‘Are you sure?’ Princess asks. ‘I’m quite taken with the idea of having it out with your manager.’
Sabrina grins. ‘I’m sure.’
‘You could buy me a drink, how about that?’ Barry says, throwing an arm around Princess.
‘The drinks are all free, as you know.’
‘We can pretend.’
‘Very well. Can I offer you a glass of the finest’ – she surveys the label on the wine – ‘Beaujolais?’
‘Yes, please. I’d love nothing more.’
Sabrina gives us a wave as she hobbles off. I can’t help but feel sorry for her – even though she’s made some blunders, she’s a real asset to the Winter Wonderland Express. Often with travel it’s not just the place, it’s the people you meet, and Sabrina is proof of that. She’s made this entire experience so much better.
Princess pours wine for the group.
‘So,’ Karen says. ‘Did you see the kiss at the market?’
My belly flips. I’d been so sure they were all out of sight. Jasper stiffens beside me.
‘What kiss?’ Barry asks.
Karen throws her hands up in frustration. ‘Don’t tell me CJ and I were the only ones who witnessed the kiss? That British guy who wears the cravat, like he’s Sherlock Holmes himself, kissed a woman right by the hot chocolate stand at the market, a woman who is not the one he boarded the train with.’
Princess cocks her head. ‘Explain the kiss.’
‘It was a European kiss, a peck on each cheek.’ Karen holds up a hand as we all groan. Everyone kisses like that in Europe; it’s the standard greeting. ‘Wait, wait, I know what you’re thinking, but ask CJ. He sort of stayed close, like he was whispering to her. It was all very clandestine. But here’s where it gets interesting – we then bumped into his partner and she was having lunch with another man! What’s that about? If they had friends here, and it was innocent, wouldn’t they meet them together?’
‘We’re reaching,’ I say with a laugh.
Karen shakes her head. ‘I’m not sure we are, Aubrey. At lunch, the woman – you know, the one who always speaks at full volume as if she wants the entire train to hear her witty repartee – was speaking so quietly we couldn’t hear a word. Isn’t that strange?’
‘Not really, I mean, it could also be innocent.’
Jasper must be on the same wavelength as me because he says, ‘We might need an Agatha Christie-like murder to make things interesting, because clearly we’re failing as investigators. A European kiss on the cheeks and using inside voices doesn’t cry foul play to me.’
Karen deflates as if we’ve taken the wind out of her sails. ‘Maybe you’re right. Still, it’s weird they didn’t spend the day in Hamburg together. Don’t you think?’
‘Not really. Maybe the woman is conducting a bit of business, and so the husband wandered around the market while he waited and ran into an old acquaintance,’ Barry says. ‘If it were me, I’d like to think I’d give my significant other some space, but I’d message her to check in, or if I saw something at a stall I think she’d like…’
‘They broke the mould when they made men like you, Barry,’ Princess says with not an ounce of irony.
I stay schtum, but is there a development between these two? It’s an abrupt change from her reeling when Barry gave her a long look at the first official sit-down dinner. Is it just that they’re close in age and share some similar beliefs? What we see as overbearing in matters of the heart by Barry, she sees as sweet and caring.
‘Thanks, Princess.’ He rubs the back of his neck and averts his gaze, suddenly shy.
I’m not an expert on love by any stretch of the imagination, but even I can see sparks flying. Are these two meant to be together? These two who I have spent the last five days judging for their relationship ‘mistakes’ – Barry a stage-four clinger, and Princess, who has given up on love because of a curse, which really might not be a curse at all but a crisis of confidence after losing the three loves of her life.
I tap Jasper’s jean-clad leg and want to DIE when I see how close to his nether regions I’m touching. ‘Oh God, I’m sorry, I meant to tap your knee!’
‘Sure you did.’ He sends me a flirtatious grin that would make my legs buckle if I weren’t already sitting down.
‘Anyway…’ I struggle to remember my cunning plan. Ah! I lean in close, doing my best to ignore how within kissable distance he is. ‘What do you make of the Princess and Barry situation?’
‘Love hearts for eyes, right? We might have to kick them out of the group if this keeps up.’
‘Oh, imagine if they did become part of the Lucky in Love Travel Club! But Princess has sworn off love, you know, in the unlikely case that the man will also leave this mortal coil. Do we need to help this budding romance along?’
