Page 120 of Pervade Montego Bay

“I’ve been in a…bad place lately.” Pain flashed across his face.

“Have you ever considered, James, that what you had in your marriage with Victoria was so remarkable, so profound, that it takes two people to fill that void? That is a testament to your love. I will always honor what you had with your wife. We’ll keep Victoria’s memory alive.”

His shoulders dropped as he studied me. “All that’s left is for you to forgive me. If you can. Though I’ll understand—”

“You’re the one holding the ring, James.”

He closed his hand around the gold band. “This is like us getting married without a ceremony, then?”

“Ourlivesarethe ceremony,” I said. “We have earned the right to happiness.”

“We always felt sacred,” he said softly, sliding the band onto his left ring finger.

I felt a fluttering in my chest that always came from being this close to him. It made me catch my breath. Somehow, some way, we’d found our way back to each other.

Only this felt different. A better version of who we were.

“Small steps,” I whispered.

“I’m all for leaping in.” He grinned at his Dunn’s River Falls innuendo.

“Sorry about that.”

“Yeah, well…the only risk was getting an infection and a flesh-eating disease.”

I grinned as he moved closer and rested his forehead against mine. This intimacy, this understanding, this respect, that’s what we were. Forging a rock beneath us that would stand the test of time.

“I’ll always be here for you, Xavier.”

“Likewise.”

James stepped back and pointed to the basketball. “We need to work on your game.”

“Ready when you are.”

Emily burst out of the door and rushed toward us in a flurry of happiness.

“Hey, I had so much fun staying with Louis,” she said, laughing. “He just dropped me off. I like him so much. Let’s see him again soon. How are things here?”

We swapped a knowing smile.

“Who wants to go the beach?” asked James. “I want to take you both somewhere special. A place I used to take…Victoria.”

Emily wrapped her arms around him. “We would love that.”

James raised his gaze to meet mine, his expression asking me if we were going to tell Emily about us.

I shook my head.Not yet.

Emily

The sun’s bright morning rays kissed my skin and I raised my face to absorb the warmth, my bare feet sinking in the sand, squishing between my toes.

I’d stripped off my T-shirt and shorts to reveal my blue bikini, and had just spent the last few minutes smothering myself in sunblock oil.

James had a private beach back home, so I wondered why he’d brought us to this one which was half an hour away by car.

I glanced back to see Xavier smearing sunblock on James’ shoulders and had to look away. Jeez, those two men could power a city with their eroticism. When caught between them, I lost time chasing after the pleasure they brought.