Page 5 of Her Fake Island Wedding

“And that’s why Mum will believe in you where she wouldn’t Luke. She’ll think being six years younger than me, you won’t care about my immature attitude.”

“Hey, stop putting yourself down. You’re not immature. You like to have fun; that’s not a crime.”

A little to her surprise, he held out a hand towards her. When she blinked uncertainly at it, he grinned. “Your mum definitely won’t believe we’re in a relationship if you can’t even hold my hand to take a walk.”

Lucy laughed and put her hand in his, feeling his long, strong fingers close around hers. “You got me there. Okay. Where are we walking to?”

“Don’t you have to get back to the bio centre? Figured I’d walk you back. Presumably you’ll need to let your colleagues there in on the prank as well so none of them let the cat out of the bag to your mother. I thought you might want me there to confirm that you’re not pulling their collective legs.”

“That’s… really thoughtful of you. Thanks.” Lucy hadn’t really thought about telling her colleagues at the marine biology research centre about the plan, but she would certainly have to. “I guess I hadn’t really thought of telling them this afternoon.”

“Like it or not, you started a ball rolling, Lucy.” Bryce’s eyes were serious as he looked down at her. He was a full head taller than her five foot five, Lucy noticed inconsequentially, and his eyes were a beautiful shade of green, almost emerald. “By dinnertime the rumours will be all over the resort. Or hadn’t you noticed the speed of gossip around here nearly approaches light speed?”

“I had,” she admitted, “but somehow I hadn’t thought anyone would care, because it’s not like we’re in an actual relationship.”

“Are you kidding me? We need literally everyone on board to pull this one off. Everyone gets a chance to play a part. I reckon that’s why Luke gave you the okay, actually; it’s a fun project which will have all the staff on board and be great for morale.”

“Wow,” Lucy said when she caught her breath. “You… have thought this through way better than I have.”

“Hey, you’re too close to it. It’s your mother you’re trying to get off your back. Believe me, I know how that goes.”

“Which is a good point, what about your parents? Won’t it seem odd that they’re not here?”

For the first time, she saw a shadow cross Bryce’s open, cheerful face. “Not to me, no.”

It was obviously a sore subject, but she was immediately dying of curiosity. Biting down on her tongue, she determined not to ask.

Bryce sighed and shook his head after a moment. “You should know, though. Because your mum is going to ask. I don’t really talk with my folks. I’m a huge disappointment, you see.”

“Why? You’ve got a good job doing something you love.”

“Now I do, yeah. But I flunked school so badly, at sixteen the teachers told my parents there was nothing more they could do for me. I’m extremely dyslexic. For a few years there I honestly had no clue whether I’d ever be able to hold down any sort of job at all beyond manual labour on the road crews or something like that.”

Lucy’s mouth opened in a silentoh.

“My father is a cruise ship captain and my mother is an award-winning travel writer and photographer. They’re both well-educated, erudite people who had no idea what to do with an idiot son.”

“You’re not an idiot!” Lucy said immediately, jumping to his defence. “You’re a dive instructor, for God’s sake; I don’t even want to to think about how hard those exams must have been to pass with dyslexia!” A dive master herself, she knew the instructor’s examinations were a great deal tougher, with written exams including equations and comprehensive knowledge as well as the practical tests.

Bryce grinned at her. “I studied for six months straight. Recorded everything onto an MP3 player and walked around like a zombie listening to my own voice reciting the nitrox tables until I was saying them in my sleep. Literally.”

“You must have wanted it pretty badly.”

“More than I’d ever wanted anything in my life,” Bryce said simply. “We were in Thailand when I had my first dive; Dad was between ships and Mum was writing another book. I’d just been told not to bother going back to school and spent most of my time on the beach sulking… and panicking, if I’m being completely honest. It was quiet one day and I struck up a conversation with a couple of German backpackers who asked me if I wanted to go diving with them. I said yes on impulse, and after one dive I was hooked.”

“But your parents weren’t supportive?” Lucy queried.

He shrugged. “I don’t think they saw a future in it. Not when they knew I’d eventually have to pass exams to reach a level where I could make a career out of it, anyway.”

“And now?” She was honestly curious. Her mother might give her grief about her personal life, but she’d never been anything but supportive about Lucy’s career, and had celebrated her winning the coveted position on Sunfish Island by proudly announcing it on Facebook and throwing her a going-away party.

“Eh, I think they’re just glad they don’t have to support me. We never had all that close a relationship. I spent school terms living with my grandmother mostly, because they were away so much, until I was old enough to go to boarding school. I was kind of a late-life accident for them anyway, I don’t think they actually planned to have kids and didn’t know what to do with me when I came along.”

Lucy was pretty sure he didn’t want pity, so she just nodded. “Would they even be available for the wedding?” she asked.

“Not on short notice. Dad’s ship is in the Mediterranean and Mum’s with him there. I suppose she could fly back, but… she’d probably find an excuse. All in all, better they just don’t know about it. If they see pictures on the Internet I’ll give them the truth… that they’re being used for marketing purposes.”

“That works,” Lucy conceded. They’d arrived at the research centre now and she took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders before realising she was still holding Bryce’s hand. It felt very natural, actually. Guiltily, she slipped her hand free and gave him a small smile. “Well. Better go recruit some more participants for the prank, then.”

He laughed at her before opening the door and holding it gallantly for her to precede him inside. “Come on. I’ve got a beginner’s diving class in the main pool at two. Let’s get it over with.”

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