[18+] Mark just wants a quiet life. With plenty of action at work, he has no interest in bringing the drama home with him. But he does need a flatmate, and when blonde bombshell Zoe crashes onto the scene, she's more than he bargained for.
Zoe is a...
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March 2011
ZOE
It's one of those days. The ones where everything that could possibly go wrong, goes wrong. A plumbing disaster. Broken wi-fi. An ill head chef. Double-booked rooms. Angry customers.
Among the chaos, there is a strong force keeping me grounded. Richard and I have made a great team since moving to Spain, and today we divide and conquer. He tackles the behind-the-scenes technical issues, while my Spanish is put to the test dealing with the customer-facing problems.
Adrenaline sees me through, and every problem I solve lights a flame of confidence that powers me through the next one. I can't cower in the corner and wait for the day to pass. I step up. I delegate. I suggest a reduced menu and then reallocate one cleaner and one waiter to the kitchen to help support the other chefs. I call up other hotels in the vicinity, ask them if they have any spare rooms.
Every hour, Richard and I check in with each other. We re-group, re-prioritise, and keep going until everything is back on track.
When we stumble into our flat later that night, exhausted yet buzzed from the day's events, he cups my face in his hands and presses me up against the wall.
"Best decision I ever made coming to Spain with you." He kisses me once, twice, three times, until I'm laughing and pushing against his chest to beg for air.
"It wasn't your decision," I remind him, hooking my thumbs in his belt loops. "They asked me to pick a colleague, and I decided you'd make me look good."
"Mm, more like you decided you couldn't bear to spend a year away from me."
"Sure. That was the real reason."
"In a few years, you'll look back on today as the day your boyfriend helped you earn your boss's undying approval."
I click my tongue. "I'll be running my own hotel in a few years, thank you very much."
"Hell, yeah, you will." He grins. "And I'll be your biggest competitor. But don't worry, I'll still be on hand to help you out of sticky situations."
"That a promise?" I raise my eyebrows at him. "Even when I'm draining your client base due to running the better hotel, you'll still help me out?"
"Of course. We're a team." Still cradling my jaw, he tips my head back to look up into his twinkling brown eyes. "Look at what our teamwork achieved in just one day." He plants a soft kiss to my forehead. "Imagine what we could achieve in a lifetime." The next kiss lands on the bridge of my nose, before his lips dip down to mine. "Marry me, Z," he whispers against my mouth.
My stomach somersaults. That sounded suspiciously like a proposal. Our relationship has intensified over the past six months, but we've never talked about the future. Long-term. There are two other people in the picture who we agreed would take priority if they ever resurfaced. Mine hasn't. And neither has his.
