Surprise Reunion with His Cinderella

by Rachael Stewart

  ‘Well, that’s depressing!’ she blurted, her pout dramatic.

  Freddie chuckled. He wasn’t sure what was more entertaining, Jasmine’s reaction—which he really, really did want to kiss off her face—or the tale itself. Either way, he knew he had to capture this moment.

  He stepped back, pulled his phone from the pocket of his shorts.

  ‘I assume they’re not too shy to have a photo taken?’ he said to Michel.

  ‘Ah, of course, but let me get one of you together instead?’

  Jasmine’s smile faltered on her lips. Her thoughts were probably mirroring his own. Getting a photo of her had been risky enough, a permanent memory for him to take with him when this was all over, but a photo of them together...

  He offered the phone to Michel, who took it from him and waved them closer together. ‘Closer, a bit more. Do you want to pick up the catkin and the nut?’

  Jasmine let out a giggle, her mood lifting as easily as that. ‘Get the catkin, Freddie! I’ll do the bottom!’

  He bent and picked it up. It was impossible not to hold it in a way that wasn’t suggestive, and Jasmine’s body quivered with her continued laughter as she clutched the nut to her front.

  He shook his head at her, hooked his arm around her waist to pull her close, inhaled her scent, her giddiness...looked at the camera.

  ‘Say coconut of the sea!’ Michel ordered, and they performed for the camera, Freddie’s grin very easy when he had his arm around a laughing Jasmine.

  It felt so right. So perfect.

  And now he would have the photo to remind him of this moment, again and again and again.

  Michel handed the phone back to him, his grin turning mischievous, his wink definitely so. ‘It is also said that the meat of the nut has powerful aphrodisiac qualities.’

  Jasmine leaned in closer. ‘Fancy that, Freddie.’

  He shook his head again. He didn’t need an aphrodisiac when Jasmine was around. He was tuned in, turned on and more alive than he’d felt in years.

  Ten, to be exact.

  And soon it would be over once more. Unless...

  Should he listen to her? Could they give it a shot? A real shot. Take it slowly, day by day. They didn’t have to test their relationship at the outset with all that it meant to be a Highgrove. There was time to adjust to the idea, for his family to adjust too, before throwing the responsibilities and social pressures of being a Highgrove into the mix. He could stay in New York a little longer, they could commute, date, see the world. Long-distance relationships worked all the time...didn’t they?

  He tightened his arm around her, kissed her head, his heart pressing him to agree. ‘Let’s see what else the Vallée de Mai has to offer before you get any more excited...’

  ‘Moi?’ She turned to pout up at him, her nut jutting against his catkin. ‘You forget how well I can read you, Freddie.’

  She gifted him another wink before placing the nut back on the ground and taking off after Michel, leaving Freddie, his catkin and his racing thoughts hanging.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  JASMINE LET OUT a squeal of delight and squeezed her legs tighter around Freddie’s waist as he swirled her reclining body around in the sea, his grin as bright as the sun.

  ‘I could get used to this,’ she said as she relaxed into the move and let him take the lead.

  ‘You and me both.’ He tugged her up against his chest and she wrapped her arms around him, kissing him with all the pleasure his words had triggered.

  It was day five. They barely had any time left. There would be no getting used to anything if she couldn’t change his mind.

  He ran his hands through her hair, held her close as he broke the kiss to stare down into her eyes.

  ‘What?’ she said, sensing something coming, seeing it swim in his breathtaking blue eyes and spasm in his jaw.

  He pressed his forehead to hers, squeezed his eyes shut with a small shake of his head before opening them again. ‘Nothing.’

  She raised her brows, toying with the damp hair at his nape. ‘You could have fooled me.’

  ‘I was treasuring the moment, treasuring you in this teasing slip of a red bikini.’ He rolled his body against hers suggestively, but she knew he was trying to distract her from the true nature of his thoughts. ‘Is that a crime?’

  ‘No.’ She kissed him sweetly. ‘I’m treasuring it too. I wish it didn’t have to end.’

  ‘All good things have to come to an end, Jas. That’s life and why it needs to be treasured now.’

  ‘But this...’ She caught her lip in her teeth, searched his eyes that seemed to tell her so much and yet nothing at all. She needed to be brave. She needed to be honest and confident and strong. All the things she wished she’d been ten years ago. He may not want to get all serious right now, but she did. ‘This doesn’t have to end.’

  She felt the tension seeping into his body. ‘Reality has other ideas.’

  ‘You mean your family do,’ she said softly.

  ‘Ten years hasn’t changed anything, Jas. They still expect a high society bride.’

  ‘But you don’t want that.’

  He wet his lips, hesitant. Was it a chink in his armour? Was she slowly getting through to him? ‘No, I don’t.’

  ‘But...?’ she pressed, knowing the risk she was taking, that she could be destroying the moment, and potentially the rest of the stay too if she called it wrong. But she wouldn’t be afraid. Not this time.

  ‘If life was simple, I wouldn’t hesitate to go after the future you seem so sure is possible, but don’t you want more? You deserve better than to be surrounded by a family like mine.’

  She laughed to hide the sea of emotion inside her. ‘I deserve better, and yet I’m the one deemed to be lacking.’

  ‘You know what I mean.’

  ‘I do, Freddie, but I’m not interested in running away. Not any more.’

  ‘You say that like you’ve forgotten how it was...’ He suddenly looked grey in the sun. His blue eyes were pale and haunted, his arms wrapping around her, holding her close. ‘Do you not remember how they were? What they said? And the people that witnessed it, your mother included?’

  Her lashes fluttered as the memory chilled her heart. ‘Of course I remember.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I don’t want to inflict any more pain, Jas.’ He gritted his teeth, his throat bobbing as his arms flexed around her.

  ‘Don’t apologise.’ She cupped his face, speared his eyes with her own as she stressed, ‘It’s all in the past. What I care about is the future, Freddie. The future we could have if we choose it.’

  She reached up to press a kiss to his lips, a moment’s connection before she dropped back.

  ‘Don’t you see, Freddie, we’ve spent the last ten years filling our days, our nights too, trying to find contentment.’

  ‘And failed.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Because something was always missing.’

  She nodded. ‘We didn’t have each other.’

  His smile was small, but they were finishing each other’s sentences, which had to be a good sign. It had to mean he was feeling the same way...

  ‘Don’t you want to at least try?’

  He took a deep breath, his eyes not once leaving hers. ‘I’d like to think we could try, but there are so many factors to consider.’

  ‘Like your family?’

  ‘Eventually, yes. But I was thinking more of our work, my charity, our crazy schedules.’

  ‘Isn’t the perk of getting to the heights we have that we get to ease off a little now and bring in more people to help, share the load? My mother tried to tell me the same, even in the early days when Work Made Simple was just taking off, Tim too, but my app was my passion then...’

  ‘And now?’

  She gave a small laugh. ‘You
never used to be such a compliment seeker!’

  ‘Not the words I want to hear, Red...’ He bowed his head, kissed her deeply, so deeply she almost lost sight of the magnitude of where their conversation was heading.

  She pushed him away. ‘You’re my passion, Freddie. Happy?’

  ‘Very.’ His grin took her breath away, but the tension was far too quick to follow. ‘How do you feel about a long-distance relationship?’

  She frowned. ‘But I’m in Edinburgh, and so will you—’

  He was shaking his head, killing off her words.

  ‘No. If we do this, I’ll delay my return, give us time to date, to do all the things we never had the money, the freedom, to do before. Have a relationship away from the pressures of Highgrove. Give us time to see where this goes on our terms.’

  ‘But you said they needed you to come home, your father, the estate, Rupert...’

  ‘They’ve waited this long, they can wait a little longer.’

  Her frown deepened, hope and relief warring with what was expected of him, what was needed of him in Edinburgh, of his sister, his nephew... Was she coming between them again?

  ‘But—’

  ‘I’m not talking for ever, Red, just until we’re ready.’

  Was he right? Did they need to take this time now before facing the pressures that had broken them so long ago?

  But how would they know when they were ready? She couldn’t imagine feeling any more ready than she did right now.

  ‘Hey, don’t look so pensive! I thought you’d be pleased, happy. I don’t want to be all egotistical about it, but I’d even go as far as to say overjoyed...’ He spun her in the water, eased her body up against him until her eyes were at the same level as his. ‘What say you, Red?’

  Happiness had her chest blooming so much she thought it would burst. ‘I am happy, so happy.’

  She kissed him, wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, scarcely daring to believe and believing all the same. Pushing out the worry with the strength to follow his lead this time.

  ‘This calls for a drink to celebrate,’ he said against her lips.

  ‘Another toast?’

  He laughed. ‘Yes!’

  ‘Come on.’ He released her, taking hold of her hand as he turned away.

  But she held still. ‘I’ll follow you in a second.’

  ‘Okay.’ He eyed her speculatively. ‘Though you are starting to look rather prune-like so I wouldn’t leave it too long.’

  ‘Freddie!’ She thrust water at him, her laugh high. High on their conversation, on the future, on him, all him.

  But the truth was that she needed a moment. Her heart was drumming a crazy beat, her insides alive with a thousand flutters, and she needed to catch her breath. Clear her thoughts.

  He chuckled. ‘Suit yourself, but don’t be too long. I have plans for today and all of them involve you, champagne and whatever creole delights Monique can have delivered to our room.’

  ‘You’re insatiable!’

  ‘So are you, my love...’

  My love. Her racing heart pulsed.

  ‘Just another of the many reasons we’re our perfect match.’

  He winked and turned away. Leaving her floating on air rather than water. She watched him wade back towards the deck that reached out over the sea, the rich timber platform creating a seamless connection between their bedroom quarters and the water, and sucked in the deepest of breaths. She wanted to cry out to the heavens in joy, dance on the spot, somersault, do all manner of crazy things to ease the chaos inside her.

  But it wasn’t chaos, it was a fullness. A rich warmth where there’d once been a chill, an emptiness. A Freddie-shaped hole.

  She gave a little squeal, unable to keep it all contained, and turned to dive beneath the surface of the water, enjoying the rush of it cooling off her flushed face. She and Freddie. Freddie and her. It was happening.

  She surfaced and rolled onto her back, floating in the water that was so very calm today. Much better than yesterday morning when they’d taken the trip out to Praslin. The memory of it made her smile, even as she touched a hand to her stomach, grateful that the sensation was long gone. But Freddie had been so desperate to look after her, to make her feel better, because he loved her. He hadn’t said it yet, but then neither had she. They hadn’t needed to. It was there in their words, their faces, as obvious as it had ever been.

  Something nudged her foot, and she flinched away, looking to see what it was.

  Wow!

  Now, that was a turtle!

  Not one from Freddie’s imaginary spiel to keep her distracted on the boat, but a real, bona fide hawksbill, its brightly coloured, intricately patterned shell so beautiful as it glided through the water around her. It wasn’t scared of her or wary. It was such a pleasure to watch. The only thing that could make the moment more perfect would be if Freddie were by her side.

  She looked towards the shore, trying to seek him out and gesture to him. She frowned, shaded her eyes from the sun as she searched the deck, the room... There he was, in the bedroom. Her frown deepened.

  He was pacing, his phone to his ear as he raked his hand through his hair and clutched the back of his head.

  She forgot the turtle, forgot the beautiful water.

  Something was wrong.

  Something was very wrong.

  * * *

  ‘No. It’s fine,’ he told his sister firmly. ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

  ‘Freddie?’

  He turned to see Jasmine behind him, the lurch inside his chest so forceful that he had to press the phone to his ear to avoid dropping it altogether. Her green eyes were drawn with concern, her knuckles white where she gripped her fluffy cream towel around her.

  He tried to give a reassuring smile, but it was stiff, fraught with the news his sister had just shared. Fraught with the realisation that their time together was over sooner than planned. More than that, they were over. What an idiot he’d been to think they could have time to build a relationship on their terms, under their control, cushioned from the destructive forces of his family, their peers, the demands on his time.

  ‘I’ll call you as soon as I have an ETA, Ally.’

  He hung up and strode to the bed, tossing the phone down on it and trying to quash the rolling of his gut, the hammering of his heart, his mind awash with what was happening back home and what it meant.

  He sensed rather than heard Jasmine move, her fingers soft as they came to rest on his shoulder.

  ‘What’s happened?’ Her voice was so quiet and all he wanted to do, all he ever wanted to do, was pull her into his arms and hold her close. He didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to go it alone. Not any more.

  But this... He wasn’t ready, they weren’t ready. But he had no choice. The very reason he had to go was the very reason he couldn’t take her with him. His family. His father. They needed him. Not in a year or two’s time. Now.

  ‘Freddie?’ she whispered, her body gently coming up against his back, comforting him when he didn’t deserve to take comfort from her. Not when he knew what he was about to do would crush her. That off the back of their very recent conversation he was about to take it all back.

  He turned, tried to prepare himself for seeing her this close, and still his breath left him, his arms wrapping around her and holding her close as he sucked in a stabilising breath. And another.

  Again, not fair. Not fair to take strength from her presence when...

  ‘I have to go. My father—My father’s had a stroke.’

  ‘Oh, Freddie!’ Her head shot up, her green eyes piercing his tortured soul. How could it be that the one woman he wanted to get him through this was the one he couldn’t have by his side? ‘I’m so sorry. Is he...is he okay?’

  ‘I don’t know. He’s stable but...’ He released h
er, ran his hands through his hair, panic rising. ‘They’re running tests and I need to be there.’

  ‘Of course you do.’ She wrapped her arms around her middle, her eyes blazing with her compassion, her concern. ‘What can I do?’

  ‘Nothing.’ She flinched and he cursed his abruptness, thrust his hands back through his hair. ‘I’m going to make some calls. See what flights I can sort.’

  ‘Let me do that.’

  ‘No, it’s fine. My PA will take care of most it.’

  ‘Then tell me what else I can do. Anything?’

  He shook his head. What he wanted he wouldn’t—couldn’t—ask for.

  ‘There’s nothing. Just—I’m sorry.’

  ‘Why are you apologising?’

  He looked her straight in the eye, forced the words out. ‘For leaving.’

  She shook her head. ‘You don’t need to apologise for that, you need to get home.’

  ‘I don’t just mean... I don’t—I can’t...’

  ‘Freddie?’ She frowned up at him. ‘You can’t...?’

  ‘This changes things, Jas, don’t you see?’ His head was a jumbled mess, his words too.

  ‘Things? What things?’

  ‘There’s no time any more, no time for us before I return to Highgrove.’

  ‘No. But that’s okay. I can still come with you. You shouldn’t go through this alone. I wouldn’t come to the hospital, not with... I wouldn’t want to cause distress, but I could be in Edinburgh for you.’

  She stepped towards him, and he reached out on impulse, his hands soft on her hips. She was offering him everything in that second and the selfish part of him, the part that had longed for her all this time, the part that had been elated on the plans forming not thirty minutes ago, wanted to say yes.

  Say yes, and never look back. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t see a way to that, not now.

  ‘I can’t ask that of you.’

  ‘Of course you can,’ she whispered.

  She was so small, so petite, and he was transported back ten years. To the same small frame, facing a room full of his parents’ nearest and dearest, the laughter in their eyes, the sympathy in some, the scorn in others. No. Never again.