“How could you do this to me?” he asks quietly, his voice breaking. “I didn’t know she was married. I swore that to you.”
“I know.” My eyes fill with tears. “You have no idea how hard this has been on me, Spence. I’m so devastated at how things turned out.”
“You think I fucking liked it?” he cries.
“I know that, too. I don’t know how to get over this, but I do know that I can’t live without you. I tried and I couldn’t.”
He stares at me.
“Let me stay, spend the week with you, and we will try and…” I pause as I articulate my feelings. “We’ll try and work through this together.”
“No.”
“No pressure to get back together. I just need time with you,” I plead, and I try to pull us back under the water.
He frowns, as if remembering something.
“What?” I ask.
“I think I threw your engagement ring over the cliff.”
“What?” I frown. “You had an engagement ring?” My heart freefalls from my chest as I imagine him waiting with it and my eyes fill with tears. “Oh my God, Spence, I’ve ruined everything.”
“Yes. You did. In spectacular fashion.”
I feel a tiny bit of his resistance begin to cave, and I lean up and kiss him softly. Our lips linger over each other’s and my tongue gently slips through his open mouth.
“I love you so much,” I breathe.
Our kiss deepens, and I feel the emotion run back through us like a lifeline.
“Spence.” The bathroom door opens, and Julian comes into view. His face falls when he sees me.
“What the fuck, Masters?” Spence yells.
“Oh, shit.” He turns his back immediately, although too late. He’s already seen everything. “Sorry.” He winces. “I thought you were alone.” He hunches his shoulders as if excited. “Hi, Charlotte.”
I smile as I look up at my beautiful man and cup his face. “Hi, Jules.”
“I was just coming to see if you… well, both of you now, wanted to come to the beach. But I can see you’re busy.”
Spencer’s eyes hold mine. “We’ll meet you there.”
I can’t stop kissing him, even though Julian is still in the room.
“Although Charlotte may be in a body bag by the time I’ve finished with her,” Spencer adds dryly.
Julian chuckles. “Okay, well, just make sure that her bodyguards don’t see you kill her. I’m not sure I could get you off that one, and you’re way too pretty to go to prison.”
I smile softly, and in that moment, I know it’s going to be okay.
We are going to make it through this together. His friends, my friends, and our families combined will make it work… whatever it takes.
“See you later,” Julian says as he walks out.
I frown, confused. “Where’s Julian staying?”
“He, Bree, and the kids are three doors up, and Seb is in town. They wouldn’t let me come alone in case you didn’t show up.”
“Why weren’t they with you yesterday?”
“I wanted to be alone. I was waiting for you.”
I stare up at the beautiful man in front of me. “Can you ask me to marry you now?”
“No.” He kisses my lips.
My face falls, and I think for a moment. “Fine. Then Spencer Jones… will you marry me?”
“Again, no.”
“Spencer,” I whine. “You’re supposed to say yes.”
“And you were supposed to stay by my side when things got rough.”
My heart drops. I hate that I let him down.
“I will now. I promise.” I pause and smile. “Do you know what this is, Spence? It’s a new beginning for us.”
He exhales heavily and hangs his head. “The last two weeks…” His voice trails off.
I stare into his big blue eyes, and the hurt in them breaks my heart wide open. “Baby,” I whisper. He wraps his arms around me and holds me tight. We stay in each other’s arms for a long time and it’s like the longer our bodies touch skin to skin, the more I can feel the emotions run between us.
“Let’s go back to bed,” I suggest quietly.
He nods, and we step out of the shower. I dry us both off, and then he leads us into the bedroom. I lie down beside him.
“I love you, Spence.”
His eyes close as if hearing me say that pains him, and then he kisses me. He really kisses me with his heart on his sleeve and without holding back.
It’s long and slow and deep and everything I’ve missed about us.
He rises above me and slowly slides in deep. Our mouths fall open in the overwhelming pleasure of each other’s bodies. I’ve missed this. I’ve missed him.
“I love you.”
His eyes search mine.
“Spence…?”
“I love you too, angel.”
Our lips crash and we cling to each other as tight as we can as we try desperately to banish the fear of losing one another ever again. I don’t know what kind of Hell we’ve just been through, but now I can see a glimmer of light at the end of the dark tunnel.
If we hold each other tight enough, we might just make it through.
*
“Are you ready to do this?” I ask him.
Spencer shrugs, and I take his hand in mine. We’ve just landed at Heathrow Airport and we’re just about to walk out into the arrivals lounge. I already know that the paparazzi are waiting for us. Security have called the boys to let them know, so I take my mother’s ring off my right hand and slip it onto my wedding finger.
“What are you doing?” He frowns.
“Giving them something to talk about. If they think we’re already married, they won’t notice when we do actually get engaged. And besides, from now on I plan on giving them as much bogus material to publish as possible. I want the world to know that they can’t trust what they read in this trash.”
He rolls his eyes. “We’re not getting engaged, Charlotte. That ship well and truly sailed when I threw a quarter of a million pounds over a fucking cliff.”
I smile up at him. Anthony, Wyatt and I searched that damn cliff for two days looking for my ring… with no such luck. Spencer wouldn’t help us, of course. He stayed on the deck by the pool drinking cocktails. He said that the ring was bad luck and a sign that he should never get married. I plan on proving him wrong if it’s the last thing that I ever do.
“Have you got a ring you can put on your ring finger?” I ask.
He looks at me, deadpan. “No, because I’m not getting married.”
We’ve had a good week in Santorini—a wonderful week—and even though I know he’s still holding a grudge against me, we’re together, we still love each other, and every day we get a little bit closer to where we used to be. I really messed things up between us, and every time he tells me we are never getting married, I silently freak out.
“Okay.”
“I fucking mean it,” he whispers as we come into view of the photographers.
“Charlotte!” the photographers all cry. “Over here, over here.” I smile at the cameras as I grip Spencer’s hand with my right hand and wave with my left. He keeps his head down and concentrates on moving us forward.
“The car is out the front,” Wyatt says as he ushers us forward towards the doors.
“She’s wearing a ring!” someone calls out, and they all push forward.
“Charlotte, did you marry Spencer Jones? What does your father think about this? What about William? Have you seen your lover Penelope Prescott, Spencer? Were you on your honeymoon?”
The black Mercedes wagon comes into view, and pulls up by the kerb. Spencer opens the door, and then hesitates when he sees my father and Edward already in the car.
“Get in,” I urge as the cameras are clicking away.
Spencer gets in and slams the door shut, and I hold my breath. The car pulls away to escape the madness.
“Hello, Spencer,” Edward says.
“Fuck off,” Spencer mutters. “Drop me home now.”
Edward and my father exchange looks. “We want to talk to you.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve got nothing to say.” He keeps his eyes cast out the window.
I take Spencer’s hand in mine, resting it in my lap, and I remain silent.
“We need your help,” my father says.
Spencer’s eyes rise to theirs and he smirks. “You’ve made it quite clear where you and I stand. Don’t come to me when you need help to get rid of her.” He shakes his head in disgust. “I won’t be used.”
I grip his hand tightly.