Page 39 of Stuck in Paradise with You

‘What would your primary concerns be if Hettich adopted a Delaware Holdco structure?’ she asks, for some reason surprisingly, letting me off the hook slightly.

I nod, then give myself another moment of pause, as if I’ve been pondering the discussion.

The only thing I’ve been pondering is her.

I’m fucked.

I manage to fumble and stutter my way through some vague musings that I think or hope are loosely related to the discussion Carrie and Joe were having and I’m thankful when we reach ourfirst ocean stop, in a place that feels like the middle of nowhere but is actually a famous site for cave diving: just the menacing peaked rock heads of the structure protruding from the ocean and a small but picturesque sandbank.

‘I think I’ll go watch them drop anchor,’ I say, needing some air because, though I’m sitting on the aft deck of a yacht in the open water, I’m feeling hot and bothered and very claustrophobic.

As I’m watching a deckhand guide the captain above him to the perfect spot and release the anchor from the bow, Alisha appears by my side.

‘Have you told her yet, that you and I aren’tyou and I?’

‘Not yet.’ Nor am I ready to, because the mind screw of emotions I’ve been feeling for the last thirty minutes while I was supposed to be talking business was, at best, confusing, and at worst, fucking scary. ‘I will.’

‘Good. Because I think you two are either going to kill each other or shag each other’s brains out and either way, I don’t want to be caught in the middle.’

Hands in my pockets, I turn sharply to face her. ‘You’re going to have to think of another option.’

Though throwing Carrie overboard would be much less traumatic for me than delving into our past.

17

CARRIE

It feels odd stripping down to a bikini in front of my client but since everyone else is doing it – not to mention it would look wholly ridiculous were I to jump in the sea fully clothed – I peel my dress over my head, then follow the others down to the concealed swim platforms at the back of the boat.

The children are first into the water – Noah and Toby jumping in, the other two being guided and carried by Ella and Alisha, Sanza inside a rubber ring. There’s a yell of ‘Cowabungaaaaaaaaa!’, then an almighty splash as Joe does a running bomb into the water from the dive board on the fly bridge. I try not to notice his rainbow-striped Speedos that couldn’t be flattering on anyone, though I do chuckle when he asks Henry to hand him a Mexican sombrero, which Joe places on his head, much to Noah’s amusement.

As I watch Joe front crawl to share the joke with his aspirational, gorgeous family, I realize Henry has moved to my side.

‘He’s always like this,’ he says, dipping his head in the direction of Joe.

‘It’s admirable to be able to work as hard as he does and remember to enjoy life,’ I say.

I witnessed my parents work incredibly hard to give me the very best platform they could to build my own life and career, but my childhood often felt cash rich and time poor. My parents stayed together, through years of bickering and misery, to save for my future, rather than making happy memories.

I shake my head, no longer laughing, and I don’t know why I tell Henry, ‘I wish I could take a leaf out of his book.’

I almost threw away everything my parents gave me once.

I cringe when I realize that Luke has stealthily made his way close behind me too, and I can only guess he heard my moment of… self-insight? Weakness? Either way, I don’t like it. I don’t want him to feel like he knows anything about me. Maybe he did seven years ago. Today, he’s nobody to me. A total, complete, utter?—

Why must he keep being topless around me? Stupefying me with his naked, obscenely attractive torso?

Whoa. Proverbial slap across the face.

I need to cool off, shake him off, remember what he did to me, how he left me.

I also happen to like the way Henry is looking at me in my bikini. For some peculiar reason, he seems to beinterested? Even if that is true, the feeling isn’t reciprocated, despite his good looks and kindly flirtatious manner, but I do like the confidence boost he’s giving me. It’s diminutive, but I’ll take any enhancement to help counter the ever-present feeling of rejection I have when I’m around Luke.

Screw him.I could be fanciable.

I’m standing on the edge of the platform, building up to jumping in the water, suddenly hyperaware of my posture as I turn to smile at Henry.

Luke makes a show of checking his watch. ‘Are you going to dive in, Carrie?’

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