Page 69 of Companion Required

“Too right,” said Kieran, laughing and raising the seat into a sitting position.

Sex on that last night in Bali had felt more like making love—unhurried, familiar and mutually satisfying. Not a word had passed between them, like a rite of passage, as though they’d both felt this would be the last time. Which, in reality, it probably had been. In the morning, Kieran had refused to feel sad, and had packed his bags while making casual conversation with Kennedy, the girls and the villa staff as they packed his things into the back of their airport transfer van. Even though they all arrived at the airport together, the girls had different flights, so they made their farewells before boarding.

Back in England, Heathrow’s organised chaos came as no surprise when the country’s busiest airport woke to a new day.

“Kieran, where are you going?” called Kennedy, about to head for the terminal’s meeting point.

“To the Tube station,” he said, pushing his trolley towards the main doors. On the flight back, he had resolved to make the parting as painless as possible. But he needed to do so quickly.

“Ben’s bringing the car round. We can drop you off.”

Unless a person knew the real man, they wouldn’t know that Kennedy’s voice sounded almost pleading.

“No need,” said Kieran, plastering a smile on his face, his stomach twisting a little, but his resolve firm. “I’ve got it from here. Take good care of yourself, Kennedy. And thank you for absolutely everything. You’re really special, you know. Don’t ever forget that.”

With those final parting words, he turned and walked away, unable to look back.

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