Page 37 of One Week in Paradise
My heart skips a beat. Does he know what he does to me when he says things like that?
I scoff into his neck. ‘Don’t say things you don’t mean.’
‘I never do.’
I squeeze his neck a little tighter, and we walk the rest of the way home in silence.
Chapter Eleven
When I wake up, Cash is still there. He’s all the way over on his side of the bed, but a feeling of relief washes over me as I watch the slow rise and fall of his chest.
I’m glad we’re in a better place together. The tension between us is still there, but it’s becoming easier to push aside. I’m enjoying getting to know Cash, and I’m excited to see what I’ll learn today.
He stirs and yawns, turning onto his side so he’s facing me. He looks at me, eyes warm, mouth splitting into an easy, lazy smile. For a moment, it feels like I’m his whole world. And then he blinks and seems to remember where he is. He shoots upright and runs a hand through his messy locks.
‘What time is it?’ Cash’s morning voice is low and husky, and it sends a jolt of warmth running through me, pooling in the pit of my stomach.
‘Just gone eight,’ I murmur.
He rubs the sleep out of his eyes. ‘What’re we doing today?’
I scroll through my phone quickly to find the itinerary Penelope sent over. ‘A couples massage.’
He nods and moves to stand up but then quickly flops back into bed. Except he doesn’t stick to his side. He rolls closer to where I am, tentatively stopping in the middle of the bed. ‘Gimme five more minutes.’
‘The massage isn’t until twelve,’ I tell him. There’s still a decent distance between us, but if I wanted to, I could reach out and press my hand flat against his bare chest. The thought makes my throat constrict, and I swallow thickly. ‘You can go back to bed. I’m gonna go and meet the others for breakfast.’ I swing my legs out of bed and pad quickly to the bathroom.
‘Are you sure?’
I manage to squeak out ayes, and hope that he doesn’t notice how high my voice is. Those annoying sensual thoughts are back, and I need to push them away before I ruin everything.
Penelope is looking at me like she’s about to tell me she was the one who ran over my childhood cat Hercules and left him to die in the street.
It’s just before noon, and Cash and I are waiting outside the spa, ready to get our massages.
‘Guys, I amsosorry,’ she says, looking genuinely like she’s about two seconds away from bursting into tears. ‘The spa is closed today. Our masseuses had a family emergency, and they won’t be in today. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. And I know you were looking to film some content about the massage specifically.’
‘It’s fine,’ I tell her. ‘I hope the masseuses are okay?’
‘Yes, they’re fine. Just need to deal with some family arrangements. They’ll be back tomorrow if you’ve got time then?’ She groans and whacks her hand against her forehead. ‘But no. You’re booked for the tandem jet-skiing, aren’t you?’
‘Don’t worry about it, Penelope,’ I try to reassure her, this time a little more firmly. I can see that she’s spiralling and worried I’ll leave a bad review or put the resort on blast. ‘We’re having a great time. It’s a shame about the massage, but it can’t be helped. There’s no need to worry.’
She still looks a little worried, but I think I’ve assuaged her fears for the most part. She spends another minute or two apologising and then hurries off to find Bea and Marcus, who are apparently going on a herb farm tour this afternoon.
‘That’s a shame,’ I mumble once Penelope is out of earshot. ‘I was really looking forward to that.’
The plan was to spend the afternoon getting the massages, then I was going to hang by the pool and read for the restof the day. Since the other couples weren’t going to be around, I told Cash he was free to disappear and do what he liked for the rest of the day, but he said he was happy to stick with me and have a pool day.
‘You can still have a massage,’ Cash says as we stroll back to our suite. ‘You may don’t know this about me, but I’ve been told I have magic hands.’
A nervous laugh escapes me. It’s not that I haven’t thought about his hands running over my body, but I’m desperately trying to keep those thoughts at bay, and Cash isn’t helping. ‘Who told you that?’
‘Just people,’ Cash says innocently. Girls, probably. Lots and lots of girls. ‘Seriously, I give a pretty good massage.’
I glance at his hands and remember how they’d felt inching up my thighs that night at the cabana bar. ‘I don’t doubt it.’
I gasp and cover my mouth. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but it’s too late. Cash is grinning down at me, and I can see from the look in his eyes that this isn’t a battle I’m going to win.
