Chapter 21
LAILA
Gabriel inched forward and my lips parted.
Just as I was about to press my mouth on his, the boat rocked, causing me to stumble again.
‘I… shit,’ I stuttered as the realisation of what we were just about to do hit me. ‘We should go inside. Looks like the boat’s heading back.’
I rushed off, making a beeline for the ladies’ toilets.
Shit, shit, shit.
That was way too close for comfort.
I would’ve gladly stayed in the loos for the rest of the boat ride, but there were only limited cubicles, plus I couldn’t allow that slip-up to stop me from seeing the rest of the sights.
I was a grown woman, I could sit with him and not allow anything to happen. The reason I got myself in that compromising situation was because we were alone. I broke my own rules, but I wouldn’t do it again.
I strode back to the table.
‘About what just happened…’ I said, ‘we can’t…’
‘Forget it,’ Gabriel jumped in.
‘Thank you.’ I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘It’s better if we just focus on the sights.’
For the rest of the cruise, my eyes were firmly fixed on the views through the window. On the journey back to the hotel, Gabriel and I didn’t speak, but I could feel the tension in the air.
Not talking to him was driving me crazy. This was ridiculous. I knew it was for the best so why was it so hard?
When we finally got off the coach and stepped into the hotel reception, Sammie came racing up to us.
‘I’m so glad I caught you!’ she said, waving multiple envelopes. ‘I meant to give you your photos to look over at dinner. Sorry!’
‘Oh yeah,’ I said. ‘It’s okay. We were too busy eating and… taking in the views, we probably wouldn’t have had time to look at them properly anyway. We can just do it tomorrow.’
‘Ahhhh…’ Sammie winced. ‘No can do, I’m afraid.
You’re already late for submitting all of your photos, so you have to submit your favourites before midnight tonight.
Those are the rules, otherwise you’ll lose points and I probably shouldn’t say this, but you two are one of the frontrunners at the moment. ’
‘Really?’ I perked up.
‘Yeah! You’ve been visiting lots of extra locations and your photos are really unique. The ones of you sketching each other at Place du Tertre were genius!’
‘That was Gabriel’s idea,’ I smiled, wanting to make sure he got the credit.
‘It was a great one,’ Sammie said.
‘Merci,’ he replied.
‘So, like I was saying, it’d be a shame to ruin your winning streak. You’ve still got time to submit them.’ Sammie glanced at her watch. ‘The restaurant’s closed, but maybe if you went to one of your rooms you could go through them there…’ A devilish smile touched her lips.
I knew she was trying to do her job to bring us together but I wasn’t falling for it. I’d already nearly kissed Gabriel once tonight and there was no way I was going to risk being alone with him in my bedroom. That was just asking for trouble.
‘Perhaps we could go to the bar,’ Gabriel suggested and my shoulders loosened.
‘That sounds much better.’ There were bound to be other couples there so it’d be safer.
‘Oh, okay, cool,’ Sammie said, clearly disappointed that she hadn’t persuaded us to go to our room and start banging or some nonsense.
Never gonna happen, love.
Once we took the envelopes, we went to the bar. Gabriel ordered us two glasses of wine.
I probably shouldn’t drink any more tonight. I’d already had a glass of welcome champagne on the boat, followed by half a bottle of wine which was much more than I normally had. But I supposed an extra glass wouldn’t hurt.
Just as I took a sip, my phone buzzed.
When I took it out and saw Juliette’s name pop on the screen I groaned.
Shit.
I’d meant to text her earlier but I’d forgotten.
I was always reliable so she’d know that was unlike me. Then again, I’d promised to call yesterday and hadn’t either.
It was half eleven now.
I had to call. I downed my wine in one.
Just as I was about to dial her number, a message popped up.
Juliette
Hope you are having fun! I cannot wait to hear all of the juicy details about your sexy Frenchman. Enjoy!
I swallowed hard.
Fuck.
If she knew who the sexy Frenchman was, she definitely wouldn’t be saying that.
Guilt twisted in my gut. I needed to tell her my match was Gabriel, but if I did, it’d completely ruin our friendship.
As cool as Juliette was, there was no way she’d be happy about me being with her son. Especially if she knew we’d almost kissed.
‘Everything okay?’ Gabriel asked, concern etched on his face.
‘Your mum just messaged to say she hoped I was enjoying myself with my sexy Frenchman.’
After taking another large glug from my glass, I called the bartender over. ‘Excusez-moi. Can I get something stronger, please? Like a rum and Coke or a cocktail. Or both.’
I slumped in my seat and dropped my phone on the bar.
‘Are you sure that you want to mix your drinks?’ Gabriel said as the bartender went to prepare my next tipple.
‘I can have whatever I want!’ I snapped back, taking offence.
‘I am not telling you not to drink. I am just saying that perhaps it is better to stick to the same one, so that you will not feel bad tomorrow morning.’
‘I’ll be fine. I’m better at drinking rum than wine anyway.’ I waved my hand dismissively. ‘Your mum paid for me to come here and I’ve repaid her by avoiding her calls whilst I go on romantic trips with her son.’
‘If she is a real friend then she will not care about that. She will just be happy that you are enjoying yourself.’
‘That’s the problem. She is happy for me and that makes me feel worse! If she knew I was betraying her trust, she wouldn’t be so supportive,’ I protested. The barman put a drink in front of me and I took a glug.
Damn, that tasted good.
‘Excusez-moi,’ I called him over again. ‘Can I have another?’
I knew that drinking was not the answer to my problems, but one more wouldn’t hurt, would it?