‘Of course, love. Is everything alright? Is it Ally and that pilot again?’
‘Don’t be so nosey! Of course we can have him, Emma. As long as he doesn’t eat all the biscuits I bought,’ Marilyn teased, poking her tongue out at Dominic.
‘Are they Bourbons?’ Dominic asked.
Emma put the phone back to her ear.
‘Give me half an hour.’
*
She’d never felt so nervous. It was almost like when they’d first met. Him being the pin-up of the campsite, her being the nerd with the schoolbooks no one gave a second glance to. That day his football had knocked her out of her camping chair, the day he had first touched her hand had changed her whole life. Now, standing outside the honeymoon suite, it was all being brought back to her.
She raised her hand to knock but the door opened and there he was. His hair was a little dishevelled, his shirt open a few buttons and his trousers had no belt but right then he looked more beautiful than he’d ever looked.
She felt her body react to him, excitement building, adrenaline beginning to rush through her.
He opened his mouth as if to speak but closed it again, his chest expanding as he took a breath.
‘I don’t know what to say.’ The words gushed from her mouth.
‘Don’t say anything,’ he responded quickly.
One stride forward and his mouth was on hers, his body urging her backwards and into the suite. The door closed behind them and she was up against it, pressed to the wood as Guy’s mouth explored her neck. She couldn’t breathe. Everything was welling up inside, all the emotion she’d held in, not just lately, but for years, all the anger, the regret, the pain, the hurt, the desperation, all were combining now, growing and spawning, overriding all her senses. She wanted an end to it, to start a new beginning. She needed to get it all out of her system and perhaps this was the way. Right now, with his hands at the buttons of her blouse, his tongue rolling up hers, his breath hot on her cheeks, it felt like the only thing in the world she wanted to do. But it shouldn’t be rushed like this. She pushed him back, gave herself some space, moved from the door.
‘Emma…’ he began. His expression told her he was concerned if they stopped he would lose her.
‘I’m not the girl you fell in love with in France,’ she said, turning back to face him.
‘Yes you are.’ He took a step towards her.
‘No, Guy, I’m not. And you’re not the same boy. We’ve both changed so much, we’ve both got older and experienced different things. Time and situations change people.’
‘Why do you say this?’
‘Because this has to be a fresh start, like we talked about, it has to be… for so many reasons,’ she continued.
She needed to trust the man he was now. Not remember how he threw her love back in her face. They both had to be able to move on.
‘I cannot pretend that I did not know you then. I cannot tell you that my feelings now aren’t because of my feelings before. But I can tell you, everything is bigger and better, stronger and clearer than ever. Love. Love… like no other.’
‘Guy…’
‘Non. I will not pretend this is not the best thing I have felt in my life. You are the best thing in my life. The only thing that matters in my life. I know you tell me I am not Dominic’s father but I could be, if you let me. I should be. He is not here and I am… and I want to be,’ he continued.
Chapter Forty-Six
He took another step closer towards her and she felt herself warming to his nearness. That buzz, the tingling of all her senses, coming alive to his proximity, it was electrifying her.
She gasped as he took a handful of her blouse and pulled her towards him. Their bodies so tight together she could feel his hardness, pressing against her thigh. She couldn’t wait any longer. Didn’t want to wait any longer. Any questions, any doubts had to be put to one side. Passion like this had to be given in to, it couldn’t be controlled.
She opened her mouth, wetting her lips with her tongue and began to unfasten the buttons of his shirt. That tanned torso she’d so admired in her teens was about to be hers again. He closed his eyes as she loosened the shirt from