Page 38 of Going Overboard

It’s a beach resort, where Kelsey and Neil are tying the knot and, honestly, if I’m ever lucky enough to get married to someone I love, I’m thinking it’s going to have to be by the sea because this place is like a dream.

The resort sits right on the edge of the beach, all perfectly white walls and terracotta tiles. Everything smells so good too, like the air is just cleaner here, like there’s always this faint citrusy smell but you know it’s not a diffuser or a scented candle, it’s real.

Emma, the wedding planner (and I know this now, because the wedding coordinator is here, and she is lovely), unsurprisingly did not do her job, and I would say I was more convinced than ever now that she was acting maliciously because I annoyed her, but to be honest she’s done me the biggest favour, giving me and Brody our own little bubble to fall for each other in.

Well, she’s struck again, because she hasn’t altered our hotel booking, meaning there are still only two rooms for the four of us, but Brody and I said we would be happy to share, leaving Todd and Nikki to have the other one – not that any of us have seen them since the ship docked .

Our room has these huge shuttered doors that open straight onto a little terrace, where two loungers are tucked under a canopy – not that I’m planning on sleeping out here, but it looks much more equipped than the ship balcony did. It’s good to know we have options, because you never know with us.

Inside, the bed is massive and draped in white linens that look so, so comfortable.

After a night partly on the floor (partly on Brody) I could happily get in right now, curl up in a little ball, and fall asleep.

There’s a large free-standing bath at the foot of the bed, meaning there’s an obvious joke to make. I’m keen to crack it before Brody does.

I drop my suitcase and turn to face him.

‘Okay, so who’s taking the dreamy-looking bed and who is sleeping in the bath?’ I ask, completely straight-faced.

He stretches, arms up, shirt rising just enough to distract me completely.

‘I mean, I’d offer you the bed… but I was the last one to sleep in the bath so… I guess it’s your turn,’ he tells me. ‘Officially, we take turns, and we don’t want to break tradition, do we?’

‘Oh, so it’s tradition now, is it?’ I check. ‘Are we going to do this forever?’

‘For as long as you’ll have me,’ he replies with a smile.

‘The gentlemanly thing would be to take the bath first, right?’ I say as I sit down on the bed, claiming my spot.

‘Well, there’s where you’re wrong, because the gentlemanly thing is: ladies first,’ he corrects me.

‘Ladies first in the bed,’ I reply.

‘Okay, then I’ll flip you for it,’ he says.

‘What, like tossing a coin?’

‘No, like this…’

Brody launches himself at me, grabbing me as the two of us fall back onto the bed together. He flips me onto my back, pinning me down.

‘If this were wrestling, I would have just won,’ he points out.

‘Well, I can’t argue with that, can I?’ I reply. ‘Are we going to resolve all of our issues like this?’

‘It’s like I said before… for as long as you’ll have me,’ he jokes.

‘Well, I suppose we could share it,’ I suggest. ‘We are already both in it, so…’

‘…so I suppose we could,’ he says. ‘But can you keep your hands off me, that’s the issue.’

‘Says the man who is currently on top of me,’ I reply.

‘Want me to move?’ he asks, although from his smirk I can tell he already knows the answer.

‘No,’ I reply.

He leans forward and kisses me, holding my wrists above my head with one hand while the other takes his weight.

‘Is this a wrestling move?’ I ask between kisses.

‘Yes,’ he replies. ‘Perfectly platonic, no funny business, just sports.’

‘Ah, and I do love sports,’ I say sarcastically.

‘Just wait until I take you to your first cricket match,’ he says.

‘Oh, boy, can’t wait,’ I reply.

I’m teasing him but I actually can’t wait. I know, I don’t like sport, and I definitely don’t understand cricket, but I can’t wait to see him in action, doing his thing. I don’t care if it’s on the field, on TV or just him coaching kids.

Being here together, sharing this room, it feels so different to sharing a room on the ship. Obviously we don’t have our room-mates – not sad about that at all – but this time it feels like ours, like something has shifted between us.

‘You want to be careful,’ he warns me. ‘Because this is starting to feel pretty real. ’

‘I think it might be real,’ I joke.

Brody fakes a gasp as he strokes my cheek.

‘No more pretending?’ he replies.

‘No more gym, no more spa…’

‘Oh, but I did love the spa,’ he replies. ‘I don’t remember the last time I laughed so much.’

‘And I’ll miss the gym,’ I tell him. ‘Even if I did mostly go just to perv over you.’

‘It’s comments like that, princess, that make me think that you might struggle to keep things platonic later,’ he jokes.

‘Only if you play your cards right,’ I reply.

I really could stay here all day, in his arms, but we’ve got a dinner to get dressed up for.

This is it. No more secrets, no more pretending. Just us.

Tomorrow we’ll watch our best friends tie the knot and then after that… who knows? But I’ll bet it’s going to be good.