African American woman with a hard New York accent, was beaming. ‘As you can see, the weather is perfect, and our captain assures me that our departure and our days at sea en-route to Aruba will be plain sailing. Plenty of time for us all to get to know each other.’
Sara squeezed Esme’s small hand reassuringly. She looked around her. It seemed her own daughter was set to be her youngest dialysis patient, which wasn’t unusual.
Perspiring porters in white and blue uniforms were still loading crates and bags and boxes from ramps onto the ship. Palm trees were waving from the port like jealous passengers.
She noticed a kid in green board shorts far across the deck—not part of their group. He was whispering something to his mother, who looked away quickly when Sara met her eyes.
Instincts primed, she knew the young boy had been asking about the bandage over Esme’s catheter, poking out above the neckline of her T-shirt. It was either that or the camcorder Esme wouldn’t put down. It was practically glued to her hand these days.
‘What a ship, huh?’ she whispered, concerned that her sweet daughter might see the boy and feel embarrassed. Esme was already more than aware of how different she was from other children. ‘Are you as excited as me right now?’
Esme just shrugged again. Something twisted in Sara’s gut. It wasn’t straightforward, bringing a kid on dialysis on holiday.
Dr Forster was still speaking. ‘Remember, our nurses are experienced, licensed dialysis nurses, so you’re in good hands. We’re all here to ensure your exact dialysis prescriptions are met, and also that your special dietary needs are accommodated with the help of the ship’s dining staff. That’s them over there.’
Sara turned to where she was pointing. The line-up of catering staff raised their hands in greeting. They scanned the faces of the roughly twenty patients they’d be caring for, their eyes all lit up in excitement.
‘I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce the wonderful Dr Fraser Breckenridge, our Chief Doctor and Head of the Ocean Dream’s Medical Department. He’ll be overseeing all the medical issues aboard the ship, so chances are you’ll see him around. Can you come up here for a second, Dr Breckenridge?’
Sara blinked. Maybe she’d misheard.
No, she hadn’t misheard.
Time stopped and then started moving backwards.
Fraser Breckenridge, in all his gym-honed glory, was striding from her vivid memory bank, right into her present. She watched in shock as he took his place on the stage.
It can’t be...
Dr Forster handed him a microphone. Sara scanned his muscled six-foot-three frame as his presence immediately dominated not just the stage, but the entire deck of the ship. It was really him. Why? And why did he have to look so good?
She couldn’t help but stare. From where she was standing he looked exactly as he had the night she’d left him in his giant family home that doubled as the Breckenridge Practice in Edinburgh. She hadn’t heard from him since—not that she blamed him for that entirely. She’d never thought she’d see him again.
She considered sneaking away from the orientation, but Esme still had hold of her hand. Besides, the second Fraser’s thick, unmistakably Scottish accent filled the air with its sticky heat, her legs turned to jelly. God, she had loved this man. Just the sound of his voice brought it all rushing back.
‘Thank you so much, ladies and gents,’ he said with gravelly familiarity, towering over Dr Forster in spite of her own height, and sweeping a big hand through his mane of thick black hair.
Sara could picture his eyes too, up close, and the honest blue of them she’d been happy to swim in for hours. She swallowed as the deck seemed to close in on her.
‘I’m privileged to be able to join you on this special adventure. I know that for some of you this is the first time you’ll have been on a ship—am I right? Who’s never been on a ship before?’
To Sara’s surprise, Esme released her grip on her and raised her hand tentatively. Her throat dried up as Fraser’s eyes travelled to her daughter and then landed right on her. A tiny trail of perspiration began its descent down her lower back. She raised her hand at him slowly, in greeting. He did the same—like a Martian making contact with another planet. A flicker of a smile crossed his lips.
‘Well, it looks like we’re going to have some fun on this cruise,’ he said, after a pause.
Sara wasn’t entirely sure if he was still talking to Esme, or to her. She was picturing his lips now, too. The way they’d used to seem to melt against hers.
She hadn’t read the staff list. She kicked herself. She’d had every intention of running her eyes over it, along with the plethora of other information she’d been sent, but Esme had been in a panic over a missing shoe when it had arrived in her inbox and she’d been side-tracked.
‘Let me tell you: this weather is a tad nicer than it is in Edinburgh right now. I hope you won’t be too horrified if this pale white Scottish skin turns as red as a lobster’s!’
Esme giggled at Fraser’s words, as did most of the crowd. Sara just felt hot and bothered. She was back in that huge Scottish house now, standing stunned on the stairs, hearing his father tell Fraser what he really thought about their six-month relationship, hearing Fraser do nothing to defend it—or her. They hadn’t known she’d been listening.
Fraser was still talking, introducing the other staff—introducing her. ‘Please also welcome Sara Cohen, one of our excellent dialysis nurses.’
She tried not to flinch as everyone turned to her and applauded, while Esme leaned into her shyly, clutching her camera. Annoyance was quickly overriding shock.
How dared he rock up here, on her adventure, six years after he’d let her go? OK, so she’d chosen to end their relationship herself that night, after overhearing their little family conversation. But if she hadn’t done it Fraser would only have done it himself. She’d simply been saving him the bother and herself the heartbreak.
She hadn’t needed any more heartbreak back then. Her mother had just died and her father had completely fallen apart. She’d been exhausted from taking care of him, all whilst dealing with her own grief. She’d been at Fraser’s place for the weekend to cry in his arms, to let someone take care of her for a while. And then...
‘Now, I’m sure you’re all excited to get going and see what’s planned for you. I’ll hand you over to our events co-ordinator to tell you more.’
Fraser still had the audience enchanted.
‘I’m looking forward to getting to know some of you over the next few weeks—although, let’s be honest here, most people seem to have a better time on this ship if they never get to see me at all, if you know what I mean!’
Jess took Esme’s other hand. ‘Ready to meet the other kids?’ she asked her daughter cheerily.
Sara dropped a kiss on Esme’s cheek. Her heart was thudding as they walked away. A guy with a topknot called Tony was already on the stage, talking of tropical island walks and buffet lunches. And Fraser was heading straight through the crowd towards
