I took a few photos on my phone. I’d send my professional photographer here at a later stage to get better ones, and I sent the company an email with my idea. By the time I got back to my room, after popping to the nearby village to grab some normal condoms, I was hot and the cool water of the lake looked very, very appealing.
I found Ash stretched out across the couch, clutching her laptop as if she’d fallen asleep with it. I could hear something playing from it. Her laptop looked as if it was going to fall, so I crept round and tried to pull it out of her hands without waking her. I slid it out as gently as I could and then laid it on the table. It sounded like she was playing a video of herself. I could hear her talking about the light and location, probably something she’d sent to Sebastian, something she’d filmed earlier. I carefully opened the computer to pause it. An editing program was open. I made sure to save the file, then I minimized the program, and what she had up on the screen stole my breath.
It was the photo of us just before it had all fallen apart. God, I looked so different. I was tall and pale and somewhat good-looking, but in a bit of a nerdy way, as if I’d not quite come into my own yet, which I hadn’t. I remember being that age, eighteen—you’re on the cusp of being an adult, but so far away from really being one. It’s an awkward phase you hover around, not quite an adult, not quite a child. But Ash on the other hand, she was gorgeous. Gorgeous then, and gorgeous now. I smiled to myself at her dress, which at the time had been the height of fashion. Red satin with about a million shiny diamantes on it. Shiny diamante straps that wrapped round her neck as if they hadn’t decided whether they were a necklace, or dress straps.
I looked up from this picture to the sleeping vision in front of me.
Did this picture mean we did stand a chance?Did her having it still and looking at it today mean that maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t being that naïve after all? And that maybe, just maybe, somewhere under her stubborn insistence that there were no feelings, there actually were?
I closed the computer quietly and slid it onto the table next to her. If there was even the slightest possibility that her having this photo meant that she still had feelings, and that there was still a chance for us,a second chance, then I was not about to let this day go to waste. I was going to make her see what we could be like now. And that we were still perfect for each other.
CHAPTER 49
Ash
“Did I fall asleep?” I asked, rolling over on the couch after hearing Max’s voice.
“You did.”
“Mmm, it was nice.”
“You know what will be nicer, though?” he asked as I yawned and tried to sit up.
“Whaaat?” I said through a massive yawn.
“Swimming in those crystal-clear waters. Lying on that beach, relaxing, knowing we have both finished our work. Drinking a fancy cocktail with a twirly straw and an umbrella. Maybe even going out on the sunset boat cruise.”
I stretched my hands above my head. “That does sound good.”
He held his hand out for me, and without thinking, I slipped mine into his. I had a vague thought of how well our fingers fitted together before he pulled me onto my feet.
“Change into swimming costumes?” he asked.
“Meet you back here in five,” I replied, and walked off to my room. I changed quickly, and when I got back to the lounge, Max was standing there in swim trunks and a T-shirt.
“Shall we?” he asked, opening the door for us. It was oddly formal, and I must say, cute. We walked outside and made our way down the path that led to the beach and the waters below.
“How is this a lake in the middle of Malawi?” I asked, walking onto the beach sand.
“Pretty spectacular.” Max took his shirt off and dropped it onto one of the beach loungers.
My eyes were immediately drawn to that big, broad back, where I could just make out red nail marks criss-crossing his shoulder blades. My fingertips tingled at the reminder. He dug in his bag and produced a bottle.
“Sun cream?”
“Sure,” I said, slipping out of my dress. A grass umbrella provided just the right amount of shade and I stood under it while I rubbed the lotion on myself. I managed everything but my back, and when I was done, Max was looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Fine! Do my back, but no hanky-panky. We’re in public.”
He smiled. That crazy, hot, sexy, filthy, devilish smile. God, I think I knew now why women came just by looking at him. There was a sexual intensity to him when he smiled like this that was enough to turn you inside out with wanton need.
I sat down on the lounger and he climbed on behind me. I heard him squeezing the cream onto his hands and then rubbing them together.
“So, are you saying that if we weren’t in public, you’d let me do some hanky-panky?”
“Possibly,” I teased. Well, it wasn’t exactly a tease. Because the answer was a loud and resounding yes.
“How about we leave that for tonight?” He brought his hands down to my back and my entire body reacted. I tried not to let him know the effect that just his hands were having on me, but I was sure he already knew.
