Page 56 of Into the Blue
I watch her dance among the foaming waves, my heart open. I’m ready for it, though, if that’s what she wants. Ready to love again. And even if she walks away, it’s all thanks to her.
My phone buzzes with a notification. I glance at the screen.
Shit.
It’s a message, from the council. It’s been four days since the meeting, and the results from the sealed vote are in. I click on it, my hand shaking slightly.
And my stomach drops.
“Hey.” Jade, tanned and gorgeous, water droplets glistening on every inch of her lean form, lies her board in the sand and drops down onto the towel next to me. She leans in for a kiss, but pauses. “What’s happened?”
I say nothing, because I can’t. I know my expression is giving it away anyway. I show her my phone.
“No,” she breathes. Then, louder. “No!” She grips my arm, her fingers ocean-cool on my heated skin. “We’ll get the money, Axe. Have you heard anything more from the banks?”
Because the council have approved the land sale to my family. The only thing that can save us now is if someone outbids them. And at the moment, Jade and I don’t have enough money to do that.
“I’m going to go to Jakarta,” I say. Jade’s fingers tighten on my arms. “I’m going to go to the banks, and I’m going to drop my family name and I’m going to beg them to loan me the money. Fuck!” I drop my head, running my hand through my hair. “It’s a long shot, but it’s the only one we have left, unless we can magic up some sort of angel investor. I have friends with money, but none with the sort of cash we need.”
Jade’s head rests on my shoulder. She turns, her lips brushing my skin. “We can do this, Axe. I refuse to give up hope. I’ll come with you, and?—”
“No. I need to do this alone. You’ll be too much of a distraction.” I turn, kissing her, wanting to soften the words. “In the best way, of course.”
“I’m also someone who could help you.” There’s a line between her brows, a faint glimmer of hurt in her green gaze.
“You help me simply by being here. Please. Stay here. Be my safe harbour for when I return.”
“That’s very romantic but don’t think you’re going to get away with sweet-talking me out of coming with you,” she says.
“Fine.” I grin, despite my anguish. “But I still want to do this alone. You don’t need to be dragged into all this shit with my family. And someone needs to keep an eye on things in case they decide to show up and start work before the sale goes through.”
“Oh, and what am I supposed to do? Lie down in front of the bulldozers?” Her tone is humorous, but there’s still an undercurrent of hurt. I get it. But I don’t know how else to explain to her that I need to do this alone. I try again.
“This is what my family does. They come in, and they take what they want. They don’t care who they hurt to get it. And Jade, I can take their bullshit. But the last thing I want is for you to get hurt. So please, I’m begging you, let me go and do this. I’ll be back in a couple of days.” I hold her gaze, wanting to show her how much I care, how much I trust her to be here, to keep things safe.
She sighs, her expression softening. “Fine. I’ll stay here and watch over everything for you, like a good little guard dog.” She grins, kissing me. “Promise me, though, that you’ll come back to me.”
“Always,” I say, cupping her face with my hand, kissing her again. “I’ll always come back to you, Jade.”
ChapterThirty-Four
Jade
Axel is gone. We clung to each other in the early morning light before he left, sharing long soft kisses once our passion was spent. He’s only been away for a day and a half, but I feel as though a piece of me is missing. I always thought that was a cliché, thought I was a strong independent woman, despite all the years I spent with Zach. Always thought that I’d never give any part of myself away. Yet here I am.
I haven’t given anything away, though, I realise. Apart from my heart. I love him. It’s a wild love, primal, welling up inside me like the spring rising from the rock in The Cave of the Waters. I can’t tell him, though. Not yet. It’s far too soon, even though it feels like the most natural thing in the world.
It’s frustrating not to be going with him, but I get it, I suppose. Still, it stings to not be able to do anything to help. There’s no sign of movement on the land next door, thank god. I’m not sure what I’d do if there was. I kind of wasn’t joking about lying down in front of the bulldozers.
I potter around Axel’s house, burying my face in his clothes to breathe in his scent, drinking coffee on the long veranda as the waves roll in. Maybe I should go surfing. Or maybe I should just lie here and dream about what might be possible. I curl up on the sofa, my hand running across the batik cushion. I suppose he got it from the artisan centre.
Then I sit bolt upright, startling Nimue, who uncurls and leaps from the sofa, shooting me a reproachful glance.
An angel investor.
That’s what Axel said he needed, but he didn’t know anyone with enough cash to help us.
But I do. I know the perfect person.
