Page 18 of Come Sail Away

Chapter Five

Harper woke the next morning with the sun reflecting off the little pool outside their suite, creating flashes of shapes on the interior wall. The day was bright and clear, unlike her head. Sully slept, one arm draped over her hip. She rested there, staring across the room for several minutes, observing the reflections of light as they danced and moved, but finally couldn’t wait any longer. She had to get out of there. She had to think. And she couldn’t do that with him this close.

He snuggled against her and then rolled the other direction. She eased from the bed and headed for the bathroom in the second bedroom, where her toiletries were. She leaned on the counter and looked at her reflection in the mirror in disbelief. She’d slept with Sully McGlamery. They’d had incredible sex, and yet the girl in the mirror looked the same.

But her heart… No, her heart had changed. She placed her palm over the center of her chest and rubbed, trying to massage away the tension.

Numbly, she washed, dressed, and ran a brush through her hair. Then she lifted her bag onto the bed and packed her things. With a sense of disconnection she rarely, if ever, felt, she traipsed into the kitchen, fixed a cup of coffee from the Keurig, and grabbed her phone, heading for the patio area by the pool.

The Florida humidity clung to her skin as soon as she closed the sliding door. The sky presented the first hint of lavender as she took a seat in a cushy lounge chair. Setting her cell phone on the small table beside her, she sat there, ridged, holding the coffee mug with both hands, and sipped.

She would be heading home today. Max would meet her at the marina at ten, and her vacation would be over. A melancholy smile tugged at her lips. It had not been the getaway she’d planned. No, it had turned out so much better. Barefoot Bay was a gorgeous, elegant resort, and her time with Sully would be something she’d hold on to forever.

Behind her, the door rolled on its tracks and closed with a click.

She turned her head and looked at Sully over her shoulder as he approached.

“Good morning,” he said. He leaned over, kissed her lightly on the lips, and dropped onto the chair next her. “I’m shocked you’re up before me.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “I usually get up early when I have somewhere I have to go. Nervous energy, I guess.”

Their eyes met, but he didn’t speak. Neither of them seemed to know what to say. Finally, he glanced away, staring at the pool. She wondered if, like her, he was remembering their water play.

She stood. “I thought I’d grab breakfast in the restaurant on my way out. Want to join me?”

He rose also. “Sounds good.” They were a foot or so apart, but neither reached for the other. After an awkward pause, he said, “I’ll go change.”

“How’s your foot?” she asked as they walked inside together.

“Doing well. The meds probably contributed to my lagging in bed, though.”

“Yeah. I imagine so.”

Harper went to get her bag while he went to change, and she was ready and waiting when he entered the living room. He peered at her suitcase, and she thought she read tension in his gaze. But he didn’t say a word as he took charge of the bag, carrying it for her.

“I can get that,” she said.

He shot her a glance that said,Not on your life. “I’ll just have the valet put it in my car.”

Harper’s heart sank as the door clacked shut behind them. It was the sound of closure. She knew she’d never have another experience like that of the past few days. Just as she knew she and Sully would be going their separate ways and staying there.