The Cottage on Sunshine Beach: An utterly gorgeous feel-good romantic comedy

by Holly Martin

  But no, she had to be swayed by Agatha and Klaus and, instead of something sweet, she was here, naked, ready to leap out at him in the vain hope he would immediately sweep her off her feet and carry her to the bedroom, or just ravish her here on the lounge floor. In reality, she was probably going to scare the crap out of him. This was most definitely the worst decision she’d ever made.

  There was still time to change her mind. She could put her clothes back on, light some candles, surprise him in a different way. Yes, candles, some nice music; that was much more up her street.

  Except they were definitely footsteps she’d heard outside, and that was Jamie’s shadow walking past the window.

  Crap.

  OK, she just had to brazen it out.

  The door opened.

  ‘Surprise!’ Melody yelled, waving her arms in the air, which made other parts of her wobble somewhat.

  And it was a surprise. For Aidan.

  Aidan stood there in shock, beers in his hands, large packet of Doritos falling from his fingers, before he quickly shielded his eyes and turned away. The dogs and Dobby all leapt around him in excitement, making the situation worse as they nudged him, demanding attention.

  She yelped and dived behind the sofa. To make matters worse, she could hear Leo talking as he walked up the path too. And was that Elliot? Oh shit, she was going to scar the poor boy for life. She could even hear Emily and Marigold in the distance. Good lord, the whole Jackson family was going to be here. All she needed now was Agatha to complete the set. It was obviously going to be a big family party and she was going to have to hide naked behind the sofa the whole time.

  She peered under the sofa to see them arrive. But Sirius had come round the back of the sofa now, wagging his tail proudly that he had managed to find her in this game of hide and seek she was playing.

  ‘Change of plan,’ Aidan said, grabbing Leo by the scruff of the neck and turning him around.

  ‘Hey! What do you mean?’ Leo said.

  ‘Jamie’s going to have a quiet night in, by himself,’ Aidan said.

  ‘I am?’ Jamie said, in confusion.

  Oh god, he was there as well, to witness her embarrassment.

  ‘Yep,’ Aidan was saying. ‘I think you’ll have a much more enjoyable night without us.’

  ‘But I was going to thrash him on Gran Turismo on the Xbox,’ Leo said.

  ‘That will have to wait for another night,’ Aidan said, handing the beers to Jamie. ‘Happy Birthday, little brother.’

  Aidan frogmarched Leo down the path. Presumably Elliot and the others followed because Melody could see Jamie standing in the doorway alone and looking utterly confused. The dogs all surged around him but then Sirius came back to her again, clearly intent on giving the game away.

  Jamie came in and closed the door, plonking the beers on the table as he looked around.

  Taking a deep breath, because she couldn’t stay behind Jamie’s sofa all night and because Sirius would probably reveal her location soon, she popped her head up over the back of the sofa.

  ‘Hello.’

  He stared at her and then his face broke into a smile. ‘Hello. What are you doing behind there?’

  ‘I’m kind of naked.’

  His smile grew. ‘You are? How naked?’

  ‘As the day I was born.’

  He laughed. ‘You can’t get much more naked than that.’

  ‘I’m so embarrassed.’

  Jamie cottoned on to what had just happened. ‘Did Aidan see you?’

  ‘I shouted “Surprise!” I’m not sure who was more surprised, me or him.’

  ‘Well you’ve seen him naked in the cave, so I’d say you were even. I’m sorry, they weren’t supposed to be here. I had a nice romantic evening planned for the both of us, but they insisted on coming over.’

  ‘They want to celebrate your birthday with you.’

  ‘Yeah, they always do. Are you going to come out?’ he said, gently.

  Melody shook her head. ‘I think there’s been enough surprises for one night.’

  Jamie smirked and took his shirt off and passed it to her.

  She smiled. He was such a gentleman.

  She slid it on and it swamped her. She did a few buttons up in an attempt to preserve her modesty, although that was kind of redundant. Any dignity she did have had been thrown out the window the second she had decided to get naked in his house and give herself to him on a plate.

  Thankfully the shirt came down to mid-thigh, so she was semi-decent, although certainly not respectable.

  She stepped out from behind the sofa. ‘Surprise,’ Melody said, with none of the excitement she had shown before.

  His eyes softened as he appraised her. ‘And what a lovely surprise it is too.’

  He took her hand and pulled her to the sofa, then sat down and tugged her down beside him. She let her head fall into her hands and she groaned.

  ‘Want to tell me what’s going on?’ Jamie said, rubbing her back. ‘Did you just come round and all your clothes fell off accidentally?’

  ‘Yes, let’s go with that version of events,’ Melody said, peering at him through her fingers. ‘It was some kind of vortex; that stripped me of my clothes. That sounds much better than me coming round here, stripping off and shouting surprise, giving myself to you as your birthday present.’

  His eyes widened. ‘You came round here to have sex?’

  Melody smiled weakly. ‘Surprise.’

  ‘Well it is a bit. I thought you wanted to wait.’

  ‘Well, I did. But after speaking to Klaus and Agatha—’

  ‘Wait, what? After everything that happened today, you let Klaus bully you into this?’

  ‘No, I didn’t mean—’

  ‘And you know you shouldn’t listen to a word that Agatha says, meddling, interfering old woman. You should never have let them or anyone pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do.’

  ‘I didn’t—’

  ‘Have I made you feel this way? Have I done or said anything that made you think, I couldn’t go one more second without sex?’ Jamie said.

  ‘No, you have been the perfect gentleman—’

  ‘I know last night got a bit heated, but I was very very happy just kissing you. I could kiss you forever and never get bored by it.’

  ‘Will you listen for a second? You can climb down from your high horse and just listen.’

  Jamie closed his mouth, suitably chastised.

  Melody sighed. ‘I want this. I want you. Our kiss on our first date was so heated and passionate, if you had stripped me naked right there on the sofa and made love to me, I wouldn’t have cared. There was an element of wanting to go slowly. This, what we have, is so important to me and I didn’t want to do anything to screw it up. And I didn’t want to lose you as a friend either. I thought we should wait for the right time, but I have no idea when that would be or what that right time actually looks like. I really wanted to make love to you and I realised that I was holding back because I was scared of things changing between us, because I was nervous about what it would be like. Klaus pointed out that those nerves are always going to be there whether we wait a few weeks or a few years. But I really do want this with you. And yes, I might have let Agatha persuade me into this ridiculous farce of giving myself to you as a birthday present. She suggested I tie a bow around myself, but I drew the line there. And you’re right, this is not me at all. I’m more of a candles and flowers and romantic music kind of girl. But the end result would have been the same. Us making love for the first time.’

  He stroked his thumb across the palm of her hand. ‘Then let’s do this right. Tomorrow night, I’ll cook you dinner, no distractions, no sudden caves we have to go to, no food poisoning or beans on toast disasters. Or we can go out for dinner, someone else can take care of all that. And after, there will be flowers and candles and music and we’ll do this properly.’

  She smiled at him. He was so sweet, one of the many things she loved
about him. She stroked his face.

  ‘That all sounds lovely, and we can still do all that tomorrow night, but I would rather you took me upstairs to bed and made love to me now. Then all my embarrassment would have been worth it.’ She looked down and tugged at the collar of his shirt she was wearing. ‘This was what you wanted, me in your shirt, in your bed. Let’s go make it come true.’

  ‘To be honest, if you were in my bed, wearing only my shirt, you wouldn’t be wearing the shirt for very long,’ Jamie said.

  She grinned. ‘That works too.’

  Jamie let out a long, heavy breath as if preparing himself for something he really didn’t want to do. Had she read this completely wrong?

  He stood up, still holding her hand, and she allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. He looked down at her and smiled. But he didn’t kiss her, to her surprise he wrapped her in his arms and hugged her tight. There really was no finer feeling in the world than being here in his arms like this.

  He bent his head and kissed her and she wrapped her arms round his neck. Without taking his lips from hers, he bent and scooped her up into his arms. The kiss continued as he carried her upstairs to his bedroom.

  He laid her down on the bed and was right there over her, surrounding her as the kiss continued. She ran her hands over his bare back, feeling the muscles in his shoulders. His kiss was so sweet, gentle and soft, adoring her.

  He pulled back slightly, fishing his phone from his back pocket of his jeans.

  ‘Let’s have some music, I can give you that at least,’ Jamie said.

  ‘What’s your perfect love-making music?’

  ‘I don’t know. If I’d had more time, I could have a very romantic playlist for you. Think this will do for now.’

  He pressed play and put the phone down on the drawers before he carried on kissing her. She smiled against his lips as ‘Just the Way You Are’ by Bruno Mars came drifting out of the speakers. The lyrics that Bruno was singing, about how amazing and perfect his girl was, made her heart soar that Jamie had chosen this song for her.

  He moved his hands down the shirt she was wearing, slowly undoing the buttons and placing a gentle kiss on her skin underneath. She cupped his head, stroking his hair as he adored her body.

  He undid the final button and pushed the shirt apart, shifting back onto his knees so he could look at her properly.

  ‘That is definitely very naked,’ Jamie said, appreciatively.

  He came back over her, caging her in as he kissed her hard. The kiss was slightly different now, urgent, needful. She was vaguely aware that the music had changed to some other Bruno song she didn’t know, though it was something soft and sweet.

  She moved her hands down to his jeans and undid his button and zip, then slid her hands round his back and pushed them down his legs, taking his shorts with them. He wrestled himself out of them as she quickly slipped her arms out of the shirt and threw it across the room. When he kissed her again, they were both naked and she could feel how much he wanted her from his kiss and the way he held her against him.

  He ran his hand up the inside of her thigh and she moaned softly against his lips as he touched her between her legs. He was gentle but confident as he stroked her, taking care of her. Her orgasm rocked her as she clung to him, his mouth on hers as he captured her moans.

  He moved back to grab a condom as she was trying to catch her breath. Her body felt limp, sated as he moved back around her, scooping his hands underneath her back and lifting her on top of him so she was straddling him. She leaned her forehead against his and, with his hands on her hips, he moved inside her and then held her there, eye to eye for a moment.

  He moved forward to capture her mouth just as the music changed again. This time Bruno was singing ‘Marry You’.

  He stilled, and she giggled against his lips.

  ‘One orgasm and you’re already proposing?’ Melody said.

  He laughed. ‘Well it seemed like the right thing to do.’

  She kissed him briefly, sliding her hands to his chest as she started moving. He moved his hands to her lower back, pulling her tighter against him.

  ‘This music is really distracting,’ Melody giggled.

  ‘Surely a proposal is what every woman wants to hear the first time they make love to a man.’

  ‘I think most women would prefer to wait. At least until the second time they make love.’

  He kissed her. ‘Duly noted. I’d get up and turn it off, but I’m way too bloody comfortable where I am right now.’

  ‘There’s no way I’m letting you get up either,’ Melody groaned as he moved deeper inside her.

  ‘So you can endure it?’ Jamie said.

  ‘Believe me, I’m not enduring anything right now.’ She wrapped her arms around his neck again, kissing him hard as that delicious feeling started building inside her.

  He shifted her slightly, sensing the change in her breathing, and that feeling seemed now to be just out of reach, pleasure spiralling through her but never taking her over the edge. He was so responsive to her needs, to her body, everything he was doing was for her.

  He lowered his mouth to her breast, his fingers gently massaging her back and it was too much sensation all at once, that wonderful feeling thundering through her so hard she could barely catch her breath. He stopped to watch her lose control and that look of love in his eyes was something she hadn’t expected to see. She kissed him, holding him tight as he took what he needed, which sent those feelings tumbling over her again.

  She stared at him, her breath heavy, as he stroked up and down her back. She didn’t want to move or break this incredible connection between them. Something had passed between them that was way more than just sex.

  ‘I think I want to marry you, Jamie Jackson.’

  He laughed, thinking she was referring to the song that had long since finished. But as he rolled her back onto the bed and kissed her hard, she knew that there was a huge part of her that was speaking the truth.

  The sun was setting, filling the room with a warm pink glow. The window was open, letting in the warm sea breeze. Life felt pretty perfect right now for Jamie and, to top it all off, the woman of his dreams was lying in his arms, her head on his chest.

  ‘That was definitely not nice sex,’ Melody said.

  He frowned in confusion. She certainly seemed to enjoy herself.

  ‘It wasn’t?’

  She propped her head on her hand so she could look at him, the biggest smile on her face.

  ‘Definitely not. It was incredible, amazing, passionate sex, nothing nice about it.’

  ‘Ah, I see.’

  ‘Klaus and I were talking about my last boyfriend. I said sex with him was nice and he said there was nothing worse than nice sex. After what we just shared, I’d have to agree.’

  ‘Klaus sometimes says the right thing.’

  She kissed his chest. ‘He told me about your history of crappy birthdays.’

  ‘And sometimes he doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut,’ Jamie said. How to turn a girl off; tell her all about his sad and pathetic history.

  She ran her fingers over his heart. ‘Maybe now you’ll have some nice memories of your birthday.’

  ‘Definitely not nice.’

  She grinned and then bit her lip. ‘Was it OK?’

  He stared at her incredulously. ‘Are you kidding? We’ve finally had a date that was perfect in every single way. Regardless of what happens between us, I’m always going to look back on this night as my best birthday ever. It was utterly wonderful.’

  She smiled and then put her head back on his chest. He stroked his hand through her hair, sweeping it off her shoulder, and for the first time he spotted the small tattoo.

  From his point of view it was upside down but he soon realised it was a small green Yoda, wearing his trademark cloak and brandishing a light-sabre.

  He ran his fingers lightly over it and, when she looked up and gave him a sad smile, he knew that this was something
she’d had done for Matthew.

  ‘I love your tattoo,’ he said, softly.

  ‘It felt right to get Yoda. Matthew loved everything about Star Wars. Plus he was always there with some wise words of advice or comfort, especially whenever Mum would upset me. I suppose he was my Jedi Master. He was the oldest twin by seven minutes and he took those seven minutes very seriously. It always felt like I had this older brother I could turn to whenever I had any problems. I had the tattoo done to show that he’s always with me.’

  ‘I bet he is, watching over you,’ Jamie said. ‘Although I really hope he isn’t here now.’

  Melody laughed. ‘You don’t think he would approve?’

  ‘Of one of his friends sleeping with his sister? I don’t think he would be overjoyed.’

  ‘Well, I’m sure he would like to be spared the intimate details of our relationship, but I think he would be delighted.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘He would see how completely and utterly happy you make me and he knows you, he knows I’m in very safe hands.’

  ‘Well, I’m going to take that responsibility very seriously too. I’ll be your Obi-Wan.’

  She laughed. ‘I’d rather you were Han Solo.’

  ‘That works too. I’m very good with my hans.’

  She laughed. ‘That’s a terrible pun.’

  ‘I’ll try harder next time.’

  She reached up and kissed him. ‘Well if you’re responsible for my happiness, why don’t you put your hans to good use and we’ll see if we can make more happy birthday memories?’

  He rolled her over, pinning her to the mattress, and she squealed against his lips. He intended to do just that.

  Jamie lay in bed watching Melody doze next to him, the moonlight casting a silvery glow over her back as she lay face down on the bed. God, he wanted her again, which was crazy as they’d already done it twice that night. Sex with Melody was amazing. He had always enjoyed sex, but this was something so much more than that and he didn’t know why it was so incredible. Well, he had a pretty good idea why. This was Melody, the woman he loved with everything he had. There was no point denying those feelings any longer. This love for her had been there for years but he had always pushed it away before. He’d convinced himself she didn’t feel the same way and that relationships were something to be avoided, but those feelings for her had never gone away. The past few days those emotions had intensified and now, tonight, they had all seemed to bubble over as he had made love to her.