Page 55 of Paradise in Progress
"Make out with Tristan? Oh yeah," I blurt out, heat rising to my cheeks. "A few times. It wasn’t planned. I mean, one minute, he’s surprising me with a sunset cruise and dinner at the resort. Then, the next thing I know, I’m basically mounting him in the middle of the restaurant.”
I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face as I tie the bikini strings behind my neck. The memory of his lips on mine, the way his hands held me so close... My stomach does a little flip just thinking about it.
Her jaw drops, eyes wide as saucers. "Wait. Hold up. You kissedTristan? You kissed him after months of all that tension and denial? Oh my god. Tell me everything!"
With my bikini on, I turn back to the phone, pausing long enough to grab my glass of rosé off the dresser. "It wasn’t just a kiss. I mean, yes, we kissed, but it was more than that. It was..." I hesitate, unsure how to explain the intensity of the moment. "It was like everything that’s been building between us finally snapped into place."
As I head toward the balcony, her squeal of excitement rings through the penthouse. "Oh my god, this is like amovie!"
Laughing, I step outside, where the warm breeze greets me. The sun is just beginning to set, casting a golden glow over the ocean. I settle onto a lounger, stretching out as I sip my wine. "I know, right? It felt surreal. But now I don’t know what happens next. He’s still technically my boss andTristan, and that complicates everything."
She rolls her eyes dramatically. "Girl, you kissed him! That’s huge! Was it everything you imagined?"
I pause, closing my eyes for a moment as I replay the memory of his lips and the feel of his hand on the small of my back. "I never imagined kissing Tristan Nelson. You and Zoe have always thought this would happen, not me. But if I’m being honest, the man can kiss."
She claps her hands in delight. "I knew it! The tension has been driving me crazy through the phone, so I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you. I’ve got to know all the details. What the hell happened to change things?”
“Two nights ago, I came home from work with a surprise sunset cruise planned,” I start, settling deeper into the lounger as the breeze teases loose strands of my hair, carrying the faint scent of salt and hibiscus. “Never in a million years would I have imagined that Tristan Nelson would plan a sunset cruise and dinner for us.”
“Wait, what?” Lana’s surprised expression reminds me of exactly how I felt that day.
Lifting my glass, I take a sip of wine before continuing. “Yeah, imagine my surprise…” I pause, a soft smile tugging at my lips. “Lan, the way he looked at me as the sun faded, it was like he could see right through my walls. It was everything I didn’t know I needed from him. Like he could finally seeme.”
“Aww,” she coos, her eyes softening.
“For so long, we’ve been at war with each other.” I look away sheepishly. “A battle I started, only for him to prove me wrong in the most epic of ways.”
“What do you mean?”
Resting my wineglass on my stomach, I stretch my legs and let the warmth from the setting sun sear my bikini-clad body. “He confessed that he’s never viewed me as the competition or his rival. Which means I created this entire narrative in my head and was so hellbent on proving I was right, only to be completely wrong.”
“I told you that you were making a bigger deal out of things,” she says with a shrug, and I glare at her.
“Not the time.”
She chuckles, and I stare out over the phone at the birds floating in the ocean breeze as images of that night flash in my head. I nibble on my lower lip as a blush creeps across my cheeks. “I didn’t expect the night to end the way it did.”
“What happened?” Lana gasps, bring the phone closer to her face. “I swear, Kenny, I’m going to hang up the phone if you don’t get on with it.”
“Okay, okay.” I huff a laugh. Leaning closer to the screen, I lower my voice, even though no one else is around to hear. "You’re not going to believe what I said to him."
Her eyebrows shoot up, intrigued. "Oh, this is going to be good."
"I told him to crawl to me," I whisper, my lips curving into a shocked grin. "Like, literally crawl to me. I have no idea where that came from. He asked what he could do to fix things between us, and that’s just…what popped out."
Her mouth falls open, and I can practically feel her jaw hitting the floor through the screen. My expression mirrors hers—eyes wide, cheeks flushed, my fingers still clutching the side of my face as if that might stop the heat from spreading.
“Oh my god, Kenny, you did not?”
I nod.
“What did Prince Nelson do?”
"He did it." I shake my head, almost like I’m trying to wake up from some crazy dream. But the smirk tugging at my lips gives me away.
Giddiness radiates from Lana as she squeals with excitement. “I am so here for this new Kenny.”
With a smile, I take another lazy sip of rosé, letting the chilled wine roll across my tongue before I glance back at the screen. “Oh, there’s more.”
