Busy rocking back and forth, her eyes shut tight, she doesn’t immediately acknowledge my declaration. I have to buck my hips and bury myself deeper still to get her attention.
Her eyes flutter open, although her movements don’t slow, the response she’s causing getting harder to control. “And I love you just as much, Wyatt Cassidy. Now hurry and make me yours.”
While I know she’s talking about our lovemaking, my mind is on something far more permanent. When you have someone like Phoebe in your life, you worship them so they’ll never want to leave.
EPILOGUE
SIX MONTHS LATER
PHOEBE
On Wyatt and me entering the tunnel to the villa, the changes are drastic. His reaction says the removal of the salacious images is not of his doing. The other thing that’s missing is that weird velvet padding on the ceilings and walls.
This is nothing compared to the changes we encounter when we enter the villa itself. Gone is the ornate—and supremely uncomfortable—couch, replaced by a Scandinavian-inspired sectional in a dark gray.
Wyatt’s as surprised by the upgrades as I am, looking around in wonder. “It has to have been Liam. He’s the only one with the funds and okay to make changes like these.”
He’s right, with Liam Maddigan, the manager of the hotel, also son of the owner. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a millionaire in his own right.
Despite all this, we’ve only been gone for two weeks, with Wyatt taking time off to accompany me on a couple of shoots down in LA.
Actually, Claude, the photographer, had insisted Wyatt be there for one of them. Whether this was because Claude fancied Wyatt for himself, or that he liked the carnal glow in my eyes whenever Wyatt was around, who knew?
Either way, the photos he’d taken of me next to the pool at Maddigan’s all those months ago have curvy brands clamoring to book me. I’m even getting the occasional booking from mainstream brands.
My life has changed beyond recognition. Six months ago, I was single and being stalked by a madman. Now I’m in a relationship, and Ralph is in prison.
Turns out when they searched the ‘love nest’ he’d prepared for me, there was already a woman in ‘residence’. Thankfully Ralph had left her with enough to live on while he pursued me.
This had meant our testimony was a formality, with Ralph being sent away for a very long time. Of course, we’d still had our say, with this adding to his sentence.
Whenever memories of Ralph crowd my brain, I automatically search for Wyatt, feeling safe in his orbit. The counseling is also helping, but I’ve still got a way to go.
I still have trouble believing someone as outwardly tough as Wyatt would be the one to suggest I engage a therapist. Yet he had, telling me he’d benefited from it after his mom passed away.
My first thought on hearing she’d died when Wyatt was a kid, was that his violent father had been responsible. Instead, his mom died of a heart attack in her sleep. The only plus in what had been an awful experience for him, was that his last words to her were, “I love you, Mom.”
Doing my best to clear my head of these gloomy images, I look through to the bedroom. Even from out here, I can see the fringed hangings on the four-poster are missing, although the bed itself remains.
A check of the courtyard and I see there’s now a slim line stainless ladder in the plunge pool. While Wyatt was always happy to help me out, this means I’ll be able to use the pool when he’s not around.
“Does this mean he’s opening the villa up to hotel guests?” This saddens me, as I think of it as being our special place. When Wyatt doesn’t respond, I turn to find he’s no longer behind me.
I’m back taking in the other changes outside when he wraps his arms around me from behind and stands with his chin atop my head.
“Phoebe, there’s something you need to see.”
Never one to miss an opportunity, I squirm around in his arms until we face enough other. “Do I have to? I can think of better things to do. Have you seen the new double sun lounger?”
There’s nothing I can do to stop the giggle that follows. Some of my most memorable times with Wyatt have taken place out there.
My reaching up on tiptoes is all the invitation Wyatt needs, and as always, the impact of our kiss is spectacular. My soul unfurls in response, my heart thumps in my chest, and blood pulses through my most sensitive parts in readiness.
I’m therefore surprised when Wyatt lifts his lips from mine, reluctance clear in every muscle. “Soon enough, darling, soon enough. In the meantime, you really need to check this out.”
WYATT
As tempting as it is to surrender to Phoebe’s teasing and christen the double sun lounger, I resist. After her voicing concerns that Liam is opening the villa to paying guests, she needs to see this.
