The Research Project

Chapter Eighteen

"So, what do you think?" Byron asked, coming to stand behind her as they both gazed out at the view.

They were standing on the balcony of Byron's holiday house in Hyams Beach. It was so quiet here and Lainey loved it. She couldn't believe that she'd never heard of this place before, but then, her mother had never taken her away on a holiday anywhere. She simply couldn't afford to. Maybe she could take her on a holiday now that she was making it big time as a writer.

"Amazing. I've always dreamed of owning something just like this, away from the city so that I can hide away and write. This is so lovely, Byron."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, Byron was just watching her.

"I thought you'd like it. You're welcome to use it anytime you want."

She spun around to face him fully, leaning back against the railing so that she could look up into his eyes. "Really? You would let me do that?"

"Of course."

Lainey knew she shouldn't ask the question, but it slipped out anyway. "Have you ever let anyone else have that privilege?"

"I was in a relationship for five years, so, yes," he told her, watching her carefully.

"You've never told me about your past before," she said to him. It was true, she knew very little about his family, his past relationships, what he was like as a kid. "Soo, what happened?" she asked when he didn't say anything else. Men could be so minimalist sometimes.

"I worked too much. She left me."

"Oh," Lainey said. "That's actually something I can relate to."

"Your ex was a workaholic?"

"No, not my ex. Me. I spent most of my weekends living in my writing cave. He was bored, no wonder he left me."

"You're not boring, Lainey," Byron murmured, playing with a strand of her loose, blonde hair.

"That... that's good," she said shyly.

"Come here," he said, taking her by the hand and leading her to a large moon shaped lounge in one corner of the balcony. There was a blanket folded up in the corner and he shook it out. He motioned with his head for her to sit down on the lounge and when she did he placed the blanket over her.

"Glass of wine?" he asked as he moved over to a small bar fridge situated nearby.

"Seems appropriate."

He returned with a glass for each of them. Lainey sat up on the day bed, but still kept the blanket hugged around her. Byron handed her a glass and came back into the daybed with his own, pulling the blanket back over his body. Lainey took a sip and snuggled into him as they gazed out at the view. This was about as close to heaven as she could get.

"I feel like I can breathe out here, clean air, no phone coverage, no internet," he said.

Lainey looked at him, his eyes were closed. "You seem a lot more relaxed now," she said.

He closed his eyes and Lainey drank him in, marvelling at the sight of this beautiful man and how important he'd become to her. He opened his eyes again and noticed her watching him.

"What are you thinking?"

"How wrong my first impressions of you were."

He smiled. "If I remember correctly, you didn't even think that I was suitable as the hero for a romance novel."