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They did see dolphins.
Crouching on an outcrop of rock, Gabriel suddenly pointed out to sea. ‘Just there...watch the waves,’ he said softly.
Seconds later she saw them. A school of dolphins, ten or twelve maybe, rising and diving in perfect synchronicity, their sleek grey bodies shining in the sunlight as they carved a path through the water with enviable grace.
‘Where have they gone?’
Holding up her hand to shield her eyes, Dove squinted into the sunlight, but the dolphins had disappeared from sight, swallowed up by the cresting blue waves.
Gabriel moved beside her. ‘Just wait a moment. They’ll be back.’
She could feel the vibration of his voice against her shoulder and a flicker of heat skated across her skin. Her palms itched to reach out and touch him again.
‘There!’
Her heart skipped and she gasped. A perfect half-sized version of the adult dolphins was leaping effervescently through the water.
‘That one’s probably just been born. They calve around this time of year.’
She tried to say something, but her chest was churning with a wild joy and a throat-clenching sadness that made speaking impossible.
‘Dove...’
Gabriel said her name in that soft, dark way of his, and she felt it ripple through her like warm sunlight. She looked into the sun so that he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes.
‘Vai ficar tudo bem.’
He’d spoken in Portuguese. She had no idea what he’d said but it didn’t matter, because she was lost somewhere between the softness of his voice and the thumping of her heart.
‘It’s going to be okay,’ he translated. His hand closed around her wrists and he turned her to face him. ‘I know you said you wanted to go back to London, and if that’s what you still want then you can take the jet and leave tonight.’
‘But...?’ she prompted.
‘I thought you might stay for a couple of days.’
His beautiful face, that she’d once loved to kiss from brow to chin and cheek to cheek, was taut, and his blue eyes were fixed on her face.
‘I don’t want it to end like this. It feels wrong.’
His words touched her skin like warm drops of rain. Could she stay? Should she stay?
She glanced out to the dancing waves. She could no longer see the dolphins, but she knew that even if she never saw them again, she would always be able to see them in her imagination. And in the same way she knew that if she left now she would carry this sense of sadness and unfinished business with her for ever.
But their relationship wasn’t the only unfinished business. ‘What about the acquisition?’
She felt his hands tighten around wrists. ‘It can wait.’ He pulled her closer. ‘Carrie can handle things for a couple of days.’
Gazing up into his face, she felt her mouth dry. His gaze was even more blue than usual, and it made her feel as if she was drowning.
Her heart was beating out of time. Would she be mad to stay? Her mother would certainly think so if she knew, but she had no intention of telling her.
What would she say?Oh, hi, Mum. Just to let you know I’m going to spend a few days having sex with an ex I never mentioned before because Dad paid him to leave me alone and he took the money and broke my heart.
Okay, some of that was not true anymore, but she didn’t need to ask her mum if this was a good idea. She knew that danger signs should be flashing red inside her head. Wanting him as she did made her vulnerable, but maybe this was the way to break the spell.
Unbidden, a memory swelled up inside her, hot and bright and as clear as if it was happening now. His fingers tangling in her hair, rough and tender, slow and urgent, tracing the line of her mouth...
And his mouth...
