I run past St. Mary’s Cathedral before heading into Hyde Park and I can’t help but smile. Turning back toward the apartment, a sense of calm envelops me, knowing that it’s my future I’m running toward, and I’m so ready to get to it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Joss
My flight into Sydney is as smooth as can be, and I’m so appreciative of the ease with which everyone disembarks so that I can finish up on the plane and get home. Wes mentioned a surprise, so I’ve been filled with a nervous anticipation all day. Hopefully whatever it is includes us staying home so I can climb him like a tree the moment I walk in the door.
I check my phone as I walk off the plane and see his name there.
Wes
I’m waiting for you! Come see me!
Me
Aren’t youthe impatient one.
Wes
I’m always impatient when it comes to you.
I giggle and can’t help but squirm at the butterflies in my stomach. I have never experienced anything like how I feel with him. He makes me better, makes me want tobebetter, makes me want things I’ve never let myself want before. I’m smiling like a fool, not paying attention as I walk out past security in the direction of the taxi rank, when I run into a firm chest.
“Crap, I’m—” I break off when I look up and into the face of the only man who’s ever taken my breath away. “Wes!” I throw myself into his arms, my rolling bag clattering to the floor behind me. “When you said you were waiting for me, I assumed you meant at home.”
I pull back to look at him, taking in every detail, ensuring he hasn’t changed in the week since I last saw him. His beard is trimmed and I can see his dimples peeking through, making the butterflies feel more like the beating wings of a dragon. He’s also wearing that freaking baseball cap, the one from his first day in Sydney. It sits backward on his head, giving me an unobstructed view of his sapphire blue eyes.
My feet dangle above the floor, and his arms around my waist may be pulling my skirt indecently high up my thighs, but I don’t have a care in the world. I’m in his arms and he’s looking at me with so much love that I could melt into a puddle on the floor.
“You know what they say when you assume, Grey?” He chuckles and brings those perfect lips to mine. I sink into him, oblivious to the airport full of people milling around, and grip his hair under his hat to bring him closer. I said I wanted to climb him like a tree, andthat’s what I’m about to do if we don’t stop soon. I break the kiss, my breathing fast and shallow, while Wes slowly lowers me back to the ground. I feel a little wobbly on my legs, like I’m standing on stilts, but he holds firm to my waist, keeping me close.
“Damn. That was…” He clears his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I mean, the whole ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ thing must be true, because… damn.” He lets out a low laugh, and I feel it rumble through my whole body. My fingers run along his jaw, then down his neck to his shoulder.
“What are you doing here?” I breathe.
“I couldn’t wait a single minute longer to see you, and I told you I have a surprise.” He waggles his eyebrows and I pick up on his giddy excitement. I can feel it in the way he moves, the way he smiles so big and wide.
“Okay…” I draw out the word. “So are you going to tell me what this surprise is?”
He reaches around me to grab my bag off the floor. Then, grabbing me around the waist again, he pulls me into his side and leads me toward the doors.
“Now what would be the fun in that?” He leans down and presses one more quick kiss to my temple, leaving me to wonder what on earth he has planned.
When Wes said he had a surprise, I never would have guessed it would entail a long drive up the coast to Blueys Beach. Heapparently rebooked the trip we were supposed to take two months ago for this weekend so that we could get away from the city and enjoy our first mini-break as a couple.
When we got into the ute at the airport and I spotted the boards in the back along with our overnight bags, I was speechless. Yet nothing compared to how stunned I was when a private beach bungalow waited for us at the end of our long drive.
I take in every detail of the gorgeous space, the wood floors warm against my bare feet. Inside the expansive room, there’s a large king-sized bed with a gauzy white canopy overhang like something out of a fairytale. Opposite the bed is a small sitting room and kitchen space, filled with late afternoon sunlight.
The coastal-inspired décor—all tans, mints, and blues accented with furniture made from driftwood or wicker—makes the room feel light and airy. There’s a decadent clawfoot tub in the bathroom, and there’s already a picture forming in my mind of me sinking into it. A full week of flights and hotel room beds has me sighing at the idea.
“Beautiful,” I say, scanning the room one more time.
“I agree,” Wes husks, and when I bring my eyes to his they’re not looking at the room. They’re glued to me.
When I walk back to him and snake my arms around his middle, I tilt my head back and smile at him. There’s no disguising the look of desire in his gaze as he rakes it over my body. I’m still in my uniform and want nothing more than to strip it off, but I’m caught in his orbit and don’t think I can move.
His hands slide up along my outer thighs, to my hips, and then my waist. Each inch a slow tease of his warm skin through the fabric.I shiver when his hands reach my rib cage and his smile turns wicked, both dimples popping under that beard that I’ve come to love so much.
