Always and Only You

Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

Five years ago

She opens the door to a tiny cabin tucked into the bowels of the gleaming white superyacht and drags her suitcase inside. Unpacking can wait until tomorrow. All she needs now is sleep.

After climbing onto the top bunk, she pulls her phone from her pocket. Outside, the sky is just about dark and the lights of a marina about half an hour’s drive from Nassau blink outside the porthole. Tomorrow, she’ll familiarize herself with the boat, meet the crew, and they’ll prepare for the first set of charter guests. However, before she turns out the light, she has only one thing on her mind.

Hey you, she types into her phone. Finally got a signal! Made it to the Bahamas.

When the reply comes, it’s just a handful of random letters.

What???!! she fires back. Is that code for something?

A minute ticks by, and then a second message arrives:

Sorry. Asleep. Fingers woke up before brain.

Asleep? At this time of the – Her hand flies to her mouth, and she stares at the screen in horror for a moment before hurriedly sending the next message.

OMG! I’m so jet-lagged I forgot about the time difference! I’m sooooo sorry.

Her phone is ominously silent for a while. She holds her breath. Is he cross with her? Has she blown it? She hopes not. She really likes him, the kind of ‘like’ that could bloom into something more.

I’ll shut up now she adds, frantically backpedalling. But then she makes herself a liar by adding, I’ll message in the morning. And then her phone pings. She almost drops it.

It IS morning here, Erin. Very early morning.

She selects the facepalm emoji, wincing as she presses send, and then follows it up with the blowing-a-kiss one. If there’s one thing she knows about Simon, it’s that he likes his beauty sleep.

He sends back a sleepy face and then a laughing one. Phew. She’s forgiven. She smiles, feeling connected to him even though they’re thousands of miles apart, but little by little, her facial muscles relax and then droop.

I can’t believe I’m not going to see you for months.

I know.

I’m going to miss you.

Me too.

She pauses, wondering if she should ask the next question or save it for later, but she reasons that he’s more likely to give her an honest answer if he’s sleepy, hasn’t had time to prepare himself a brightly worded script.

Are you going to be okay on your own?

He’s had a tough time recently. They all have. But it’s been especially hard on Simon. And while what happened was awful, it had the unexpected silver lining of bonding them together, friends seeking comfort that evolved into something deeper.

His next words are a punch in the chest.

Without you? Never.

Her stomach goes cold. She has a sensation of falling. As much as his words thrill her because they reveal how much she means to him, she knew she shouldn’t have taken this opportunity to work abroad. She should have stayed in London. Simon needs her.

Only kidding he adds after a short while. I’m going to be fine. Stop worrying about me.

Are you sure? she types, her brows scrunched and tight.

Is he just saying what he thinks she wants to hear? Simon has a tendency to do that sometimes, she’s discovered. He’d much rather avoid confrontation than get into any messy emotional stuff. But she really, really wants to know if he’s okay. Honesty is all she requires from him in this moment.

I’m sure. Enjoy yourself in the Caribbean.

She sighs. I’ll try.

You’d better! I’m certainly going to make sure I enjoy myself here.