Page 84 of Ride the Wave

Oh, I’ve reeled him in all right.

‘Nicely done, Iris,’ she adds, impressed. ‘I told Sam if anyone could break through a wall of resistance, it would be you.’

‘Thank you – but I do need more time out here. There’s a lot we haven’t covered,’ I say calmly, taking a sip of coffee.

‘I suppose it took more time than expected to get him where you want him.’

Her comment causes me to inhale sharply and almost choke on my drink, coughing and spluttering, the coffee splashing and spilling out, pooling in its lid.

‘Iris, you all right?’ Toni checks.

‘Fine,’ I utter through wheezes. ‘Coffee went down the wrong way.’

‘Look, I get that this guy has made you work for the interviews, but you’ve already had two weeks,’ she reminds me. ‘We’re on a strict deadline with this one. Not much I can do about that with Michelle Martin breathing down my neck. It needs to publish early summer; a surf article any other time of year doesn’t make sense.’

‘I know, I know.’ I press my lips together, thinking about how Leo reminded me that I’m not one to ask for something I want. I take it. ‘But Michelle wants this feature to be the best it can be, right? It’s important to her. So I’m sure she’d understand that I need a bit more time to make sure of that. It has to be perfect.’

I hear Toni exhale at the other end of the phone.

‘And I’ve savedStudioa lot of money by staying in accommodation arranged by my friend,’ I add in an attempt to argue my case. ‘So hopefully, a change of flight won’t be too extravagant when you take that into consideration.’

‘Mm.’

Putting my coffee down on the table, I stand up to wander to the edge of the balcony, leaning on the rail and looking out at the ocean. I wish I could see him surfing out there on the water. The waves somehow look empty without him.

It was nice to take my time leaving his flat this morning. I had a long, hot shower after he left, selected a hoodie from his collection and pulled it on over my dress. When I had found Marina’s flip-flops he’d mentioned, I’d strolled leisurely back to the flat carrying my heels in a shopping bag I stole from the cupboard under his sink, just in case I bumped into anyone I knew. Carrying heels from the night before would have been a bit of a giveaway.

As I stopped to buy a coffee from the little café I’ve been dropping into almost daily now, I lost myself in a daydream about my night with Leo, unable to stop smiling. They had to call out to me twice to tell me the coffee was ready and I blushed when they finally caught my attention, as though they might have been able to read my dirty little mind.

Leo was absolutely right – I need to cancel my flight. No matter how inappropriate the situation, I have to admit to myself that last night (and this morning) was so fun, I’m not ready to leave quite yet. I like it here.

‘Honestly Toni, to prove my conviction, I’ll say that I’m happy to foot the bill myself about this flight if you really can’t make it work. I know that to get this story right, I need more time out here. It’s a good story, trust me, but it’s a complex one. And I want to get this right for you and Michelle, I really do.’

She takes a moment to consider my argument. ‘All right. I suppose we can give you one more week on this. I’ll speak to Sam about changing the dates of the flight and she’ll email you the confirmation.’

‘Thank you, I appreciate it.’

‘Sounds like hard work. Have you got anything to show me?’

I hesitate. Since deleting the disastrously dry writing I sent her before, currently all I’ve got is a blank page. ‘You’ll have some draft paragraphs by the end of today.’

‘Good. I’ll make a note to read those tomorrow morning before I take my daughter to her football practice,’ she says, and I can hear her typing, adding it to her calendar.

Which reminds me of Leo’s teasing about my insistence on scheduling everything. I smile into the phone, thinking of him doing so, how cute he looks when he gets that bemused expression on his face because I’m doing something that is ridiculous to him. That smile of his is so sexy, even when he’s making fun of me.

‘It will be a nice start to my Saturday morning,’ she continues. ‘I can sit looking out at the pissing rain while reading about beaches, rolling waves and a surfer who won’t quit.’

‘You won’t be disappointed. Hey, would you rather I sent them Sunday evening so you can have a stress-free weekend and read them on Monday instead?’

‘Oh God, Iris, how many things were wrong with that sentence? No, I would rather have your pages as soon as possible. Additionally, I do have the capability of leaving a document unread in my inbox should I decide to read them the next day instead. And a stress-free weekend?Please. I’m a working mother. Get a grip.’

I laugh lightly. ‘I realised it sounded stupid as soon as I said it.’

‘At least you realised.’

‘You know, Toni,’ I say, peering down at a couple strolling towards the sea and putting their feet in the water, letting the waves lap over them, ‘you should come to Burgau.’

‘Why would I do that?’

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