“That’s—good,” she chokes out between coughs, which are between peals of laughter. “Really—strong.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Truly, I—Jonas? Areyouokay?”
“Yep.”
“What’s wrong with your eyes?”
“Too much beauty. I can’t look at you straight on without going blind.”
“Jonas.”
“Just a little water.”
“Let me see.”
“I—”
She slides next to me, our bodies touching under the water, both of us on our knees. The jets are swirling the water hard enough that she uses my leg as leverage for hers, putting her pussy against my knee.
And then she touches my face, gently brushing water off my cheeks and eyelashes.
I blink my eyes open, knowing what I’m about to find, and still caught off-guard by how close she is.
Even with my blurred vision, I can make out the angles of her cheeks and jawline, that adorable nose, the plump lips and wide eyes. I blink again, and my vision starts to clear. My eyes still ache, but they’ll live.
Her light lashes are clumped together, some still holding droplets of water. Her hair’s slicked back, her ears more prominent, and she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
Swear she is.
She’s just soEmma.
And I fucking adore that about her.
“Here. I’ll get you a towel.”
I grip her by the waist and shake my head. “Stay.”
Her hands still on my face, and she studies me like she’s trying to read between the letters of that one word.
“Stay.” I want to wrap my arms around her and drag her to me and kiss her until neither of us can breathe. I want—I justwant. I wanther. “It’s dangerous out there. Tidal wave might knock you over.”
Her fingers caress my cheeks. “You helped set up for my friends’ baby shower.”
“Had an extra set of lungs just sitting around, being useless otherwise.”
She smiles, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Just a little, but it’s there. Steam rises around us. The fairy lights shift from a soft blue to a soft purple.
“I was afraid you were here just for Bash,” she whispers. “That you were—that you were just being nice to me because we’re a package deal. That you left Fiji because I was getting too needy or clingy or—”
My heart splits itself in two. “Emma. No. I left because the paparazzi were on the way. I didn’t—I should’ve left my phone number. I didn’t think of it until I was gone, and then—then I thought you were better off without me. It’s dumb. It’s a stupid excuse. I—”
“I understand.” She’s stroking my cheeks, her gaze darting from my eyes to my lips and back to my eyes again.
I clear my throat. “If we’d met again under any other circumstance, I would’ve stayed just for you.”
She shakes her head.
