“How’re you holding up?”� Tina asked, “And I’m so sorry it’s taken over a week to make contact, it’s all been a bit nuts here.”�
There had been an initial flurry of indignant emails when Lucy had told Tina about Harry and Juliette, Tina responding with:

“I wondered why she was avoiding me. Now I know why.”�

Being on charter, they hadn’t been able to arrange a call and on her return to Antibes Lucy had sent another em...

On Sunday morning, Lucy had woken before Dan and she had lain on her side watching him, mesmerised once again, by his long, dark eyelashes, that fluttered lightly as he slept, a faint purr of breath escaping his partially open lips. She felt a pang of sadness, knowing that in just a few hours they would be heading in opposite directions. The weekend had been so wonderful, their connection so easy, that she felt as though she had known him forever. On Saturday, after making love again, they had enjoyed a lei...

When Lucy finally awoke on the Sunday morning, the sun was bright through the cabin porthole. Rolling over to check the time, she noticed a text message from Tim, which had been sent at 1.30 am. It read: “Check your email. Sorry. Tim x”. Virginia was still asleep on the top bunk, pillow over her face against the sunlight that reflected off the water below, one leg dangling out from under the duvet. Choosing not to open her laptop to check email as directed, Lucy decided to go and find Tim and ha...

The following week seemed interminable. Each morning, Lucy would dress in her dock walking uniform, scrape her hair back into a neat ponytail, apply subtle make up, leave the crew house and head to Port Vauban or the station to head along the coast to other ports, a folder freshly printed CV’s tucked under her arm. Already, things seemed quieter, many boats having already left to start their seasons and, if they were in port, had the cushions and flowers out, a sure sign that there were guests on bo...

“Where did you say you were, Looby?” Lucy could imagine her Dad’s brow furrowing as he tried to imagine her location.
“Grasse.” She repeated. “About 25 kilometres inland from Cannes.”
“What’s that in miles? You’ve gone all metric on me.”
“It’s not far, Dad. Anyway, I rang to wish you a happy birthday, not give you a geography lesson on the South of France. How is your day? Is Mum spoiling you?”

Lucy was sitt...

It was, as Claudia predicted, a long journey from Antibes to La Spezia on the Tuesday, the Italian trains crammed with holiday makers, over-excited children and over-stuffed luggage obstructing the aisles, where there was standing-room only. That morning, Lucy had packed everything into her suitcase once again, feeling slightly seedy after the previous night’s obligatory ‘congratulations and goodbye’ drinks at The Jug & Bottle. The crew house had quietened down, with mainl...

Taking care not to wake Harry, Lucy slipped out of bed and into the bathroom, locking the door quietly behind her. The pale dawn filtered through the small window, turning everything shadowy and a soft grey. Without turning on the overhead light, she felt in the back of the cupboard where she had hidden the kit. Taking a deep breath, she held the leaflet up to the window and rescanned the instructions, although she’d been through them several times the previous night. She removed the wrapper and th...