Two Days in Biarritz by Michelle Jackson Read Free Book Online Page A

quiet.
    “Let’s go down to the shore,” Annabel beckoned and Nico smiled his approval.
    In the distance the tall beacon cast its light around the shore and back out to the wide gaping black of the sea. Sporadic lights guided their eyes from the imposing Hotel du Palais across the cliff face. Every now and again the waves crashed forcefully in their relentless battle to reach further up the beach.
    “It is a good noise, huh?” Nico said, stopping still for a moment.
    Annabel stood beside him and listened carefully to the cacophony of energy filling her ears.
    “I like it,” she nodded her head in agreement.
    “I think, Annabel you are a lady of many secrets.”
    “What gives you that impression?” she asked, puzzled by his comment.
    “You seem like you are hiding something – or someone.”
    Annabel was amazed at his astuteness. There was no harm in telling him about Damien, she would probably never see him again after tonight.
    “Maybe I have someone, or did but it couldn’t be,” Annabel smiled.
    “Come now, surely you don’t think there is only one person for you!” he exclaimed. “I believe I can be happy with many different women!”
    Annabel curled her lips up and frowned, until she resembled a stern schoolteacher. “Nico, I’ll be forty next week and I can honestly say, hand on my heart, that there was only one big love in my life. Yes, I am happy with my husband and could have been happy with someone else but you only get one bite of the cherry.”
    Nico frowned in a naïve attractive way, unsure what she meant by a bite of the cherry.
    Annabel gazed into Nico’s brown eyes and for an instant she wanted to kiss him. His eyes were not unlike Damien’s, but were more youthful than all those years ago when she shared her love with him on the ferry. They paused for a moment with only the sound of the ocean as a reminder that they stood on a beach.
    “Do you mind if we go back to the hotel?” Annabel asked.
    “That’s okay.” Disappointment was evident in Nico’s voice. He had secretly hoped she would mellow under the symphony of the waves. They walked slowly up the promenade until their hotel came into view, the tension between them building with each step.
    Nico held the door open as they entered the hotel. He caught her by the wrist so she could move no further. Then he leaned forward and softly whispered in her ear.
    “Please, come to my room.”
    Annabel closed her eyes. She needed to be transported back to the cabin on the ship. She desperately wanted to feel adored. Her lovemaking with Colin had become stale and routine and the strong and sensual way that Nico gripped her left her feeling powerless.
    “Okay,” she murmured softly.
    She couldn’t remember the ride in the lift to Nico’s room. The smell of salty wetsuits and surfing equipment wafted around her as he opened the bedroom door.
    “It is in a bit of a mess,” Nico said, scratching his head and looking around the untidy room.
    “It’s okay,” Annabel assured him. She was feeling her age as Nico settled the bedcovers and kicked the clothing that lay on the floor under the bed.
    “Would you like a drink?” Nico asked, pointing to a bottle of Kahlua on the dressing-table.
    “Why not?” Annabel shrugged.
    Nico rushed into the bathroom where he found two glasses that he proceeded to rinse. He filled them to the brim with Kahlua and handed one to Annabel, who was feeling surprisingly in control of the situation. She took a sip and put it down on the dressing-table. Again their eyes met as they had done on the beach and Annabel knew this time that she wanted him. No one would ever know and she would be in the lobby before Kate. She took Nico’s glass and placed it down beside hers. She felt as though she was possessed by someone else, a cooler more confident version of herself that had never really existed.
    Staring into his eyes she slowly undid the buttons on her blouse one by one. Images of Colin and her children in