Page 62 of Win You Over
I’m not sure how long we sit in silence, watching the gecko and the sea, before a rustling of pots and pans carries out the window from the kitchen where clearly someone else is awake.
Following the sound, we find Charlene preparing breakfast.
“Morning, you two,” she greets us, while breaking eggs into a plastic bowl. “I’m making French toast. Come, keep me company.”
Charlene points to the stool at the kitchen island, and I pull it out and take a seat, while Nadine makes coffee. The rich aroma of the beans soon filling the air and making my stomach rumble.
Nadine turns on music, dancing around the kitchen while she pulls out condiments from the cupboards. Charlene adds milk, then dips sliced croissants into the mixture before placing them in a frying pan.
And me? I watch them. Soaking in the love and happiness that exists in abundance in every member of this family.
“Baby,” a gravelly voice says, and I turn to find Remington leaning against the doorframe. He’s topless, blue shorts hugging his thick thighs. “What ya doing?”
He closes the distance between us, slides his hand up the back of my neck, threading his fingers into my hair, then pulls me into a kiss. His lips move gently against mine, his tongue making tentative swipes across the seam. Tasting. Savouring. There’s noheat – not like there is when we’re alone. This is different. This kiss is reverent. Meaningful.
“Remi,” I whisper into his mouth. He makes a happy noise at the back of his throat before he’s smiling against my lips. He kisses me one last time, then pulls away. His eyes are glossy, and there’s the remnant of sleep wrinkles on one cheek.
“If you’re done eating your boyfriend,” Nadine interrupts. “Mom’s made breakfast.”
“Bridezilla!” Remi remarks. “Not long now until you’re walking down that aisle, marrying the third hottest guy in the room.” He gives his sister a wink, and she swats him with a tea towel.
Curtis walks in, kisses his wife on the head, then helps her carry the tray of French toast and freshly cut fruit to the kitchen table. We all take a seat, the cinnamon-sweet scent filling the air.
“Try this,” Remington suggests, handing me a jar. “It’s eucalyptus honey, made right here on the island.”
I spoon a healthy amount onto my toasted croissant, then take a bite. It’s unlike anything I’ve tasted before. Sweet, as you’d expect, but with a subtle earthy bitterness.
Remi is watching me, waiting expectantly, like he’s just handed me a gift that he cannot wait for me to enjoy.
Sweat beads on the back of my neck as I look at every person at the table before finally answering.
“So good,” I reply quietly.
“Knew you’d like it,” he remarks, his face bright with a smile. He closes the jar and then, after a quick glance around he hides it in his pocket. He winks at me, then leans in until his lips linger on my ear. “For later.”
Well, fuck. Okay.
“What are your plans for today?” Charlene asks. Remi’s hand finds my knee under the table, and he rests it there, his fingers tickling the inside of my thigh.
“I have a surprise for Holden,” he replies.
My mind flits to the jar hidden in his pocket and I suddenly cannot wait to find out what my surprise is.
“Come closer,” Remi says, holding a hand out for me as he stands near the edge of the cliff overlooking the sea below, with only a small wooden barrier between him and a sloped drop. The view is breathtaking – sparkling blue sea that seems to stretch for miles, bordered by sandy beaches, thick shrubbery of bright flowers and sharp rocky outcrops – but I can see it well enough from where I am. Hiking to a very high point to look at this terrifying plummet was not what I had in mind when he said surprise.
Not that the hike up was bad. That had been really enjoyable. Taking us longer than it should have because we kept stopping to steal kisses.
“I’m good,” I say, then wipe the sweat beading on the back of my neck.
Remi stands with his back to the world and his eyes on me.
“You scared of heights,leeutjie?”
“It’s a perfectly understandable fear to have,” I remark defensively.
He laughs. “You jumped off the side of a boat. That didn’t scare you.”
“That was a lot different.”
