“I'm sorry?” His attention grabbed, Jake tilts his head to the side.
“Maeve is getting some unwanted attention from local men who know that she's staying here,” I try to explain as quickly as I can. “She's a social media influencer. Nearly a million followers on TikTok.”
“Yes, and I stupidly revealed my location earlier today while I did a Live on the beach,” Maeve says and it's the first time I've seen her look anything but cool and composed. Instead I see her youth and her vulnerability, and it surprises me that I want to rush over to hug her tight.
“That was you!” Jake practically shouts.
“What?” Maeve asks.
“You're the reason my ass may actually survive until October!” Jake’s delight is palpable.
“I am?”
“You’ve been sharing videos of the resort?”
“Yes, but I didn't say I was staying here. People figured it out during my Live and I was a bit slow with the damage control.” Maeve still looks frustrated.
“Oh, God, there's been no damage. At least not for me. People have been making bookings all day. The resort is practically full for the next two months. Headquarters are already talking about extending the season. You have literally turned my career around in the last twenty-four hours.”
“Well, that's great to hear.” Maeve smiles.
“So do you think you could tell your security team to be extra careful about any strange men coming onto the resort?” Cynthia interrupts.
“Oh, yes, absolutely,” my brother says, defying forces of gravity as he balances the full tray in one hand while reaching to pull his phone out of his back pocket with the other. “You're in Villa 12, right? Well, extra patrols and checks for you tonight.”
“Oh, thank you so much,” Cynthia says, leaning back with a smile.
“It's totally unnecessary. I doubt they're sex pests,” Maeve says.
“It's really not a problem,” my brother says pushing buttons on his phone. “I will personally handle all the sex pests myself.”
He stops as James snickers, and I bite down a smile.
“Forget I said that,” Jake says, and he spins around and goes, keeping the tray perfectly level as he presses the phone to his ear.
“Maeve, I know you don't think anything of it, but you really have helped my brother.” I lean towards her.
“Well, it was Marty too.”
“It was?”
“Yeah, the video of him and I jumping in the pool the other day was the one that went viral and got me thousands of new followers and traction with the algorithm.”
“Oh, God, you two were cackling with laughter doing that,” James says.
“I thought there would be no more water in the pool by the time you were done,” Cynthia adds, giggling.
“He did a video with you?” I ask.
“Yeah, you want to see it?” Her eyes are sparkling again.
“Yes, please,” I say, and Maeve moves over to sit in Marty's chair. She starts scrolling through her phone and before I know it, Cynthia and James have stood up and moved over to crouch behind us. I catch a whiff of Cynthia's perfume - it's soft, floral, with vanilla undertones. It's the kind of motherly smell I find instantly comforting and homely. I wish I could remember what my mother smelt like.
We all watch the video together and it’s hilarious. Marty and Maeve take it in turns to throw themselves in the water adopting positions that text pops up to describe. There’s running, sitting at a desk, yoga positions, cooking - which Marty naturally excels at - and each one gets more ridiculous than the last. I glance at the side of the screen and see there are over three million views, over a million likes and nearly 10,000 comments. My mind boggles at that many people casting their eyes on Marty. After we watch it three times, we end up scrolling through a few more of Maeve's videos until my brother brings James and Cynthia's drinks and an update about an extra security patrol. Marty's parents turn to thank him profusely while I talk to Maeve.
“You're very talented,” I say.
She pulls her head back to look at me. “You think?”
