Page 44 of Nutcracker with Benefits
“Yeah,” she says. Her fingers tangle behind my head, and she leans back to see me better. “I’ve done such amazing travel, but I think in the last few years, it’s been getting harder and harder to leave you and my family. I tried to ignore it because I wanted to carry this idea of my mom, the intrepid world traveler, around, but Mom wouldn’t have wanted to take one or the other—she wanted both. I’ll never give up traveling, and I hope we do lots and lots of trips together. But I’m ready for the next step. And I’m ready to be with you.”
We kiss again, her mouth opening under mine and heat flickering through my body until we break apart on a gasp.
“When do you have to leave?” I chase the words back to her lips for more kisses.
“Well, here’s another surprise,” she says when I finally let her answer. “I reached out to this resort and asked if they wanted to work with me again. They were very willing, especially since I don’t need a comped room.”
I pull back and inspect the smirk on her face. “What does that mean?”
Her smirk morphs into a grin. “That means you get to see me work.”
Epilogue - Clara
The next day, I’ve got my camera out and am on the job. “These colors,” I breathe. The chef of Wanderlust Resort, Adrian, leans against the railing of the palapa. It’s one of his creations that I’m enthralled by, a bright and colorful ceviche set in a martini glass. I am talking about the ceviche, but I’m also talking about the colors behind it—the blue sea extends all the way out to the horizon from here.
“This place certainly is colorful,” he says.
“You’ve worked here a long time, right?” I ask as I click away with my camera. I love talking to staff at these kinds of places, and I remember Adrian from the last time I was here. I almost always glean a little tidbit of information about the location that I might not have gotten from a management team or the marketing brochure.
“Almost eight years,” he answers.
There’s a slurping of a straw behind me, and I glance back. Nash sits at the bar, and what was a glass of sky juice is now empty.
I roll my eyes at him, chuckling. “You are going to sleep so hard tonight.” After my presentation yesterday, we holed up in his cabana—and in his bed. It wasn’t that we had non-stop sex—we’re not machines, although I did orgasm five times, and yes, he kept count—but we spent the day lazily. It was the kind of day that I’d envisioned for the day after Christmas; we ate energy bars from my backpack for dinner and watched a movie between orgasms.
But, in addition to the sex marathon, Nash is slightly sunburned from hanging out on the beach with me today, and he’s had…I think he’s up to three of these sky juice drinks. I had the bartender show me how to make them so that Nash can enjoy them at home.
Home—his place. The most specific and true home I’ve had in a long time.
Adrian and I grin conspiratorially at each other, but then his gaze flicks over my shoulder, and that grin morphs into a wide smile.
“Hello,” a voice calls out from behind me. I lower my camera and turn around, finding the owner of the resort, a biracial woman about my age, walking up. Emery’s in a thin sundress like mine, with corkscrew curls and a smattering of freckles across her face. She offers me her hand. “Great to work with you again, Clara.”
“Glad to be back. Thanks for working with me on such late notice.”
“You got it.” She smiles pleasantly. “Welcome back to Wanderlust Resort.” Her gaze shifts to the chef. “Hey, baby.”
Adrian meets Emery halfway, and they lean into each other for a kiss on the lips. It’s perfunctory, nothing too gauche to be doing in front of clients, but their eyes and smiles are warm.
“How was your trip?” he asks her.
Emery rolls her eyes. “Mom is still pretty pissed at me.” She sighs, glancing over at me. “We’ll talk later,” she tells Adrian. The next words are directed at me. “I just got back from visiting my mom in New York.”
“I hope you had fun?”
“I did. It was part business, part pleasure, so that was productive, at least. Speaking of which, did you find your man?” She bats her eyelashes coyly. When she asked why I was coming to the resort, I filled her in on my plan. Emery is smart and savvy, and the last time I was here, we had a great time talking shop over frozen drinks.
“I did,” I tilt my head at Nash, still sitting at the bar and watching with amusement. “That’s my…boyfriend, Nash.” Boyfriend. That’s the first time I’ve said it out loud to someone.
Emery strides towards the bar, offering Nash her hand. “Nash, welcome, and thanks for….”
The words die on her lips, and in the mirror over the bar, I can see Emery’s jaw drop and her outstretched hand sags. For a moment, there’s only the sound of the gentle lapping of water at the beach.
“Mr. Darwish!” Emery exclaims. “Oh, what a pleasure to meet you.” She raises her hand again, offering a much more enthusiastic handshake now, which Nash accepts. “Oh my god, you’re staying here? Has everything been okay? The staff takes good care of you? How’s the food been?”
She’s still shaking Nash’s hand. Adrian comes up behind her, placing his hands on her upper arms and gently detaching her from Nash.
“He’s been having a great stay, I promise,” Adrian says, pulling her to the side.
