I Do

“Yeah.”

“What are they saying exactly?” he asked and she bit her lip.

“I don’t know… It’s mainly just hushed whispers that suddenly end as soon as I walk by and then the fact that everyone is suddenly my best friend… I mean, there is no big deal or anything. It is just that I know a gossip when I see one and I’m sorry but the office is full of gossips.”

Ethan grinned.

“I know. That’s why there is an NDA for each and every person who comes through those office doors. I learned my lesson when my former secretary sold pictures taken in the board room to the tabloids.”

Josie knew exactly what he was talking about. After her job offer, she had gone on a deep dive of the company she was going to be working for and found photos of Noah and his ex-wife in a heated altercation.

“Do you know those pictures actually came up in my brother’s divorce proceedings?” he asked and Josie’s lips parted but she could not talk. She was dumbfounded at how he could stand so close and just talk about work. He took another step towards her getting even closer and she gasped again. This time, her surprise was a little vocalized and he was finally touching her. He gently stroked her upper arm and then slipped an arm around her waist. He pulled her close and looked into her eyes. “I don’t care what people say. All I care about is what you say, what you think and that you are happy.”

She bit her lower lip and nodded.

He held her chin and brushed his lips gently against hers.

“I should probably say that I did not mind the other dress at all but if you feel more comfortable in this one, then I will not stand in your way.”

She smiled at him.

“Thank you,”

Ethan stroked her cheek and exhaled loudly.

“Is it so wrong that I really don’t want to go to dinner?” he asked and Josie shook her head before she gently pushed him off.

“Well, I don’t know about you but I have two very important gentlemen that I do not wish to let down,” she said as she walked to the bed and picked up her clutch bag.

“You and my nephews are really hitting it off. No, you have already hit it off with them.”

Ethan walked to the door and she shrugged.

“They are charming little guys those two. I am confident that they will break some hearts pretty soon.”

Ethan opened the door for her.

“Oh they already are,” he said as she walked out.

                                                            *****

Dinner was perfect and it was just what Ethan needed: some time alone with Josie. They first passed by the heated pool where Nate and Zach were. It was clear that Josie took her promises seriously. She had told the boys that she would see them before they went to bed and according to Noah, their going to the pool was a protest.

“They usually go down like flies after dinner. I cannot have them wandering about the ship after they eat,” Noah had said.

“I’ll be there,” Josie had assured him.

“Just what did you do to my sons?” Noah asked. “They never warm up to people this fast. You are like…slim jims to a dog.”

Josie smiled.

“I don’t know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult,” she said.

“Believe me. It’s a compliment,” Ethan had told her.

After getting the boys back to their rooms, Josie helped them into their pajamas before she read them a story. By the time she and Ethan were getting to their table, it was already half past nine.

“It is a little late to be having dinner, right?” she asked as they sat down.

“Well, that is the beautiful thing about being on vacation. You can do whatever you want without necessarily having to adhere to a time schedule,” Ethan explained. “Plus, I have a twenty-year-old bottle of wine that will make the biggest problems seem irrelevant.”

Josie smiled as she looked around. Ethan had arranged for a table on a private deck and it was just what Josie needed. Some time away from the prying eyes and intrusive questions. All she heard was the distant music from the main deck and the soft waves crashing against the rocks in the distance. The city lights were beckoning on the horizon and at that moment, Josie felt guilty for waiting this long to appreciate the little things in nature.

“This is all so beautiful,” she said in a soft voice. “I’m almost sad that I can’t share this with the world.”

Ethan smiled as he topped up her glass of wine.

“You say things like that and I realize just how lucky I am that the universe let me have you in my life,” he said.

She raised her glass to her lips and smiled back at him before she took a sip of her wine. They had a great seafood dinner and then they started talking about their past. Ethan told her about all the women he thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with. He had been with a number of women but he had only ever been serious with two of them and they had all broken his heart. As it turned out, they all had one thing in common. They were all looking for a payday.

“I was almost too certain that I would never let myself be vulnerable ever again,” Ethan said in a soft voice. “But that is the thing with memories, isn’t it?”

She shook her head.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, memories are great,” he started as he pushed his chair back and stood up. He walked to one side of the deck and grabbed a blanket. “They allow us to relive the happiness in our lives and give us a chance to enjoy life in full bliss. Perhaps just as a drive to let us have a chance to make more memories but on the flip side, memories also imprison us in the past. That is how I knew that I was going to find love again.” He draped the blanket around her shoulders.

“Love?” she asked in a whisper as he stood behind her.

He bent down and leaned his head against hers.

“Yes, isn’t it obvious by now?”

He was whispering and she could not help but wonder if the slight flutter in her stomach was just her nerves or the fact that she was actually moved by what he had just said. It could also have been the wine. They had downed an entire bottle of very, very good wine. For Ethan, he knew that his confidence was all thanks to the alcohol that was now coursing through his bloodstream. He walked back to his seat and looked at her.

“What about you?” he asked. “You never seem to want to talk about your past.”

She shrugged.