Page 48 of Meet Me in Tahiti
Oh, right.This was a port that usually had good cell service. In all the activity, he’d forgotten to check in. Several messages were downloading.
He checked the other apps. Emails were coming in, too. Finally.
Wait—emails? He sat up quickly and watched as his inbox filled.
And there it was. The one from the charter company in Florida.
He took a deep breath, anticipation flowing through him.
Could it finally be the answer he was waiting for? His heart pounded as he tapped the message to open it. It had to be.
He read the first sentence, tried to focus on the letters, the words, the paragraphs, but his heart sank into his gut.
We regret to inform you…
He swallowed.
That you have not been selected for the position…
The rest of the words blurred together. He blinked and read it again.
Was this correct… really? Had they read his qualifications? Noticed the years of experience he’d had at sea? The employee distinctions he’d earned over the years?
Because how could this be? His brows tightened, his pulse pounding.
He’d been so sure. This was going to be it.
Was this some kind of cruel joke? He swallowed, his gut tightening, churning now.
Two minutes ago, everything had felt possible with Tessa. Now, nothing did. He swallowed over the lump in his throat, then threw back the rest of his beer in one gulp.
Clenching his jaw, he shoved the phone back into his pocket.
He sat back in his seat, no longer able to meet hergaze across the long table. The music droned on, almost hurting his ears now.
The next few days flashed in front of his eyes as if he could already see them. Tessa would go back. He would stay here. And what they had tonight… might be all there ever was.
Later that night,the deck was quiet. The moon hung full and luminous above the dark water, painting silver ripples across the lagoon. Tessa padded up the stairs with a light sweater draped over her shoulders. Her heart fluttered as it always did now, when she climbed to the upper deck at night, hoping Russ would already be there waiting.
He was. Leaning against the railing, hands in his pockets, gazing out at the endless sea.
“Hey,” she said softly.
He turned and smiled, but it was subdued. “Hey.”
She joined him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his shoulder. “That was fun tonight, huh? The dancing, the music… it felt like something out of a dream.”
“Yeah,” he murmured, looping his arms around her gently. “Glad you liked it.” Something about his tone seemed different, though.
She pulled herself closer and looked up at him as he gazed out to sea. She squeezed him a little. “Everything okay?”
He nodded quickly. “Yeah, fine. Just, you know, a long day.”
He kissed her, his lips soft but… distracted. Impatient. Like he lacked the spark of the night before. Concern oozed through her.
Tessa pulled back, gazing up at him with concern. “Hey… what’s wrong?” she said gently.
He hesitated. “I, uh…” He sighed. A pained look came across his face. “So, there’s something I should probably…”
