“It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to it, but the main thing is that Amber enjoys herself. It’s her first big overseas holiday, and it means a lot to her. We spent a week in Honolulu before the cruise and that part was awesome.”
“Did you see much around the island or spend most of your time at the beach?” Harry asked.
“We did some of the usual tourist things, including a drive up to the North Shore, and Amber definitely gave the credit card a workout in Waikiki. She dragged me up and down Kalakaua Avenue—I’m sure we must have been into every shop—but she’d been saving up for ages, so it was a special treat for her. We also took a tour out to Pearl Harbor that was amazing, and seeing the USS Arizona Memorial… wow, so emotional. The sunrise hike up Diamond Head was the highlight for me, although I left Amber back at the hotel for that one.” Evan laughed. “She’s not a morning person, and I wouldn’t have dared wake her.”
God, he’s so thoughtful. Amber’s a lucky girl.
Harry pushed aside the now familiar feeling of jealousy. “It sounds like you two had a great time and made the most of your time before the cruise.”
“We did.” Evan picked up his cup. “And what about you guys?”
“I couldn’t get much time off from work, and the cruise itself is taking up most of my accrued leave days, but I’d love to go back to Honolulu one day. It’d be great to see more of the island and maybe check out the other islands too. I’d love to see the volcanoes.”
“Oh, an adventurer, are you?” Evan raised his brows.
“I saidsee, not climb.” Harry chuckled. “Although seriously, Idolike hiking. Just not to the top of a volcano that could explode at any time.”
“I hear there are some awesome helicopter tours. You can get an amazing view of the craters and make a quick getaway.” Evan winked before taking a sip of coffee and relaxing back in his seat. “I’d love to take a hiking holiday some time. There’s an amazing track around Milford Sound in New Zealand. The Holly—”
“The Hollyford Track!” Harry leaned forward. “It’s meant to be spectacular.”
“Oh my God. I can’t believe you’ve heard of it.”
“I’ve more than heard of it. I’ve looked into it, and I’d love to go one day.”
“We should go together,” Evan said.
“Yes!” Harry couldn’t hold back his excitement—it sounded like an amazing idea. Days spent trekking around the New Zealand wilderness with Evan. No one else, just the two of them, surrounded by nature. But… His excitement waned. “What about Amber?”
“What about her?” Evan drew his brows together.
“Well, I didn’t think it sounded like the type of thing she’d be interested in? What would she think?”Oh, God. What if he meant for all three of us to go together? Or what if he didn’t mean it at all and the offer wasn’t genuine, and he was just making polite conversation.
“Oh, don’t worry about Amber,” Evan replied. “It’s not like she’d want to come anyway.”
“She’s fine with you having overseas holidays apart?”
“What?” Evan briefly had that confused look again. “Oh, yeah. She doesn’t mind me doing my own thing. It’s good to have separate interests, right?”
“Um… sure. I guess.”It must be great to have such an understanding girlfriend. If I’d tried that while dating John, I never would have heard the end of it. John and FOMO go hand-in-hand.
“Anyway, you and John can discuss it. I’m up for it if you are,” Evan said. “I don’t suppose you’ll get time off for holidays again anytime soon.”
Harry shook his head sadly. “You’re right. It was a stretch getting these couple of weeks. I’m still pretty much the new guy, and there’s so much to do.”
“It must be tough being part of a start-up and having so much rest on your shoulders. I’m used to working as part of a big team who’ve been working together for years—a well-oiled machine, so to speak.”
Harry nodded. “Sometimes I miss the security of an established business, but I wouldn’t trade this job for the world. It’s exciting, and there’s something new happening every day.”
“It sounds awesome. I admire you for taking a chance with the company. So much could go wrong, but there’s so much potential for things to go right. It must be great knowing you’re having such an impact on the success of the business and watching it grow.”
“It is.”Thank God for someone who actually understands.“For me, there’s more to work than just ticking the boxes and taking home a paycheque. I want to know I’m making my mark on the world.”
“Tell me more. I’d love to hear some of the specifics of what you’re working on.” Evan’s smile was wide, and Harry warmed at the interest he was showing. It appeared genuine, but he thought of John’s put downs and hesitated.
“Really? You’re on holiday and you want to talk work?”
“Absolutely. I can tell you love your job, and I’d really like to hear more. From what you’ve said so far, it sounds fascinating and so different to what I do every day.”
