Page 59 of Coming Home to Wishington Bay
‘I do,’ Gabe said, turning back to look down at me. ‘But right now, I don’t really care.’
‘That’s because you’ve had too much champagne, and also because you won’t be the one with a billion messages on your phone in the morning, asking for details.’
‘A billion, eh?’
‘At least!’
‘I’ll text Ned when I get back, just give him a quick catch-up. How’s that?’
‘I’m sorry but have you not had much to do with women before?’ This was, I had to admit looking at him now, something I would find hard to believe.
‘I know enough.’ He grinned.
I bet he did.
‘Then do you really think a two-line message like you’ll probably send to my brother is going to satisfy Carrie?’
‘You might have a point.’
‘I always have a point.’
‘No, you don’t.’
‘Fair enough. But this time I do.’
‘I accept that. So, how can I help?’
‘Huh?’
‘How can I help, with the one billion messages?’
‘Oh. You can’t. I was just apprising you of the situation, and letting you know how much I’m going to suffer for helping you.’
‘And I appreciate every single moment,’ he whispered, his lips brushing my temple as I leant into him a little more, feeling the broad warmth of his chest and the strength in the arm still resting at my waist, and smelling the faint hints of wood and citrus from his aftershave. As I stood there, my mind began to drift again, wondering just how appreciative he might be.
‘Here’s our taxi. Oh, Holly, we’ve had such a lovely time tonight,’ Martha said as Ned and Carrie waved us all off and headed back inside. His mum took my hands, holding them out in front of me within her own. ‘I’m so looking forward to getting to know you better, and spending time with both of you over the summer. It’s clear just watching you that you make our Gabe so happy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look at anyone the way he just looked at you.’ I guessed she was aiming for a whisper but Gabe, and several others, still heard.
‘Mum …’ Gabe said. He’d let go of me now but I felt him shifting his weight behind me.
‘Oh pffft. So what if you look at her all gooey. That’s your job!’
‘Taxi’s waiting,’ George said tactfully and I saw his son give him a grateful look. ‘Thanks for arranging the evening, love,’ he said, giving me a quick hug before holding out a hand to his wife.
Martha reached up to her son and hugged him tightly. ‘You’ve done well here, my boy,’ she said before taking George’s hand and stepping into the cab.
We stood at the kerb and waved them off, watching as the car drove carefully up the narrow street before it disappeared around a bend, out of view.
‘Do you want to walk back along the beach? That way, if you fall over, it’s a softer landing.’
‘I am not drunk!’ I said, flinging my arms wide, immediately taking a step back to balance myself.
Gabe said nothing.
‘Oh, like you’re so sober! I hope you’re not operating tomorrow.’
‘No. Definitely not. I double-checked my schedule before we came out tonight.’
‘Good.’ I stood for a moment, looking out across the rippling water, the tops of the gentle waves just catching the moonlight. ‘Walking back along the beach sounds nice though. But …’ I said, spinning around to face him, reaching out to grab a muscled forearm for a second when I had to wait for all of my functions to catch up with the movement. ‘Only because it’s pretty in the moonlight. Not for any other reason.’
