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‘I know. They don’t all turn out like my parents’.’

My dad was an American studying in London when he’d met Mum. They faced challenges like coming from different countries and some ignorance from small-minded haters (Dad was black and Mum was white), but they overcame it all because they were in love.

Even though it worked out for them, I’d tried the whole long-distance thing in my twenties and it was a disaster.

‘So what do we know about Edward? Have the hotel really heardnothingfrom him?’

‘Nope.Nada.’

‘Have you done any online snooping?’

‘I tried, but I couldn’t find him on socials. But his handle could be anything.’

‘Remind me of what you know about him.’

‘He’s called Edward Barclay, lives in Shoreditch, works for a computer software company, used to date a woman whose name I can’t remember but it’s something to do with wine, likes the gym and healthy eating. That’s about it.’

‘We should do some digging. There must be a way to reach him to get closure. We need to know if he’s coming back. I’m not saying it’s a good idea to pursue anything with Romeo, but I haven’t heard you so enthusiastic about a guy since… ever. So even if there’s a 1 per cent chance you could be happy with him, you should at least be free to consider it. Until you hear from Edward, you can’t move on.’

‘You’re right. I’m sure the hotel would have his work details. Obviously, they couldn’t pass that onto me, but surely they could call his office or something, right?’

‘Exactly,’ Stella said. ‘And in the meantime, we should do our own research. He must have a digital footprintsomewhere.’

‘Yep,’ I said, suddenly feeling more optimistic. ‘I bet he has a page showing off how good he is at calorie counting. Our next activity isn’t until tomorrow evening, so I’ll have all day to do some sleuthing by the pool. If Edward’s online, I’m gonna find him and finally get some answers.’

27

SAMMIE

As I stepped out of the sea, I exhaled.

The water was heavenly. Swimming here was a billion times better than at my local pool. Especially considering the last time I went, I saw a kid weeing in it.

And I much preferred the salty scent to the heavy chlorine stench that was always in the air at public pools.

Yep. I could definitely get used to this.

I walked over to where I’d left my things and picked up my towel. As I dried off, I thought about what I wanted to do next. Today’s group activity was a beach barbecue which started at seven, so I still had a few hours left before I had to get ready.

After breakfast, I’d read by the pool for hours, then once I’d eaten lunch, I’d started searching for Edward online. I’d found his LinkedIn easily, so I’d tried calling his office, but his secretary said he was ‘unavailable’. When I’d asked when he’d be free, she’d asked who was calling, so I’d hung up.

My social media searches so far had also come up blank. Stella hadn’t had any joy either, but she said Jasmine was great at research, so she’d ask her.

Then I’d decided that as much as I wanted to know what had happened to him, I couldn’t waste my holiday thinking about someone who clearly wasn’t thinking about me. Which is when I decided to come to the beach for a swim.

I looked out into the distance. The sea stretched as far as the eye could see and this beach looked pretty long too so I wrapped a sarong around my waist, slung my towel in my bag and decided to explore.

My feet sank into the golden sand and I wished for the hundredth time that I could stay here forever. Imagine being able to go swimming in the sea whenever I wanted. That’d be the dream.

It wasn’t likely to happen though. When I was younger, I’d thought about living in Florida, which is where my dad was from, but it just never happened. It was hard enough finding a decent job in London, never mind in another country. Moving to a new place and leaving my parents and friends behind was way too scary. Plus, I was so close to getting that head receptionist role, so I couldn’t go swanning off. If I did, all my hard work over the past almost five years would’ve been for nothing.

Maybe one day I’d go for an extended holiday.

‘Sammie,’ a deep Italian voice called out.

I snapped my gaze away from the sea and saw Romeo walking towards me.

Jesus. The man really was a god.