Page 37 of The Wedding Proposal

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By the time Elle prepared to leave the Seadancer she was feeling pleasantly fuzzy and relaxed. Loz and Davie would have swept her along with them as they went ashore to dine with other yachtie friends, but she had been firm in her refusal.

‘I’m too hot and sticky and I’ve eaten about a pound of your cheese. What I’d really like to do,’ she added, ‘is swim. I can’t believe I’ve been here almost a week and haven’t been in yet.’

‘You don’t have to go very far.’ Davie gave her directions to a suitable swimming spot and within minutes she was back at the Shady Lady. Relieved to find the boat empty she changed into a golden yellow one-piece. Throwing on a loose dress, she grabbed a towel and set off through the early evening sunshine to where a gathering of hotels looked across Marsamxett Harbour to Valletta and an area of sea was roped off against the intrusion of boats.

People, bright towels and beach bags were scattered on the rocks between road and sea. Balancing on the rocky ripples and serrations, Elle picked her way right to the end. The water looked incredibly inviting, lapping and twinkling in the sunshine.

She threw down her towel, kicked off her dress and flip-flops and dived in.

After the heat of the afternoon, the sea felt scalp-tingling cold. Through the water she gained a blurred impression of rocks, seaweed and her own bubbles dancing around her before she broke the surface with an exultant ‘Whoo!’

The sea was still choppy and she flipped over and began a languid back crawl, the sounds of children squealing gargling in her ears, warring with the tolling of a church bell and the constant grumble of traffic.

Reaching the line of rope and buoys, she paused to tread water and gaze across the harbour to admire the Carmelite Dome and the elegant spire of StPaul’s church.

She swam back more slowly. Then she climbed one of the ladders out onto the rocks and dried herself, thinking about shopping for her evening meal. Lucas would no doubt be busy with Kayleigh.

Now she had what she had expected in the first place, the boat to herself . . . it was going to feel odd.

Chapter Ten

To: Simon.Rose

From: Elle.Jamieson

Subject: Two weeks into the adventure

Hi Simon,

I’m e-mailing you while all around me industrious 16–18-year-olds are creating CVs for potential employers. Joseph’s mum, Aileen, is here, too. She’s a retired English teacher so she does the words and I do the IT skills. Having been married to a Maltese man, she speaks quite a bit of the language, so the kids tend to behave pretty well when she’s around.

Two weeks in Malta have flashed by. But, somehow, I feel as if I’ve been here much longer, too. I get on well with Loz and Davie. Loz is so funny, isn’t she? Flinging her arms around people, always agog about their lives. She doesn’t get EastEnders on the boat so real people have to take its place. She’s lovely to work for, so long as I don’t mind her wandering around with me, chattering as I work.

I’ve sorted out the computer room at Nicholas Centre. Everything’s reformatted and working as fast as I can make it go. I won’t bore you with the details of installing a new router with more ports, getting the broadband speed raised, firewalls, virus checks, clearing porn blah blah. Let’s just say I had to view it as a challenge rather than a frustration.

I very proudly filled up the water on the Shady Lady, yesterday. Lucas does it most days but he was busy because his girlfriend, Kayleigh, is here. She’s been here for a week but I’ve only met her once. I expect he’s showing her around the island.

Elle paused, debating whether to ask Simon why he thought it was that Lucas seemed to return alone to spend every night on the boat. Lucas had told her that he and Kayleigh liked their own space but . . . the Lucas she used to know had definitely woken in the mornings ready for action. Heat flooded her at the memory of Lucas’s hands and mouth on her skin, waking her for languorous early-morning love-making. Or urgent early-morning love-making. Or a shake-down in the shower, if that’s all they had time for.

Separate sleeping arrangements? Not likely.

With a glance around the room to check none of the kids was wearing that I-need-help-with-this-task-but-don’t-want-to-ask-for-it look, she returned to her e-mail.

I’ve been swimming from Tigne seafront, near that footbridge to the big shopping area, The Point. The Point’s too much like any shopping mall anywhere for my taste and I’d rather mooch around Sliema or Valletta. The temperatures are in the mid-30s, which is pretty hot for June (and everyone tells me it will be even hotter in July and August) so I stop often for ice cream.

I took your advice about the open-top buses and have been on two tours. Really fascinating! The only other touristy thing I’ve done is a harbour cruise, which was brilliant. Doesn’t Valletta look amazing from Grand Harbour? For that matter, doesn’t Grand Harbour look amazing from Valletta? So fabulously blue with the white wakes of boats criss-crossing it and everything from massive ocean liners to little fishing boats.

Malta is such a fantastic place, Simon. Thank you for making it possible for me to live here. Even if Lucas is here to complicate things.

Hugs,

Elle xxx ?

Simon’s reply pinged into her inbox only forty minutes later.

To: Elle.Jamieson

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