Page 6 of Swept Up In You

“Looks like you’ve found more than just the silicone.”

“You’ve got way more in here than I expected. That second hand section is a gold mine! It’s like the most random things… but things you need. Or at least, I’m telling myself I need them.” She laughed, holding up a dog’s life jacket.

“Tell me about it. I work here and I’m forever grabbing things for Manny out of the second hand.”

“Sorry, who’s Manny?”

“Oh, my yacht. It’s a 37ft Duncanson I’ve been doing up. I’m currently doing the rewiring, and boy is that doing my head in.”

“That’s wicked! Well if you ever get stuck, I might know someone who could assist with that sort of thing.” Taylor winked.

“Really? Oh, of course. I might just take you up on that offer.” Sam started writing down the amounts for Taylor’s purchase. “It feels like I’m trying to sort out a bird’s nest at the moment. All I wanted to do was install a new speaker system, and now I’ve opened up a whole can of worms. It’s like once you see the problem, you can’t unsee it.”

“I totally empathise. You should see some of the new caravans I’ve serviced. The wiring is shot from the get-go, some placed in the wrong plugs, others not even soldered on. It’s a joke. I feel sorry for some of these people paying top dollar and the companies fobbing them off for months until they end up finding people like me who can actually come fix the problemandget them on their merry way for their next trip.” Taylor took in a big breath. “Annnnd I’m talking too much again,” she said, looking sheepish.

“Not at all. I find it interesting. Plus, there’s no other customers in here at the moment, so I can chat.” She looked around to see where her dad was and saw he’d ducked out the front with another customer to fill up their gas bottle. “So who’sthe lucky one that gets to wear this life jacket?” Sam asked, popping the bright yellow device in a bag.

“That’s for Belle. She’s my English staffy. Built like a tank, but soft as butter. She’s still a pup, only six months old, and not a fan of being in the water atall, but I really want to try her out on my paddleboard one time. So now I’ve found this,”—she pointed at the jacket—“I don’t have any excuses not to take her out with me next time.”

“Aww, that’s awesome! I hope she loves it. Have you tried paddleboarding in the marina? If you’re lucky, there might be a dolphin or two hanging about, usually in the mornings though.”

“I hadn’t, no. I usually head down to the beach near my place andbadlyattempt to surf in a gentle wave or two. Or sometimes I’ll just paddle from one jetty to another. I’ll have to try out the marina one time though. Thanks for the tip.”

“You’re welcome.” Sam bagged up the rest of Taylor’s items, who paid and made a move to leave.

“Thanks again for your help yesterday. You were such a lifesaver, and I haven’t forgotten about your shirt either; I just haven’t washed it yet. I promise I’ll get it back to you soon.”

“Totally fine, no rush from my end, and happy to help. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Taylor saluted with her tube of silicone and left.

“Who was that?” her dad enquired as he popped back around the counter.

“Her name’s Taylor. She’s working on one of the vans in the yard, and I helped her out yesterday with a little coffee and wardrobe malfunction while you were fuelling up a boat.”

“Righto, any other entertaining things I missed?”

“Sausage Fingers using our toilet again?” Her dad scrunched up his face. “Thank god I’ve already gone to lunch today.”

“You and me both.”

Chapter Three

Taylor left the yard and pulled out onto the road. She leaned over, turning the music back up to full volume. Anything to drown out her current thoughts and let herself feel the song all the way into her bones. She was sick of bouncing between feeling angry and sad, her mind constantly replaying the day she wanted to forget. Some days she wanted to pretend it didn’t happen; other days, she thought she was over it.

It had been eight weeks.

Eight whole weeks.

“I’m so sorry Taylor, I’ve met someone. I’m in love with her.”Ugh. How could she have been so stupid?

Too Wellcontinued to play, fuelling her mood as she sang along to the chorus at full pitch, hands drumming along the top of the steering wheel. She sniffed, trying to stop the onset of tears that sprung up whenever she got like this.

She’d been planning to propose to Liz, her girlfriend of two years, in just a few short months for her birthday. Instead, Liz had been planning when was“the right time”to tell Taylor she didn’t want to be in her life anymore.

The irony.

Sometimes she wondered if she’d proposed sooner, if it might have saved their relationship… If she’d just donesomethingdifferent, maybe, just maybe, Liz would’ve stayed.

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