Page 59 of Final Chance At Love (Chance At Love Duet 2)

I knew they’d be tired so I prepared a light dinner and set up the table outside on the upper terrace. It also coincidentally worked for me and my nausea so we were all happy. The girls’ main objective with dinner had been to eat as little as possible and save lots of room for ice cream. They quickly gave the tip to Jack.

“I swear if they could, they’d eat ice cream all day,” I told him.

The slight breeze coming off the sea felt great on my skin. Since we spent so much time outside and on the beach, the girls and I were already sporting a tan and slight sunburn. I could never get tired of this view, this smell of the sea. It is unlike anywhere else in the world. We were all comfortable and the atmosphere was so relaxing despite the fact that I had never really hung out with Jonathan before.

“Doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” he replied.

“Maybe for you,” I chuckled. “You two must be tired so please feel free to ditch us and dinner whenever you want.”

“In a little bit,” he commented. “Honestly, I’m having such a great time. I don’t want it to end. Thanks again for the invite.”

“My pleasure,” I told him and I really meant it. “Rick and his family will be joining us in five days too so we’ll have a nearly full house,” I added chuckling.

The next five days flew by fast. It turned out, it was great having Jonathan and Jack with us. Jonathan was great to talk to and both helped out. I found out that both Jonathan and Jack were genuinely funny when they relaxed around people.

Truthfully, I was unsure on how things would work out with Jonathan considering his history with Kristoff, and how much his wife hates me. I asked Jonathan one more time whether it would be a problem for his wife considering her dislike of me. He just mumbled his response that she was not concerned with any of it. So I left it at that. I wasn’t quite sure if that was a good thing or bad thing, and I didn’t ask.

He was easygoing, and nowhere near as intense as Kristoff. But then nobody was as intense as Kristoff. Jonathan could be charming when he wanted, so I could certainly see the appeal. But he also had times when he acted like the jackass I met at the fundraiser ball, which seemed like such a long time ago now. Just like then, I would put him in his place, he would give me his boyish smile, and all was good with the world.

We were working on getting all of the bedrooms cleaned out and set up so we would have room for Rick, Betty, and their boys. And I wanted to attempt to get at least a few bedrooms rented eventually.

While days flew by, nights were a torture for me. I was successful at tampering my yearning and desire for Kristoff during days, but nights were a fucking hell. My mind kept replaying all my moments with Kristoff, every kiss, every hug, every touch. I missed his smell, his hard body against mine, his stare and those rare smiles. There wasn’t a single night that I didn’t dream of him and I’d wake up from it with intense yearning. Then I’d lay in bed in the dark, listening to the sound of waves and I would think back to the day when I met Kristoff, that first damned interview. If I was honest with myself, he swept me off my feet as soon as I saw him. I never felt attraction like that to a man before, and I had a feeling I would never feel it again.

Chapter Twenty

The day finally arrived when Rick, Betty, and their boys were coming. Jonathan offered to stay behind and watch the little ones along with Sienna and Jack. The girls wanted to spend time at the beach and I knew Sienna would stay with them the entire time. As much as she was a typical teenager, she was still fiercely protective of her little sisters.

I got to Zagreb Airport at the same time as the flight. It was perfect timing. I didn’t have to wait long to see them all coming out of customs and we all squealed as we hugged each other. You’d think we hadn’t seen each other in months, not just a few weeks.

“Oh my gosh, Gemma!” Betty exclaimed. “You look great! And look at your tan. I am jealous!”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your tan by the end of this week,” I replied, laughing and hugging the boys. Then I turned to Rick who was patiently waiting for his turn.

“Hello beautiful,” he hugged me and kissed my cheek. “Maybe I should start calling you sunshine because you clearly got a lot of that going on.”

I smiled brightly at him. “You are just jealous,” I teased him. “You had to work while I hung out on the beach all day.”

“Damn right,” he chuckled.

I grabbed Betty’s hand and her youngest boy. “Are you all ready for an amazing summer vacation?” I asked excitedly.

“I want to go swimming with Sierra and Saoirse,” replied Betty’s youngest, Brad.

“And you will! Sienna is home with the girls. We have a few hours’ drive ahead, so let’s pack up the Jeep and go home!”

“I swear when you are in this country, you are like a completely different person, Gemma!” Rick claimed, following behind us. I turned my head to glance at him and smiled.

“You are so relaxed, and I swear you seem to be glowing!” Betty added as we were loading my old Jeep that had the top off.

As I secured the last piece of luggage in the back of the Jeep with Rick’s help, I glanced at Betty and smiled. “First, my glow is the beach tan. And second, in this country with their coffee breaks and taking every task easy and slow, I have no choice but to relax. Otherwise, I’ll give myself a heart attack because their inefficiency can drive me crazy.”

I turned to Rick and asked, “Do you want to drive and I’ll direct you or do you prefer I drive?”

“You drive,” he answered as he went for the passenger seat. I knew it was because he was tired. Traveling with little ones can be exhausting.

As I sat myself in the driver seat, I glanced back at Betty and boys. “I chose just to relax and go with the flow!”

“I never thought to see the day,” Betty mumbled.

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