Page 3 of Meet Me in Tahiti

The captain returned his attention to her.

“Thanks,” she managed. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Tessa. Reed.”

The captain nodded once, like he was mentally checking off a list. “You’re in cabin four. Port side, forward.”

“Okay, thanks. It’s just me,” she added quickly, immediately regretting how much that sounded like an apology. Or even an explanation. She didn’t owe anyone an explanation.

Ethandid. But she did not.

The captain’s expression didn’t change. “No problem. I’ll have Jules show you around once everyone’s settled.” He motioned to a young woman on deck.

She nodded and stepped onto the gangplank, awareof every inch of ocean visible on either side. So much water. Clear turquoise that stretched forever. Her stomach twisted.

She’d never been on a boat like this. Never been snorkeling. Never seen a reef or a tropical fish up close, except maybe in her dentist’s office. Despite the fact that she’d lived in Miami for a while, she still didn’t feel as comfortable in the water as the others did. There were no coral reefs in Cincinnati where she’d grown up.

After all, moving to Florida had been quite a leap for someone who’d been land-locked all of her life. But the job had sounded great, and the pay, higher than any other offers she’d had when she’d started looking for her next career move a few years ago. Plus, the beach was great. She didn’t go in the water much—more than waist-deep—but going to the beach, she loved.

For that matter, she’d have preferred staying at a resort—and lounging on the sand—over spending a week on a small boat for this momentous trip they’d decided would mark their thirtieth birthdays, even though Tessa’s was the only birthday actually occurring during the trip.

But water-loving, practically-a-fish-herself, Florida-raised Marin had talked her into a private charter cruise after the other girls had jumped on the idea.

She sighed again. She was here now. No going back. It was time to stretch her horizons. Try new things.

But the disappointment rushed at her again. This was supposed to have been a romantic birthday trip. A glittering toast to turning thirty, drinking rum out ofcoconuts and clinking glasses under the stars. Holding hands with someone special.

Instead, she was the odd number out. The plus-none. The only one with hervery owncabin. She sighed inwardly and felt the familiar flush of insecurity rise up.

But she tamped it down.

Because here she was. She was doing this. And she wouldn’t want to be holding hands with her cheating ex-boyfriend, anyway.

She would not cry, and she would not be the sad single girl in everyone’s Instagram photos. She would be the confident, independent woman on her own who’d weathered the storm.

She’d just touched down on the glorious Tahitian islands, for crying out loud! Jet lag or not, this was heaven on earth. She could be brave.

Tessa gazed out from the main deck and forced a smile as a petite woman in a crisp white shirt, black shorts, a long dark braid, and bare feet approached with a friendly gaze and a tray of fruit-infused water.

“Welcome aboard. I’m Jules,” the young woman said. “We’ll get everyone settled in, and then we’ll set sail.”

“Thank you, Jules,” she replied, grinning back. Tessa took a glass and sipped, letting the cool sweetness calm her nerves. She fiddled with the flowery lei they’d ceremoniously placed around her neck when the group had arrived at the tiny airport on Moorea after a short flight from the island of Tahiti this morning.

It was another first for her—to be on a plane so small. The overnight flight from Miami had been long,of course, although the layover at LAX had been quick. But at least she’d slept for several hours on the long flights. Honestly, she’d enjoyed the tiny plane, too. It had been exciting.

See, she was already trying new things.

Because yes, she could enjoy this. She could adjust her busy, nine-to-five lifestyle toisland time—as Avery and Jenna had taken to calling it—and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip. And she could forget about Ethan, who didn’t deserve to be here—or to be missed.

“Can you believe this?” Jenna said softly into her ear. “This boat is insane. How lucky are we?”

Tessa set her gaze to the wide blue horizon. “So lucky…”

Truly, she was going to enjoy this, one way or another.

Her gaze drifted back to the deck, where the captain was helping the last couple with their bags. He moved easily, like he belonged to the sea and the sun and the breeze. Like he didn’t have to try. It was… charming, really.

But Tessa wasn’t here to be charmed. Charming had landed her on this trip—alone, when her ex had charmed his way into another woman’s life before he’d had the decency to exit hers.

But good grief, the captain didn’t even have to try. That smile was… distracting, to say the least.

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