The only other pieces of furniture are a heavy wardrobe placed beside the doorway leading to a modern bathroom and a small dressing table.
“It’s beautiful,” I say, stunned.
“It’s not exactly the Ritz,” Ivan mutters, and I giggle.
“No, but it’s unique.” He stares at the odd scene, his mouth hanging open in astonishment.
“This isn’t what I had in mind,” he says. “I’ll sort out a hotel in the morning.”
“No, I want to stay here. We can walk out onto the beach in the morning and listen to the birds in the trees.”
“We can do that in a hotel.”
“Yes, but here…” I pause, then rise on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Here, we have complete privacy. No one for miles.”
“One night, Amy, and if I don’t like it, we’ll move to a hotel. You say we have privacy; I say we are the perfect victims of a python looking for its dinner.”
I laugh out loud.
“I don’t think you get tigers at the beach.”
“Never say never,” he says petulantly.
The guide clears his throat. “Excuse me, sir. Would you like me to bring your cases down?”
“Yes, please,” Ivan responds. He focuses on me and rolls his eyes. “It looks as if we’re staying. What’s your name? Apologies for not asking earlier. It’s been a long day.”
“My name is Adisorn, sir.” He bows his head in Ivan’s direction.
“Thank you, Adisorn. Please bring our cases down.” Ivan reaches into his pocket and pulls out a few coins, then hands them to Adisorn.
“Eternal gratitude, sir,” he says before he scurries off on his duties.
When we’re alone, Ivan turns to me. “You’re sure you want to stay here?”
I step closer, resting my hands on his shoulders. My heart pounds. He’s a beautiful man, probably the most gorgeous man I’ve ever been with. No wonder there is a line of broken-hearted women before me.
“What is it?” he asks.
“I’m just taking this all in,” I say.
“All what?”
“This.” I wave my hand around my head. “You, me, this holiday, what we have together. It’s all so unreal.”
“But it is real,” he replies, “and I’m loving every minute of this. Are we using the wordthisinstead of relationship?” I chuckle. “Because that’s what I want, Amy. A relationship with you. A real one.”
Heat floods my cheeks. The fear I’ve been pushing away surfacing sharp enough to sting.
“What are you afraid of?” he murmurs.
“I…”
What do I say? Do I tell him the truth? He deserves that at least. He’s being honest with me.
“Terry left me when he was meant to be my soulmate. We’d been together a long time. He was the last person I ever thought would hurt me.” My voice wavers. “And you have a queue of women lining up to be your partner. Most of them more beautiful and more successful than me.”
“But it’s not them I wanted to bring to Thailand,” he whispers, taking my hands. “Look at me, please.”
