Noah.
The second I think his name, he appears beside Seb, having finished mooring the catamaran.
“Hey! Everything going smoothly so far?” he asks.
“Uh, yeah.” I try to make my brain work again, but it’s hard. It’s so bizarre having these two men standing side by side like this.
“Are you okay?” he says. Obviously, I’m not hiding my shock very well.
“I’m fine.” I sneak a look at Seb, and he grins. I think he’s enjoying this a little too much.
“Well, I’ll be over at the watersports area if you need me. I thought I’d man the equipment kiosk for a while, and then I’ll grab a late lunch before getting the next batch of guests.”
“Sounds good,” I say faintly.
He walks past, squeezing my arm as he goes. And of course, Seb notices. He raises an eyebrow.
“How long have you been back in Australia?” he asks.
“A couple of months.” I look at Lola, but she’s busy texting on her phone.
“And you’ve been working up a storm to get this place back on track, huh?” He takes in his surroundings. “It looks amazing.”
“Thanks.” I hate myself for being so pleased.
“Do you have time to give us a personal tour of the resort?” he asks.
“Actually, I kind of need to help with check-in, but I might be able to get away a little later. Sorry, it’s just…”
“No, no. Don’t apologise. It’s completely selfish of me to expect you to drop everything the day you reopen. We don’t even need to check in right away. Lola and I will go see what watersports are on offer.”
The idea of Seb and Noah talking without me there makes me slightly queasy.
“All right. I’ll come find you when I’m done.”
“Perfect.”
Seb and Lola wander off, Lola still on her phone. She doesn’t acknowledge me again.
I head up to reception and join Sasha behind the counter.
“This is exciting, huh?” she says while programming a key for her next guest.
“You could say that,” I say, dazed.
She narrows her eyes. “Are you freaking out?”
“Oh, not about all of this. It’s one of the guests I’m a little shocked by.”
“Who? Don’t tell me we have a celebrity in our midst? Is it Chris Hemsworth? Or Liam Hemsworth? Really, any Hemsworth brother would be fine in my book.”
“No, it’s not a celebrity. It’s Seb.”
She wrinkles her nose before realisation dawns. “You mean your ex?”
“Yes! And he’s here with his stepsister.”
“Not his fiancée?”
“No. That’s weird, right?”
“Yeah, a little.”
She picks up a small paper sleeve for the key. “We definitely have to talk about this once the check-in rush is over.”
“Agreed.”
I face my first customer. “Welcome to Coco Bay. May I have your name, please?”
TWENTY-EIGHT
Noah
Damn, it’s good to see the island alive again. Admittedly, there are still a few areas that need work, but if you only focus on the parts we’ve restored, it’s impressive. Like the watersports kiosk situated a short walk from the jetty. The construction crew rebuilt the little thatched hut, and thankfully a lot of the kayaks and stand-up paddleboards were still in good shape from before the cyclone. They just needed a good clean and polish.
A few guests trickle over to hire snorkelling equipment. Before the cyclone, we also offered scuba diving, but we’ve decided to hold off from doing it again until we have more staff to help out.
A guy and girl come over, decked out in expensive-looking swimsuits. I think Emily was welcoming them to the island just before. The woman is thin and blonde and oozes a sense of self-entitlement. The guy isn’t much better. I’d forgotten that not all guests are going to be fun to deal with.
“We’d like a couple of snorkels,” the woman says.
“Sure,” I say easily. “Would you like to pay now, or have the rental fee charged to your room?”
She frowns. “They’re not complimentary?”
“I’m afraid not. But it’s only fifteen dollars for an hour, and that includes the fins, snorkelling mask, and a wetsuit. Plus, they’re all brand-new.”
“We’re paying for an over-water villa. Surely the extortionate fees you charge for those would include free snorkel hire?”
I stand there, my lips pressed tight. “I’m afraid not.”
The guy steps forward. “Listen, buddy, I know Emily, and she mentioned there was a friends and family discount, so why don’t you just give us the damn equipment?”
I furrow my brow. What? Sure, I saw Emily talking to them before, but she didn’t introduce them as people she knew.
“Oh, okay. I’ll just call and confirm that with her. Which villa are you staying in?”
The woman cuts in. “Forget it. We don’t have all day to wait. Just charge it to the room. Number 102.”
I nod. “Right. You want two sets?”
“What? You think we’re going to share?”
“I’ll take that as meaning you do want two sets.” I turn around and collect the equipment from the shelf behind me, scowling while I’m out of view. I place the snorkels, fins, and suits on the counter, the smile pasted back on my face. I didn’t ask what sizes they wanted, but after working here for so long, I’m almost never wrong with my estimates. “Here you go. It’s now 2:30pm, so we’ll need everything back by 3:30pm unless you’d like to extend for an additional hour.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get your damn equipment back on time.” The guy snatches up one set and stalks off. The woman delicately follows, holding everything away from her body as if she thinks it’s going to bite her.
I shake my head. Well, that wasn’t a very auspicious start. I can’t believe those two people are friends with Emily. I suspect they just saw her name in the media and decided to pretend they knew her. I remember when the resort was open before and people used to namedrop Cal or Bruce in an attempt to score freebies. You could usually figure out who the legit ones were pretty quickly.
A family of five show up next, and I happily rent them a kayak and a couple of blow-up tubes. Seeing the kids so excited reminds me why I love this job.
And then I see a lone figure coming towards me, and I inhale sharply.
Lani.
What the hell?
She pads along the sand, draped in an expensive-looking kaftan and holding the brim of her sun hat, acting like a model walking down a catwalk.
“Noah,” she says politely.
“What are you doing here?” I ask bluntly. I definitely didn’t see her on the boat over. There’s no way I would have let her onboard.
“I’d like to rent a snorkel, please.”
I stare at her. “Shouldn’t you be waiting for your court appearance?”
She laughs a tinkly laugh. “Noah, Noah, Noah. So naïve. There’s not going to be any court appearance. Cal was the one who originally pressed charges, and he dropped them once he quit. That means I’m a free woman.”
“So, what? You came over to rub it in our faces?”
“Something like that.”
“How did you get here?”
“I borrowed a friend’s boat.”
“And you rented a room on the island?”
“That’s right. So please show a little respect and do your job.”
I roll my eyes so hard they almost get stuck. “Yes, ma’am.” I collect the equipment for her. “What’s your room number, so I can add it to your tab?”
“104.”
I can’t hide my surprise. “You paid for an over-water villa?”
“Is it any of your business?”
“I guess not. But I thought you hated this island. It seems a little petty to spend all that money just so you can come and make our lives difficult.”
“Oh, I’m not paying. Pete is.”
I look around. “Is he with you?”
“No, he had to go to another job out west. Not that I have any obligation to share information with you.”
I’m perplexed by this whole exchange. Why would Pete agree to pay for her? Surely he doesn’t earn the kind of money needed to pay for an expensive villa he’s not even staying in. And wouldn’t he have been turned off by her little sabotage attempt?
“No, I guess you don’t have an obligation. Enjoy your snorkel.”
She doesn’t move. I feel like she wants more of a reaction or something, but I’m not going to give it to her.
“How’s Emily?” she asks casually.
“I’m not doing this, Lani. You’ll be lucky if you avoid a restraining order while you’re here.”
“Relax. I’m not here to cause any more drama. But I assume you two are a thing now?”
“Have a good afternoon. The equipment is due back at 3:45pm unless you’d like to extend for an extra hour after that.”
She chuckles. “Interesting reaction.” But she finally picks up her equipment and leaves. I notice she seems to gravitate to where the other couple is sitting. I wonder if mean people can sense other mean people.
She sits down beside them and strikes up a conversation with the woman. They’re too far away for me to hear what they’re saying, but I’m kind of glad.
The less I have to be involved with them, the better.
***
Soon after, I get Allie to take over from me so I can go eat and then pick up the last batch of guests for the day. We’re all so used to chipping in and helping each other that it doesn’t seem weird a groundskeeper would be running the watersports kiosk for the afternoon.
After grabbing some carbonara that Monty has set aside for me, I drive back to the mainland, taking the last of the day-trippers with me. And apart from seeing Lani, I’d say it’s been a pretty successful day so far. In Mackay, I do the switch-over, collecting more guests for the journey back.
It’s just turning five when I moor the boat for the final time today. The markets seem to be a success, filled with guests browsing the various products on offer. We talked the stall-holders into running them into the evening in exchange for free accommodation.
As I walk along the path, strands of fairy lights come on, and a live musician starts an acoustic set with her guitar. It’s almost perfect. I really wish Lani wasn’t here.
I find Emily standing with Sasha, both of them sipping glasses of water and watching the musician while still keeping an eye out in case anyone requires them at reception.
“It’s going well, huh?” I say as I approach.
Emily’s eyes twinkle happily as she smiles at me. “Better than I expected.”
“How could it not with you in charge?”
“Aw, isn’t he a sweetie?” Sasha says. “You guys should start having babies immediately.”
Emily playfully slaps her on the arm. “You’re making it awkward again.”
“Speaking of awkward, you haven’t seen a certain ex around here, have you?” I say.
Emily looks at me warily. “You met Seb?”
“Who’s Seb?” I ask, confused.
“Wait, which ex are we talking about?”
“Lani’s here! Can you believe it?”
Emily’s eyes widen. “No, I didn’t check her in.” She turns to Sasha. “Did you?”
Sasha shakes her head emphatically. “No way. But then I did have Ciara help me for half an hour while you were out talking to the stall-holders. I assumed she would have told me if she’d seen Lani, though. Maybe she hasn’t completed check-in yet.”
“Why would she come back here?”
“Just to be a bitch, probably,” Sasha says.
I hold up a hand. “Hang on. We’ll talk about Lani later. We didn’t finish discussing this Seb you mentioned.”
“Oh, yeah. He’s Emily’s ex from, like, five years ago,” Sasha explains.
“Five years ago? What’s he doing here?”
“Beats me,” Sasha says. “Emily, do you know why?”
“No, I don’t,” she says quietly.
“Yeah, and the weird thing is, he brought his stepsister, not his fiancée,” Sasha says, wriggling her eyebrows.
“Sasha! You’re not helping here,” Emily says. She looks at me apologetically. “I’m sorry. I have no idea what’s going on. I’ve sort of been avoiding him.”
“Was it a bad breakup?”
She looks down at the ground. “Not really. It just wasn’t a very long relationship. I met him right before I moved to Canada.”
“Ah.” I feel like there’s more to the story, but I don’t want to look like a jealous boyfriend. And then I realise Emily and I haven’t even classified our relationship yet. I suppose we’ll need to have that conversation at some point, especially because today was the day we agreed to reassess what was happening between us.
Sasha points to a couple coming along the boardwalk. “Speak of the devil.”
I follow her gaze, and my heart sinks. That douchebag couple who rented snorkelling equipment?
They both see Emily and come over. I can tell she looks uncomfortable, and all I want to do is whisk her away to the staff quarters so we can pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist.
“Hey! You’ve done a fantastic job here,” he tells her.
“Thanks,” she says, looking embarrassed.
“Can I steal you for a quick chat?” he asks.
“Uh, I’m kind of on duty…”
“Surely you have an assistant manager who can hold down the fort in your absence? Just ten minutes?”
Emily looks at Sasha. I think she’s avoiding looking at me, but I kind of understand. It’s not the most normal of situations.
“Go on, babe. I’ll call you if we need you.”
Emily guiltily glances at me and then goes off with the guy. The woman, his stepsister, goes and sits down, gesturing to a waiter holding champagne flutes.
Exes are the worst.
TWENTY-NINE
Emily
I try and keep calm as I walk away with Seb to a couple of bench seats that overlook the bay. It’s a cool night, but the air is still. The sun is just sinking below the horizon, and I wish it wasn’t such a romantic setting. Or that Seb chose today of all days to show up out of the blue.
I let him start the conversation. After all, he came all the way from Sydney. That’s a decent flight.
“It really is good to see you,” he says, smiling.
“Mmm,” I reply noncommittally.
He chuckles. “I’ve caught you off-guard, haven’t I?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, you just randomly show up a couple of weeks after I find out you’re engaged to Alexis.”
He grimaces. “Yeah, I guess I probably should have told you about that.”
“Actually, no, you didn’t have to. You don’t owe me anything. But if you’re coming all this way to see me without her, it is a little confusing.”
“I know. And I’m not even sure why I’m here.”
“Does Alexis know where you are?”
“Yes, but she doesn’t know you’re here. I told her Lola wanted to get away and I was going with her for a family weekend.”
I wrinkle my nose. “That’s a great start to married life.”
“We’re not married yet.”
I stare at him. “No, but you’re engaged. It’s practically the same thing. If I had a fiancé flitting around the country looking for his ex, I would not be happy.”
“You’re right. I will tell her. But I…I don’t know. I just had to see you again.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure. I guess because we were so great together…and I always wondered what would have happened if you hadn’t gone to Canada.”
“Or if you’d actually come over to visit me,” I say.
“I didn’t see the point of prolonging the misery if I couldn’t stay there permanently with you.”
&
nbsp; “But you moved to Sydney?”
“Yeah, there were more opportunities for Alexis down there, and I was able to slide into something similar to what I was doing in Brisbane.”
I feel so guilty, having this conversation with Seb when I’m with Noah now. At least, I think I’m with him. I should probably formalise whatever it is we do have.
“I’m not sure what you want me to say or do here, Seb. You’ve seen me now. I’m doing fine. Is that enough for you?”
He studies me intently. “I still care about you.”
“That’s very sweet, but you should probably focus that attention on your fiancée.” I stand up. “I don’t think we should be alone again. It’s not fair to Alexis, and it’s not fair to me.”
Or Noah, I think silently. But I don’t want to have to talk about him with Seb.
He reaches out and touches my arm, and I flinch. “Sorry, Seb. You can’t do that anymore.”
I hurry off, back to where Sasha and Noah were standing. Except Noah has disappeared.
“How’d it go?” Sasha asks.
“I don’t know. It was all very weird. I’m not sure what he was expecting.”
“But he’s still engaged?”
“Apparently.”
“My advice is to stay away from him. Any guy who flies interstate to see an ex while engaged to someone else is bad news.”
I nod. I’m inclined to agree, but it doesn’t stop a tiny part of my brain from feeling flattered.
“Did he say how he and Alexis met?” she asks.
“Oh, no. But I’m not sure it would help to know now. I’m better off moving on.”
“You’re right. None of that matters when you’ve got a cutie like Noah who worships you.”
“Speaking of, did you see where he went?” I ask.
“I think he’s gone back to the staff quarters for a break. He’s been nonstop all day.”
“I know. We all have. Actually, I might go and sneak a nap for an hour or so if I’m going to be doing the night shift.”
“Go for it. I’ll call you if I need you.”
“Thanks, Sasha.”
I head back to the staff quarters, my stomach all jittery. I know I have nothing to feel bad about, but if I were in Noah’s position, I’d definitely be questioning a few things.
Welcome to Coco Bay Page 16