Page 35 of Match Made in the Maldives

“I’m lucky I woke up when I did.”

“Meant to set an alarm.”

I didn’t intend for Lou to sleep over in my room, but I’m not mad about the turn of events. I’m disappointed that I missed her in the morning, though. The sun’s reflection on the water woke me up, almost blinding me. Then, Lou’s scent on the pillow, rich and sweet, reminded me of what we’d gotten up to. Reminded me that the night was real.

“I ran into my dad in the living room.”

“Shit.” My stomach does a free fall. We should tell Dave and Betsey, and the rest of the Moores, about me and Lou at the right time. Her crawling back to her bed the morning after doesn’t qualify as that time.

“He’d woken up already. Reclined on the couch to watch sunrise. He only noticed me once I reached the kitchen, so I pretended I wanted something to drink.”

“Do you…Did he suspect anything?”

“Don’t think so. If so, he didn’t say anything.” She scans my face. “Don’t worry.”

“I’m not.”

Being with Lou has feltright, aside from the whole clandestine aspect to what we’re doing. Last night I almost told her I loved her, and I do—I love Luna Moore, and I have for a long time. This vacation’s proven we work well, both on our own and as a part of the Moores. Us being together doesn’t have to change anything, even if it changes everything.

This can work.

Lou taps a key on her keyboard with a loud click, and she sighs. “Alright, done.”

“Done, like no more work until next week?”

“Close. I made some revisions to a design based on feedback. And I had a prospective client email me, so I sent them an updated list of services.”

“Oh?”

She nods, tapping her fingers on her laptop. “I took your advice, and I’m raising my rates. Or trying, at least.”

“How’s it feel?”

“Terrible. They’re going to say no.”

“They might. They might not, though.”

She gives me a halfhearted smile. “Encouraging.”

“If they’re smart, they’ll say yes.”

“I charged on the lower end since I was just starting out and wanted to get work. But I thought about what you said. I’ve been doing this kind of work for years at an agency, so I shouldn’t sell myself short.” She leans back into the chair and fiddles with the hem of her pants. “That thing you said about scarcity mentality made me realize I’ve been afraid to voice what I want and need because that could shut out a bunch of possibilities. But if they’re not what I’m looking for, or if they’re not right for me because they don’t pay well enough, then why take those clients on? That’ll close me off to better stuff.”

“I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks.” Her expression shines like the sun after a storm. “It’s scary, but…I like the idea of being valued more. Appreciated for what I’m worth.”

I tap her foot with mine and we share a secret smile, though our hushed moment together gets interrupted by a young girl panting and running into the lobby to check the bulletin board. She grabs a push pin and stabs her piece of paper into it, examining the others before she races back out.

“Can you imagine coming here on vacation as a child?”

“Pretty wild,” Lou says, closing her laptop. “We did trips. You were there for lots of them. Nothing as luxe as this, though.”

Robertson family getaways involved my parents fighting a lot. As a kid, I would have loved coming to a place like this—an island where I could roam on my own, away from my brother and away from my mom and dad. Not much of a bonding experience, but more enjoyable.

“Must be nice.”

“Could be,” Lou says. “Might be kind of boring, though. Lonely. There’s not a ton of kids here, so yeah, they have cool stuff to do, but it’s a lot of doing it alone. That’s why they have that corkboard.”

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