The Duchess of York

Margaret- The Beach

When I opened my eyes the first thing I noticed was the warm body next to me, this week had been a lot of firsts for me and it seemed it was only the beginning of an interesting turn of events. Dominick had insisted on buying us a new wardrobe to bring back to England with us, the amount of cocktail dresses, business skirts and blouses he had bought was nearly overwhelming. He of course looked amazing in all of the new suits he had bought and he had even decided to buy a few sets of jeans and T-shirts after I had teased him for being uptight. Being in Aruba had changed both of us, he was nice, caring and I felt myself opening up to him. It had been three days, our plane to England was set to leave early Sunday morning, Dominick said he would have to go straight to the office Monday morning. A week of no business seemed to be a new experience for him, but he took it in stride. Dominick draped an arm over my waist and started to kiss my exposed shoulder, that was the other thing, our physical interactions I thought would have been solely one occurrence but Dominick and I were constantly touching or looking at each other. It was always one thing leading to another, I enjoyed it, though that thought made me nervous. In England Dominick would find a new girl to enjoy at night while I sat in the estate by myself. I had already decided that no man could ever compare to Dominick so the effort in trying wouldn't be worth it. I felt his lips on my shoulder and I melted back into him.

"Good morning Love." His husky voice wafted over me and I basked in the brilliance that was this moment, I would enjoy every second of him I could get for the remaining days.

"Good morning, I think the staff left us food for breakfast in the parlor. Shall we make our way to it?" I felt Dominick move behind me and I thought he was going to get up out of bed, instead he pushed me on my back and started to make me melt in his arms. It wasn't until nearly noon that we finally emerged from the bedroom. The breakfast we had asked for every morning so far was waiting near the elevator, I walked up to it I buttered the toast that Dominick liked and I also grabbed grapefruit and raspberries, he had told me that he wasn't much of a breakfast person so he only liked toast and fruit in the morning. I on the other hand couldn't resist any food, I loaded my plate up with the scrambled eggs and bacon that was on the tray. I grabbed a yogurt and a small bowl of blackberries to enjoy on the side along with my own slice of buttered toast. Dominick had mentioned that he liked that I didn't try and diet in front of him, he didn't quite say he liked me but I appreciated that he liked something about me. That was enough for me. I carried the food back to the table where Dominick was already sitting with a copy of the Financial Times, our morning coffee brewed, Dominick had taken to preparing both of our cups while I prepared the food.

"Anything interesting happening this morning?" I asked setting down the food and taking a seat, when Dominick didn't answer I looked up to find him frowning. His brows were furrowed and I had to stop the urge to run a finger over the crease. Instead of pestering him, I waited, I knew he was concentrating on what he was reading and I saw no point in disrupting him. I focused on eating the eggs that the hotel chef so expertly made, truly I had good food before but every dish I had experienced here had been phenomenal. After a few moments Dominick set the paper down, his eyes were closed and he was rubbing his temples. Slowly I stood up and walked over to him, I rested my hands on his shoulders and slowly began massaging them.

"Love what's wrong?" I asked as I placed a tentative kiss on his forehead, it was an intimate move but it felt natural and he seemed to relax into me.

"A competitor is trying to buy the same company that we are! The bastard somehow heard of the offer I gave them, he publicly published his offer! I have to call Adam to sort it out. Damn it!" Dominick quickly moved away and started pacing, his phone already in his hand and dialing his assistant. I watched as Dominick paced, I wanted to help but I didn't know how. In the end I wrote out a quick note, and left the pent house. I went to the ground floor and walked out the lobby, I spotted Eva, the receptionist who had flirted with Dominick the first day we arrived. Her glare at me wasn't missed, I just didn't care. I walked out to the beach that was less than a block away, the waves rolled lazily to the shore as I walked right up to the water. I decided to enjoy the sun and waves against my skin, I slipped off the sandals that Dominick had bought me because, as he said it made my legs look longer. The sensation of the waves rolling over my feet brought a sense of calm over me, breathing in the sea salt air I closed my eyes as the sun heated my skin. I completely understood why people vacationed to the tropics, it felt like I was being renewed. The stress and drama of London and my everyday life didn't exist here. As I stood in the water pondering the differences between London and Aruba I couldn't help the onslaught of worries. In a few short days this moment of bliss would end for the rest of my life, I tried to ignore it but the truth was slowly creeping in on me. I would never want to be with anyone who wasn't Dominick, my heart and body yearned for him in a way I had never anticipated. When we finally returned to the estate our lives, my life, would become a dull shadow. Nothing I would ever do would bring me the same contentedness of Aruba, Dominick would become cruel again, the sweet smile he would show me here could never appear back home. Right? I tried to take in another breath of salty air but it just caught in my throat as a sob threatened to spill out. For what felt like the hundredth time I grieved for the future that was taken from me. Taken from Dominick.