When the sky turned dusty pink, we detangled ourselves from each other. Ezra flicked on the engine, raised the anchor and turned the boat back towards the mainland. I settled into a cosy nook beside him and gazed ahead to the town of Melas. Never had I dreaded the sight of it as much as I did in that moment.
‘What are you thinking about?’ said Ezra as he stood behind the steering wheel, looking particularly gorgeous in his navy rugby jumper and cap.
I gazed out across the sapphire sea. ‘I was thinking that I want you to turn this boat around and keep sailing – and never, ever look back.’
‘Ah,’ he said. ‘That would be nice – just the two of us.’
But there was never going to be the two of us. Ezra’s dad had made sure of that. We might have some precious space and privacy while we sailed on the weekends, but Orpheus monitored our every move and he never failed to remind me that my eighteenth birthday was only weeks away. And we all knew what happened when a girl from Melas turned eighteen!
I kept my gaze from Ezra. It seemed he could read my every mood and thought. This was not something I wanted to share or talk about again. We’d talked, ad nauseum, for weeks about what was expected of us – and how he had no intention of breaking his promise to me that we wouldn’t get married until I was ready.
What I didn’t want to talk about was that I was in no way ready to get married and that I had no idea when I would be. My gaze drifted further away and landed on the familiar shores where Jet lived in hiding.
My heart contracted and questions exploded in my mind as I wondered what he was doing, how he was doing, whether he thought of me. Elijah, who now did the regular food drops, gave me reports that Jet was indeed doing well, but he wouldn’t say any more. It had been a month since I’d seen Jet, since I’d told him we couldn’t be together – since I’d told him that my future lay with Ezra, and not with him.
‘Hey, what do you want to do for your birthday?’ said Ezra, bringing me back from the cove where Jet lived.
‘We’re having a family dinner at home.’ I turned back to Ezra. ‘Would you like to come?’
Ezra smiled, a small dimple appearing on his cheek.
‘Love to. I was thinking maybe we could go sailing in the afternoon.’
Space opened up inside me. ‘I couldn’t think of anything I’d like more.’
‘Is that so?’ he said, grinning in a way that made me imagine him as a young boy. ‘Well, I’d better make it a day you won’t forget.’
I swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in my throat.
Ezra’s gaze flickered to me, his face unreadable. For the first time, I saw the underbelly of the pressure placed on him – trying to satisfy his father and keep his promise not to force me into marriage. But what about him? Was marrying me what he truly wanted?
A strong gust of wind arrived, filling the sails, thrusting the boat forward – and for a short time, we forgot all about what was expected of us, the future that waited for us, and let nature take us on a wild ride.
Chapter Three
As Ezra steered his yacht back alongside the dock at the marina I felt the strange sensation of déjà vu. It was two weeks to the day since I’d been on Ezra’s boat where he’d promised to take me sailing for my birthday.
‘I can’t believe it’s my birthday,’ I said.
‘So, how do you feel?’
‘Old,’ I said, realising that I was officially eighteen, a legal adult.
‘Yes, well, now you know how I feel,’ he said, then laughed as he jumped onto the empty dock.
I let out a long sigh. A year ago, I couldn’t wait for this day to arrive – the beginning of my adult life. But for some time I’d been dreading turning eighteen in a way one would dread getting every tooth pulled from their mouth.
Today was the day Orpheus expected me to get engaged to his only son. All afternoon I’d been on tenterhooks, half expecting Ezra to raise the subject or at least tap-dance around it. But so far, he’d said nothing and had kept us busy tacking up and down the shores, finding only moments for kisses. There was certainly no time for important conversations. And with a family birthday dinner starting the moment we arrived home, the chances of talking about getting engaged appeared slim.
Soon we were back in his car, heading home. I pictured my little family waiting for us. Mum and Dad would be tucked up together on one couch with Elijah and Anna on the other. No doubt they would be talking about what they always talked about these days – Anna and Elijah’s wedding due to be held in three weeks tomorrow.
The thought of their impending marriage felt surreal, yet regardless of whether I was ready, their plans were proceeding full steam ahead. While getting married was the last thing I desired, Elijah and Anna wanted to be married more than anything in the world. There was no forcing those two down the aisle. In weeks, Anna would be living with us as my sister-in-law.
We pulled up out front of my house, which was gently lit from the lamps that warded off the approaching night. Ezra turned off the engine, plunging us into silence.
‘Ready?’ he asked, the strain of nerves in his voice plucking at my skin.
I dared not fathom a double meaning to his words.
‘I think I can manage my family,’ I said, smiling.
He kissed my cheek before jumping from the car. In seconds, he’d opened my door, taken my hands and helped me to stand, his palms as sweaty in mine.
‘You okay?’ I asked, my
