Page 85 of Riding the Waves

“I missed you,” he murmured against her lips.

“I missed you too.” She didn’t want to talk, she just wanted to kiss him and was aware that she probably only had seconds before the boys returned.

Damian must have been thinking the same as he discreetly drew back.

“I was thinking we should just tell them,” Amy said in a rush. “It seems daft not to. I don’t want us to have to sneak around.”

“It’s not really sneaking around.”

She frowned. “I’d like to be able to kiss you when I feel like it without checking the coast is clear. And it’d be nice not to have to restrain myself every time I want to touch you.”

The corner of Damian’s lip twitched in sync with his left eyebrow and Amy knew exactly where his mind had gone. She swatted at his arm and mock-scowled.

“What?” He laughed. “Not my fault you have problems restraining yourself around me. Maybe this will be a good lesson in self-control.”

She sneered at him playfully. “Maybe that’s not a lesson I want.”

His hand slipped around her waist, pulling her back to him. “We’ll tell them soon, okay?”

“Okay.” She draped her arms around his shoulders. “Does this mean you’ll be sleeping in the spare room instead of my bed?”

He crinkled his nose. “I was thinking about that. They don’t understand about sex anyway. I can just tell them I’m sleeping with you because it’s the comfiest bed or something. I don’t think they’ll question it.”

“They’ll definitely agree with you that it’s the comfiest bed.”

Happy that she wouldn’t have to endure sleeping in a separate bed to him, she swept a kiss over his lips then moved away at the sound of Billy’s heavy footfalls. He grabbed at Damian’s hand and dragged him off to play.

With Damian there, the whole atmosphere in the house changed, removing the empty feeling that had lingered for so long.

Having Damian there for the morning routine and school run the following day felt pretty surreal too. Once they were back home and alone, Amy made coffees and took them through to the living room, intent on having a proper chat with Damian before she hid away in the office to get some work done. Standing in his denim shorts and faded blue T-shirt with the logo for the surf shack, he looked utterly out of place amid the elegant decor in varying shades of cream and beige.

His eyes were on the painting hanging above the fireplace. “Interesting artwork,” he remarked, tilting his head.

“Hmm.” She’d always hated it and wasn’t even sure what there was to say about a tangle of green vines depicted on canvas.

“Anthony didn’t want it?” Damian asked, turning and taking a mug from her.

She shook her head, really not interested in discussing the picture. “It’s mine.” A gift from Anthony which he’d somehow got into his head that she’d love. She hadn’t the heart to tell him otherwise.

“It suits the room,” Damian said, then sat down on the plush cream couch.

Amy’s eyes swept the room, wondering what his comment meant. “I’ve been thinking,” she said, taking a seat beside him and deciding to move the conversation on. “Why don’t we just tell the kids what’s really going on between us?”

He set his mug on the low coffee table. “We agreed we’d wait and tell them when everything is a bit more settled. So they’re not confused.”

“I think they’re confused now. You being here for apparently no reason is confusing for them.”

Damian shrugged. “Then why don’t you tell them you’re moving house and I’m here to help you look for somewhere, and to help you move. They wouldn’t question that.”

He’d suggested the same thing before, but Amy hadn’t been keen. “I don’t want to tell them about the house until I’ve actually found somewhere. There’s so much uncertainty with buying a house. I don’t want the kids on that rollercoaster with me.” She felt a jolt in her stomach as a thought occurred to her. “Is that the same reason you don’t want to tell the boys about us? Are you waiting to see if it actually works out?”

“Don’t be daft,” he said, decimating her fears with a look. “Of course it’s going to work out. I’m just not sure about the details. Will I move to Oxford permanently or split my time between here and Hope Cove?”

“I guess you’ll split your time, won’t you?” Amy couldn’t imagine him giving up his life in Hope Cove entirely.

“I don’t know.” He reached for his coffee again. “I want to be with you and the boys. All the time. Not just on a part-time basis.”

“What about your business?”

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