Page 88 of Worth Every Moment

“Normally that’s all it takes,” I deadpan.

She breaks out into a full smile and edges up on her tiptoes, even though she’s so tall she doesn’t really need to, and pecks me on the lips. “Not this time.” She slips her thong into my hand and whispers, “But you can keep these. For your collection.”

I fist my hand around the still-damp fabric. “There is no collection.”

Her mouth falls open. “You lied?”

“I did.” She reaches for the thong, which I tuck into my pocket. “But I’m keeping yours forever.” I pull her close and kiss her again, deeper this time, sliding my tongue into her mouth and sinking into her softness. We kiss like that for endless minutes, savouring the sweet roll of one another’s tongues. When we break apart, our foreheads rest together, breaths hot against each other’s mouths.

“Promise me you’re not running away,” I say.

“I’m not.” She steps back until only the tips of her fingers are hooked onto mine. “I’m just… taking it slow.”

Slow. Fucking slow. As if I haven’t been taking this slow for seven fucking years.

31

ERICA

So far today, Seb has given me space. Not polite space, but actual space where I feel like he’s deliberately ignoring me even though he’s sitting right beside me on the private jet. It’s like the silent treatment, but if the silence were stuffed full of unspeakable sexual tension.

We’re on the way to the Caribbean, to the private island owned by Seb’s father, where Nico and Kate’s exclusive wedding is being held. I was always coming as a guest in my own right, given my long-standing friendship with Nico, but now I’m here as Seb’s official date, which means I’m travelling with the family. Nico and Kate are already out there, but the rest of the guests won’t arrive for a few days. For now, it’s me, Seb’s brother, Matt Hawkston, his two kids and his fiancée, Aries. Then there’s also Jack Lansen, Kate’s brother and Nico’s best man. Amy’s coming too, but not until the day of the wedding. I feel a little out of my depth, plunged into the inner Hawkston circle like this, but even when Amy arrives, I’m not sure how much I’ll get to see of her. She’s flying in briefly to perform with Jack’s girlfriend, Elly, who’s already out there as the maid of honour.

“What the fuck are you doing with those Smarties?” Seb says, glancing over the aisle at Jack, who’s got ten tubes of Smarties on the table. He’s sorting them out into colours, seemingly putting certain ones back in their own tube.

“Elly only likes the orange ones,” Jack says without looking up from his task.

“You know you can buy tubes of orange only Smarties?” Aries says.

Jack jerks his head up from his task. “Fuck, really?”

Everyone laughs.

“You’re so cute,” Matt says, reaching over and ruffling Jack’s hair.

“Fuck off,” Jack mutters, waving him off with one hand.

“Hey, Abigail,” Seb calls, beckoning the stewardess with one hand. She offers him a smile and comes down the aisle towards us, but something about the eager way she’s looking at him sets me on edge.

“Yes, sir. How can I help?” She bats her eyelashes, and Seb gives her a panty-melting smile. Anger flares right beneath my breastbone at the way a tiny blush creeps over her cheeks.

“Can you sort the Smarties out?” Seb says, all endearing charm. “Jack here wants all the orange ones in a separate tube. For his lady love.” He grins, and Jack scowls at him.

The stewardess bows her head. “Of course, sir.”

She reaches over to Jack’s table and starts taking the tubes.

“Woah, hold up.” Jack tries to shield the Smarties. “I want to do this—”

“If I have to watch you fiddle with Smarties all the way to the Caribbean,” Seb interrupts, “I’ll eat every single one of them before you can say, ‘Seb Hawkston is the fucking bomb’.”

Jack rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair, allowing the stewardess to scoop them up and take them away. “I want tocheck them,” he calls after her, rushing up the aisle to follow her wherever she’s taking them.

Matt and Seb chuckle about Jack and how he’s a completely different man since he got with Elly. Aries, however, doesn’t seem to be listening. She keeps staring at me, and it’s weirding me out a bit, so I wipe a hand over one cheek and then the other. “Do I have something on my face?”

“Sorry. Shit. I’m staring, aren’t I?” Aries gushes.

“A bit.”