Page 93 of The Wedding Proposal
They turned towards the Shady Lady’s gangplank and disappeared from his view. He listened to their soft voices as they manoeuvred the luggage across the gap. Then, mentally, he followed their progress through the boat.
After five minutes he heard footfall over the plank once again and the man came into view, making his way back towards Seadancer, alone.
Slowly, Lucas closed his eyes in relief.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Elle lived in her own space for three days.
While Lucas was on board, she remained in her cabin. Lucas didn’t acknowledge her presence. She heard him in the guest cabin shower, in the galley and the saloon, and up on the flybridge. But he didn’t knock on her door. He didn’t text her, or telephone. She heard him leave each day and return each evening.
Between times, she attended the Nicholas Centre, Carmelo almost shouting with joy to see her back, Oscar smiling in a self-satisfied way and informing her that he was ‘seeing a lot of Polly’, with a lecherous wink.
Elle hoped that Polly knew what she was getting into.
On board Seadancer, Loz was visibly agog to hear news and Simon and Davie had to send her quelling looks.
Early in the morning of the second day, Simon came to kiss her goodbye, his bag packed.
She had to blink back the tears. ‘I feel as if I’ve hardly seen you.’
He hugged her, hard. ‘We’ll have time in the future. Whatever happens, I want you to come over for some serious vacation time.’
She received an e-mail from Charlie telling her that it had been fun being whizzed past the queues at the airport in a wheelchair and now he’d been fitted with a boot instead of a cast. And thank you, Elle. I wasn’t with it during the rescue but I know that you kept your head and helped my spectacular brother save my sorry arse.
Kayleigh added a rider that Charlie was being more of a pain than usual and looked like an idiot wearing the boot, from which Elle surmised they were now both over the shock.
To her surprise and bemusement she received texts from Fiona and Geoffrey, also back in the UK, each formally thanking her for helping Charlie. Fiona added and thanks also for your unexpected but very welcome observance of the Sisterly Solidarity Act, which made Elle realise that even Fiona could have a sense of humour.
Finally, on the afternoon of the third day, a text arrived from Simon. Back home. Up to my knees in grapes.
Serenity settled over Elle.
It was back to just her and Lucas and Malta. There was something very right about that.
* * *
The next day was the hottest Elle could remember since she had arrived on the island. She swam in the morning, glad to cool her blood in the waves at Font Ghadir. She changed into her dry clothes under her towel and then ate her lunch on the rocks. When the sun had dried her hair she tucked her swim things into a bag and headed for Nicholas Centre.
There she found that the computer room had reached new levels of stifling. She shoved her hat and sunglasses in her swimming bag and dumped it in a corner, closed the louvred shutters and opened the windows. But any air that made its way through the louvres had been too soaked in sunshine to offer relief. Elle felt as if she were being slowly baked.
Only a couple of kids showed up to use the computers, clicking around desultorily. Elle didn’t blame them when they left. Not even Carmelo had turned up.
Thinking longingly of the air conditioning aboard the Shady Lady, she checked her watch. Only three o’clock. She was down to supervise the computer room until four.
She wrote an e-mail to Simon and read a couple of articles on the history of Malta while she waited for the time to pass, too oppressed by the heat even to bother to find some IT-based housekeeping to do.
Finally, her watch dragged its way to four o’clock and she grabbed her handbag and went down to Joseph’s office to give him the computer room keys. ‘I’m going. There’s no one upstairs but I’ve left the machines on.’
Joseph lifted his eyes from his laptop. ‘Too hot, today.’
‘I’m going to stop at the shop and buy the biggest ice lolly they have to make the walk back to the marina bearable.’
Joseph licked his lips. ‘If it wouldn’t leave Oscar on his own here until Axel arrives, I’d do the same.’
Elle took pity on him. ‘The shop’s only a couple of minutes away. I’ll fetch you one.’
Joseph’s eyes lit up and he took twenty euros from his pocket. ‘My treat. Buy one for Oscar, too.’
