Page 108 of Away We Go

His laugh warms my belly and I smile at him. Whereas the yachting version of Cherry is slothful and a little dishevelled, this version of Nicky is the best one yet. He’s relaxed and quick to smile, the frown lines on his forehead all but gone.

I’m not looking forward to going back to real life and watching the tension take hold of his shoulders again.

“Okay, we’ll stay here.”

At this stage, it feels like he would agree to just about anything to please me. Including watching hours ofBelow Deck Sailing Yachtin the saloon with me when the weather isn’t cooperating. So far, we’ve watched season two—otherwise known as thebestseason—and I can tell he’s hooked.

Who knew he’d turn out to be such a fan of Bravo shows?

“Mr Dimitrios?” Rachel calls out from somewhere behind us.

He raises his sunglasses. “Yes?”

She nibbles on her lower lip, shifting like she’s uncomfortable. “The captain wanted me to tell you there’s an urgent call you need to take.”

My stomach clenches and I bolt upright. Nicky does the same, gracefully jumping to his feet, his brow furrowed as he walks towards her.

“It’s from a Frieda?” Rachel continues.

Oh.Well, that can’t be the worst-case scenario that had been floating through my mind in the last several seconds.

“Frieda?” Nicky’s frown grows darker. “Can you tell her I’ll call her back?”

Rachel hesitates before nodding. “Sure.”

We watch her disappear down the ladder and he sinks back down, this time sharing my sun-lounger with me.

“I thought—” he starts.

“I know…” I squeeze his hand. After letting our loved ones know we were going ‘off-grid’ and to contact the captain if there was anything urgent, we both turned our phones off. So, when someone actually does that, your mind can’t help but think the worst.

“What do you think she wants?” I ask finally. If Frieda is desperate enough to contact Nicky this way when he did not want to be disturbed, then it’s got to be pretty important news.

Or pretty bad news.

“I’d better call her and find out.” He heaves a sigh, the muscles in his shoulders bunching as he stands. “I’ll be right back.”

I nod, watching him leave with knots lining my stomach. It’s been so blissful here in our little world, and I have a terrible feeling that this bubble we’ve created is about to burst.

Too restless now to enjoy lounging like a lizard, I head back down to our cabin, crossing my fingers it’s good news. I slow my steps as I catch Nicky pacing around the saloon, clutching the back of his neck with his hand, while on the phone with Frieda. His words are coming out sharp and clipped.

“I’ll call you back,” he pauses. “Yeah, we’ll sort it out.”

Hanging up the call with a stabbing finger, he stops pacing and stares off into space. I take several steps closer to him and clear my throat.

“What’s going on?” I ask, wringing my fingers when he just stands, now staring at me. Not saying anything. “Nicky, you’ve got me worried.”

A flash of something darts over him and he walks over to me, pushing me down into the plush sofa behind me before taking a seat on the coffee table to face me.

“That was Frieda,” he says, starting with the obvious.

I take his hand. “Yes, I know.”

He sucks in a deep, deep breath. “I was hoping we could avoid this until we’d discussed it all properly…”

Spit it out, already!

“Discuss what?”

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