I laughed, tipping my head back. No one had ever done this before, surprised me like this. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” His grin was wicked.
“At least tell me what I need to bring.”
He shook his head. “I’d say just you, but of the female variety, so let’s add one of those cover up things and a spare bikini. Although I’d prefer you in none at all.”
“Cocky. Two minutes.”
It took me five. I yelled to Lala that I was off for the day with Tommy and grabbed a change of swimwear and a couple of kaftans, stuffing them into a beach bag along with my book and sun cream.
He was waiting less than patiently when I came out, tapping his foot and demonstrating that show of growliness that he’d had the first time I’d met him.
I laughed, which made him glower all the more. “I was quick!”
“Not quick enough. I have a day off – I want to make the most of it.”
“With me.” I kept my words quiet, climbing into his jeep. He had a day off and he was spending it with me.
“With you.” He’d heard. “Don’t make me regret my choice.”
I went to throw my bag on the back seat, stopping when I saw what was there. A picnic basket and cooler.
“This is a date.”
He muttered something I couldn’t quite work out.
“You have food, you picked me up. All I needed was a corsage and it’d be like a prom.”
His scowl grew wider but there was a smile behind it, one that finally broke out, like the sun from behind a cloud.
“I’d stop talking about dates, else I’ll change my mind and take you toCòctels.” His tone told me he didn’t mean any of it.
He took us to Espalmador,an uninhabited island off Formentera with its long white beaches and waters clearer than the skies on a sunny day. There were no bars or restaurants or shops, just us and the sand and the sea. We caught the ferry from Formentera, Tommy’s arms around my waist as we crossed the waters, his chin pressed against my shoulder. His warmth was greater than the sun, the heat from him feeling enough to power me through several centuries.
I wondered if I’d ever feel this way again.
“Where do you want to be in ten years time?” I asked while we lay on the beach, our picnic devoured. “Still here? Back in England?”
He was quiet for a moment, his usual first response. “Not England. Spent enough time there.”
“Here then?”
He turned over onto his side to face me. His board shorts were still damp from snorkelling in the sea, his chest not quite yet dry. I wanted to lick every drop away.
“While you’re here, yes.”
I shifted towards him, the kiss that started between us lazy and soft. He tasted of the sea and him, a taste I wanted to savour and force into memory, in case I never felt this again.
“Maybe we should stay here forever.” I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be. “I can man a stall selling flowers at the Hippie Market and you can runCòctelsuntil you’re old enough to turn into one of those men in the square in Santa Gertrudis, who sit there and play dominoes all day until their wives come find them for dinner.”
“You can be my nagging wife and I’ll come home begrudgingly every evening, putting on a sulky face. That’s until we walked through the door.”
“And what would you do then?”
He flipped me on my back, bracing himself over me. “This.” The kiss was demanding and deep. “Because I’ll never get enough of this.” Again, again, again, he kissed me, taking it no further as we were in the middle of the sheets of white sand, rather than on a bed, making me feel as if we were teenagers and this was my first summer romance instead of what I knew would be my last, because I couldn’t replace this.
It was there, on the beaches of Espalmador, I fell in love with him, hearing my heart break at the same time.
