‘Keep them closed, no peeking,’ he instructed, and I felt his headphones cover my ears. ‘OK, you can open them now.’ He handed me his phone where Brooke’s face filled the screen.
‘Hey there, love birds!!!’ she squealed, and I blinked in disbelief.
‘Brooke! How are you? Where are you? What’s going on?’
Leo pressed pause. ‘It’s pre-recorded,’ he whispered.
‘Oh.’
Her bleached blonde bouffant was piled high on her head and her lips shimmered pink with gloss. ‘Greg and I wanted to say a huge happy birthday to you, Leo, and that we’re so damn happy to hear you guys found love on theEsmeralda. Another unimaginable moment, brought to you by Excalibur, hey? That line really does just work for every occasion, don’t it?’
‘It sure does,’ I said, nestling into Leo’s chest as he watched on in delight.
‘Leo has probably spilt the beans by now, but just in case he hasn’t – Kat, we’ve got a surprise for you both.’
I looked up at Leo who was grinning from ear to ear.
‘I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you’ve missed your flight to Barcelona.’ Brooke pulled a faux-sadface. ‘Because there isn’t one!’ she squealed in delight. ‘Instead, Greg and I are sending the pair of you on an all-expenses-paid trip to Barbados to sample thePrincess Aaliyah.’
I nearly dropped the phone in astonishment.
‘Pretty cool, hey?’ Leo said. ‘She figured they owed us a holiday after the bunk-bed trauma. To compensate us for any back trouble – mine will never be the same.’
‘Greg has said I can put it down as mystery shopping,’ Brooke continued with a wink. ‘You both deserve a rest after everything we put you through on theEsmeralda. Those rooms, that crazy schedule, and all the running around Dahlia made you do.’ She giggled. ‘Although it was a lot of fun to watch y’all play along.’
‘That woman is seriously twisted.’
‘I wanted you to meet another one of our cruise ships in person – andAaliyahis just the ticket. Absolutely gorgeous. If you thoughtEsmeraldawas beautiful,Aaliyahis going to blow your freakin’ minds. Don’t have too much fun without me – can’t wait to see the photos!’ Brooke gave a frantic wave and the video froze.
‘Is this a wind-up?’ I said, completely confused.
‘Nope. It’s real.’
‘So we’re not going to Spain?’
Leo chuckled. ‘Gotcha,’ he said, nudging into me. ‘I wanted it to be a surprise.’
‘Barbados!’ I said, dreamily. Leo was always organising little surprises, but this was huge.
‘I’ve never been to the Caribbean before – and theAaliyahlooks amazing, but why would they give us a free holiday? What’s the catch?’
‘There isn’t one, and I’ve been promised it won’t feel like an Excalibur holiday. I don’t want you thinking about work the whole time. The Caribbean ships are quite different apparently – with fewer people and much bigger, plusher bedrooms.’
‘Bigger and plusher than those staff cabins? Surely not?’ I said, kissing him in delight. ‘And I know all about theAaliyah, silly, I do their PR, remember?’
‘Apparently they’re testing out a new model for honeymooners.’ Even the word gave me palpitations as I tried to remember what I’d packed. ‘It includes a couples massage, water-skiing, quad bikes so we can get around the island and a meal for two on the beach.’
‘The snorkelling is supposed to be incredible out there, as well,’ I said, my mind racing. ‘This issocool. How long until we fly? Can we watch some of the match?’
I snuggled into Leo’s big arm for extra warmth. The Liverpool game was about to start, and we were wearing our football shirts in solidarity for the boys.
‘Oh yes, one other detail Brooke forgot to mention,’ Leo said, pulling two tickets out of his pocket. ‘We’re flying business class!’
‘No??!’
‘Yes.’ He smiled, as my mouth dropped. ‘So, we can watch the match in the lounge with a bottle of champagne.’
I threw myself at him and screamed. ‘How is this happening? Thank you so much!’
