Page 25 of Escape to the Sun

‘Didn’t want an empty cabin on your first trip as captain?’ she said with a dismissive laugh.

‘No. It’s nothing like that.’

‘Why are you so pleased, then?’ Hannah knew she was making the situation difficult for him, wasn’t sure why she was, except that she could feel rising panic about what might happen if he said any of the things she wanted him to.

He shifted in his seat. ‘It’s nothing to do with my role on board, or you being a passenger.’

‘What then?’

His eyebrows meshed as he stared at her.

‘Can’t you work it out, Hannah?’

He extended a hand, and Hannah thought he might be about to touch hers. She wanted him to, but she didn’t want him to – in case she couldn’t cope with how it might make her feel. She couldn’t cope with any of this. So, she sat back, moving out of reach.

‘No, that’s why I’m asking.’ Pressing her lips together she watched his expression, wondered what he would do next. Expecting him to think better of the direction the conversation was travelling, to finish his latte and scarper. Hoping he didn’t.

He pulled in a deep breath. ‘Don’t worry about it. Timing wasn’t ever my best attribute. Ignore me. I’ll let you get on.’

He stood and Hannah clambered to her feet, too, wishing she hadn’t made it so difficult for him, but with no idea how to turn this around and tell him that now they were standing she really wanted to move close against him and feel his body against hers…

‘Would you like to come to dinner?’ he said, suddenly, and Hannah smiled – a cosy dinner, that would be a far better opportunity to get closer to him.

‘I would,’ she said. It would give her more time to get a grip on her flip-flopping thoughts, too.

‘I’ll get Martin to send you an official invitation,’ he said.

Official invitation? For the two of them to have dinner? Her expression must have matched her thoughts.

‘For a Captain’s Dinner. It’s another of the things I do, alongside the Q&A craziness. There are usually twenty, maybe thirty or so hand-picked passengers, and some of the other officers, that’s all.’

Hannah tried not to let her expression falter too much. Twenty or thirty others, plus more of the crew?

‘Sounds wonderful,’ she managed to say, forcing herself to smile. She’d royally messed this up. He was back to his professional self, and she couldn’t blame him.

‘Any special dietary requirements?’ he asked.

‘No.’

From the Crow’s Nest, Louis took a circuitous route through the rest of that deck, then headed down to what was referred to as ‘Main Deck’, where the bustle of people during a sailing day would most likely be. There were shops, restaurants, boutiques and bars. Even a card room for those guests who enjoyed playing bridge (not a card game he enjoyed. Ha – the irony), or poker.

Cruising with Blue Line offered its guests a combination of all-inclusive meals and soft drinks in certain restaurants, while giving added choice with its alcohol-serving bars and shops, where anything chosen needed to be purchased. It meant people could cruise on a relatively tight budget or go wild in the boutiques, jewellery shops and exclusive restaurants if they wanted to. And nobody needed to know which category any individual fell into.

It also meant the all-inclusive restaurants were busy for much of the time, and places like the Crow’s Nest and the Vivaldi restaurant tended to be quieter. The Captain’s Dinner would be held in the Vivaldi – the whole place already booked out for the chosen evening. Although he was now off duty, the last thing Louis wanted to do was head for his cabin and relax. He wanted to walk off his frustration. He’d blown it with Hannah, he’d pushed her too hard.

And could he be even the slightest bit surprised by her reaction? She’d been so very candid about what must remain a gaping wound, the feelings of betrayal and loss so new and raw. What had he been thinking? He should have known better than to have ploughed on regardless.

At least she’d been too polite to tell him where to stick his dinner invitation. Plus, she would be visiting the bridge with Millie to help feed Portus. Maybe all wasn’t lost.

As if appearing like a portent of his thoughts, Louis looked up to see his father approaching. If his father had told him once that he needed to be more thoughtful, to plan better and be less impetuous, he’d said it a million times. Usually as a response to Louis’ attempts at working out tactics for a race, back in the days when he was still competing, still dreaming of representing the UK, but also moulded latterly to reflect Louis’ debatable track record with romance.

They stopped in the middle of the concourse.

‘Is there anything this ship doesn’t have?’ Louis’ father frowned as though the breadth on offer was a bad thing. ‘There’s a barber. And a shop selling nothing but chocolate. Your mother would have been in clover in there. I nearly bought her some truffles, then I remembered…’

Louis swallowed hard, waiting for his father to recover, too.

‘Why aren’t you on the bridge?’