Part 125 (1/2)

Nate grabs my face and kisses me holding my head above the water. I gasp and cling to his shoulders, as his mouth moves gently across mine.

”Ewww!” A wave of water hits the side of my face. ”Don't kiss!”

I duck from Nate's embrace and swim to Josh instead, then hang onto the inflatable, next to him. He pulls a face. ”Nate is allowed to kiss you, but only when I'm not looking. It's gross.”

”Don't worry,” I whisper. ”He won't be getting any kisses from me after throwing me in the pool.” Josh giggles. ”I'll make some dinner. What would you like?”

He glances at Nate. ”I'm not hungry.”

”Why? You've been in the pool all afternoon.” Josh bites his lip, and I turn to Nate. ”Why isn't he hungry?”

”We might've had some ice cream.”

”Three ice creams!” pipes up Josh. ”And some crisps.”

”Three?”

Nate pulls himself back onto the side of the pool. ”You were asleep, he wanted one. So did I. They make some great ice cream over here.”

I glance around where an empty tub lies on the small, outdoor dining table, next to two bowls and a large empty bag of crisps. I take a deep breath and pull myself onto the edge of the pool next to Nate. This is one battle I'll never win. Nate's childish side has found its outlet in Josh. Filling Josh with ice cream and junk food, constant ganging up on me, and running around the villa fighting is a daily occurrence. Some of this comes from a deeper understanding Nate has of my need to relax and let go; to trust him and believe he's genuine about his desire to be with both Josh and me.

The transformation, which began following Josh's accident and in the weeks before we left for Greece, expands as the days pa.s.s, and as I let go of my caution.

Nate wraps an arm around my shoulders and kisses my nose. ”Relax. I was going to get pizza later.” Josh cheers and splashes. ”And then we're going to teach Josh how to play Monopoly.”

”Monopoly? He's five, Nate!”

”You're never too young to learn how to play Monopoly. I'll help Josh and we'll play against you.” He stands and holds out a hand; I grab and he pulls me to my feet. ”And I bet we'll win.”

”Try me.” I raise a brow.

”Your mum's very compet.i.tive,” he says to Josh.

”What does that mean?”

”She doesn't like to lose.”

”I know! She never lets me win Snap.”

Nate gasps and shoves me hard; my backside hits the water again. ”OhmiG.o.d!” I yell when I resurface.

”We'll sort her out, Josh. Me and you.”

Edging to p.i.s.sed off now, I head to the steps and climb out. ”I'm making dinner.” I grab a towel and yank it around my body before stalking off.

”Sorry!” Nate calls after me, and there's another splash.

I turn back. Nate's in the pool again laughing conspiratorially with Josh and my irritation ebbs. I may've landed myself with another big kid to contend with, but the Nate I found behind his walls is big-hearted, understanding, and in tune. The exact opposite of the man lost in the shadows of his past, struggling to find a way out.

NATE.

I pull myself from the pool and sit on the grey marble edge. Riley's towel-clad figure walks through the double-gla.s.s doors and I watch her for a few moments before glancing back at Josh. He hangs onto the shark toy and splashes in circles singing to himself and, as I shake water from my hair, the bizarre situation I'm in washes over me again.

Yeah, if you'd told me six months ago I'd be holidaying with Riley I'd have laughed. With Riley and a kid I never knew existed? No way in h.e.l.l. But here I am.

Josh's accident freaked me out. I'd never seen Riley helpless and frightened the way she was the afternoon I rushed her to hospital to be with Josh. She stripped my last defences away the minute she looked into my eyes with that fear.

The overwhelming need to protect Riley and fix the situation with Josh shoved away all my earlier dumb thoughts; the ones convincing me I couldn't be what Riley wanted. In that moment, I realised I needed to let go of the denial I used to keep myself safe and stop lying to myself I could ever walk away from her. As Riley's heart broke over Josh, a shock ran through mine too. I felt her pain as readily as my own and that b.l.o.o.d.y confused me - how I could I experience someone else's emotions with that intensity?

Because I love her and understood for the first time exactly what that meant to me. I'd fallen in love with all the parts of Riley that once scared me: her strengths, her pa.s.sions, and her refusal to be treated any less than she deserved. I saw my mirror image girl clearly for the first time - with me and in a shared future.

The love I hold for Riley intensifies each time I experience the same connection, and I tentatively share my emotions with her too. I tell Riley I love her because I think she needs convincing still, but hope I show her more often than I say.

Is this the idea of soulmates? Or one person's neuroses meeting another's and finding peace? I laugh at my attempt to downplay what I have. The answer depends on whether I romanticise what began as b.l.o.o.d.y unromantic, or accept that hidden beneath the layers we've yet to peel away is a need to let go and believe love can be what it is: love. No agendas, no a.n.a.lysis and impossible to avoid or explain.

Just Riley.

RILEY.

The heat dampened my appet.i.te, so I pull out vegetables to make a salad. I'm gathering lettuce and tomatoes into a bowl when Nate appears next to me and grabs a slice of cuc.u.mber. He winks at me as he pushes it into his mouth.

I look out of the open doorway to ensure Josh isn't in the pool anymore; he's standing at the table pouring himself another drink of Fanta. ”Jos.h.!.+ Come inside now!”

”I don't want to.”

”Come on, dude,” calls Nate. ”Do what your mum asks.”

I shake my head at Nate's smugness as a dutiful Josh appears wrapped in a towel. ”Get changed for dinner,” I tell Josh.

Josh trudges towards his room, trailing water behind him ”You're dripping water on the floor too,” I say to Nate.

”Fine.” Nate grabs the towel from around me and drops it to the floor, then steps onto it. He takes a lingering look at my wet bikini top and trails a finger from below the strap to my belly b.u.t.ton. I s.h.i.+ver.

”Being stuck with you in Greece in the sun is a d.a.m.n sight better than stuck in the snow.”

I pull him towards me by the shorts. ”Even though we're not on our own?”

”Even though we're not on our own.” He places a kiss beneath my ear. ”Because when we are on our own, it's f.u.c.king amazing. Why do you think I spend so much time making sure Josh is worn out and asleep by seven?”

Nate squeezes my a.s.s and bites his lip, eyes s.h.i.+ning.

”I thought it was because you liked the excuse to be the big kid you are.” I grab his hand as it sneaks inside my bikini briefs.

”Yeah, that too. Now shut up and kiss me.”

His lips touch mine, sparking the desire for him as readily as always. He draws me close and I'm enveloped in the strength of his arms, yielding to him the way I do every time now. We lose ourselves together when we connect, as strongly as we pushed each other away in the past. The pa.s.sion and longing hidden for two years still spills out with each night we spend together and I know always will.