The One That Got Away (Love Hotel #1)

Chapter 39

39

MAX

Whilst Stella went to reception, I headed to the beach with the picnic basket I’d got from the restaurant. I laid the blanket on the sand, sat down and exhaled.

It was another beautiful day. The sky was so blue it didn’t look real, and even though it was only just before noon, the sun was already blazing. If it got any hotter, I’d have a dip in the sea to cool off.

I was glad to have a moment alone to try and get my head straight. Then again, even if I sat here for hours, I doubted my opinion would change.

It was obvious. I was in deep shit.

I had feelings for Stella. Strong feelings. And I didn’t know what the fuck to do about them.

In twenty-four hours we’d be on our way to London and back to our normal lives. That was exactly what I’d wished for the first night I’d arrived here. But now, the thought of going back to the monotony I called a life made my chest tight.

These past two weeks with Stella had been fantastic. Yeah, we’d got off to a rough start and there were times I questioned whether we’d make it through the day, never mind the first week. But we did. And it’d been even better than I hoped.

When Stella told me she thought last night was out of this world and I’d agreed, I’d lied. Saying it was out of this world didn’t come close to describing how I felt. Making love to Stella wasn’t even in this stratosphere.

No wonder she questioned whether it was real. Everything about it was like a dream. The way Stella looked at me. Her touch. Our connection.

Then there was the way we held each other afterwards. How we talked and laughed together under the stars. If I’d seen that scene in a film, I’d think it was corny, but experiencing it was like magic.

After she’d fallen asleep and I’d carried her to bed, I’d watched her sleeping for a few minutes. Taking in the sight of her soft skin, the tiny scar on her left cheek that I used to love stroking and those full lips that I never wanted to stop kissing.

A flashback of her mouth wrapped around my dick popped into my head and made my pulse rocket. I was crazy to ask her to stop, but at that moment, I just needed to feel her. I wanted to be closer to her and have that connection. The stuff I’d never felt with anyone else. That feeling of intimacy.

I didn’t want to fuck Stella. I wanted to make love to her.

See? Like I said, I was in deep shit.

I didn’t want tomorrow to be the end, but after the emails I saw this morning, that was the only option.

My meetings in Australia and the US were confirmed and my secretary was planning the flights for a series of business trips that would start after I got back from Dubai.

I’d be in Australia and the US for two weeks each. Looked like I’d be visiting multiple places in Europe too, which would add another few weeks to my travels .

People always thought business trips were glamorous but most of the time they were just one long sales trip. Meeting after meeting, trying to convince strangers to take on our products or get them to agree to the best price to manufacture them.

It’d be lonely, exhausting and hard work, but hopefully worth it. Getting Mum’s products into the hands of a worldwide audience had always been her dream and I was determined to make it happen.

All that meant that however much I wanted to, I wouldn’t have time for a relationship with Stella, which was a damn shame.

Maybe I was getting carried away, though. She’d said from the beginning that she didn’t want anything serious and that once we left the hotel we’d walk away from each other so I was probably worrying about nothing. I was sure it’d come up in conversation naturally, so until then, I was just gonna enjoy our last day together and not overthink it.

‘Got them!’ Stella appeared, snapping me out of my thoughts.

‘Let’s see.’ I shuffled up on the beach mat then brushed off the sand that had blown onto it so Stella could sit down.

She snuggled up to me, looping her arm in mine and resting her head on my shoulder as I opened the envelope.

Warmth flooded my veins. I loved when Stella laid her head on me.

As I looked through the photos from the game, my heart swelled. I was so grateful she’d arranged it for me. I was already excited to watch another game when I got back from my trips.

‘Definitely that one!’ Stella pointed at a selfie. The players were on the field in the background, but that wasn’t what caught my eye. It was the fact that Stella was kissing my cheek and I was grinning at the camera like a lovesick teenager who’d just been touched by a girl for the first time.

That was how I felt whenever I was around Stella. Like I was eighteen again.

‘It’s a great shot,’ I agreed. All of them were. In the end, I settled for a photo Stella asked a woman behind us to take. We were smiling as we watched the game and I had my arm wrapped around Stella’s back.

‘Done! Oh, I bumped into Jasmine. She said we both have individual debrief sessions this afternoon. Think she wants to get our feedback on the experience. She said she’ll text us the time and location.’

‘We better finish all our Love Tasks so we don’t get in trouble!’ I laughed.

‘As soon as we’ve eaten we can do our playlists. Then we’ll have the rest of the afternoon to enjoy the beach.’

‘Let’s get stuck in then.’ I opened up the picnic basket.

Stella and I finished all the food, then once we’d sent off our playlists, we laid on the blanket, arms and legs wrapped around each other.

‘This place is so beautiful,’ Stella said into my chest. ‘I don’t want to leave.’

‘Me neither.’ I paused. Maybe now was a good time to bring up the future. Well, the sad fact that we didn’t have one together. ‘So.’ I paused, thinking about how best to phrase it. ‘We should talk about…’

The sound of my mobile ringing made us both jump. I stretched out to where I’d left it after we’d taken our last set of selfies.

‘It’s Jasmine,’ I mouthed as I accepted the call. ‘Hi. Yeah, course. I’m on my way.’ I ended the call. ‘She wants to do my debrief now and yours afterwards. ’

‘Okay. What did you want to talk about?’ she frowned. ‘Before Jasmine called there was something you wanted to say.’

‘Oh, er,’ I stuttered. ‘Nothing that can’t wait.’

‘Sure?’

‘Yeah.’

Maybe Jasmine’s interruption wasn’t a bad thing.

Waiting a few more hours to talk wouldn’t make a difference.

Would it?