The Summer Deal

Thirty eight - A piggyback ride

".... then I had my wedding night under the Northern Lights."

I stared at the woman looking vibrant and happy on my screen with a blank face.

The last time I had a proper conversation with Quincy, she was bawling her eyes out for her now-husband, Adam Collingwood, bailing on her after learning an unexpected guest was living in her uterus. I remembered shutting her call when Noah came to my suite. As it turned out, things escalated more after that. Not in a bad way. Adam was missing for hours because he was planning their elopement to Europe while Quincy was left in the dark as a surprise.

He proposed to her again, flew her to Finland where they got married, and spent nearly ten days on a tour to all the romantic destinations on the continent.

"I'm so sorry I missed all your calls and messages. We had to switch off our phones to avoid confronting our families then I lost my phone somewhere between Santorini and Athens."

My expression didn't falter. "It's okay. I'm just glad that you're safe."

"You are not going to believe who I saw in Athens—"

A knock on my door interrupted us.

"Sarah?" Noah called from outside. "Are you okay?"

I exhaled sharply. "Just one moment, Quincy." I turned to face my locked door, yelling. "Noah, go back to sleep! Don't make me come out there, tie you to bed, and shove my sleeping pills down your throat!"

He took a beat to answer. "Will you also strip me naked?"

My god. The nerve of this man. "Noah! I'm on a call!"

"That's a no then. I'll come back to check on you later."

My jaw clenched in frustration. "No. You will not. I'm fine. I'm safe. I'm alone. You don't have to knock on my door every thirty minutes to check up on me. This is the third time!"

"We still have a couple of hours to go and I now understand how much boats and ships terrify you. I just want to make sure you're okay." As if on cue, the ship rocked against a giant wave and I squeezed myself tighter into the small gap I had found solace in between the bed and the nightstand. I'm okay, right? I don't need him. I just have to keep myself busy and talk for the next three and a half hours. "They say it's about to rain. I'll be there if you need me."

Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think—

A bottomless, dark pit. Water. Drowning. Crying for help. People above the surface. Ambulance siren. Cold greet of death.

My chest began to hurt and suddenly, I couldn't breathe. My vision blurred with tears as the only incident that scarred and changed my life came back as a haunting memory.

Noah knocked again. "Sarah, are you still there?"

I opened my mouth but I couldn't speak. There was water. Water everywhere. Water in my lungs. Water in my mouth.

"Sarah."

My chest heaved and a strange noise emitted from my throat.

"Sarah. Look at me. Look at the screen. I'm right here with you. Sarah!"

Another rapt knock. "Sarah?"

I was drowning. Deeper and deeper and deeper. There was no one coming to save—

"Sarah Marie Jameson Grant, look at me!"

"I-I-I'm fine! I'm good!" I spluttered out, gathering my strength back and assuring them both. "I'm okay." Then I shot a hard glare at the woman on my screen. "Don't use my full name. You only make it worse."