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Her words hit me, as did the look on her face—of almost wanting to make amends and apologize. This wouldn’t make me choose a relationship with her, but it made me feel relieved that I might at least be able to get through the rest of the evening without it being unpleasant.
For that, I was at least very grateful.
It was easy to talk after that, and I found myself telling Kit what I had done that day before I even touched the brownie. Eventually, she encouraged me to try it again, hers already half gone. I bit into it and immediately wished I had taken my first bite sooner.
“Good?” everyone asked, the whole table now aware that I might have a strong opinion.
“Really good. Not the best. I reserve that for my favorite place in Chicago. This little bakery near my office.”
“Sounds as if you work there because of the brownie.”
“I’m not going to lie. It was a factor when I chose my current office space. Gotta know there’s a good reward for a job well done nearby.” The table chuckled and then went back to eating,everyone enjoying the dessert enough that they soon cleaned their plates.
By the time I sat back, I was stuffed, but I felt a lot better about my final evening on the island. Kit looked more relaxed as well and was smiling again.
“Do you get away from work much?” she asked, almost as if she was fishing for some kind of information about when I might be available in the future.
“Not often at all. I love what I do, and my company often needs me. I had to work this afternoon, actually.” It reminded me that I had received an email. “On that note, I should check something and make sure everything is still going okay.”
I got up, pulled my phone out, and went to look for somewhere out of the way. The email was long, and I would have to reply to it with thought. Eventually, I found a seat out of the way, less light there, but some tables with snacks on them. It was warm enough still that I wasn’t cold, and I settled in to respond.
The email from the client was calmer than it had been to Lucy, but they were still pushing their luck and making demands, and I knew I had to keep pushing back. They’d glossed over Lucy telling them the same thing as me, but I wouldn’t let them get away with ignoring her long term, and at the end of another long email, I informed them that Lucy would be answering any more questions they had and would just be keeping me informed.
Although I hoped that would be the end of it, I knew it was unlikely to be. Some clients just didn’t learn.
I considered going back to the group, but in the meantime, many of them had left the veranda, and I wasn’t sure where they had gone. At first, I didn’t see Kit, so I went up to the bar and ordered a drink. After the day I’d had, I needed it.
Once again, I found myself drinking away my mood, something I wasn’t used to doing at all. Instead of enjoying thepeace and quiet, more emails flew back and forth, and again, the client grew agitated with Lucy even though she was handling everything exactly the way I would.
This client was a jerk, and I knew if I had been in the office, I would have been looking for a way to never work with them again and possibly even cut this project off. It was a mess, and I knew that the only way I would rescue it now was to get back into the office and get on the phone.
“Still working?” Kit asked, making me jump. I almost knocked my drink over as I turned toward her.
“You say that as if you disapprove. I have already said I like my job and there’s a lot to do at the best of times. I’m busy and don’t have time for socializing right now.” I was snappier than I wanted to be, and I could have kicked myself for sounding so mean. It wasn’t her fault that my client didn’t respect women.
“I’ll leave you to your work, then. I’m going to go get some sleep. I travel back to the UK tomorrow.”
I knew she wanted me to ask her to stay or come with me, to at least say something, but I couldn’t look at her. This was impossible. She lived in another country, and it was never going to work. She walked away, each footstep she took driving another nail into me. I felt awful, but I couldn’t get any deeper. I just couldn’t.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kit
I had barely slept when Juno knocked on my door and let me know it was time to leave. I had packed the night before while crying. I had been such a fool to let the rich, handsome man seduce me. Caught up in the fairy tale that was Juno’s life and wedding, I had dared to hope that mine might get an equally happy ending.
Wiping away yet more tears, I tried to compose my voice.
“Give me just two more minutes. I’m almost ready.”
“Okay. Just let the staff take your bags and come down to the docks as soon as you can. We’re having breakfast on the boat.”
I frowned, worried that Lukas would be there as well. But either way, I couldn’t stay in the room I was in. I couldn’t stay on the island, and the boat wouldn’t leave without me. If I was late, there would be a fuss, and I would draw even more attention to myself. The only option was to go down and get on with the day.
As soon as I’d wiped my face one last time, I walked out of the room. Juno hadn’t gotten much further, still near the bottom of the stairs with Alma and a woman named Caroline. I’d barely spoken to the latter, but they all greeted me.
“You can walk down to the boat with us,” Caroline declared, her accent thicker and harder to understand than Alma’s.
I smiled and made it clear I didn’t object to the idea. Perhaps I could talk to other guests, and it would help take my focus off everything else. As Alma put her arm through Juno’s, almost like co-conspirators, Caroline did the same to me.
