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“Maybe we’re fooling ourselves,” I said quietly.
She laughed humorlessly. “It was a nice thought. Really, I appreciate that you would even risk everything to see me again.”
I looked up at her, my face pained as I realized it would never work. “I would risk it all for you. But then…there would always be another goodbye.”
She nodded. “And what if one of us has kids? Could you really have an affair and put them through that? Not that they would ever find out, but if they did…”
“No, you’re right,” I said, squeezing the bridge of my nose. When I opened my eyes, she was staring at me with a sad smile. “It was a nice idea.”
I walked over to her and pulled her into my arms. I held her close, rubbing her back as we both realized this could never be more than what it was in this moment. The door burst open and Shane stalked in with Clarissa hot on his tail.
“I’m just saying, you didn’t really have to punch me.”
“You didn’t need to toss me off the bed! I bruised my tailbone!”
He spun around and pointed at his face. “Boo fucking hoo! I’ve got a fucking black eye.”
They both stopped arguing, finally realizing they weren’t alone. They both looked like death warmed over. Either they’d been fighting all night or…
“Well, it’s good to see you two getting along so well.”
* * *
The restof our time flew by in what felt like hours instead of days. As much as I wanted to just stay in bed with her every minute of every day, that wouldn’t do either of us any good. We worked on the house every day, and at night, we returned to her cottage. Our nights were filled with me inside her, memorizing every last detail. I knew the moment she left, my life would go back to the lifeless existence I had before I came here.
I didn’t know how to let her go. I kept picturing our lives together, staying on this beach forever and living out the rest of our lives in peace. We’d raise a family here, filling this house with love and contentment. I knew it wasn’t much. In fact, the house was big enough for just the two of us. But it would be perfect, far more than any penthouse in New York could ever be.
“I could make dinner for us tonight,” I suggested as we walked into the house.
“No,” she shook her head. “I don’t want to stay in tonight.”
“It’s our last night together.”
“I know,” she said, stepping into my arms. “And I want to remember it. I want to enjoy this time with you, not be sad all night thinking about the fact that I leave tomorrow.”
“So, what do you want to do?”
“I want to go back to our tiki hut,” she smiled. “I want to drink margaritas and dance with you.”
I choked down the lump in my throat. If that’s what she wanted, I would give it to her. “I can do that.”
“Good. Let’s go shower.”
I could never say no to her. I put on a good face while she seduced me in the shower. I tried not to let her see how much this was killing me. I wanted to stay in all night with her wrapped in my arms, but I understood what she was saying. And maybe the time out of the cottage would help ease the pain of her leaving.
When we arrived, our table was luckily still available. We’d come here several times over the past week, enjoying the food and the scenery. I guess in the eyes of the staff, we’d become regulars, because they greeted us like old friends.
“Back for more?” our waitress, Stella, asked with a smile.
“We’re celebrating tonight,” I said with a smile.
She glanced at Rose’s left hand, raising her eyebrow at me. “Well, I don’t see a ring, so what’s the celebration for?”
Both of us hid the pain of that statement. She had no idea. It wasn’t like we were advertising what was going on with us.
“Rose has to leave tomorrow, so we’re enjoying our last night on the island.”
“Well, that’s sad. I’ll hate to see you go,” Stella said kindly.
We ordered our food and drinks, then I held my hand out to Rose, taking her out on the dance floor for a final spin. We slow danced to a song I didn’t know, and I was just about to take her back to the table when a familiar song came over the speakers.
Laughing against her hair, I remembered our first night here when I said she was here because she liked The Piña Colada song. “Do you remember this?”
She looked up at me and smiled. “How could I forget? It was the night I knew I was falling for you.”
Grinning back at her, I started spinning her around the dance floor, singing to her as she laughed. I knew everyone was staring at us, but I didn’t care. This was my last night with her, and she was right, I wanted to remember this moment. I stopped spinning her and held her close to me, resting my chin on top of her head. I closed my eyes and locked this moment in my memories. I would never be able to hear this song again without thinking of her.
“I love you,” I murmured against her hair.
“I love you, too,” she whispered back.
