Written in Stone (Heart of Stone: Book 3)

Chapter 1: Soph

Chapter 1: Soph

Warm sand trickled between my toes with each step along the deserted beach. Ed and I strolled hand-in-hand, easy conversation flowing between us, while the mid-morning January sun beat down on our bare shoulders, promising another hot afternoon.

Shifts at the turtle refuge meant our days started early, and we usually took advantage with a walk along the coast before retreating to the pool or air-conditioned house for the hot afternoons.

"He was called John, I think. Or Jonathan," Ed was saying.

"He was your first friend and you can't remember his name?" I tutted and shook my head in feigned disapproval.

"I was five. Cut me some slack."

"Bet he remembers your name."

"Hm, I bet. I was always part of bigger groups of friends, though. I didn't have that small circle of people I was close to, and I think that's why I fell out of touch with so many of them when my music took off. I didn't trust their intentions, and some of them were resentful."

"Probably because you weren't close enough for them to be happy for you instead."

"Probably." Fingers tightening around mine, he tugged me towards the ocean, the coarse grains of dry sand replaced by damp, harder shoreline. "What about you?"

"My first friend was called Poppy. She lived next door to us. But then Mum and Dad split up and we moved."

A wave washed over the tops of our feet, providing a refreshing splash of cool water before receding into the sea.

"Have you ever thought about moving back to your childhood town?" Ed asked.

"Childhood town, no. Scotland, occasionally. There are some beautiful areas. Mountains, lakes..."

"You've always said your creativity is better with a view." He glanced across at me with a smile. "Or was that just an excuse to spend more time at my suite back in the days when you pretended we were just friends?"

"We were just friends."

"Uhuh..." His smile stretched into a cocky grin. "Friends who checked each other out when they thought they were being discreet."

Nearly a year had passed since then, but I still refused to admit I'd been attracted to him right from the start. Hell knows his ego didn't need the boost.

"It was less to do with your looks and more to do with you being famous." I bumped him with my hip, but his solid body stayed on-course. "It's weird seeing a celebrity in the flesh, you know. You have to keep staring at them."

A low chuckle floated through the briny air between us, and then he released my hand, bent down, and tossed me over his shoulder in a Fireman's Carry, so swift and effortless that it would have been sexy if it wasn't annoying.

With one strong forearm wrapped around the back of my thighs, he charged into the sea. Salty water splashed my face as I hammered my fists against the tanned skin at the base of his spine.

"Don't you dare drop me, you dick."

"Admit you liked me, then."

"Your ego is so fucking fragile considering you were literally named World's Sexiest Man last year."

A playful smack landed on my right butt cheek. "You know it's not to do with my ego."

"Could've fooled me."

His grip loosened, and gravity pulled me back over his shoulder until I was slipping down his naked chest, slick with suncream, sweat, and sea water. Not trusting that he'd catch me before I plunged into the sea, I clamped my legs around his waist and my arms behind his neck, clinging onto him like a koala to a tree.