Page 118 of Vivacity
She nods. ‘It is a type of grief, really. I mean, I’m over him. I’m not in love with him anymore, just so you know. I’m very much ready to move on—I’ve been dating a colleague of mine for a few months, actually.’
‘Oh, I’m so happy to hear that!’ I really am. Poor, poor Elena, spending a decade and a half with a man who couldn’t escape his demons. And to fly across the world only to find that the Self-led version of him, the one she always had faith was buried in there somewhere beneath all that trauma, is a living, breathing thing?
She’s right. It’s a very real kind of grief.
‘Thank you. I’m happy. And if my son finally has the father he’s always deserved, then I’m ecstatic. As a mother, that’s all I’ve ever wanted for him.’
‘You’re such a good mother,’ I tell her. ‘It’s not really any of my business, but I think you’ve managed this entire process with such grace and wisdom. Honestly, hats off to you.’
‘That means a lot to me,’ she says with an incline of her head. She gives me an enigmatic little smile. ‘And from the expression on Ethan’s face whenever he says your name, I suspect this family will be very much your business when the boys get home.’
CHAPTER 52
Sophia
The Datai Langkawi, where I’m meeting the boys, is nestled amid dense rainforest, right on the coast of the Malaysian island of Langkawi. I know many, many facts about this resort, because I’ve spent far too much time on its website and Instagram account over the past few days.
I have never been this excited in my life. I’m finally going to be reunited with my man, and in the most spectacular surroundings. I’m never letting him go again.
He offered to send the jet for me, but even I’m not princessy enough to demand a private jet for one. Instead, I graciously accept a first-class plane ticket. I shower in the airport lounge and change into my adorable hot pink sundress, and a driver from the hotel picks me up. Ethan and Jamie arrived here late last night. I strum my fingers on the Jeep’s leather upholstery for the entire journey, because I. Cannot. Wait.
In the vast lobby, with its vaulted wooden ceiling, I stand for a moment, disorientated, until I hear a shout from behind me.
‘Soph!’
I know that voice.
I swivel, and oh my God.
There he is!
But also—holy fuck. He is sofuckinghot. He and Jamie are grinning at me, and he looks so tanned, and rugged, and muscular. He has a neatly trimmed beard, and his brown hair is sun-streaked, and, in a soft cream T-shirt and beige cargo shorts, he basically looks like some hot, ripped surfer dude.
I’m totally going to get railed by the ripped surfer dude.
We both start running, even though I’m in wedges, and we kind of slam into each other. The moment my body hits his, the moment he wraps his arms around me and I get to inhale the scent of his skin, it hits me like a tonne of bricks how much I’ve missed him. How shitty a facsimile ofthisour FaceTimes and WhatsApps have been. How viscerally I need to be with him, to be close to him. I wrap my arms more tightly around him and tilt my head up to snort his neck, and he chuckles, low and soft.
‘Hi, you.’ He strokes my hair and then forces me away from his neck so he can kiss me. It’s slow and loving, and it may be pretty PG, but it’s perfect. Simply having his lips pressed against mine is perfect. When he pulls away to study me, I beam up at him like some kind of crazed koala bear, fisting his t-shirt in my hands. He smiles back down at me, his thumbs grazing my cheeks. ‘Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.’
‘Right back at you,’ I retort.
‘Jesus, get a room, guys,’ Jamie grumbles beside us, and I laugh, embarrassed, and extricate myself.
‘Oh god, sorry, Jamie! Hi!’ I go in for a hug, which he returns awkwardly. ‘You look fantastic!’ I tell him. ‘You both do.’
‘Do you want to see the villa?’ he blurts out. ‘We got a beachside one. It’s fire.’
‘I wouldloveto see the villa.’ I put my hand in Ethan’s and squeeze tightly.
The three of us walk through the hotel, Jamie loping ahead. I swear he’s grown even more since I last saw him. The resort is spectacular, but I can’t quite take it in, because I’m too busygaping at my hot boyfriend, and it seems he’s having the same problem. Every time our eyes lock, we grin like lovesick fools, which I suppose we are.
I’ve been dreaming of this moment for months. I’d come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t see him until he landed back on British soil, and I had detailed plans to go fullLove Actuallyon him and Jamie at Heathrow, but this is even better, because this place rocks, and because I get to see him in full Aussie Ethan mode, when he’s still chilled out and wearing shorts and flip-flops.
Ireallydig Aussie Ethan.
Every tiny thing feels like a miracle. The heady scent of the rich undergrowth that surrounds our path. The secure warmth of Ethan’s hand in mine. The slap of his flip-flops on the wooden walkway. And then we happen upon the most beautiful low-level buildings, framed in lush gardens.
‘This is incredible.’ I turn in a circle, taking in the stunning landscape, the turquoise pool, and the two glass-and-wood structures that sit perpendicular to each other around the pool.
