He stared at her and then down at the sand for a few seconds. Then taking a deep breath he said, ‘I showed the photos I took of your paintings to my grandmother.’
Was that it? Daisy smiled, relieved. ‘I know, she told me. She was very complementary too, which was lovely.’
He narrowed his eyes. ‘I also showed my mother.’
She could sense there was more. ‘Go on,’ she said warily.
‘She loved then too,’ he said.
‘She did? And what else, because I can tell there’s more.’
‘They’ve both agreed to hold an exhibition of your paintings at the hotel.’ He stared at her as she thought about this unexpected turn of events.
She could see he was concerned about her reaction, but how could she be angry with someone who was making a dream of hers come true?
‘Seriously?’ She almost held her breath, unable to believe what he’d just told her, picturing how her paintings would look hung on the pristine walls of The Encore.
Gabriel’s mouth drew back in a wide smile. ‘Yes, of course seriously,’ he laughed. ‘How do you feel about it?’
She shrugged, trying to gauge how this news did make her feel. ‘Scared that people will see what an amateur I am, embarrassed that they’re not more professional,’ she tried to think of other things to add. ‘Um …’
‘But you don’t mind?’
She squealed and jumped up and down a couple of times. ‘Why would I mind? I’m delighted.’ She grabbed hold of him and kissed him.
He took her in his arms and kissed her back with such force she wondered if her lips would bruise, not that she cared if they did. He kissed so beautifully and she would happily spend the rest of her life wrapped in his arms with her lips pressed against his.
He let go of her and took hold of her hand. ‘I’m relieved you’re not angry with me for being so presumptuous,’ he said as they ran up the stairs.
They slowed to a walk as they crossed the lawn and took the pathway towards his front door. ‘It’s open,’ he said motioning for her to go inside. ‘Welcome to my humble abode.’
‘I feel like Rapunzel,’ she giggled as he poured them both a drink and showed her the way up to the roof terrace.
‘Well I hope no one comes here to rescue you from this particular tower,’ he teased handing her a drink. ‘I want you all to myself tonight.’
She pretended to peek around looking for something. ‘No more nosy neighbours lurking anywhere then?’
‘Better not be,’ he said.
They sat down on the bench and Gabriel put one arm around Daisy’s shoulders. ‘I’ve imagined you sitting up here with me many times,’ he said.
‘I’ve imagined being with you, too,’ she admitted. ‘But it never occurred to me to picture us up on top of a granite tower staring out to sea like this.’
He bent down and kissed her. ‘I’m glad you came to work at The Encore.’
‘So am I.’
They leant back and slowly drank from their glasses, each lost in their own thoughts and memories.
‘Remember getting up really early and going to the river bank to sit and watch the boats go by?’ he asked eventually.
She didn’t like to admit that she thought about it far more than was probably good for her. She nodded. ‘I do.’ She shivered involuntarily and he mistook her reaction for the coolness of the evening.
‘It’s amazing how the temperature drops here when the sun goes in,’ he said.
Daisy nodded.
‘Shall we go inside? It’s more comfortable there anyway.’
‘OK.’ She let him take her glass so that she could climb back down the ladder to his room below. Somehow he managed to hold both glasses while following her down.
‘I also recall being on that train journey when you insisted we could fit in the same bunk together,’ she giggled. ‘I had a bruise on my hips for weeks from when I fell out.’
He winced. ‘Yes, I still feel guilty about not catching you that night.’ He glanced down at her hip. ‘Is it all right now?’ he asked, touching it lightly with the side of his finger a glint in his dark eyes.
She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to one side. ‘If it isn’t then I’ve got a problem.’
They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds and Daisy wasn’t sure where to look, especially as his double bed covered with its stark white sheets seemed like some sort of beacon.
‘Would you rather we go downstairs?’ he asked.
She thought about his offer and realising that she’d waited for almost two years for this moment, shook her head. He seemed surprised by her reaction, then placing the glasses on his bedside table, he sat down on the bed.
She stared at him, not quite knowing what to do next.
He leaned towards her on the white sheets. ‘Are you going to join me?’ His eyes narrowed slightly. ‘If you’d rather not stay in the tower with me tonight I can always ask Nan if you can sleep in one of her spare rooms; she wouldn’t mind.’
‘Would you?’
‘What, mind?’ He shrugged one shoulder. ‘Of course not; I want you to be comfortable with me.’
She couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed by his answer.
He smiled and his dark brown eyes twinkled mischievously. ‘But if you mean would I mind not making love to you tonight, I can’t lie. I’d mind very much. I’ve waited a long time to lie next to your beautiful body.’
She wasn’t going to hold back from him any longer. Hadn’t he proved how much he wanted to be with her? Hadn’t he done all that she’d asked? She couldn’t help smiling as she stepped forward and onto the bed next to him.
Gabriel smiled a long lazy smile. ‘Hello again,’ he said when she lay down. He bent down so his lips connected with hers in a kiss that was so perfect she never wanted it to end.
‘I’ve missed you so much,’ he said, kissing her neck, moving down to her breasts and then her stomach.
Daisy gasped and covered her mouth with one hand. She didn’t want to distract him, this was too delicious.
He peeked up at her. ‘You’re so beautiful,’ he murmured as he moved lower. ‘But these need to come off.’ He undid the fastening on the side of her skirt. ‘Lift your hips,’ he murmured.
She did as he asked.
He slipped her skirt down past her thighs and dropped it on the floor, leaving her in her knickers. ‘These too?’ he asked, that familiar twinkle in his dark eyes.
She nodded. ‘Go on then,’ she said barely able to force the words from her mouth as she looked down at his broad shoulders.
He kissed the insides of her thighs and slowly inched higher, each step causing her to catch her breath in delight. His tongue began doing things to her that she remembered from their time away and Daisy was beginning to think that she couldn’t take much more when Gabriel looked up at her and smiled.
Kissing his way back up her stomach, then her breasts, he smiled at her. ‘Yes?’ he whispered.
‘Yes,’ she replied impatiently.
Gabriel finally entered her, kissing her as he did so. Daisy didn’t want to close her eyes, she’d imagined this moment so many times. Watching his beautiful face as they made love was like living a dream. Unable to think clearly, she closed her eyes, climaxing just before he did. Gabriel whispered something she couldn’t hear holding her to him as her mind splintered and she knew nothing could ever be this perfect again.
Daisy woke slowly the following morning.
‘I love you,’ she heard him say, so quietly she wasn’t sure she’d dreamt it. She opened her eyes and stared through the small window at the rolling waves as they hit the sandy beach. Had she imagined those words? She squeezed her eyes shut, willing her memories of the previous night to be real. She’d dreamt so many times of hearing him saying exactly what she’d just heard, or thought she’d heard.
‘Did you hear me?’ he whispered, kissing her bare shoulder.
‘I’m not sure,’ she tease
d. ‘What did you say?
‘I said I love you.’
She turned to face him and snuggled up against his chest, loving him more at that moment than she could ever have thought possible. ‘I love you too.’
His hand glided down over the small of her back, stopping at her bottom. ‘You’re my very own Jersey Bombshell,’ he laughed, his eyes soft with love.
She pushed him onto his back and sat astride him. ‘Say it again.’
The End
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The Jersey Scene series box set Page 113