Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 86826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
And minutes later, after the smoothest landing in aviation history, we’ve touched down in paradise.
The door opens, and the first thing that hits me is the air. It wraps around me the second I step out onto the tarmac, a gentle breeze carrying the scent of salt and sweetness, like flowers in full bloom. After New York in December, it’s like stepping into another world. I’m so thankful for that.
I close my eyes for half a second, breathing it in.
“Welcome to the Bahamas,” Julian murmurs beside me.
We descend the short set of stairs, the sun sitting low in the sky, casting everything in a golden, late-afternoon glow that makes the island look like it’s been dipped in light.
It’s tranquil, serene in a way I’ve never experienced. I didn’t realize how loud New York always is until now.
By the time we reach the last step, there’s already a car waiting. A sleek black SUV, polished to perfection, with a driver standing beside it in a fresh white uniform, posture straight, expression professional but not stiff. The door is open before we reach it.
“Mr. Langley,” he greets, his voice smooth.
Julian nods. “Good to see you again, Timothy.”
“Welcome back, sir.”
Then his gaze homes in on me, polite, acknowledging. “Miss.”
I offer a small smile, still slightly disoriented by how seamless this all is.
Our bags are handled before I can think about them, loaded into the back of the SUV, and then I’m being ushered toward the car like this is normal. I guess it is for Julian.
I slide into the back seat, the leather warm from the sun, and Julian follows a second later, settling beside me.
The door shuts with a soft, solid thud.
And then we’re moving. Palm trees line the road, swaying gently in the breeze, their leaves catching the light in flashes of green and gold. The sky stretches endlessly above us, wide and open. I wonder if this is what heaven is like.
I lean slightly toward the window, watching everything pass by.
Colorful houses. Small roadside stands. People walking at an unhurried pace, like time moves differently here. Slower. With no frantic, crazed energy.
“Do you come here often?” I ask, glancing at Julian.
“Not as often as I should,” he admits. “But enough.”
I nod, turning back to the view.
“I can see why you’d want to,” I say quietly. “I mean, I get why you want to come when you’re able, though I know you have so much on your plate that it’s probably hard to find the time.”
The road curves, opening to a stretch of coastline, and I lose my breath.
The water is right there. It looks straight out of a postcard, the kind of image you assume is edited until you see it with your own eyes and realize—it isn’t. It’s real!
“That’s… wow,” I whisper.
Julian smiles and takes my hand in his. It looks like he wants to speak, but he doesn’t, instead watching me take it in. That gesture is even more significant.
A few more turns, a longer stretch along the coast, and then the car slows.
Gates appear ahead—tall, towering even. They open automatically.
“I hope the house is in okay shape,” he says.
We pull through, the drive curving gently until the “house” comes into view. I’ve seen houses. This isn’t one. This is a massive villa.
It’s expansive and overwhelming in scale, built to blend into the landscape rather than dominate it. Soft stones with wide terraces that spill out toward the ocean like the place was designed to lead your eyes straight to the horizon.
I don’t move when the car stops. I sit there, taking it in, my mind struggling to catch up to what I’m seeing.
The driver opens the door.
The breeze hits me again.
The sound of the ocean drifts in, rhythmic and calming, like it’s been waiting for me.
And as I stand there, looking out at this beauty that is so far removed from the life I know, one thought settles quietly in the back of my mind—
There’s no going back to before this.
Julian’s seaside villa really is spectacular, a place I only thought existed on screensavers from the early 2000s. And yet, here it is. And here I am. I’d pinch myself but I’m running on such a high, I don’t know that I have the coordination to.
I step farther onto the property. It’s huge, but not in a cold, echoing way.
“Okay,” I murmur under my breath, turning slowly in a half circle as I take it all in. “This is… unreal.”
Julian watches me, hands tucked casually into his pockets, that faint, knowing smile playing at his mouth like he’s seen this exact reaction before.
“Too much?” he asks.
I glance at him, then back out toward the view, where the horizon stretches endlessly. “No,” I say honestly. “Just… more than I expected, though I guess I didn’t really know what to expect.”