CORAL (A Romance Trilogy, Book 1) (20 page)

I shake my head remembering how I
used to be. “So after that first day, we came back every day, no matter what
the weather.” I can't help chuckling at myself. “I think more so that Gladys
could get some peace and quiet for the day, but the more she did it, the better
I got. I think it’s because I had my place to escape to, I would get lost in
thought imagining I was on one of those boats, sailing to distant islands
having an adventure. It still feels like that to me...” I drift off.

Tristan nods once, staring down
at me with those captivating eyes of his. He puts his arm around my shoulder
and squeezes me tight. Then leaning in, he softly kisses my temple. I melt,
that was so sweet!

“I don’t want to leave you,” he
murmurs.

I grin widely at him. “Have you
been listening to a word I’ve said?” I tease, bumping his shoulder, trying to
ease the magnetic pull I can feel resonating from him.

“I have to go back to Leeds
tomorrow, it’s going to seem so dull compared to this place.”

I chuckle loudly. “Yep...Brighton
certainly has charisma!”

“I wasn’t thinking about
Brighton,” he says gazing affectionately at me.

“Tristan,” I admonish softly, and
try to pull my gaze away but it’s just so difficult. He’s looking at me that
way again, as though I’m the air that he breathes, so I give in. I close my
eyes and rest my head on his broad shoulder. I really don’t understand why this
feels so...so, right?

I’ve never felt this safe with a
heterosexual male before, not even Justin, took me weeks and weeks before I
even kissed him, and I know nobody really liked him. Gladys didn’t trust him at
all, even told me so
‘he’s not to be trusted that one, be careful Coral’
in fact, I would go so far as to say she secretly hated him. Of course she was
right.

I push the memory away, I don’t
want to think about him, not while I have Tristan here with me, for some reason
it seems insulting to do so. A fleeting thought enters my mind – I know Gladys
would really like Tristan, and approve of him. I huddle even closer to him
feeling safe and peaceful, knowing somehow, that he’s completely and utterly
who he is. There’s no mask hiding any monsters, he’s honest and up front.

God, I must be confusing him so
much by now? I think through the day we’ve had, the truths, the disputes, yet
he’s still here, he hasn’t run for the trees, even though my behaviour has been
pretty despicable. I’m reminded of my rudeness towards him on Monday night,
which reminds me?

“Were you following me Monday
night?” I ask opening my eyes to gauge his reaction. Tristan shakes his head
slightly.

“No, I was headed to the gym.” We
gaze at each other for a moment I really like the fact he loves swimming as
much as I do. “For a swim,” he spookily adds. “I wanted to offer you the courtesy
of a lift.” He smiles.

“But you didn’t know where I
lived then?” I say surprised.

Tristan shrugs. “Wouldn’t have
mattered, I’d have still driven you wherever you needed to be. It would have
given me peace of mind to know you were safely there.”

“Why?” I ask incredulously.

He stares at me for the longest
time then looks out to sea. “Honestly? I don't know.” He says, shaking his head
slightly. “I just wanted to make sure you were home safely,” he adds.

“Oh.” Tristan smiles shyly at me
then gazes out to sea again. “So where was Stuart then?” I ask a little
confused. I don’t get why he would bring two cars down here, seems a little
over the top to me.

“At the hotel with the rest of
the team,” he answers.

“Oh.” I frown trying to work it
out. “So you drove your car down?” I ask.

Tristan chuckles. “Yes...I like
driving it,” he says excitedly.

“And Stuart drove down alone?” I
ask.

“No, he brought the team down.” I
quickly work it out – there were four others in his team.

“That must have been cramped.” I
chuckle sarcastically.

“Not really, Susannah was with
me.” Tristan says.

I turn and lock eyes with him,
then stand up straight, backing away as realisation dawns. “She...she was in
your car?” I gasp the green eyed monster in me rearing its ugly head.

“Y-yes?” Tristan stutters,
confused. I grit my teeth and go to walk away from him. “Hold on a minute,” he
says tugging my elbow. “Is there a problem?” He asks sharply.

“No.” I bark trying to yank my
arm out of his grasp.

“Coral,” he admonishes. “There’s
nothing there, Sus’- “I don’t want to know.” I bite, interrupting him.“Hey!”
Tristan doesn’t let go of me. “You’re jealous?” He guesses, his lips quirking
up at the corners.

“No.” I answer sounding like a
sulky child.

“You have no need to be.” He
softly says trying to reassure me.

“I’m not convinced.” I snap.

“Susannah is happily married,” he
snaps back. “And even if she wasn’t I have no interest in her.”

But I still don’t believe him,
all those pictures I found on Google, all those tall leggy blondes.

“You know, for someone who isn’t
interested in me, you’re putting on a mighty fine show of being upset about
other women. So which is it Coral, either you don’t care if I date, or you do?”
I’m stumped, he’s caught me out.

I’m about to answer him when he
suddenly looks up over my head. I follow his gaze only to see Stuart walking
down the concourse, struggling with a large cardboard box. Tristan hands me his
glass and runs over to him. They both pick the item up and walk over to where
I’m standing, bypassing me entirely, they enter my studio and place it down on
the floor. I follow them both in, placing our glasses on my tiny coffee table.

“What’s going on?” I ask
irritably.

“Where are your scissors Coral?”
Tristan asks ignoring my question.

I glare back at him. “Why?” I huff,
feeling aggravated.

Tristan rolls his eyes at me and
starts searching in the kitchenette drawers, finally locating where I keep
them. He quickly snaps the plastic binders, then he and Stuart start pulling
the cardboard off, until finally, standing in my studio is a tall white
electrical item of some sort? Stuart picks up all the cardboard, plastic, and styrofoam
padding, and leaves my studio, nodding once as he passes me.

“Um...what’s this?” I ask. Again
Tristan ignores me, which is winding me up a treat. “Tristan!” I scold. “Answer
me.” He plugs it into the nearest empty socket and switches it on. A low
humming sound fills the room. Then Tristan fiddles with a couple of buttons and
stands in front of it, holding his hands out. I think it’s a fan?

“Marvellous,” he says, grinning
widely. “The joys of technology,” he adds turning that dazzling smile on me.
His dimples deepen again and I can't help but smile back at him. Then,
curiosity gets the better of me, so I walk over to him.

He pulls me in front of the
machine and I’m shocked by how cold the air is that’s coming from it, and how
amazing it feels to have his body brush against mine. Then Tristan walks over
to the patio door and pulls it shut.

“What is it?” I ask.

“An air-conditioning unit.” He
tells me.

My eyes widen. “Aren’t they
really expensive?” I gasp.

Tristan shrugs. “Can’t have you
melting in here Coral, I couldn’t bear to think about it.” I eye the machine
again. My little studio is quickly dropping in temperature, becoming cooler,
more bearable.

“How’ – “When I made the call
earlier it was to Stuart, I asked him to see if he could locate one for you.”

“But’ – “No buts,” Tristan
playfully tells me off. “I want you to have it.” I pout back at him. He stands
behind me again. “See how much nicer it’s already becoming in here,” he adds.

I nod in wonder. “Thank you,” I
gush. “It’s great.” And I have to ask myself why I didn’t use my own savings
and purchase one? My two electric fans weren’t really doing anything. I turn
around, reach up onto my tiptoes and kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you,” I say
again. “It’s really wonderful...and thoughtful,” I add.

The atmosphere in the room
charges, his eyes become intense, dilated, as he stares back at me. His jaw
sets and I can see the passion swimming in his eyes, I’m sure mine are
reflecting the same intensity back to him. He’s dying to kiss me as I am him,
but if I let it happen I don’t think I’ll stop.

Tristan finally pulls his gaze
away, picks up his lemonade and drains the last of it. Placing it on the kitchen
counter, he silently looks back at me. I frown when I see that his expression
looks tortured. He takes two quick strides towards me, and without a word, he
pulls me into him, wrapping his one arm around my waist and his other around my
shoulders, crushing me into him.

After a moment, I do the same,
feeling the muscles in his back ripple. It feels heavenly divine. I don’t want
him to let go...

“Please think about it,” he
whispers. I know he means us, think about us. I look up at him, his eyes are
wide and dark. He leans down and kisses my forehead...
Oh Tristan, I’m
trying, I’m really trying!

He squeezes me one last time then
pulls away, and when he does, he takes his wallet out of his pocket and hands
me a card. I take it off him, and look down at it. It’s a business card. I can
see the home line of his other houses, his mobile number and all the other
numbers to reach him on at work.

“Only five people have one of
these, be careful with it, I’m very private Coral. I don’t want just anyone
getting hold of my personal numbers.” I frantically nod unable to speak,
because I know I’m not going to see him again for...till...and my heart feels
like a steel hand is crushing it; and he hasn’t even left yet.

I bring my hand to my mouth,
trying to block out the nauseous feeling that’s taking over me, literally
petrifying me. My lungs feel as though all the air has been sucked out of them,
I can't breathe! I feel like I’m free falling into some horrible nightmare,
never to wake again...

“Ok?” Tristan asks, lifting my chin
to look at him.

I nod silently again, trying to
get my lungs to work.

“So long Coral, I’ll see you
soon,” he says desperately, a hint of hope in his voice. Then with one last
kiss to my forehead, I watch his tall, strong stature disappear out of my studio.
I stare numbly at the door.
Why do I feel so empty?

A strange, horrible, aching
feeling fills my stomach –
What is that?
I look down at the floor trying
to work it out. Why do I feel like this? Why do I feel so void of all things,
even myself?
You know why....
My knees buckle and I fall to the floor,
one hand gripping my stomach, the other my chest where my heart is, trying to
stop nauseous feeling that is washing over me, wave after wave.

I stare back at the door, and I
know in that instant all I want is Tristan back in my arms, holding me close,
protecting me, loving me –
Tristan!...

SOMETHING STRANGE IS HAPPENING TO ME
. I have spent the last hour staring blankly at the wall. The only
thing that has pulled me out of it is my mobile buzzing in my handbag next to
me. I wonder if it’s Tristan calling me? The moment I think that, my heart
slams against my chest and triples its beats. My stomach fills with
butterflies, and I feel an odd ache somewhere between my heart and my abdomen.
I place my hand against my chest and try to calm my racing heart. Then I reach
over and pull my mobile out of my bag.
Crap!
It’s not Tristan, it’s not
anybody, it’s my reminder for my appointment with George tonight. I groan
inwardly.

I have two hours to go until I
see him, and for some reason I can't quiet fathom, I decide I have to see
Gladys before I see the good doctor. I want to know what Joyce has said to her.
Maybe I can find out what she’s told Tristan about me? Plus, I want to know if
Joyce will be back in tomorrow, and if she’s ok. And I think, just maybe, I
might ask her opinion on what I should do about Tristan, see him or not see
him? I keep thinking it’s just the fact that he’s going to be my boss that’s
holding me back, but in truth, I know it’s not – that’s not what’s really
stopping me.

I jump up from the sofa and
scramble as quickly as I can up the stairs, removing my clothes as I go.
Pulling on my robe, I run back down the stairs, go straight into the bathroom
and turn on the shower – Five minutes later I’m done.

With my skin creamed, I wrap my
robe around me and run back up the stairs to dress. I pull on my grey combats,
my white support vest and my flip-flops. As I’m dashing about I catch myself in
the mirror, and for a fleeting moment I don’t recognise the woman staring back
at me, she looks...happy?

I shake my head, turn away from
the mirror and dash back down the stairs. Grabbing my bag and my keys, I stop
for a moment wondering if I should leave the air conditioner on. I decide not
to, I can always cool it back down when I return.

Wondering over to it, I press the
off button. That was such a sweet thing for Tristan to have done. Tracing my
fingertips across the machine, I see Tristan standing before it, I see his
hypnotic eyes gazing back at me, his beautiful smile. And for a moment, I’m
mesmerised again...I have to shake my head to snap myself out of it!