She forced her attention back to the moment, if only for Vee’s sake. Her friendship was precious, and Vee deserved a happy evening, not a moping companion killing the mood. The band was playing in the saloon, on the main deck. As they walked inside, they were handed glasses of fizz by the crew. She recognised a couple of faces: traders from the village and one of the GPs, and two people who collected the trade waste from Sunnyside. They nodded and smiled.
Kev was immediately swept off by members of his mountain-rescue team, who had pints in hand. He disappeared down the steps where, judging by the number of people coming up and down, the bar was situated.
Vee linked arms with Sophie. ‘That’s it. We won’t see him again for ages.’
Sophie laughed. ‘Let’s find a seat.’
The music stopped and an announcement was made. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, welcome on board! Before we get the party started, we’d just like to run through some safety information …’
Once that was over, the captain told everyone they were edging away from the jetty and the boat started moving. Vee and Sophie got chatting to – or, rather, shouting down the ears of – the couple who ran the bakery. The band started up again, playing pop favourites.
‘The band isn’t bad,’ Sophie said, sipping her second glass of fizz.
‘It’s played at Raffaelo’s a few times. The guitarist is a friend of Kev’s – Seb. He works in the music shop.’
‘He’s really good,’ Sophie said, impressed by Seb’s guitar solo.
‘That’s his brother, Travis, taking photos.’
Sophie nodded. She’d passed Travis’s gallery many times and knew he was married to Freya, who ran a local cottage management company.
It seemed as if everyone was here, apart from Brody.
‘Oh, I love this one!’ Vee said. ‘Let’s dance. Kev’s too shy unless he’s had a few drinks!’
For a while Sophie lost herself in the music. It had been so long since she’d danced like this. The volume ramped up and the dance floor became packed. Briefly she thought she glimpsed Tegan, but realised she had the wrong woman – much to her relief. Carl was also on the floor, with a man Sophie recognised from the mountain-rescue team, and gave her a little wave.
They danced to four tracks in a row, and finally the band took a break while the buffet was served. Warm and a little out of breath, Sophie and Vee left the floor and went to collect their food.
Surely,surelythey would bump into Brody’s party at the buffet, but there was no sign of them. She was beginning to wonder if they had come after all. Perhaps Tegan’s father wasn’t feeling well. She sat down at the table with Vee, and Kev joined them.
‘I knew you’d come back when the food was served!’ Vee said, and Kev grinned.
‘I’m not daft. Are you having a good time? Sorry, I got cornered by one of the team in the bar.’
Vee rolled her eyes. ‘Course you did.’
Someone Vee knew passed by and started talking to her and Kev.
Sophie carried on eating her sausage roll and nodded at points in their conversation to pretend she was listening. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the tall frame and mop of dark hair of Brody, who was making his way up the stairs from the lower bar with a tray of drinks. If she hadn’tbeen sitting down, she might have needed support at the sight of him in a tux and a slim black tie. Her whole body tingled with desire. She turned away because there was no point in tormenting herself like this, when he was with someone else.
She wished she could sneak away to avoid seeing Brody and Tegan, but it was impossible. She was trapped on the boat until it docked at 1 a.m. and she’d have to make the most of it.
Before she could move her chair around, Brody seemed to have spotted her. His eyes widened in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected her to be there, and gave her a brief smile. Sophie died a little inside. How had she fallen so fast, so hard for such a lost cause?
He was walking their way and had paused by their table, still holding the tray. ‘Hello. This is a surprise.’
‘Is it? Vee gave me a last-minute invitation. I would have thought Carl would have told you,’ Sophie replied.
He frowned. ‘Carl? I don’t understand.’
‘I popped into the gift shop earlier and bought some jewellery.’ Before she realised it, her fingers were touching the necklace, feeling how cool the stones were against her flushed skin. ‘He mentioned that you would be here tonight with Tegan and her parents.’
‘No, Carl didn’t say anything to me, but I haven’t had a chance to catch up with him. I was working before I came here. The necklace is very nice,’ he said and hesitated before adding, ‘You look very … nice.’
Sophie could hardly meet his eye. ‘Thanks,’ she muttered, wanting to say so much that she could barely reply at all.
‘Right. Yes. I should take these drinks back to the others,’ he mumbled awkwardly, still lingering by the table.
