CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE. Drew moved under the covers, stretching her legs out, trying not to wake Jay

Drew moved under the covers, stretching her legs out, trying not to wake Jay. They were still tangled together, much as they'd been all night. She couldn't even begin to count the number of times they'd drifted off to sleep, only to wake, to touch, to make love again.

At midnight, they'd remembered dinner... and the wine. But neither did little more than pick at the food. They couldn't seem to keep their eyes—or their hands—off each other. So, dinner was left largely uneaten, and the wine bottle, which was now empty, sat beside the bed.

" What are you thinking? "

Drew smiled, turning her head. " Not thinking really. Just kinda... remembering."

Jay stretched, her legs moving against Drew's, then rolled to her side, facing Drew. She yawned once, then laughed. " I'm exhausted. I'm sore. And I'm so totally happy right now."

Drew rolled over too, moving her hand lazily under the covers, feeling the smooth skin over Jay's hip. Her hands—and her mouth—had explored every inch of Jay last night, and she wanted to do it all over again.

" I really wish I'd met you years ago, " Jay said.

But Drew shook her head. " No. Because years ago, you weren't where you are now. In your relationship, I mean. You wouldn't have given me a second glance."

" I don't believe that's true. Had we met two, three, four, even six years ago, I think I still would have fallen in love with you. I look in your eyes and I... I see something. I can't really explain it. But I... I feel like I belong, if that makes sense. With Katherine, there was always that edge, that wall, which I never crossed. There was always a barrier, it seemed like."

" Maybe because you felt like you couldn't be you. Or maybe you didn't feel like you were good enough, could measure up to her."

Jay nodded. " Maybe. Or maybe I just could never see her soul, you know. I meant that when I said your eyes were like a book to me. You don't ever try to hide anything from me, do you? "

Drew leaned closer, touching Jay's lips lightly with her own. " Should I? "

" No. I like you open like this." She smiled. " Saves me having to guess what you're thinking."

Drew's hand moved higher, cupping Jay's small breast, feeling her nipple harden beneath her palm. Even now, as sated as they were, she heard the tiny gasp Jay uttered, could feel her heartbeat quicken its pace. She sighed. " Yes, I wish we'd met years ago." Her gaze locked with Jay's. " Because I love you. And it seems like it's been so many wasted years."

" I know."

Drew sighed again, rolling away from Jay and onto her back.

" But it is what it is." And in reality, nothing had really changed. Jay was still not a free woman. And what they'd done last night amounted to little more than an affair. Because in the light of day, they were just friends. Katherine and Jenna would return today and they would continue to play this charade they'd begun weeks and weeks ago.

" Drew? "

" Hmm? "

" Do you think—? " But a pounding on the back door stopped her in mid-sentence. They looked at each other. " Oh, God, please say it's not them already."

" Drew? Jay? It's Eleu. Please open the door."

" Thank God, " Jay said with relief. " We're not exactly dressed for a confrontation with Katherine and Jenna."

Drew pulled on her shorts but couldn't find the T-shirt they'd discarded last night. She did, however, find Jay's black bikini top, still a twisted mess. She tossed it to her with a smile. " Have you seen my shirt? "

" Drew? " Eleu called again from outside.

" Coming." She opened the closet and pulled out her bag, finding a clean shirt to slip on before opening the door. She greeted Eleu with a smile, not certain whether she should feel embarrassed or not to have Jay in her bed. But then she remembered the romantic dinner Eleu had left for them and decided she would be embarrassed if Jay weren't in her bed. " Good morning."

" Yes, yes. I'm sure it is. But it must come to an end." She looked around Drew and into the room. " Jay? "

" Yes. I'm sure you already know she's here."

Eleu laughed. " I had hoped, yes. But it is time. Katherine called. They are on the first shuttle of the morning. They will be here in time for breakfast."

Drew frowned. " How long? "

" Half hour, forty-five minutes. But we have time. Tell Jay to come, please. We must make your cottage presentable."

Drew ran her hands through her hair and sighed. " Great way to start the morning."

" It will be fine. And after the rooms are fixed, you two will take an early swim to clear your heads, even on a morning like today when there is rain in the air. Then you shall be ready for breakfast with the others. Come, we must not waste time."

Drew nodded. " I'll get Jay."

" I will begin clearing dinner."

Drew went back into the bedroom and closed the door, finding Jay already dressed. " You heard? "

" Yes. And an early morning swim sounds great." Jay came closer, moving into Drew's arms. " Because we need to talk."

Drew's arms tightened around her. Talk? What was there to talk about? She closed her eyes, feeling Jay's lips move across her face.

" Meet you out front? "

Drew nodded, watching Jay slip from the room.

" How does this look? " Eleu asked after she'd rumpled the sheets and comforter on Katherine's bed. She bent, pounding one of the pillows into shape. " Good? "

Jay nodded. " Yes. It'll work. But what about Drew's? "

" Milkea is there. She will change the sheets and pull out the sleeper sofa as Drew normally does. It will be fine."

Jay spun around. " Will it? Why are we doing this, Eleu? She and Jenna go off together, stay out all night. There are no questions from us. They're not even trying to hide it. Why the hell should we? "

Eleu came closer, grasping Jay's hands. " Because you are not them. And because you still care about other people's feelings. So we do this to keep peace." She smiled. " That is true, isn't it? "

" Yes, it's true." Jay laughed. " But I think it's just because you don't want to have a scene here and have your other guests talking about us."

" That is also true." Eleu released her hands. " Now, you will have your coffee like normal. And then you will both disappear, coming back just in time for breakfast. Yes? "

Jay nodded. " But it looks like rain."

" Yes. We had rain during the night. But you must go. If you stay here waiting, you will only feel guilty."

Jay shook her head. " No, I don't feel guilty. Not at all. But if I had to guess, I'd say you've done this sort of thing before."

Eleu laughed, a delightful sound on an otherwise dreary morning. " I have only done this once before. And surprisingly, it was also with two female couples."

Drew waited under a palm tree, watching for Jay. Amazingly, her cottage had been transformed in a matter of minutes: the bedroom tidied, sheets changed, sleeper sofa pulled open and made, then the sheets intentionally rumpled. She'd even had time for a shower.

And like Jay had said, she was exhausted, she was sore... and she was as happy as she could remember being in many, many years. Happy. Yet sad.

Sad because, while nothing had really changed, everything had changed. How were they going to be able to sit down to breakfast with Katherine and Jenna and pretend they weren't now lovers? Pretend to keep their eyes off each other? And pretend they weren't dying to be alone? And sad because tonight, Jay would retire to her cottage with Katherine, would crawl into bed with Katherine, and would wake with her. And Drew? She'd be on her lumpy sofa, aching to have Jay beside her. And yet another day would pass.

And it would be another day wasted.

" Hey you."

She turned, pushing her thoughts away as Jay walked through the sand, a smile on her face.

" All fixed up? "

Jay nodded. " Eleu is amazing." She wrapped her fingers around Drew's arm. " I'm sorry our morning had to come to such an abrupt end."

Drew shrugged. " I guess we should be thankful Katherine called."

" She only called so that Eleu could have breakfast waiting for them. Don't you think it's strange she called Eleu and not us? " Jay took her hand and pulled her toward the beach. " But I don't want to talk about Katherine. I don't even want to think about Katherine."

They walked to the water's edge, their bare feet sinking into the damp sand as they stood looking out over the ocean. It was still overcast, the air cooler than it had been, the sun hiding behind clouds, the waves and wind a little stronger than they'd seen.

" Last night was fantastic, " Drew said quietly, the wind carrying her words away.

Jay nodded. " Yes. It was beyond fantastic." She sighed. " And now they're back."

" We didn't really have time to consider anything, did we? "

" No, we didn't. But I don't regret it. Do you? "

" Are you kidding? It was the best night of my life."

" But now? " Jay asked, looking at Drew. " You look so sad."

" Do I? " Drew turned away, beginning to walk again. " Yeah, I guess I am, " she said.

Jay touched her arm, stopping her. " Nothing about this is perfect, " she said. " But like you said earlier... it is what it is."

" Yes. It's just funny. A few days ago, you were the one saying you didn't want an affair with me. And now, I guess, it's me. I don't want an affair with you, Jay. But it seems that's what we have."

" No. That's not what we have. What we shared last night can't ever be called an affair. I fell in love with you weeks ago.

Last night was inevitable. We both knew that."

" And I'm being selfish. I just want us to be alone, to be able to be ourselves. And I knew coming in that wouldn't be the case."

Jay turned into the wind, her hair lifting around her face. " I'm not sure what I thought would happen. I guess I thought maybe we could ignore this... this thing between us until we got back home. I know that's crazy now." She glanced at Drew. " I mean, we've spent every day together, just us. There wasn't any defense anymore. We made love." She moved in front of Drew, standing close. " We made love last night. And I've never felt closer to anyone than I did you. It was so... so powerful being with you like that."

" I'm totally in love with you, Jay. And I'm scared you're going to break my heart, " she said. " Scared to death."

Jay shook her head. " No." She moved into Drew's arms and Drew held her tight. " No, I'm not going to break your heart, " she whispered into Drew's ear. " I'm going to love you to death." Her lips lingered before she pulled away and slipped out of her arms again.

" So now what? We go back and keep on pretending? "

Jay took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. " No." She shook her head. " I'm tired of playing games. Aren't you? "

" So you're ready for that confrontation with her? "

" I'm ready for the truth. I'm ready to get on with my life."

But the relief Drew felt at those words was short-lived. When they returned to the garden, Jenna and Katherine were already there, sipping strong Hawaiian coffee and chatting with Eleu.

" There you two are, " Katherine said with a smile. " I was hoping you'd be here waiting for me, Jay."

" Waiting for you? "

" Yes. I missed you terribly last night." Her smile was beaming and Drew frowned. Something was up.

" But I trust you enjoyed the theater and dinner, " Jay said as she pulled out a chair.

" Oh, it was fun, but I hated that we missed the last shuttle."

" Well, we managed without you."

" Something special for breakfast? " Eleu asked quietly behind Jay. " Or just fruit? "

" This is fine, Eleu. Don't go to any trouble."

" For you, Drew? "

" I'm good, thanks." Drew pulled out a chair opposite Jay, chancing a quick glance her way. Jay looked at her and Drew saw a quiet determination on her face.

" I hope you guys didn't have any excursions planned today, " Jenna said. " I think we'd like to join you at the beach, just hang out, you know."

" No, actually we didn't make any plans for today, " Drew said. " Although it still looks like it could rain."

" Eleu says the clouds will burn off by noon, " Katherine said. She turned to Jay. " I'm ready to see you in that cute black bikini, " she added with a wink.

Drew's eyebrows shot up. Was that the same black bikini that was a tangled mess after Drew had ripped it from Jay's body last night?

" You hate the ocean, remember, " Jay said as she stabbed a piece of pineapple.

" I didn't say I wanted to get in the water." She put her coffee cup down, smiling at Jay. " It'll be good to spend the day with you though."

" Will it? "

" Of course." She stared at Jay. " But you seem a little agitated this morning. What is it? Are you angry that we missed the shuttle last night? "

Jay tilted her head as she stared at Katherine, then she flashed a quick smile. " Honestly, Kath, I didn't even know you were gone."

Drew and Jenna watched the exchange silently. Drew wondered if they were about to witness that big dramatic scene Jay had warned her about. But no, Katherine didn't even seem fazed by Jay's comment.

" Now I know that's not true." She reached across the table and touched Jay's hand, rubbing it lightly. " I'll make it up to you, darling." She glanced at Drew. " You don't mind if I steal Jay away from you today, do you? We've got some catching up to do."

Drew wasn't certain if that statement needed an answer or not, but Jay saved her from replying.

" Kath, why don't we go to our cottage? "

Katherine flashed a beaming smile, her eyes sparkling. " Excellent idea." She glanced at Jenna and winked.

Jay stood, her glance moving to Drew. There was a look there Drew wasn't sure she'd seen before. Not anger really, something even deeper than that. She watched them go, feeling jealousy rear its ugly head as Katherine's hand slipped around Jay's waist.

" That was a little odd, wasn't it? " Jenna said.

Drew nodded. " This whole trip's been odd."

Jenna sighed. " Oh, well, I suppose things will be getting back to normal."

" What do you mean? "

Jenna waved her hand dismissively. " Oh, me and Katherine. That's over with."

Drew frowned. " I thought you were in love."

" We had our fling, but we realized last night that there just wasn't anything there except lust. The sex was great. In fact, the best I've ever had. But beyond that, we really didn't enjoy each other's company all that much."

Drew felt her chest tighten at her words. Their affair was over. Now what? Was that why Katherine had been so sickeningly sweet to Jay this morning?

" I'm in the mood for a Bloody Mary, " Jenna said. " Want one? "

" That'll be a good start, " she said, her glance going to the cottages, wondering what was happening inside.