Page 73 of The Castle in the Bay

‘Just to talk. To thank you.’

‘Thank me?’

‘Yes. To thank you for letting me have so much of your time… and you.’

She glanced down at the table. ‘Honestly, you don’t have to thank me. It was a pleasure… Literally.’ She side-eyed him with a smirk. ‘Shame it went so quickly.’

‘Yup. We knew this day would come, but no matter what arrangement we had, it doesn’t take away how difficult it is. We had something special and now it has to stop. That’s never going to be easy.’

‘I guess so. I suppose I’m just…’

‘Sad?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Me too.’

‘And now that you’ve got the prize you were after, we have to behave.’

He frowned. ‘What prize?’

‘Well, Sophie. She called. I heard it all, remember?’

‘Sophie isn’t a prize. She’s a person. I can’t win or lose her. All I did was in the hope that she’d see me for who I am… who I always was deep down – not someone boring and unworthy. I hoped if that happened, we might get back together. But I don’t want that now. It’s irrelevant because I’ve discovered parts of myself that I never knew existed, and that’s enough for me. I don’t need her opinion or her approval.’

‘That’s good, but maybe she likes the new you too.’

‘Maybe, but she never said anything about getting back together. She just wants to talk to me.’

‘But it’s pretty obvious that’s what she wants to talk about.’

Monty took a large swig of wine. ‘Maybe, but that’s on her. I don’t want to think about that right now.’

‘Ok. What do you want to think about?’

‘You and me.’ He leaned over and lifted a spare glass from the dresser, then poured some wine into it and handed it to Iona.

‘Thanks.’ She almost downed it in one.

‘I’d like to finish my holiday fling properly.’

‘Oh yeah? How exactly is that going to work?’

‘Well, it means we have to keep being nice to each other. I don’t want us to fall out, be in a huff with each other, or refuse to talk.’

‘I like the sound of that.’ A small smile crept onto her face. ‘But do you realise how many rules I’ve broken by seeing you for a whole week?’

‘Then thank you again.’ He leaned forward and tilted her chin to face him. ‘I appreciate your sacrifice. And I know you’re probably sick of me saying it, but I really do feel honoured that you’ve devoted a whole week of your life to me.’

‘Monty.’ She grinned and knocked his hand away. ‘Stop being such a sap.’

‘I mean it.’ He took another sip of wine. ‘I value every minute we’ve spent together and I want to cherish every minute we have left.’

‘I want to do that too.’

He met her eyes. All the beautiful moments they’d shared seemed to play in her dark irises. She’d given him a week, which, compared to what she usually gave, was something special. ‘You owe me nothing,’ he said, ‘But if you’re willing to devote one more night to me, then I’ll not only be privileged but gratified beyond belief.’

‘Sometimes you really sound like the banker you are.’

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