Chapter 7 #2
Waking up hard may be a normal bodily function, but there’s no denying I find Delaney attractive – and it’s not because of the lacy knickers.
Well, maybe a bit. She’s also very pretty – large green eyes, freckles across her turned-up nose, long, wavy reddish-brown hair, and when she breaks into a smile, her whole face lights up.
If I were describing her in a screenplay, she’d be the quintessential girl next door.
And she’s tiny – couldn’t be more than five-foot-one, which makes me feel giant next to her.
A massive contrast to her larger-than-life personality – energetic and funny, with that charming hopefulness.
I like being around her.
Which, under the circumstances, is not good.
Figuring I only have a few minutes before she returns, I fling back the covers, forage for some clean clothes in my duffel, and take the second-quickest shower of my life.
The quickest was a couple of weeks ago when the hotel’s solar hot water system was sabotaged by nesting pigeons. And Nordic meltwater is cold.
By the time Delaney returns, I’m dressed and I’ve repacked my duffel – something she notices right away.
‘You’re packed already.’
‘Yep. I’ll head out as soon as we get word from Vittorio – leave you in peace.’
She gives me a small smile and hands me my coffee.
‘Thanks.’ I take a sip and it’s delicious. Now I just need the caffeine to hit my system. Ironically, sleeping late tends to make me groggy.
‘So, I spoke to True North this morning,’ she says, leaning against the arm of the sofa.
‘Oh, that’s right. Sorry – that slipped my mind. What’d they say?’
‘First off, there was a lot of grovelling – I mean, crawl-over-broken-glass-level grovelling.’
‘Well, I should hope so. At least they’ve admitted fault.’
‘For sure. I mean, I did have to explain it three times, but once he got it’ – she snaps her fingers – ‘he went straight into solution mode.’
‘Which is?’
‘Well, nothing they can do about the ash cloud bringing most of Europe to a standstill. Oh – on that…’ she says. She gets up and heads to the balcony door, beckoning me to follow with a vigorous wave. We step outside under a brilliant blue sky – not a single cloud.
‘Oh my god,’ I say, lifting my free hand to shield my eyes from the glare.
‘Yeah – no ash cloud.’
I look at Delaney, a grin breaking across my face. ‘Does that mean we ca—’
‘Uh-uh,’ she says, cutting me off. ‘Because look.’ She goes to the railing and leans over it – and too far for my liking.
‘Can you maybe…’ I place a hand on her shoulder and ease her back.
‘Safety first, huh?’ she asks, flashing me a smile.
‘Always. Now what am I look— Oh… right.’
In the distance, there’s a blanket of haze so dense, it’s impossible to discern the water from the sky.
‘It’s heading for the mainland,’ says Delaney, and I tear my eyes from the apocalyptic scene, ‘so we’re still stuck, but at least we don’t have to breathe that in.’ She waves her finger at the haze.
‘I suppose that’s some consolation,’ I reply. ‘If you’re going to be trapped somewhere for who knows how long, there are worse places than Capri.’
‘Like Naples airport.’
‘Or any airport.’
‘God, yes,’ she says. ‘Look, I shouldn’t complain that I get to travel for work, but airports seriously suck.’
I snigger. ‘Generally, yes, but don’t you get lounge access?’
‘Lounges are the worst! All those entitled rich people… They’re so rude to the staff, they hog all the good seats, and I have seen some questionable hygiene in “fancy-schmancy lounges”,’ she adds, making air quotes. ‘People are gross. Rich people are really gross.’
I snigger again, but we’ve got off track.
‘Anyway,’ she says, dragging us back to the point, ‘we are stuck, but it’s Capri, so it doesn’t completely suck, and True North is upgrading us.’
‘Sorry, upgrading us how?’ I ask, my brows knitting together. ‘Oh – they found me another room – something like this?’
‘Not exactly. Actually, not at all – like Vittorio said, the island’s at capacity – but they do have this cool activity package. And they’re giving it to us for free.’
‘Activity package?’ I ask, dubious. ‘You mean like walking tours with swaths of tourists?’
‘Better – they’re exclusive excursions. I’m talking chef’s table dinner, boat trip to the Blue Grotto, visiting a limoncello distillery, a spa…’ She trails off, then chews on her bottom lip.
‘Don’t,’ I say, reaching for her lip. I stop myself before I touch it. ‘Sorry… just that last time you drew blood.’
Her chin dips and she swipes her hand across her mouth. ‘Thanks,’ she whispers.
And that’s when I know for sure: this bouncy, OTT, let’s-make-the-most-of-it Delaney is an act.
‘Delaney,’ I say softly, wanting her to look up.
‘Uh-uh,’ she says, shaking her head vigorously. She sniffs, rubs under her nose, and breaks into a forced smile.
‘You okay?’ I ask.
‘Not even close,’ she replies, lifting her head. ‘But, hey, we might as well make the most of it, right?’ she says, echoing my exact thought, her eyes pleading.
I break into a smile. ‘Absolutely.’
Her mouth stretches wider and she exhales a happy sigh. ‘Thanks, Nick.’
‘Sure,’ I reply, ignoring how relieved I am to kick the Pippa situation into the long grass.
‘So, what’s up first?’ I ask before chugging the rest of my coffee.