Marriage Reunited

Chapter Nine

Lilly would always remember that day as one of those simple yet perfect days that made all the crappy days bearable. It had been so perfect from the moment that they'd landed on the island. It wasn't just the beautiful surroundings or the hot weather but rather the fact that she had finally started to reconnect with Connor. There'd been no pressure to go back to how things were and yet it was almost like it used to be. They'd connected just like they always had and conversation had been easy between them. They'd caught each other up on what had been going on in their lives over the past few years without touching on any of the awkward subjects that would have spoilt it.

Lilly had been enjoying wandering along the beach and dipping her feet in to the sea, it was Connor who insisted that they go back before she started to burn. Their light conversation continued all the way back to the lodge and for once Lilly didn't find herself overthinking things but instead simply enjoyed herself.

When they arrived back at the lodge Connor insisted that she go and sit out on the deck and she readily complied. The view was magnificent from there and she smiled as she sat quietly listening to the sound of the ocean breeze. When Connor returned she was surprised to find that he came bearing cocktails and she accepted one with a smile.

"Cocktails?" she asked for she hadn't thought Connor would be the type to drink them. When they'd been together he had preferred stronger spirits or the occasional wine.

"You can't have a holiday without there being cocktails," he insisted and her smile widened. It was just like Connor to think of every detail. It was why they had always worked so well together. She could be quite scatter-brained and focused on the things in life that inspired her while he had always been the one who organised those scattered thoughts in to a reality.

"I wouldn't know since I've never had a holiday before," Lilly said. Connor stared at her in mock horror as he put a hand to his chest and acted with great dramatic flare.

"Never had a holiday? You know what they saw about all work and no play," he said and Lilly rolled her eyes. She'd forgotten how he could make her laugh while playing an absolute fool.

"I hear it makes people dull," she said as she sipped at her drink. Connor frowned at that as he took a sip of his own drink.

"The way I hear it all work and no play means that you end up with the world on your shoulders and no way to relieve the stress," Connor said. Lilly concentrated on her drink. She didn't want to let him know how close he'd come with that assessment. She'd felt like the world had been on her shoulders for too many years and had been too proud to let anyone help her ease the load.

"Maybe that just applies to men with billion pound businesses and high powered clients," she suggested. Connor gave a noncommittal shrug at that as he observed her. Lilly could tell that she hadn't fooled him at all and she thought it was odd how well he knew her even after all this time apart.

"I haven't heard you mention your dad. How's he doing?" Connor asked, eager to change the subject. He'd thought that discussing her father would have given her something else to focus on but wasn't prepared for the way that she tensed and shot him a wary look.

"I haven't seen much of dad recently," she said evasively and it made Connor wonder what it was that she wasn't saying. It frustrated him that they seemed to have so many secrets and every conversation was a battlefield covered in those untold secrets. No matter how careful he was he always managed to step on one and make things awkward between them again.

"I thought you made a point of seeing him regularly," Connor said. It had been a bone of contention between them when they had gotten married because her father hadn't approved of him and had tried to create problems between them. Lilly had always stuck up for her father and had ignored the fact that they didn't get along.