Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
‘ U rgh.’ Maya tried to open her eyes, but the sunlight streaming through her curtains wasn’t helping with her hangover. She’d drunk too many glasses of rosé the night before to ease her nerves and then passed out watching a rerun of one of Noah’s films. It was almost sacrilege to miss any of it, but she must’ve been bone-tired, as she’d finally fallen asleep on the couch. Maya glanced at her watch and groaned, dragging her legs off the couch and trudging to the shower where she got a fright, as she hadn’t given it time to warm up. After lathering her hair with strawberry-scented shampoo, she washed the suds away and then wrapped her body in a big fluffy white bath towel and dried her hair. She didn’t have time to straighten out the waves today, knowing Joe would be eager to get on the water and be back with Bertha as soon as he could.
Roman had offered to pick Joe up that morning, but Joe had insisted that he wanted to walk. Maya pulled on red shorts and a top with the new logo on it. It was the image of the castle peeking through the trees and she’d bought stock for staff of all shapes and sizes. Maya knew how important branding was. The image was colourful and vibrant and had Bertha written in scrolled lettering underneath. Joe's own t-shirts had CAPTAIN written across the left side of the breast.
As she crossed over the bridge and reached the promenade opposite her house where the boats collected the passengers, she stopped and shuffled back a step or two, as quite a crowd had formed. She took a deep breath and gripped her bag to her chest. She noticed Margot from the art class as her vibrant hair was tied back with a green scarf and Phil and Bobby were standing next to her, both wearing the branded t-shirts that day, which made her heart melt a little. Leah, Matt, and Penny were all standing proudly beside Bertha , and Maya raised a shaky hand in greeting.
Leah grabbed her hand as she approached and squeezed it in solidarity. ‘What if he hates it?’ Maya asked her friend.
‘He’ll love it! It’s stunning, Maya. I can’t believe you pulled this off in two weeks and word of what you’ve done has spread like wildfire!’
Maya turned and almost walked into Alex and Luca Bowen, so Alex caught her arm and straightened her up. ‘You must stop falling for me, Maya,’ he winked, and she rolled her eyes and squared her shoulders.
‘You must stop kissing me, Alex,’ she said pertinently and Leah’s jaw dropped. ‘I’ve got a boyfriend,’ she added with a flourish and then wished she hadn’t because she saw a flash of challenge in his eyes.
‘I stand corrected,’ he said with a bow, and she wished he wasn’t so handsome. ‘Well done with Bertha . She’ll definitely bring more tourists to the area.’
‘Can we come on board and have a look now?’ asked Luca. ‘You’ve been avoiding us all week, but now I think that’s more about Alex.’ He laughed and slapped his brother on the back who grinned good-naturedly and took the hit.
Leah was almost bouncing off the floor with questions about Alex kissing her and excitement about Joe’s imminent arrival, so Maya touched her arm to calm her down. ‘I’ll tell you later.’
Maya headed towards Bertha before Leah could ask more, but Alex gave her a hug of congratulations, which shook her further, his arm slipping around her waist afterwards as he guided her closer to Bertha and the crowds. She kind of quite enjoyed it, but now she’d told him she had a boyfriend as well! Their friendly rivalry was legendary and even though Alex and Luca did flirt with her, she didn’t think they meant it. They’d probably fall off the dock in shock if she actually ramped up her response. She’d never betray Joe and cross that line, though. Maya knew they wanted Joe’s boat, however cute they both were. After finally turning and hugging Alex back, the level of noise grew to a din. He kissed her on the cheek, brushing her hair out of her eyes with his fingers, and then he winked at her cheekily, making her grin. ‘Your boyfriend’s one lucky guy,’ he whispered into her ear, which made the hairs on her neck stand up and then he moved away and into the crowd. Joe had just arrived, and Maya blinked and rushed forward to greet him. His eyes were out on stalks and his mouth dropped open in shock, so she didn’t have time to think about Alex and his antics.
‘Um, Joe,’ she said, grabbing his arm, but he stood mutely and looked at his boat – his shining star of a boat. ‘There’s been a few changes.’ She turned to the boat just as flashbulbs went off behind her. She’d forgotten how much everyone here loved Joe and what a big part of the community he was. The photographer was lining up Joe and Mason’s art group for a photo and they looked around the crowd for her, but she ducked behind Alex, who frowned and then shrugged. In the end they called for her, so she groaned and joined in, but hid behind the hulk that was Gio at the last moment, because she hated being photographed. He looked down at her and probably assumed she was feeling shy like he was, so he slung an arm around her and she enjoyed the warmth of it for a moment, before kissing his cheek, which made him blush. She blinked as a few more photos were snapped and she had nowhere to escape to, so she grit her teeth and put up with it.
She scrambled up the rear ladder onto the boat and stepped aboard when everyone else boarded from the front. Leah saw her and led the photographer on a tour in the other direction so that Maya could have some time alone with Joe to find out what he really thought.
Blake had been featured in the press again lately and he had turned up at her grandparent’s home a few times since their breakup and gotten a sharp retort from her grandmother. Maya grinned, as she wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d ‘accidentally’ tripped him up with her walking stick. She didn’t need the stick, but kept it by the door if she needed to act like a frail old woman to get rid of people, rather than the sprightly pensioner that she actually was, who still occasionally went rollerblading. Maya hoped with all her might to turn out like her grandmother when she was older.
Maya turned to face Joe, who was looking around in wonder. ‘How did you do all of this?’ he asked her.
‘Everyone helped,’ she smiled shyly. ‘Do you like it? I’m sorry for lying to you, but you’d have never left her in my hands if I’d have told you what I was going to do.’ She held her breath and waited for Joe to answer.
Joe wandered around the bar and trailed his hand along the surfaces, picking things up and putting them back down again. ‘I want to bring Olive to see it! Bertha is reborn! It’s unbelievable, Maya,’ he said excitedly, making her smile in relief. Joe spotted the pile of t-shirts and swapped his own eye-scorching orange one for his Captain shirt, proudly turning so that she could see the bright logo of a castle peeping through the trees on the back. The tension she’d been holding for the past few weeks finally left her body and she shook her arms out to get the blood flowing again. Joe squeezed her into the tightest hug and the breath was knocked out of her again.
‘It’s magnificent!’ he exclaimed, eyes shining with tears and joy. ‘It’s stunning, Maya. How can I thank you?’ Tears spilled out of his eyes and he hugged her again. ‘I thought Bertha was as washed up as I was. Now I’ve had a holiday, Olive’s hip is healing – she’s had a good rest – and I have come back to a whole new business. I can’t believe it!’ Maya finally grinned and Leah slipped into the room and took a few snaps on her phone for Maya and then leaned in to join the hug. Gio and a few of the art group saw them as they walked past and they piled around Joe, congratulating him.
‘Right, you lot. You are officially my first customers,’ said Joe in a booming voice. ‘Let’s get this party started. The drinks are on me!’ he chuckled. ‘Let’s see how Bertha takes to the water with her shiny new makeover.’ He looked around in wonder. ‘I can’t believe you all did this transformation in two weeks,’ he said, mirroring Leah’s earlier sentiment. ‘Thank you, Maya,’ he said, eyes misting over for a moment. He took her hand and kissed it, making her blush. ‘You are an absolute gem. ’
Mason walked in and handed her a glass of chilled white wine, which she took gratefully. ‘Care to join me for a walk on the deck?’ His face seemed sombre, so her mood immediately shifted from euphoria to uneasiness as they stepped outside. ‘I just heard you tell Alex that you had a boyfriend,’ he said.