Page 26 of Ride the Wave

‘No, Adriano,’ I say, beaming at him. ‘Studiowill take us to lunch.’

‘I won’t say no to that.’

‘Thank you.’ I pause, a question on the tip of my tongue but hesitant to push my luck.

‘Yes, Iris?’ he says, tilting his head at me and looking at me expectantly.

This guy reallyisgood at reading people.

‘As his coach, would you be happy for me to observe some of his training sessions?’ I ask hopefully. ‘I don’t think Leo is going to be very forthcoming about when and where he’s surfing. I don’t want to do anything to distract him of course, but this feature is centred on his big comeback. I need to build in the work in the lead up to it.’

‘I understand. Of course. I can let you know where we’re going to be and you are welcome to come watch him surf.’ He shrugs. ‘It’s not like you’re out there in the water with him, getting in the way.’

I shudder at the thought. ‘Exactly. Thank you, Adriano.’

After exchanging numbers and saying goodbye, I leave the shop in a completely different mood to when I walked in. I’m uplifted by his warmth and willingness to cooperate.

It finally feels like I’m getting somewhere.

Tonight, I’m taking myself out for dinner.

8

I feel like celebrating so I take myself to this amazing restaurant I passed earlier today when I was exploring and thought it looked nice. One of the few occasions when I was right to judge a book by its cover: the food is delicious, the staff are lovely and it’s a relaxed but sophisticated setting. I bought a book in the airport on the way here, a thriller set in a beach house, and I’ve been able to eat my dinner completely engrossed in the pages.

‘I think my perfect date might be a book,’ I announced to Flora a couple of weeks ago when I was round her house for dinner. ‘Aside from you, of course.’

‘You can say that sort of thing all you like, but I don’t believe you,’ she told me curtly, twisting a cap back on its bottle. ‘You love dating. Remember when I first broke up with my ex-boyfriend Jonah? You told me how wonderful dating was. Fun, romantic, exciting, dramatic – those were the words I believe you used.’

‘Those are also the words I use to describe some of my favourite books,’ I countered haughtily. ‘And you don’t get to have an opinion on the matter. You were on the dating scene for about one whole minute before you fell head over heels with your accidental roommate.’

‘Iris, I love books as much as the next person, but you can’t date one,’ Flora said, before taking a sip of her drink.

‘I suppose. You can’t have sex with one either.’

She spat Appletiser out all over the table. I smiled, delighted with myself.

‘You canreadabout sex though,’ I considered, ‘which can be just as satisfying.’

‘Iris,’ she giggled, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. ‘Come on. Be serious. I know dating can be tiring and I also know that you’re happy on your own – but it would also be okay for you to admit you might want to meet someone.’

‘I know that,’ I assured her, before heaving a sigh. ‘But I don’t have space for that sort of thing in my schedule right now.’

‘Sometimes, it comes along when you least expect it and before you know it—’

‘You’re living in a mansion in Wimbledon carrying the offspring of a professional tennis player,’ I finished for her, gesturing around her spacious, open-plan kitchen.

‘Exactly. Oof.’ She shifted in her seat, placing her palm over her belly. ‘Don’t I know that this is the kid of an athlete. The strength of the kicks!’

I’d jumped to my feet and run around the table to feel the movement and our conversation had naturally shifted onto something else. I know she’s looking out for me, but I meant what I said: I don’t have time for real-life romance right now.

I really would rather go on a date with a book.

‘Iris?’

I snap my head up from my page-turner to look right up into the stunningly beautiful eyes of—

‘José.’ I smile, flooded with relief at remembering the name of my current landlord.

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