‘Have a good time.’
‘Thanks.’
He closed the door and went back into the shop.
Typical brother, she thought with a roll of her eyes, and went out into the yard. Her phone buzzed. It was Alex:
Just coming down your road.
Ellie squealed, grabbed her giant suitcase and wheeled it towards the yard gate. She was swinging the gate open as Martin’s cab pulled up outside.
Alex jumped out, grabbed her case and hauled it into the cab, not moaning once about the weight of it – unlike Mark, who’d cursed her packing down each flight of stairs. Then, like a gentleman, Alex waved her inside first.
‘Oh, you’re spoiling me!’ she exclaimed, as she spotted a little Harrods bag on the floor filled with chocolates, two flutes and a bottle of Moët with a branded freezer jacket to keep it cool.
Alex crawled back into the cab and his big body filled the limited space as he settled beside her on the back seat. ‘Martin helped.’
‘Of course he did. What would you do without him? All right, Martin?’ she called out in greeting, buckling her seat belt.
Martin chuckled and waved from the front. ‘Yes, love. You got your passport? Hannah was convinced she’d forgotten hers halfway to the airport. Almost had to turn around until she realised it was in her coat pocket, silly pickle.’
‘I’ve got it.’ She waved her passport at him for confirmation and he pulled away.
‘He checked me for mine too,’ said Alex and chuckled. He reached for the champagne and popped the cork. ‘I didn’t have it. Left it in the hotel safe. We had to go back – sorry, that’s why I’m a bit late.’
Ellie held out the glasses for him to pour, and said loudly, ‘Thank you, Martin. You’re a life saver.’
They toasted each other and took a sip.
‘So, when do you go back to work?’ Alex asked conversationally.
Relief and the fizz of champagne flooded her veins. They were back to their easy friendship, despite the drama of the awards and their heated kiss. At least, Alex was; she found herself unable to stop staring at his sultry mouth as he took another sip of his drink, and watching the bob of his throat as he swallowed the liquid.
Staring at him was a habit she really needed to break.
Like now…What did he say? Oh, work, yes!
‘Well, I’ve plenty of unused holiday, so I’ve booked a bit of time off after too. Just to have a think about my next steps and get over any jet lag.’ Ellie sipped her bubbly and sank into the leather seat with a happy wiggle, her fight with her mum already fading into a distant memory.
‘That sounds like a good idea. It’s a long trip, what with the connecting flight and the boat.’
Ellie almost choked on her perfectly chilled champagne. ‘I’m sorry, what?’
She really should have paid more attention to the details. But she’d spent all of her spare time on sewing her award show and summer outfits. She’d made nearly everything from scratch, with only a few exceptions – like the scandalous teeny-weeny-not-yellow-but-blue-polka-dot-bikini. She suspected she would never be brave enough to wear it, but she’d packed it anyway. There were always her usual one-pieces if she felt shy, and she had plenty of beach kaftans and throws to cover up with.
Alex’s voice brought her head back from the inside of her suitcase to the hunk beside her. ‘Yeah, sorry. The house is in Exuma, it’s an archipelago of cays and islands about thirty-five miles from Nassau. We’ve a connecting flight, but it’s less than an hour.’ He gave her a sheepish look, as if he was sorry his luxury holiday home was such a ball-ache to get to. ‘Then we’ll take the boat to my parents’ house, which is only another forty minutes, and it’s a scenic journey – you get to see the smaller islands, stingrays, turtles, that sort of thing.’
‘Seriously, that sounds amazing. And that’s just the journey there? Brilliant!’
Alex winced. ‘You might feel differently when you meet my family.’
It was Ellie’s turn to cringe – she shouldn’t be so excited for something that Alex was going to find so hard.
‘It will be fine, I promise.’ She offered her glass, and he tapped it gently with his own.
She only prayed that they wouldn’t let each other down, because right now she wasreallyout of her depth.
Chapter Fifteen
