by T L Swan
Bridget and I exchange deadpan looks.
“I’m telling you, make the first move,” Abbie repeats.We are interrupted by Joshua and Cameron who walk in and take a seat. They are laughing about something that has just been said. Joshua’s eyes meet mine and I melt. How have I fallen so far for this beautiful man? I smile warmly and he holds his arm out for me to come over to him, which of course I do. He kisses me gently as I bend over him.
“How is my beautiful slut this morning?” he smiles gently.
Cameron chokes on his juice. “Oh fuck off, did you just call her a beautiful slut?”
I widen my eyes at Joshua to silence him and he slaps me on the behind as I walk back around to my seat.
“No. Stop eavesdropping big ears,” Joshua snaps as he picks up his toast. Adrian and Ben walk in and take a seat.
“Tash, do you and the girls want Ben and me to take you shopping for the day?” Adrian asks.
“Ohh yes,” the girls immediately purr.
My eyes flick to Joshua. “No thanks, you girls go. I want to stay here. You know I hate shopping.”
Joshua continues to butter his toast, deep in thought.
“Josh, what are we doing today?” I ask.
His eyes meet Cameron’s and then mine. “I’m working today presh, sorry. I have to get a file to LA this afternoon.”
I screw up my face, dejected. “Cam, what are you doing today? Do you want to come find a book-store with me?” I ask hopefully. I know Cameron is an avid reader and that may entice him to come with me.
His eyes meet Adrian’s and then Joshua’s. “Umm, I have a date today, Tash,” he replies.
I pout in my rejection. “I will just stay here alone and read my book then,” I sigh.
“No, you will go with the girls and Ben and Murph,” Joshua states matter-of- factly.
“I don’t want to go shopping,” I mutter as I take a bite of my toast.
“Suck it up Cinderella, it will be fun.” Adrian smiles as he grabs my hand over the table. “We leave in an hour.”
The thing about shopping trips from hell is that they are just that… a living hell. It has been 10,000 degrees today and we have walked to every corner of every shop known to man while sweating our asses off. Ben and I have never exchanged more eye rolls in our lives. Adrian is on shopping crack—he has literally been the tour guide from hell. We have had four coffee stops and then a lunch stop in a restaurant. He dragged us to look at scenery and, in the end, even the girls were begging to get off this acid shopping trip. We arrived home and everyone went to rest. Joshua was nowhere to be found so I changed into my costume and took a swim and now I’m lying on a pool deckchair. One of the kitchen staff appears with a frozen margarita.
“Natasha, for you.” She passes the drink to me as she smiles gently.
I bow my head in thanks. She is lovely. All of Joshua’s staff are just plain lovely. This late afternoon is turning out better than I had expected and I smile as I take a sip of the divine cocktail. It is just on dark and the properties have fallen silent with everyone preparing for their night out. The staff all start to emerge from the house to light the candles and fire. I feel a kiss on my shoulder from behind—where did he come from?
“Hi baby.” I smile as I run my hand over his stubble.
“Hi presh.” He bends and kisses me tenderly, his tongue gently swiping through my lips. Mmm, I like that kiss, I know that kiss. “How was shopping?” he asks.
I shake my head and sip my drink. “Chinese torture chamber times ten. You are coming to hell with me next time,” I mutter into my drink.
He smiles broadly and takes a seat next to me on the reclining deck-chair.
“Did you get the file off?” I ask.
“I did.” He nods and smiles sexily as his eyes hold mine.
I can’t help it—I mirror his stupid grin. “What?” I question.
“Just you.” He smiles.
“What about me?” I question.
“I’m in love with you.” His eyes hold mine and I feel myself melt a little. He picks up my hand and kisses the back of it. “I thought we would have dinner alone before we meet the others out tonight—is that ok?”
“Josh, I don’t even want to go out. I just want to be alone with you in this beautiful place and drink margaritas all night with the man I’m enamoured with.”
He smiles shyly. “That’s a good answer,” he replies.
“Where do you want to have dinner?” I ask.
“Here—they are preparing now.” He takes my drink from me and takes a sip and nods in approval at the taste.
“Are the others joining us?” I ask.
“Hope not,” he answers as he raises an eyebrow.
“Me too.” I take my drink back from him and smirk. He stands and dives in the pool and swims a few laps while I watch him. The waitress brings out another two margaritas… a girl could get used to this life… big time. It’s silent and peaceful, just the two of us in this heavenly pocket of paradise, the glow from the candles and fire flickering on the water as the gentle breeze dusts our skin. Joshua emerges from the pool and disappears into the house and I lie back and close my eyes.
I wake to the gentle dusting of kisses up my arm.
“Are you ready for dinner?” He smiles with a look in his eye that I have never seen before.
“I am, just let me go and get changed.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “I want you dressed in that.”
I look down at myself. “Joshua, I am in a white bikini and a sarong. I am not dressed for dinner.” My hair is frizzy from the pool and I have no makeup on. I must look like shit. “I will just be a minute to straighten up.”
He smiles warmly and puts my shoes down onto the ground. “You look perfect—you are always perfect.”
“You’re very gushy today Stanton.” I smirk.
He smiles broadly. “Am I?”
I nod and raise my eyebrows. “I like it. Keep going and you just might get lucky tonight.”
He smirks darkly. “Really? Is that all it takes?”
I smile as I lean in and kiss him. “For you, yes.”
He leads me by the hand and I think we are going inside but he takes me to around the other side of the pool and I frown.
“Down here, I have a surprise for you.” We wind down a path and over to the edge of the cliff.
A surprise… what is it? I smile as anticipation runs through me. Joshua leads me to an opening in the handrail that protects the cliff at the back of the property. I didn’t even know this was here. You can’t see it from the pool area. He opens the gate and I see a large set of stone stairs hugging the wall and disappearing down the side of the cliff. My eyes meet his and I bite my lip in excitement.
“What’s down here?” I smile.
“Just something I wanted to show you.” He smiles as he keeps leading me down the steps. We get halfway down and stop to look over the handrail and I gape in awe. There is a ledge that is probably the size of a tennis court naturally carved into the side of the cliff. I can see a table for two set under a big tree and the area is adorned with fairy lights. My eyes meet his.
“I thought we might eat down here tonight,” he whispers. I smile and hunch my shoulders like a little kid.
We reach the bottom and are literally suspended on the side of a cliff on a natural rock ledge overlooking the water. There is an antique handrail around the perimeter and three large trees towards the back. Fairy lights light up their branches and there are lanterns that are lit hanging sporadically. Underneath the middle tree is a lone table set for two. Citronella lanterns line the perimeter and there is a large daybed at the back of the ledge that is obviously there all the time but which has been covered in cushions. My eyes meet Joshua’s and I smile. I kiss him on the lips and I walk towards the handrail. Music is piped throughout the space through speakers.
“Why have we been hanging around the pool when this heavenly place has been just below us?” I whisper as
I look over the handrail out to sea. Joshua walks up behind me and embraces me from behind as I hold the rail. He puts his hands over mine as the sea holds our gaze and he kisses me gently on the side of the face.
“I adore you,” he whispers.
“I adore you, my beautiful Lamborghini.” I sigh as my gaze holds his. God, I love this man. Our moment is broken by four of the kitchen staff emerging from the stairs, one carrying margaritas, another carrying a huge platter of grilled seafood, and the two behind bringing a large silver ice bucket with a bottle of champagne and champagne glasses. They hand us our cocktails, put the platter onto the table and set up the champagne stand and ice.
“What time do you want dinner Joshua?” the head chef asks.
Joshua’s eyes flick to me. “Give us an hour please.”
The four men all line up and then bow in unison and disappear up the stairs.
I laugh out loud. “Oh my god, isn’t this the dinner?” I ask as I walk over to the table and pick up a piece of the most beautiful lobster known to man.
“This is without a doubt the best date you have taken me on. I’m giving you a ten for this one.” I widen my eyes to accentuate my point as I smile mischievously.
“I haven’t taken you on many dates, Tash.” He smiles nervously. “Yet,” he adds.
“You don’t think that my apartment is a date?” I hold my hand to my chest as I act offended.
He shakes his head as his eyes hold mine. “No, your apartment is home to me. Not a date.”
I smile. He’s beautiful. He is wearing brightly coloured board shorts and a white singlet… so very un-Joshua Stanton, so very relaxed. His large ripped body is more tanned than usual due to our time in the sun and his dark eyes are intense as they look down at me. I have sandals on so he is towering over me. How did I ever get this lucky? The song changes to ‘To Make You Feel My Love’ the v and I gush. “Oh my god this is one of my favourite songs.”.
He smiles and takes my hand and pulls me up onto my feet and into his arms. We start to dance slowly to the beautiful words.
“Do you know why I love this song so much, Joshua?” I ask as I pull back to look at his face.
He looks down at me and gently kisses my lips. “Tell me.”
“When we were young and I left you…” I hate this memory. “I couldn’t stand the fact that you thought that I didn’t love you, that I had hurt you. It broke me. I listened to this song on repeat for two years,” I whisper. Hurt lingers in my psyche as if it was yesterday.
“I know,” he whispers as his eyes hold mine.
I pull back to look at his face. Huh? How does he know that? Oh shit, the diaries. I smile broadly. “Of course you know that.” I shake my head as I smile and kiss his shoulder and lay my head on his chest.
“Tash, when we were young, did you know why I came to your tent that night?” he asks.
We stop dancing and stay still. I shake my head. This is very quickly becoming a night of confessions.
“I came to your tent not because I wanted sex. I didn’t want sex.”
“You didn’t.” I smirk, yeah right.
“I came to your tent because for the first time in my life I wanted to lie next to someone that I cared about, to hold you as you slept, to keep you safe.”
I gently kiss his lips. “That’s a lovely thing to say.” I smile.
“I didn’t mean for things to progress as they did. I never set out to pursue you,” he whispers.
“I know baby,” I reply.
He kisses me gently again.
“I’m glad you did because we wouldn’t have what we have today if you hadn’t, Joshua.” I smile softly.
Our lips meet again and he gently dusts my forehead with soft kisses. “Natasha, I am a very rich man but I didn’t know the true value of wealth until you came back into my life. Everything was meaningless.”
My eyes tear up at his words.
We stop dancing again. “Do you know how much I love you?” he whispers as he tenderly takes my lips in his, his tongue gently swiping into my mouth.
I smile again through tear-filled eyes and nod through the lump in my throat.
The song changes to ‘The Power of Love’ by Gabrielle Aplin and I smile broadly. This is without a doubt my most favourite song of all time. Her hypnotic voice hums.
Dreams are like angels
They keep bad at bay
“You are pulling out the big guns tonight, my Lamborghini.” I smile as I kiss his shoulder. I am loving that he knows my favourite songs now.
“You think.” He smiles as he kisses my forehead.
I nod as my eyes close on his shoulder. This is turning out to be the best night ever. He suddenly pulls from my grip and drops to his knee and my eyes widen.
“Natasha, you have been the biggest blessing in my life and it’s one that I can’t carry on without.” He fusses around in his pocket and my eyes widen when he pulls out the biggest ring I have ever seen. I hold my hands over my mouth in shock.
Is this happening?
“I didn’t even know what true love was until I met you. You are the only woman I have made love to, the only woman I have loved… will ever love. I need you to marry me.”
I stand still with my hands over my mouth in shock, my eyes filled with tears as my beautiful Lamborghini is down on one knee. He pulls my hand out and slides the ring onto my finger. Through tear-filled eyes I hold my hand out and look at the ring on my hand.
“Are you going to answer me?” he asks nervously.
I’m in shock. “Is this real?” I whisper through my tears.
He nods lovingly. “Yes presh, it’s as real as it comes.”
I giggle and start to nod. “Yes, yes.” I grab him in an embrace. “A million times yes.”
He stands and grabs me and squeezes me hard, my tears rolling freely down my face. “I love you,” I whisper.
“I love you too, so much,” he whispers into the top of my head as he showers my face in kisses.
Holy shit.
I pull out of my fog and look at my hand. Bloody hell, it’s huge. A thin rose-gold band and an oval diamond… let me rephrase that, a frigging huge oval diamond. It is without a doubt the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. I shake my head with my hand held out. Joshua smiles and grabs me, his lips taking gentle possession of my mouth. I’m too excited. I pull out of the kiss and look at my hand again.
“I don’t believe this.” I smile as I bite my lip in excitement.
He shakes his head in amusement and walks over to the table and drinks his margarita in one gulp and I laugh.
“That was fucking nerve-wracking,” he stammers.
“Oh, as if you were nervous,” I tease as I pick up my margarita and sip it. “You knew what I would say.” I smile.
“I didn’t know what you would say. This life of mine is a lot to take on. Even for me.” He widens his eyes to accentuate his point.
I smile broadly and my eyes hold his as he gazes at me lovingly.
“We are getting married,” I whisper.
He smiles broadly and nods. “Yes,” he answers.
I hold my hand out to look at my ring again. “This is a big fuck off ring.”
He smiles broadly. “Only the best for my wife.” He starts to undo the bottle of Dom Perignon.
I laugh and hold my hand over my mouth. “Wife… that sounds weird,” I stammer.
Joshua screws up his face. “It does, doesn’t it?” The cork pops. “Sounds old.” He frowns as he pours the champagne into our glasses
He hands me my glass and I clink it with his.
“To growing old.” He smiles.
My heart melts and once again I tear up. ‘To growing old,” I whisper.
Joshua
Natasha has never been more beautiful and I have never wanted her more. Her happiness is beaming from her like sunshine. She has been teary all night but really lost her shit when she rang her mother. Even I may have had a moment at the happiness in her voice wh
en she told her. We have just arrived at the beach to find the others. We see them at a beach bar and, holding hands, we approach the group who are sitting around a bench table on stools.
“Where have you guys been?” Abbie questions with raised eyebrows.
Natasha’s smile almost blinds me. “Oh, you know… just getting engaged.” She holds out her hand proudly and the three girls all break into screams and start jumping around. I am then inundated with kisses from the girls as they continue to jump around in a circle like freaks.
Cameron shakes my hand and pulls me into an embrace as does Adrian. Ben throws ice at me and then shakes my hand.
“Congratulations. Did it go ok?” Adrian smiles.
“Yeah it went well,” I reply as I take a sip of my beer. I can’t hide my smile. “This is a good day.”
We look over at the girls to see Natasha in tears again. “What’s with the waterworks?” Cameron asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. She’s been in tears all night.” I shake my head at her over-the-top happiness.
Cameron nods. “I would cry too if I had to marry you,” he says matter of factly. Adrian laughs and hits his bottle with Cameron’s.
“Did she notice the fairy lights?” Cameron asks.
I roll my eyes. “Yes, she noticed the fucking fairy lights.” I smile. Yesterday I made Cameron get up the tree and hang the fairy lights in preparation. I’ve never heard so much complaining in all of my life. Adrian’s job was to get the girls out of the house for the day and he did that well, with not a complaint.
“She liked the ring,” I mutter to Adrian as I swig my beer. “Thanks for helping me pick it.”
“I knew she would. It’s a beautiful ring.” Adrian smiles as he slaps me on the back. “I won’t ever get to pick one out so I enjoyed it.”
Cameron shakes his head. “You never know. When you marry your drag queen she could want a big ring… to match hers.”
Adrian fakes a smile at Cameron. “You’re so funny,” he mouths.
Natasha’s eyes meet mine through the crowd and I melt. She smiles broadly and her dimples nearly split her face. Then she walks over to me and wraps her arms around me.