I shook my head. “No. I don’t think I even have him on socials anymore. Maybe on Instagram. But I haven’t seen any posts since he got married last year. I guess he finally unfollowed me? I probably should have done it years ago.”
“Damn, that means I can’t go and be nosy,” Darcy said, still grinning as the wind swept through his hair, ruffling it and dragging the longer strands across his face. He huffed as it stuck to his mouth, trying to blow it out the way and somehow making it worse. “Ugh, I really need to cut my hair! It’s getting too long now and it’s pissing me off.”
“I like it. But it’s your hair, so you do whatever you want with it.”
He ran his hand through it. “Don’t worry, I won’t go too short. It’s just getting in my face right now and I hate it.” His lips were cold and soft as he pressed them against mine again. A little giggle slipped out of him as he pulled away to rest his head against my shoulder. “I still can’t believe you got married in Vegas. You. The man who ran away at the idea of staying somewhere. Should I take this personally?”
“Why do you think it ended? Plus, we both had totally different ideas of what we wanted from life and where we wanted to go next.”
“Would you ever want to do it again?” His question was so quiet it was almost lost to the breeze. “Not the Vegas part. But getting married. It’s not a deal breaker: I’ve never really been fussed either way. I’m just… curious I guess.”
“Maybe. With the right person.”
Darcy nodded and went quiet for a minute. The silence was comfortable, broken only by the cawing of wheeling gulls and the crash of waves against the beach. The swell was picking up, white horses foaming as the water raced across the sand. It was almost good surfing weather.
“By the way, my dad wants to know when you might be free for dinner again? As long as I don’t fuck things up again—’cos he’s supportive like that.” He’d been very happy to hear I’d resolved things with Darcy but still wasn’t impressed I’d managed to screw everything up in the first place.
He had held off on telling my brother though, which I appreciated, but I had a suspicion all the gardeners at the castle knew everything. Or at least my dad’s version of it.
I didn’t think I’d come off very well.
Not that I deserved to, but Dad really hadn’t been on my side with this.
“That’d be great. I’d love that,” Darcy said. “Hopefully we get to eat this time.”
“Did you actually eat anything that night?”
“Yeah, Alfie brought lasagne. Jonathan had made a huge one for them to freeze but he sent Alfie down with the rest of it for me and Milo. Well, for me. Milo decided he wanted some too. Can’t blame him, it was delicious.”
“See, now I want lasagne,” I said with a chuckle. We hadn’t long had lunch, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t plan for tonight or the weekend. “Maybe I’ll make one on Sunday.”
“Perfect.” Darcy kissed me, quick and teasing. He sighed and slowly stepped back, offering me his hand. “Come on, we should get back before Milo gets into more trouble.”
“I don’t know what else he could do today. He’s already made peace with Rupert and passed out in front of porn stars.”
“This is Milo, he’ll think of something.”
I took Darcy’s hand, gripping it tightly as we slowly began to meander back towards Lick It!. Now everything was out in the open and we knew where we were going, at least roughly, there was one more thing I wanted to tell Darcy.
But now wasn’t the time or the place.
They were words to be said in private, when I could press them into his skin over and over until he was completely surrounded by them. Then I could fuck him while I whispered them against his lips and pour them into his ears. He would be able to fall apart knowing the truth about how I felt.
How he completely owned my heart.
And that I loved him more than I’d ever have ways to say.
I’d always been one for physical gestures though. If I couldn’t tell him, I’d show him instead.
Every single day. For as long as he’d have me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Darcy
The waves lapped gentlyagainst the sand, the dark grey water streaked with dazzling lines of pink and gold and orange as the sun rose slowly, bathing Heather Bay in its brilliance.
After all the rain, seeing the sun again felt like letting out a long, anxious breath. I smiled as the rays touched my skin, closing my eyes and soaking in the warmth. It washed over me, dispelling the early morning chill and calming the thoughts that had been racing around my head.
