Page 59 of The One That Got Away

‘Now I understand why he acted the way he did.’

‘Do you think you can get past it?’

‘The logical part of me says yes. But my heart’s a different story.’

‘I understand,’ Jasmine nodded. ‘It’s up to you, but as an outsider with a lot of experience with observing couples who come here, you two are a great match. You might not see it yet, but trust me. Max is one of the good ones. If there’s a chance, even if it’s 1 per cent, that you two could make it work, it’s worth a try.’ She stood up.

‘Maybe,’ I mumbled.

‘And life’s for living, right? So at the very least maybe you could you know… enjoy each other’scompany…’ She grinned suggestively. ‘Good orgasms are hard to come by, so if Max is willing to give you some, it might be worth considering… See you at six for the boat trip.’

As Jasmine walked away, her words replayed in my mind.

She was right. Sammie had said the same thing.

I shouldn’t be overthinking this or worrying about what would happen afterwards. I should just relax and live for the moment.

I’d come here to enjoy myself.

I’d come here to find a man that I liked. And despite our challenges and complicated, messy past, however much I’d tried to fight it, I liked Max.

A lot.

And I wanted him.

The question now, though, was whether he felt the same.

27

MAX

‘Hey,’ I said softly as I slid onto the fancy coach seat next to Stella.

‘Hi,’ she replied. ‘How are you?’

‘Okay, thanks. You?’

‘Truthfully?’ Her voice lowered. ‘Really embarrassed.’

‘Why?’

‘Can we… maybe talk later?’ Stella gestured to the couple in front who seemed to have stopped their conversation to listen to ours.

‘Good idea.’

For the rest of the journey, we went through photos from the previous day that Jasmine had taken and thanked each other for the playlists we’d sent over earlier. I was relieved that the songs Stella had chosen were all positive and upbeat like mine.

After that, we took in the views from the window.

When we pulled up at the port, Stella’s eyes bulged. I didn’t blame her.

Jasmine said we were going on a boat. But this wasn’t a boat.It was a superyacht. The body was sleek, white and so shiny someone had probably spent the whole day waxing it.

‘Welcome!’ Jasmine said as we stood in the main area, which was like a living room with a bar area and plush leather sofas. A waitress started handing out glasses of champagne but I took some water instead. ‘In a few minutes we’ll set sail so you can admire the beauty of Malaga from the sea. A candlelit dinner for two will be served in individual cabins to give you and your match some privacy. I’ll let you know when everything’s ready. In the meantime, keep an eye out for sunset. It’ll be great for creating some more beautiful new additions to your memory book. Enjoy!’

The sound of flamenco music played in the background and I found myself tapping my feet as I breathed in the sea air.

It was another warm evening, so it was nice that there was a bit of breeze out on deck.

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