The Foretelling (Charlotte Bloom #1) (24 page)

I began to kiss him faster but a second later it was over. I could still taste him in my mouth, and I craved more. I certainly did not kiss like THAT anymore. Kissing usually led to other things, but this was stand-alone amazing. It was gentle, sweet, and short. I wanted more, but I knew that if I actually wanted to take things slow and not rush into anything, I should hold off on the more passionate kissing. I closed my eyes to block the waves of pleasure out.

"I've been wanting to do that ever since you showed up late to the first dinner," Alec said.

"I'm glad you did."

"I hope you stay," he said, looking at me earnestly.

"I hope I do, too."

It was true. All week I’d been thinking about my life here, and what I was going to do once Helen and George didn’t need me anymore. Going back to my life in L.A. made the most sense. Harry wouldn’t be a part of the picture. Maybe I’d move to New York, like I'd always wanted to. My dad was Irish, so I could get dual citizenship and move to Dublin. The world was my oyster. Where did I want to end up? How did I want my life to go? Just like a few moments ago, before I had kissed Alec, I wasn’t sure where my life would take me. But now I wanted to stay as long as it made sense. I wanted to have fun, to kiss Alec, to ride horses, to drink beer, to eat Welsh food, to hang out with Mary, to run along the Welsh coast. I wanted all of that right now. I didn’t have to decide for my whole future right now. I could live in the moment. I could do this. I was happy.
I was so happy.

We talked for hours about everything, from our childhoods to our love lives. He filled me in on Natasha, and I confided in him that Harry and I were officially pursuing a divorce. I held nothing back. I mean, why would I? I felt like I’d known him for years. Suddenly, meeting Alec six weeks ago seemed like forever ago. There was a time when I didn’t know him? It seemed unrealistic and odd. I still felt the electricity from the kiss. It was there as we talked, and every time he touched me, I’d catch on fire all over again.

It got colder and colder, and even though I had his jacket on, I was still cold from not moving and just sitting on the beach. We got up and headed back on Nigel. I was happy, content… and tired. Alec sat up front this time, and we walked slowly the whole way back to the Parc. Neither one of us wanted this night to end; it had been truly magical. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d felt this happy. I was so excited for the future. I was excited to wake up, full of life, ready to discover new things or try something different.

I leaned my head against Alec’s back, and kept my hands clasped around his waist. Nigel was much smoother than Bo, in my opinion, but maybe I was biased. Before long, I’d dozed off. I awoke to Alec unclasping my hands from around him. It was light out. We’d stayed out all night talking. I felt him gently pick me up in his arms and walk through the front door. I felt him reach into my parka for my keys, and the last thing I remember was Alec kissing me on the lips softly, before putting me in my bed, taking off my jacket and boots, tucking me in, and leaving.

***

I woke up the next day around noon, feeling sluggish from going to bed so late, but also… so exuberant and happy. I was legitimately happy. It was a weird feeling, this feeling of happiness and sense of belonging. Somehow, I was being tethered to all of this. I had to succumb. I felt like some force out of my control was in charge. Like Alec had suggested, I just had to keep doing things that made me happy.

I sprang out of bed and put on my running gear. I opened my small window to check the temperature. It was brisk and cloudy, but not cold. I put on Mary’s running leggings and the fitted running jacket. I tied my shoes, put on my watch to check my heart rate, grabbed my room key, and walked out. I heard a murmur of voices coming from the common room. Helen was sitting behind the desk, glued to the computer screen.

"Ah, Charlotte, there you are! I didn’t see you at breakfast. I figured you might’ve still been feeling sick," she said, giggling. "As a matter of fact, I haven’t seen Alec, either. Did he get sick too?"

"Uh, yeah, he must’ve been sick too." She looked at me curiously. I had to give in. They would figure it out eventually. "OK, you caught us. We were just talking. We didn’t realize the time. Nothing happened," I explained, feeling like I needed to explain that I wasn’t a cheater, or rebounding with the groom at the Welsh bed and breakfast.

"Charlotte, you don’t need to explain anything. I’m not going to judge you for falling in love, dear," she said softly. "I’ve never seen Alec so happy. I consider him like a son to me, so that’s saying a lot."

"Really?"

"Yes. I think you were meant to come here for some reason. I think destiny pointed you our way, and you’ve done nothing but make it happier and better here," she continued. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear those words until I felt a tear drip down my cheek.

"I love it here," I said, a sob escaping me. I was overly emotional. Her words had struck a chord.

"Well, that’s good, because you have a job to do here, and a man that seems to care an awful lot about you."

She came over and hugged me tenderly. I wondered if it was possible to feel closer to this woman that I’d only met six weeks ago than to my own mother. I sobbed into her shirt for a few seconds more, completely overwhelmed. There was a reason I was here. I was doing good all around. Helen had validated that.

"I’m going on a run. Thank you, for everything. You and George have changed my life, for the better. So much better," I admitted. It was true. They’d taken a chance on me and I would be eternally grateful.

Helen waved me off, and I set out on my run. I started slow; I hadn’t had a proper run in a couple of months. I knew I’d be out of shape. I slowly jogged down the driveway to warm up, and once I got onto the road, I sped up. There was no shoulder, so I ran on the dirt paralleling the road. After a mile or so, I saw a trail leading down onto the beach. I quickened my pace, sprinting across the road and down the trail, running as fast as I could without falling, breathing heavily. I felt the blood pumping through my whole body, and soon I started to get the runner’s high. I could feel the sweat dripping down my face, and the muscles all over my body worked to move me forward as efficiently and as quickly as possible.

I ran along the beach, towards the forest where Alec had taken me last night. I needed a break from the sand, and the packed dirt felt amazing on my calves after a mile in the sand. I slowed my pace a bit, trying to find a clear-cut trail. I didn’t see one, but I knew I was headed in the right direction. Trees faded quickly as I ran past them, leaping over branches and piles of leaves. My legs were on fire from the unfamiliar terrain, but I needed to run. I felt the urge on a deeper-than-physical level. My mind was pulling me forward. My body was succumbing.

Finally, out of breath and dripping with sweat, I ended up on the same cliff from last night. I stood there, hands on my hips, doubled over for a minute to catch my breath. I hadn’t realized that this was where I wanted to come until now. When I cooled down, I sat on the edge without being scared. I smiled. Alec had helped me conquer one of my fears. I felt invincible.

I sat there for what seemed like an hour, just thinking. I’d only just been here with Alec, twelve hours ago, and he’d kissed me. Could I have imagined this to be my life when I flew to Swansea six weeks ago? How could I have known that I would be doing PR for a small B&B in Wales, riding horses, eating a lot of beef stew, and kissing a handsome Irish man? It seemed crazy, and yet, not out of the ordinary. It felt like a natural progression. I hadn’t even mourned the loss of my marriage.

When I thought that, I realized… I
had
mourned my marriage. For five months, I’d mourned my marriage. Ever since the day Lainey had told me that Harry and I would not end up together, I’d mourned our happy memories, our life together, and what could’ve been. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but I was saying goodbye, slowly. I had been living each day as if we'd had an end date, which we had. I wasn’t mourning the loss of my husband anymore, because I’d already done all of the crying and moping. I wasn’t 100% over it, but I realized that I was way more grounded than I should be for just having been left by my husband of almost seven years.

I was only a short distance from the pub, so I decided to visit Mary and possibly get a ride back to the Parc. My legs were already cramping, so there was no way I could make it back to the Parc at this point. I was completely exhausted. I walked quickly down the cliff, and wound around the forest, heading back towards the road. I walked south for a mile before getting to the front door of the pub. I’d figured out how to get around here fairly quickly. There was only one main road, which paralleled the beach, so it was easy to find your way. I hoped I didn’t seem too sweaty and gross. The doorbell chimed as I walked in and, lucky for me, Mary was sitting at the bar, looking bored. I guessed they didn’t get much business on Saturday afternoons.

"Well, well, well… look what just walked through the door," she joked. "Henry told me that you and Alec were out all night. He’s the night guard. He sees all." She looked me up and down. "Also, did you
run
here? It’s over ten miles."

"I needed to clear my head," I explained. It was true. I could tell I had run a far distance because two hours had passed. "Alec kissed me last night."

"Shut. Up," she squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. She poured me a glass of Guinness and brought it over, sitting far too close for me to feel comfortable in my current state.

"It’s true. Hey, can I please get some chips or something? I haven’t eaten all day. I woke up at noon because we were up all night talking."

Mary held a finger up and ran into the kitchen. A second later, she brought out a massive bag of crisps and sat back down, opening them for me.

"Spill."

I sat there talking and gesturing with my hands in between taking sips of my beer. I didn't leave a single detail out.

"Anyways, it was a short kiss, but I am a goner. I am so far gone, Mary. And I’m scared."

I sat there sipping my beer and munching on my crisps. It felt a little counter-intuitive to be drinking beer and eating crisps after a run, but I reasoned that I needed some sodium and carbs to balance the electrolytes and calories lost from so much sweating.

"That’s so romantic," she sighed. "I’ve known Alec for a long time, Charlotte. He’s never acted this way about anyone. He never took Gemma riding," she offered.

"I’m sure I’m not the only one in all the eight years he’s worked here. I mean… just look at him."

"I don’t think you get it. I don’t even know if he’s ever been in love."

I let that sink in for a minute. He’d never been in love? Surely, that wasn’t true. He was so handsome. Then I thought about his personality when I first met him, and reasoned that it made sense that no one had gotten this far with him. He didn’t let people in easily. Maybe he had been waiting for the right person. In reality though, how often did guests stay long enough to get to know him? It was just a matter of him opening up to me because he had gotten to know me. There was no other reason. I wasn’t… the one. I couldn’t possibly be his type. Natasha… she was his type. I was just convenient.

"We’ll see where it goes," I added casually. If I was being honest, I was terrified of admitting my intense feelings for Alec.

"I have to ask, because he’s my husband’s best friend. Where do you see this going?"

"That’s not a fair question. We haven't even had a first date!"

"Can you honestly tell me that this is just a casual vacation fling?"

"Of course not, but, what, ask Alec to move to Los Angeles? Do long distance? None of those things appeal to me."

"Well, what if you stayed in Wales?"

"I feel like you’re biased," I joked, grabbing her hand. "I would love that. If not only because we could share clothes," I teased. We both laughed for a bit. "But in all honesty, I just can’t think that far ahead. I am an open book. Wherever fate takes me, I will go. I’ve never felt this way about a guy, that’s for sure."

"Not even your ex-husband?"

"Nope. With him, it was sex, sex, sex, all of the time. We had sex the first night we met. It was fun at first, but then I think we both realized after a few years that you can’t build a relationship on sex. There needs to be trust, friendship, compatibility. We didn’t have any of that. We didn’t have the same fine-tuned connection that Alec and I seem to have. I’ve probably only spent a total of ten hours with the guy, and in all my life, I’ve never felt more connected to someone."

Mary sat there across from me, sipping water and looking out of the window. She was quiet for a few more minutes.

"He’s going to want you to stay. You’ve opened Pandora’s box," she added.

"I know. I’ll deal with it when it comes." I finished my beer. I decided to ask Mary something that had been on my mind all morning. "How did you decide to stay? You only knew Henry for four days, right? What made you stay?"

"I don’t know. I had nothing holding me back, I guess. I finished university online, and my parents and friends were fully supportive. I think I just knew. I knew Henry was
the one.
Even though he was legally still married, and even though we didn’t have our first date until a couple of months after we met, I knew it was him. Nothing else mattered."