They’d been wearing one another like favorite t-shirts for days. There was no telling where one began and the other ended anymore. Of course, when he’d expressed that to Evan, there had beenHuman Centipedereferences, which reminded him that not everyone was a poet.
“You know very well I go commando under swim shorts.”
“Commando?Notknickerlessorin the altogether? Well done. I’m impressed.”
How desperately he wanted to retort with a snappy comeback or an equally chastising glare, but what came out was the most undignified snort and a wheezing laugh. Damn him.
Damn them all, really. He’d had the loveliest two weeks of his life at this glorious and obscenely priced resort, and it pained him to think he’d never be back. He’d probably never see any of them again.
No, he wasn’t thinking that way. Today was their last full day together, and there would be no sadness. Olivia’s rules, and you did not want to defy Olivia, especially after a few glasses of wine. The woman’s wit somehow grew sharper the more she imbibed.
“Are you going to be alright?”
Evan’s smile was relaxed as he stretched his arms over his head and nodded. “We’re only going around the corner. I think I can handle that.”
Heath watched his shirt lift, helpless to resist the call of the belly fuzz. He slipped his hand into the narrow gap and let his fingers scratch across Evan’s skin. He didn’t care if anyone was watching. Let them watch and be envious.
“We can stay here if you’d rather.”
Evan groaned, a wicked grin curling his lips as he captured Heath’s wrist before his inquisitive fingers could skirt any lower.The top of the hourglass was emptying, and that made him uncharacteristically bold.
“We can play naked and bound on the secluded beach, if that’s what you’re after. Just promise me you’ll keep up with the sunscreen. There are parts of me I do not want to fry.”
The best part was Evan meant it, and he knew it. He’d been up for anything since their first time together, and Heath couldn’t believe anyone had let that man escape from their bed.
“The idea has merit.”
“Scoundrel.”
Of course,hewas letting Evan escape, wasn’t he?
A sharp pain twisted behind his ribs. There wasn’t a future between them, and he knew it. Each time he’d tried to broach the subject oflater,Evan had quickly and efficiently distracted him. He might be a hopeless romantic fool, but he could still read a room. He also knew better, because he’d tried the two-different-worlds thing multiple times, and each experience had ended worse than the last.
Oh, wouldn’t Andres and Manuel be impressed? If he ever spoke to them again. He still hadn’t decided.
Not only had he landed the incredibly handsome man from the plane, but he’d walked away from the fling with only a few deliberate and strategic bruises. His sanity was completely intact.
Mostly intact.
Mostly-ish.
At the very least, he’d resolved to fall apart only when he was alone. No one needed to know how devastated he planned to be.
This was the whirlwind love affair he’d wax nostalgic about when he was a bitchy old hag fanning himself on the porch of Andres’ summer home. The lakeside retreat they planned to retire to when they’d had enough of society.
Retreating from society sounded rather splendid, actually. Hecould take these memories and live out the rest of his days mourning the past. A perfectly healthy decision that wasn’t sad at all.
“Are you ready, gentlemen?”
Juan, their statuesque captain from day one, approached with a large cooler in his arms and nodded for them to follow him to the powerboat.
Today they would spend the afternoon on one of the small, isolated beaches on the far side of the island. Accessible only by boat or a fairly strenuous hike, they used the spot for what they called “romantic strandings.” An afternoon of complete privacy with your lover and a cooler packed full of goodies.
Marta had pulled them aside at breakfast to confirm they were all set for the afternoon, and Heath had been over the moon. Another surprise Evan had planned for the person who clearly didn’t deserve such a romantic husband.
Her loss, my gain.
Once again, he would not remind himself of the reality dawning with the sun tomorrow. Today, he would allow himself to pretend this feeling would last forever. He’d earned one last slice of fantasy as a reward for all the emotional growth.
