Chapter 4

After dressing, Laura and Remington had returned to the villa, where he'd removed a chilled bottle of champagne from the ice bucket. His eyes rested on her as he uncorked the bottle, watching as she set her hair free of the French braid, finger combing it, then letting it hang loose to dry. He couldn't say why he found the natural curl of her hair so endearing. Maybe it was a simple as the fact the only time she allowed it to curl wild and free was when they were alone. It bespoke of… intimacy. He shrugged his shoulders, and poured them each a flute of champagne. Handing her one, he raised his, signaling a toast.

"To us," he proposed, enunciating each word, as a pair of intense blue eyes met her brown ones. She blinked, as butterflies inexplicably fluttered in her stomach, and raised her glass.

"To us," she seconded, her eyes never leaving his as their arms entwined in a lover's toast. The first sip bubbled against her lips and tongue. "It's good," she commented.

"I'm glad you approve," he grinned, then lifted a silver lid from a platter to reveal a bowl of chocolate dipped strawberries that made her mouth positively water. Picking up the bowl, he gestured towards the veranda. "Shall we?"

They situated themselves on a lounge chair, she seated between his legs, her head resting against a shoulder. When he lifted a strawberry and held it before her mouth, she took a bite of the succulent fruit.

"You romantic, you," she teased after she'd swallowed the bite.

"Mmmm, and I've yet to even begin." With a lift of his brows he drew the strawberry along a shoulder then bowed he his head to savor her flavored skin.

He took his time about it, offering her a bite here, treating himself to a taste there. When he lifted a fall of hair over her shoulder, and trailed a berry along the back of her neck, she shivered and pulled in a soft breath at the sensation, and tangled her fingers with those on the hand at her waist. Finally setting aside the fruit, he used a pair of fingers to tip back her chin and he leaned in for a dazzling kiss that left her breathless.

"You're in rare form," she observed, blinking up at him.

"The sound of the waves crashing against the shore…" He spattered soft kisses across her face as he spoke. "The moonlight glistening on the water… You, in my arms… How could I not be?" She smiled up at him and lay her fingertips at his jaw. "As a matter of fact, there's only one thing more I could wish for." Her eyes widened, and a smile lifted her lips, as her hand caressed his neck.

"Oh? And what might that be?" He cupped her face in his hand, his thumb stroking her cheek, as a pair of bright blue eyes intently examined her face.

"Marry me, Laura. Marry me… here… on Christmas Eve."