Page 53 of Hook, Line and Single

‘Mm,’ he agrees. ‘I know it’s a pain to have missed the ship, but I kind of feel we’ve actually been lucky, in a funny way. Just think, we could be in the Nautilus lounge right now, watching Barry’s latest crazy game. It doesn’t really compare, does it.’

‘Shit,’ I say suddenly. ‘I haven’t told Sam what’s happened. She’ll be worried.’

‘You can try sending her a message,’ he offers. ‘They might still be in range.’

‘Doubtful, but there isn’t really much else I can do.’ I pull out my phone and start a WhatsApp.

Hi Sam. Just to let you know Cameron and I missed the ship!! We’re still in Barcelona, but we’re going to catch a flight and meet up with you in Cannes tomorrow. Hope everything is OK your end. Rxx

I watch the ticks carefully, but there’s only a single grey. The message hasn’t got through.

‘Is everything OK? Are you enjoying the view?’ Alejandro asks as he joins us. Sofia and Pedro are with him, their wet hair slicked back.

‘Yes. Ruby was just trying to send a message to her friend on the ship to let her know everything is OK, but I think they’re out of range.’

Alejandro grins. ‘Of cellphones, certainly. But they will have to work a lot harder to be out of range of Alejandro. What is your friend’s name?’

‘Sam. Sam Thorncroft,’ I tell him. Once again he pulls out his phone to make a call. I don’t understand any of it beyond the wordsSpirit of Malmö,Sam ThorncroftandRuby, but he’s evidently very pleased with himself by the time the call ends.

‘My friend the harbourmaster has radioed your message to the ship’s captain. They will leave a note outside your friend’s cabin to let her know that all is well.’

‘Thank you,’ I tell him sincerely. ‘You really have been our guardian angel today.’

‘It is nothing,’ he replies as he leans down to pick up Felipe, although his expression indicates that he’s enjoying the compliment. ‘Now, I think dinner is ready. Shall we sit at the table?’

Alejandro opens a bottle of red wine as Gabriela serves out the soup to start with. The children sit with us, Sofia and Pedro in chairs and little Felipe in a highchair, digging into their food as enthusiastically as we do.

‘So what were you doing in the UK?’ I ask Gabriela as Alejandro clears away the soup dishes and she starts to pass round plates of delicious-smelling stew.

‘I worked as an au pair to begin with, but the hours were long and the pay not so good. So then I started doing translation work and tutoring, and that was much better. Eventually, however, I missed home. Your winters are so cold! So I came back to Barcelona, met Alejandro and…’ She waves expressively.

‘I was just starting out in the police,’ Alejandro says, picking up the tale. ‘We were called to a bar because some English tourists had had too much to drink and were being impolite. I walked in and saw Gabriela trying to talk them down in her perfect English. I knew straight away that I was in love, but she wasn’t so easy to convince. I had to work very hard for a number of weeks before she would agree to go on a date with me.’

Gabriela smiles. ‘I needed to know he was serious. A lot of boys, they only want one thing and I wasn’t falling for that. What about you? How did the two of you meet?’

I freeze in panic; what to tell them? Thankfully, Cameron is ahead of me.

‘We met on a cruise, actually,’ he tells them. ‘We were both part of a singles group, but we hit it off and here we are.’

‘How lucky,’ Gabriela observes. ‘You seem like a good match, just like Alejandro and me.’

* * *

‘That was very clever,’ I say to Cameron a little later. We’re sitting back out on the terrace sipping our coffees while Alejandro and Gabriela clear up and put the children to bed.

‘I was pleased with it. Nothing there was a lie, but they obviously wanted us to be a couple, so I just shifted the timelines a bit to make it sound like we’d known each other longer than we have. You don’t mind, do you?’

‘Not at all. I couldn’t work out what to tell them, so you came to my rescue.’

Despite the coffee, I can feel the events of the day creeping up on me as Alejandro and Gabriela rejoin us.

‘Of course, you must be exhausted,’ Gabriela remarks as I subtly try to stifle a yawn. ‘Alejandro will show you where you are sleeping. I assume your toiletries are all still on the ship, so I’ve put out a few things, but if there’s anything else you need, just tell me.’

‘Thank you,’ I reply gratefully as Cameron and I get up to follow Alejandro. ‘Dinner was delicious, and I’m sorry for putting you to so much trouble.’

‘Pah, it is nothing,’ she says, laughing. ‘It’s always lovely to meet new people. Sleep well.’

I may be dog tired, but no sooner has Alejandro shown us to our room than my mind snaps back to full alert.

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