Our Secret Summer(45)
I carefully spy on Felix over the top of my guidebook as he makes his way toward us while toweling off his blond hair. I scan the area behind him, looking for the others, but he’s all alone. I guess Ethan and Juan Carlos are still out playing with the water toys with Annika. That means Felix came back for Simone all on his own, and judging by the way he’s eyeing her now, I’d say he’s been desperate to do it for a while.
Simone doesn’t look up from her magazine as he approaches, intentionally acting as if she hasn’t noticed his arrival. Felix catches my eye and holds his finger up to his lips, prompting my silence and cooperation as he sneaks up on her and shakes off like a wet dog.
“Fe-lix! You arse!”
She tries to shove him away but he lowers himself down on top of her, pressing his body against hers. “Am I getting you wet?”
“You git, you soaked my magazine.”
“I’ll buy you a new one,” he says, leaning down to press a kiss to the side of her neck.
My jaw drops and I immediately sit up and grab my guidebook so I can scurry away. Cristiano still isn’t back, and I’m not going to linger here like a third wheel if Felix is finally ready to make his move on Simone.
“Be back. Need the bathroom!”
I don’t know why I bother with an excuse. Simone and Felix have completely forgotten I exist as they whisper quietly to each other.
Oh my god. GO, SIMONE!
I hurry off, clutching my guidebook to my chest, only slowing once I realize I don’t have a clear destination in mind. I don’t want to go inside the yacht without my cover-up on. It’d feel strange to traipse around in front of Cristiano’s crew in nothing but my bikini. Out here, at least, it’s expected.
I spot Daniella sitting up on her lounge chair, checking her phone. Rocky start or not, suddenly I feel bad she’s all on her own. Annika, Simone, and I haven’t exactly gone out of our way to include her this morning, and I’m sure she’s feeling a little left out without a group of her own girlfriends. Sure, she could have made life easier for herself by being nice instead of calling me martini girl, but I can let it go. It’s not that big of a deal.
“Such a pretty day,” I note breezily as I approach her with a small smile. She looks up and nods, dropping her phone back into her designer swim bag. I take it as a good sign and proceed with caution. “Have you eaten yet? I’m going back for seconds.”
She looks over at the table where they’ve placed yet another round of delicious-looking food. She sighs, bored. “Yeah, I guess I could eat. Nothing else to do around here until Juan Carlos comes back up. Where’d Cristiano go?”
“To talk to the captain.”
She wilts like a flower, not bothering to hide her disappointment. It’s clear I’m the last person she wants to be spending her time with, but maybe we can push through this awkwardness and come out the other side, if not as friends, then at least friendly.
“I really like your suit,” I offer.
It’s neon green and fits her perfectly.
She looks down. “Oh, thanks. Yours too,” she finishes almost as an afterthought.
We don’t say anything more as we make our way to the food table. I study her as I linger over a fruit salad, trying to figure out an in. Surely she has interests and hobbies, things we could bond over outside of Cristiano.
I’m considering asking her what kind of books she likes to read when she looks at me across the table, her hand pausing over the lobster tails. She looks concerned. “Listen, you seem nice enough, so I’m just going to say this, because I would want someone to warn me if I were in your shoes.” She lowers her voice. “Girl to girl, Cristiano doesn’t sleep around with his employees. He keeps that part of his life separate, just so things don’t get messy.” Her gaze flits over me dismissively. “I just figured maybe you should know before you get your hopes up.”
I stiffened at the start of her whispered warning, but now I force my shoulders to relax. I should have known things weren’t going to change with Daniella that easily. She’s nothing if not goal oriented. “Gotcha. Sounds like a good policy to have. Sleeping with employees would become an HR nightmare…”
She smiles genuinely for the first time since I met her. Clearly she’s glad her warning is sinking in for me. “Exactly. He’s super uptight about that kind of stuff. He cares a lot about his staff.”
We could continue dancing around the issue of Cristiano, but I don’t feel like goading her. Instead, I move to a safer topic. “Is Juan Carlos a good friend?”
She goes back to filling her plate, picking over the lobster tails, looking for the best one. “Yes, he and I went to university together in Barcelona. We’ve been in the same friend group ever since.”
I wonder if Cristiano was in that group, but then I remember he’s older than Daniella and Juan Carlos. I start to ask what she studied in college, but I don’t get the chance.
“I met Cristiano through Juan Carlos,” she adds. “He and I go way back, too.”
Oh good grief. Any last shred of hope I had for this friendship goes up in smoke. Clearly, for her the sun rises and sets with Cristiano, and while I can sympathize with that obsession, it’s getting a little old. “Thanks. You know what? On second thought, I’m not that hungry.”
I set down my plate and curve around the table, deciding I’d rather take my chances inside the yacht than spend another second with her.