AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll be waiting for yours,” I say. “If it doesn’t get lost in international mail.”
He nods again. “Eden… thank you.”
“For what?”
He takes a deep breath, and the moment between us stretches out into silence. But then he speaks. “For being my guide.”
“Oh. Well, I enjoyed that. Thanks for sharing so many of your planned activities.” I shift from one foot to the other, the unspoken, useless words hovering on the tip of my tongue.
“I enjoyed the company,” he says.
My taxi pulls up, and I rock back on my heels. “Well.”
“Yeah,” he says.
The cab driver rolls down a window. “You’re the one going to the airport?” he calls.
“Yeah.”
Phillip takes a step closer. “Eden,” he says, and there’s frustration there. “I wish I could… come here.”
He pulls me against him and tips my head back. He kisses me—hard—lips against mine, hands bruising on my hips. I twine my fingers into his hair andthank you,I think,for letting me experience this.
I don’t want to step back. I don’t want to get in the car. And most of all, I really don’t want him to let me go.
He kisses me like he feels the same way.
“Sorry, you two,” the cab driver calls. “There’s a minibus coming up behind me. Should I park…?”
Phillip steps back, his eyes heated and mouth set in a grim line. “She’s coming,” he says, but his eyes never leave mine. “Bye, Eden.”
“Bye, Phillip,” I whisper.
He lifts my bag into the trunk of the cab, closing the door behind him. I get into the car, but I can’t stop looking at him. I watch him as the taxi pulls away and heads down the Winter Resort driveway toward the main road.
Phillip remains standing by the lobby doors, watching my retreating car. Stoic, imposing, and alone.
I lean my head back against the seat. My heart is beating fast. I don’t even have his number. He never offered his digits, and I didn’t give him mine.
Maybe this is the way it was always meant to end. Just two weeks. Two strangers who enjoyed some time together, soothing their hurts… even if it means they aren’t strangers at all anymore. Quite the opposite.
We make it ten minutes from the resort before panic sets in. What if my postcard never arrives? What if his never does?
I’ll have no way of finding him.
“Can we go back?” I ask the driver. “Please. Just a quick stop. I forgot… something.”
“Passport?” he asks.
My heart is pounding. “Yeah, I think so.”
“No worries,” the driver says and sends me a smile through the rearview mirror. “Small island. I’ll still have you at the airport in plenty of time.”
“Thank you,” I say. “I promise I’ll be a really great tipper.”
He laughs. “You have the look of one.” He turns the car around on a side street and cranks up the volume of the radio, humming along.
Phillip isn’t in the lobby when I return. I leave my bag in the cab and take off at a run, racing down to the bungalow area. I weave past The Sandpiper and The Green Monkey and head toward The Hawksbill. I rush past the hedged patio and toward the gate. He has to be here, where else would he be? Hehasto be here.
