Page 63 of Obsession Under the Southern Stars

“I’m sorry.”

I shrug and carry the pile inside. I put everything on the tray and leave it outside the door, then call room service and askthem to collect it. By this point, Zoe has blown out the candles, come in, and locked the door.

“Would you like a whiskey?” she asks.

“Yeah, okay.”

She pours us both a shot of Glenfiddich over ice and adds a splash of water, and we go through to the living room. We sit on the sofa, me at one end, her in the middle, and she turns a little to face me.

“You wanna talk about it?” she asks.

“Not really.”

She leans her head on the back, and her eyes are kind. “I meant what I said the other day. About being proud of you, and that any woman would be lucky to have you as a partner.”

“Thank you. Does that include you?”

She nibbles her bottom lip. “Did you mean what you said? That you don’t want to change me?”

“Why would I want to change you? You’re perfect.”

Her eyes glisten. “Kiss me,” she whispers.

So I lean forward and press my lips to hers, and we kiss slowly, warm and content in the golden evening light.

Chapter Fourteen

Zoe

We watch another movie, cuddled up on the sofa, kissing occasionally, which, I have to say, is pretty much like my ideal date.

I manage to make it until ten, but after that I can’t keep my eyes open. When Joel spots me dozing off, he says firmly, “Bedtime.”

“Which bed?” I ask hopefully.

He ignores the question, turns off the TV, takes my hand, and leads me to the bedroom doors. “Go on,” he says, gesturing to my room. “Try to get a good night’s sleep.”

I pout. “You’re not coming in for a cuddle.?”

“No. That’ll never end well.”

“I think it’ll end spectacularly.”

“You need to sleep,” he scolds. Then he pulls me into his arms and gives me a hug.

I nuzzle his neck, my arms drawn up between us, feeling safe and secure in his embrace. Was it really only this morning that we were under the ocean? I think of that moment when I realized my air was running out, and when I couldn’t breathe. I’ve only been terrified twice in my life, and that was the second. I close my eyes and force myself to remember how he took his own regulator out of his mouth and gave it to me. How he saved my life.

“Breathe, Zoe,” he murmurs in my ear, and I realize I’m holding my breath and let it out in a whoosh. He moves back a little, takes my face in his hands, and looks into my eyes, searching them as if he’s looking for fish in the waving fronds of seaweed. “Are you going to be okay?”

As much as I’d like him to come to bed with me, I know he’s right. I’m dead tired, and I need to rest. “I’ll be fine.”

A frown flickers on his brow, but he just says, “Okay,” and dips his head to kiss me. He presses his lips to mine a few times, then moves back. “Sleep well, sweetheart.”

“Goodnight.” I go into my room and close the door behind me.

I stand there for a moment, not moving. I hear him go into his room, and the door close.

I wrap my arms around myself. It’s so quiet here. It reminds me of being under the ocean, surrounded by icy, quiet water.

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