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The beautiful autumn day feels more like late summer, and the breeze that blows across us is warm and pleasant. Sidnie looks absolutely stunning today, full of joy and excitement at her upcoming wedding. Her blonde hair hangs around her head in crazy curls that bob in the breeze, and her eyes are bright and sparkling. She throws her arms around Mack, and they exchange a long kiss before breaking apart so he can greet her family.
“Welcome,” I say when they’re all done. “Come with me and I’ll show you to your cabins, and then you can explore.”
Mack’s put me in charge of cabin allocation. It took a surprising amount of time to organize. Couples are easy, but there are a lot of single people coming, and not everyone’s keen on sharing a cabin. I’m sharing with Titus, and Victoria’s sharing with my sister, Evie, as they’re good friends, but I’ve given Elizabeth her own cabin. I figured it’s the least I can do.
The next hour is busy as everyone arrives. Even if Mack hadn’t asked me to be his best man, I’d still have wanted to help make the day run smoothly, but now I’m determined that nothing is going to go wrong for him.
First, I introduce myself to the Chief Steward, and ask if he would mind finding me rather than Mack if there are any issues, and promising to help wherever I can.
Then I go through the cabins introducing myself to everyone, checking to make sure they’re settled and comfortable, and sorting out any problems. I show Sidnie’s parents to the large cabin I allocated them at the end where it’s nice and quiet, and make her mother promise to let me know if they need anything at all. I pass on to the chef that Mack’s colleague, Eoin, is a diabetic, and that Sidnie’s friend, Caro, is gluten-free, as both of them forgot to let anyone know about their dietary requirements. Mack’s brother, Jamie, and his girlfriend Emma are pregnant, and I source some extra pillows for her as she’s having some issues sleeping.
I make sure everyone has a drink as they come into the main saloon and out onto the viewing decks, move umbrellas around to make sure people are in the shade, source sun lotion and shawls for those who hadn’t realized it would be both sunny and breezy, and quietly tick names off on my list so we know when everyone’s aboard.
“You were born to play best man, weren’t you?”
The amused voice comes from behind me, and I turn to see Elizabeth watching me with a smile. I hadn’t seen her come aboard, and the sight of her makes me catch my breath. She’s wearing a navy-and-white-striped top and a navy blazer with white cropped trousers and deck shoes, and a pair of gold-rimmed sunglasses shaped like hearts.
“You look like you were born on a yacht,” I tell her.
“So do you,” she says with a smile.
I look down at myself—I’m wearing a casual light-blue shirt over the top of cream chinos and my usual Ray Ban aviators. “I’ll change into shorts later,” I say. “Have you seen the pool?”
“Not yet. I had to drop Nymph off with Arthur so I’m a bit late.”
“Come with me,” I say, gesturing inside with my head. “I’ll show you to your cabin.”
“Thank you.” She follows me inside, and we walk slowly through the saloon, smiling at Sidnie’s sister and her husband, who are sitting up at the bar, sipping their first cocktail.
“What a gorgeous place to get married,” Elizabeth says.
“Yeah. Perfect if you want to keep it relatively small.” I indicate for her to precede me through the doorway, and we go down the stairs to the lower deck where the cabins are based. “I put you down here,” I tell her, showing her to the cabin in the middle and opening the door. It’s a twin, but she’s the only occupant. “It should be quieter here with fewer people passing to go up the stairs.”
One of the stewards has already brought her bag here, and she lifts it onto the bed, then looks around. “It’s lovely. Are you sure I don’t need to share with someone? I don’t mind.”
I lift my sunglasses onto the top of my head and lean on the door jamb, sliding my hands into my pockets. “Not so far. It’ll get busier tomorrow when we pick up Mack’s family in the Bay, but I’ve worked it all out and you should be okay.”
“Thank you.” She sends me a smile. “So you’re sharing with Titus?”
“Yeah, we’ve got a twin.”
“He knows you snore, right?”
I give her a wry look. She chuckles. “I’m teasing. You didn’t snore. I probably did though.”
“No, you were as quiet as a rather elegant, beautiful mouse.”
She meets my eyes, and for a moment our gazes lock, as I think about that night—that one, wondrous night—when she curled up close to me, and I held her in my arms as we slept.
Then she clears her throat and looks away. “I’d better unpack.”
“Yeah. I think everyone’s here, so we’ll be casting off soon.”
“Cool, okay.”
I give her one last look, my gaze lingering on her chocolate-brown-silk hair as it swings forward to hide her face, and then I go out and close the door behind me.
There’s no time for me to dwell on our exchange because it’s just past two p.m. Cameron Brown greets everyone on deck and makes sure we all have a drink, and he gives a brief safety talk, then a longer welcome speech, and ends by saying he hopes we have a fantastic two days. Then party time begins as they cast off the lines and the yacht slowly heads out through the harbor to the deeper blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.
