“Asshole.”
“Yep. Maybe there’ll be a bridesmaid to mend his lonely heart.” Lexi puts her wine down and pulls the cling wrap off our bowls. She hands me mine, and we dig in. I’m ravenous, having done three dives today—two with the guests and then a longer session with Roger. It was only a walk-in dive to assess his skills, but starting tomorrow, we’re going to take a structured approach to his training.
“I had an interesting conversation with Deshni today,” Lexi says between bites.
“Yes?”
“She and Sarika want to make changes at the spa, and I had a look at their proposal. It’s a solid plan, but for some reason they’ve never had a chance to push it with management.”
I take a sip of wine, the gears in my head shifting. “It’s the same for Roger. He’s stuck and wants more from life, but it seems hard to get ahead here.”
“How weird,” Lexi says. “You’d think Beaumont would encourage their staff to grow.”
“I don’t know. Roger said people who learn too much tend to leave. So maybe that’s not Beaumont’s preferred approach. We’re lucky. We’ve had different experiences, and when we go home, we have options. Our time here is limited. But when our three months are done, all these local folks will still be here, as Beaumont needs them to be, carrying on with no practical access to learning.”
“Yep,” Lexi says, sipping her wine. “That sucks, but I guess it makes sense.”
“I’m going to train Roger over the next few weeks and have him dive with me to get his hours. By the time I leave, he could be a master diver.”
“What? That fast?”
“If we push it, yes.”
“What about your filming and editing and all that?”
I shrug. “He can come with me. He wants to learn the ropes, so two birds with one stone. If I can help him while I’m here, I will.” I take a last bite. “The rest can happen in between. I know what I’m doing and where I’m going with it, so it’ll work out.”
“That would be awesome for him.” Lexi stirs the bits and bobs of salad and beans around in her bowl. “I was planning to run Deshni and Sarika’s proposal by the head office in France first, but why wait? They’ve been sitting on the idea so long and to stall while we wait for them to make up their minds is a waste of time.”
“So just start implementing it,” I say with a nod. “You wanted to show off your skills… You can deal with any backlash after the fact.”
“That’s one way to bypass Jem.” She smirks. “Can’t ask for a better opportunity, for all of us.”
“Exactly. Did you know Roger and Deshni are a couple and not supposed to be?”
Lexi looks up. “What do you mean?”
“They’re in love, but can’t be together because of… I don’t know.” I shake my head. “Cultural differences. Parental expectations. It sounds complicated.”
“Oh, God,” Lexi whispers as she puts her bowl on the coffee table. “That’s who she meant.”
“With what?”
“She said she had to see how things work out with—ugh, she didn’t say his name, but she must have been referring to Roger.”
“What did she say?”
“She was all in tears and told me she’ll have an arranged marriage, but it was clear she was already in love with someone else, someone she can’t have.” Lexi groans as she drops her head back against the sofa and looks over at me. “She made me feel horrible about faking this engagement. She said we’re so lucky to be here, together, not even married, and with ourparents’ blessing.”
Our parents’ blessing is so far off the radar that we didn’t bother to tell anybody about our arrangement. But I understand Deshni’s sentiment. I put my empty bowl down and sigh into my cupped hands as I lean back too, sinking into the sofa.What are we playing at here?Beyond being a means to an end, I’m not sure what I’m doing here with Lexi, or why I agreed to this impulsive idea of Evan’s. But I think some part of me knew. This girl has been trying to crawl out of my heart for years, but I’ve kept her tethered in a secret chamber where only I knew she still existed. And I’ve waited. Forthis.
We’ve both been waiting for this. They say people change, but they don’t—not that much. Not in the fundamental things that matter. And this isLexi. I’ve never cared for another girl like I care for her. And now this grown woman is jerking that chain in my heart, making me fall for her again, slowly and then so fast it’s like freefalling from the sky.
“Babes,” I groan into my hands, needing to divert my thoughts.
“Hmm?”
“We got an email from the lawyer about the Mia Reed video. It’s in your inbox.”
