating between taking in the views, closing my eyes and trying not to move too much in case I woke her up.

And now here we were. Back at the hotel.

‘I suppose we should get off.’ Stella stood up.

‘Yeah.’ I picked up my rucksack and walked down the aisle then down the steps into the hotel’s forecourt. ‘What are your plans now?’ I asked when Stella appeared beside me.

‘Er, I should probably go back to my room and shower.’

‘And afterwards? I was thinking of having a swim in the pool or heading down to the beach before dinner. Wanna join me?’

Stella’s mouth opened then closed again.

We both stood there in silence and I regretted saying anything. It sounded too much like a date and although this was The Love Hotel, we’d both agreed that we’d just be going through the motions. Doing whatever tasks we were set this week and that was it. I’d overstepped. It was clear that she wasn’t interested in anything more.

And neither was I.

‘Forget it.’ I waved my hand and walked away.

Once I’d dumped my stuff in my room and replied to some emails, I had a quick shower, put on my trunks and headed down to the pool.

My mind was still racing, replaying everything that had happened today and I needed to clear it.

I hadn’t been to the gym since I’d arrived and I wasn’t used to not exercising. A few laps in the pool would do me good.

When I dragged myself out of the pool, I felt better. Once I’d dried off, I headed back to my room and checked my messages. Luckily there weren’t as many emails as I thought, which was a relief.

I messaged Colton to check that everything had been okay at the office, then got changed for dinner and headed to the restaurant.

As always, I scanned the room for Stella, but there was no sign of her. After I placed my order, my gaze flicked back to the door where I saw Jasmine walking towards me.

‘Hi!’ she beamed. ‘How are you? Did you enjoy the trip earlier?’

‘Yeah, it was brilliant. It’d always been on my bucket list, so it was great to check it off.’

‘And how are things with Stella? I saw you two holding hands earlier and spotted her asleep on your shoulder. That’s a good sign, right?’

‘She was just scared, that’s all. And she fell asleep on my shoulder because she was exhausted.’

‘Oh, that’s a shame. I really hoped you two had turned a corner.’Me too.‘Give it time. I’m sure she’ll come around.’

I wasn’t so sure about that.

‘Do you know if Stella’s come for dinner already?’ I asked.

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