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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Beautiful streaks of orange, pink, and blue painted the sky as sunset hung over the ocean, its striking colors reflecting off the surface of the rolling waves. The ocean breeze flowed through my hair as Cameron and I stepped out of his car in front of the Saltbreeze Suites, a towering, white hotel building right on the beach.

“It’s beautiful,” I told Cameron with a smile of awe. Even the air smelled good — fresh and slightly salty.

He’d picked the perfect place for our weekend getaway, which was a few hours away from our city.

The valet walked over to us. “Would you like me to park your car, sir?”

Cameron looked sheepish as handed his keys over. “The key fob doesn’t work, so you’ll have to manually lock it.”

“No problem,” the valet replied before hopping in the car and driving off to park it in the hotel’s private parking lot.

Cameron turned to me, rubbing the back of his neck for a moment. “I can check in and have our bags brought up to the room. Want to wait out here? There’s a great seafood restaurant down that way.”

I turned to see where he was pointing, which was toward a strip of restaurants, local shops, and other hotels along the beach. I turned back to him and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Cameron smiled. He headed into the fancy hotel, leaving me outside to enjoy the sea breeze and the sound of the waves crashing in the near distance. I looked down at the blue maxi dress and espadrilles I was wearing. I’d changed at the office earlier today, once work finished and all the workers had left. I’d also taken a moment to fix up my makeup, applying a lighter shade of pink and adding some blush to my cheeks, creating a look that was a lot more playful and flirty than my usual corporate makeup.

As we’d driven down to the beach, I found that I was a lot more excited than I thought I’d be. Sure, part of it was relief — hours earlier, we’d finally submitted the campaign for LearnQuest. But also, I was looking forward to relaxing and spending time with Cameron.

I glanced at my phone, checking for work calls or emails. Luckily, nothing popped up.

“Checking work?”

I almost jumped. Cameron had returned from the hotel, and now he chuckled at my guilty expression.

“Just having a look,” I admitted. “There’s no news, though.”

“Of course there isn’t,” he said. “We just finished Henry’s campaign, and now it’s the weekend.”

I knew it was unlikely there’d be any work updates, but it was a habit. “I can’t help it,” I said.

He reached for my hand. “Hey. How about we both turn our work notifications off?”

I stared. “Are…are you sure that’s a good idea?” To be honest, the thought of turning them off made me feel a bit anxious. It reminded me of the time I’d watched a movie at the cinema with Emilia and Brooke. I hadn’t been able to immerse myself fully into the film because there’d been a voice at the back of my mind worrying that I’d miss an important call while my phone had been off.

“We don’t have any current projects. No clients will be calling.” He shrugged. “We can still take calls from friends and family and only mute work.” He took a step closer. “That way, we can fully focus on each other.”

I inhaled. I did want to focus on Cameron, and if we blocked out work, then maybe we could forget we were boss and employee, even if only for a weekend. The truth was, I knew it was a good idea. I had an unhealthy attachment to my phone and my work inbox. It would be good for me to disconnect.

“Alright,” I breathed .

Cameron smiled, pressed a quick kiss against my lips and stepped back. We both took out our phones. I silenced my email notifications, as well as any contact labeled under work. As soon as I did it, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. I was already feeling more relaxed.

“Done,” Cameron said, popping his phone in his pocket. He took my free hand, our fingers twining together. “Let’s get dinner.”

We walked down the sidewalk as the sky slowly darkened, the streetlights and colorful outdoor building lights turning on. The fact that we could walk around holding hands made my heartbeat quicken. This was what it could be like if we could openly be in a relationship.

Since we’d been so busy with work, we’d yet to go on a proper date in the city. If we did, though, I’d probably spend the whole time looking over my shoulder. But if we weren’t working together…we could kiss each other goodbye in front of people. We could go to business galas together, and I could introduce him as my boyfriend. We could talk about how much we cared about each other to people we knew.

Like every other regular couple.

We arrived at the two-story restaurant, and Cameron requested a table on the balcony of the second floor that overlooked the ocean. We were led to a table which was covered with a white tablecloth and decorated with a vase of flowers and a flickering candle. We sat down across from each other and ordered a glass of wine each. After the waiter left, Cameron took my hand, brushing his thumb over the top of it. “I’m glad we did this.”

I nodded. “I was nervous about being so far away from the office at first, but I’m already feeling better.”

He smiled. “Out of sight, out of mind.”

“Thank you for arranging all of this,” I told him. On top of all his work responsibilities, he also set up this getaway for us, and it already felt perfect.

Cameron shook his head dismissively. “As long as you come with me, I’m happy to plan our little getaways.”

If this one worked out well, maybe we could do this more often. Maybe I could do what everyone had been pestering me to do for years — work less, live more. Enjoy life.

Once we got our glasses of wine and put in our orders for surf and turf, we clinked our glasses together and enjoyed our Chardonnay, looking out at the ocean as the sky darkened to black. A crescent moon and tiny stars glowed in the distance, reflecting off the rolling waves.

“Are you feeling relaxed?” Cameron asked me as he leaned back in his seat, soaking in the classy but comfortable vibe of the nice restaurant.

I smiled and took another sip of wine, pacing myself. I wouldn’t mind a nice buzz, but I wanted to be fully perceptive of everything going on. This was too great of a night to miss out on any details. “I am. It’s nice. ”

Cameron nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Get used to it.”

“I’m guessing you have plans for us this weekend?”

“You would be correct, but I’m not telling you what they are.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “You’re supposed to inform me about all plans.”

Cameron wagged his finger. “Only at work. This isn’t work, baby. Standard rules don’t apply.”

I laughed. “Have you been here before?”

“Not here, specifically, but I’ve heard good things about it. I’ve loved the beach since I was a kid, though. My family went on a lot of beach holidays during my childhood.”

“Where did you go?”

“Too many to count, but my favourites were Hawaii and Australia.”

“I didn’t know you travelled so much,” I said. “There’s so much I don’t know about you.”

He gave me a soft smile. “Have you travelled a lot?”

I shook my head. “I’ve been to Canada and Mexico, but that’s it. My parents worked a lot when I was young. In college, I was too busy, and when I started working, I got even more busy.”

Saying it aloud now made me feel a little sad. I wanted to travel, but I always put it off. Next year, or when Firth Marketing had this many employees or when I made this amount of money. I kept moving the goalposts .

I should live life more. I couldn’t spend the next thirty years in the same city.

I pushed down the uncomfortable feelings and shot Cameron a smile. “Where else have you been?”

“My grandma lives in London, so I’ve visited the UK. I’ve also spent some time in Japan.”

“Wow,” I said.

“If you could go anywhere, where would you go?” he asked.

I hummed as I thought about it. “So many. But if I had to choose…Rome.”

He smiled. “Me too. I’ve never been to Italy, but I’ve heard the food is incredible.”

“I would have so much pasta. Gelato too.”

We spent the next few minutes talking about what we’d do in Rome. Cameron wanted to visit sights like the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, while I wanted to see the artwork in the Sistine Chapel.

It was a fun discussion, but there was also a pit in my stomach because I knew that, realistically, I wouldn’t have time to travel to Rome until I retired.

That is, unless I did something about my current work schedule.

Our food arrived, and my mouth watered at the sight of a large lobster tail and a delicious cut of steak. As expected, the lobster tail was buttery and savory, and the steak was juicy and well-seasoned. I had the money to go to nice restaurants like these more, but they were sit-down experiences that took time and were better enjoyed with other people. I couldn’t see myself going to a restaurant like this by myself after a long day at work, especially when I planned to work later on at home.

But now that I was with Cameron, experiences like these made more sense. I could see myself doing them more, and who was I to turn down amazing food and great company? We didn’t have a view like this in the city, though.

I needed to cherish it while I could.

“Dessert?” Cameron asked once we finished up with our main course.

I lifted an eyebrow at him, my heel brushing his ankle under the table. “What kind?”

He gave me a coy look. “We can either have dessert here or back at the hotel room.”

“Back at the hotel,” I said quickly. I was sure this restaurant had great dessert options, but I hadn’t touched Cameron all day. Right then, all I wanted was to get him into bed.

He chuckled. “Good choice.” He motioned at the waiter. “Can we get the check, please?”

Once the bill was settled, he led me out of the restaurant and down the sidewalk back to the hotel. His hand was warm in mine. I must’ve been walking faster than usual, because when we stepped into the elevator, he gave me a teasing smile. “Eager, huh?”

I shrugged in a coy manner, my heart beating wildly with eagerness. “I’m excited.”

We got out at the thirtieth floor, and he led me to Room 3012.

I stood behind him, shifting on the spot as I waited for him to unlock the door. Once it clicked open, I followed him inside, my eyes widening at the sight of a large suite. Maybe flash didn’t impress me, but the thought behind every detail of this getaway touched me.

“Cameron…” I murmured as he turned on the lamps, allowing me to see the balcony with an ocean view and the king-sized bed.

Cameron kissed my cheek before leading me through a door, switching on the light to reveal the bathroom.

My eyes immediately darted to the huge spa-sized tub, my jaw dropping. I hadn’t ever seen a tub that large in a hotel room before. “A bath sounds amazing right about now.”

Cameron placed his hand on my back, rubbing gently as our eyes met. “One of the best ways to relax.”

My heart fluttered as I leaned forward to kiss him out of sheer gratitude. Happiness swelled in my chest like a bubble. “Thank you,” I murmured against his lips.

“Get undressed,” Cameron whispered.