Page 104 of A Wedding in Tuscany

‘Joshua.’

‘You taste salty,’ he says. It does feel nice, his micro kisses along the line of my shoulder but he’s right. I need a shower.

‘Okay, I’m up.’ I stand abruptly, slide the dress off my shoulders and when it falls to the floor in a pool of rose-gold chiffon, I step out of it and walk to the bathroom. The shower does feel good?invigorating even. Maybe I am up for a little post-wedding sex.

Only when I finish my ablutions and return to the bedroom, my dress is draped over a chair and Josh is fast asleep on top of the covers?dress shirt and shoes and socks off, trousers on. He is so sexy, so handsome. And that’s on top of being my someone. Sometimes when I look at him, I pinch myself that we found each other.

‘Josh,’ I whisper. I undo his belt and his trousers and start sliding them down his legs.

‘Mmm, tomorrow morning,’ he murmurs. ‘I promise … all kinds of sexy time.’

I smile to myself and tug the trousers over his feet. ‘Get under the covers,’ I say. Sleepily, he does and when I get back from the kitchen with two small bottles of water for our bedside tables, he is well and truly out. I climb into bed and scooch close so I can press a kiss to his cheek. ‘I love you,’ I whisper, even though he can’t hear me.

I wake, blinking a few times and see Josh smiling down at me. ‘Good morning,’ he says. He drops a kiss onto my forehead and I stretch luxuriously under the covers.

‘What time is it?’ I ask, stifling a yawn.

‘Time for tea.’ He points to the bedside table and there sits a steaming mug of tea.

‘Oh, I love you.’ I rearrange my pillow against the bedhead and prop myself up, then reach for it and take a generous swig. Ah, tea?the panacea for late nights and overindulgence and quite often, emotional turmoil. Fortunately, it’s only the first two I need to salve this morning. I’m not quite awake enough for a deep dive into the latter.

Josh sits on the edge of the bed and watches me. ‘Sleep well?’

‘Yes, actually. Totally out cold.’

‘Good. You obviously needed it.’ He reaches for one of my wayward curls and wraps it around his finger, twirling it softly.

As he moves closer, I realise he smells of cologne and deodorant and that the hair at his nape is wet. ‘How long have you been up?’

‘About an hour and a half. I figured you wouldn’t want to sleep much later, so I brought you the tea.’

I have no idea where my phone is?probably in my satin clutch, its battery life ebbing away?but my watch is within reach. I check it. ‘Oh, my god, it’s after nine already,’ I say, bolting upright.

He chuckles. ‘Like I said, you must have needed the sleep. Hey …’ I look at him, frowning. ‘You are totally entitled to a sleep in, okay? It’s been an intense week.’

I flop back against the pillow. ‘You’re right. Thank you. And for the tea.’

‘You’re welcome. So … what do you want to do today? We’ve got the whole day to ourselves,’ he says, eyebrows raised.

‘Ah, that’s right!’ I sip my tea and start thinking of all the things we could do today?just me and Josh in Tuscany!

‘Well, we do have one thing later, but it’s not till five.’

‘Oh, right?that,’ I reply.

‘You don’t wanna go?’ Jaelee has planned for us all to meet at the resort for a final poolside goodbye before we go our separate ways. It’s been lovely meeting Cat’s friends?Jaelee and Alistair and Lou and Anders?and it will be the last time we see Siobhan or Jane for a while, but part of me wants to beg off and have a quiet night in.

‘Um …’

‘I get it. It’s been a lot of socialising.’ Josh is one of the few people who truly understands that I’m an extroverted introvert. Sure, I can be the life of the party, but after a while I just want some time alone?or with my closest people?to recharge. An intimate dinner party is heaven. A week of dinners and parties and day-drinking and eating out?even in Tuscany?has started to wear thin.

‘How ’bout we go, we see everyone, and we leave early.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, for sure. I mean, we’ve still got tomorrow with Cat and Jean-Luc’ ?a pang of sadness at saying goodbye to them rips through me, but I bat it away? ‘and we’ll see your parents and Nick and Lindsey at home, so …’

‘So, we spend some quality time with Siobhan?’