The days whizzed by though, a splendid blur of sunshine, books and people. When the bookshop closed at lunchtime, she would often head back to the staff village, grab a sandwich and return to eat it sitting beneath the shade of a palm tree on the beach. It was usually desolate apart from a grey heron padding about, and occasionally a loved-up couple would stroll by and wave.
Despite seeing and speaking to guests and staff daily, a good chunk of her day was spent on her own and it gave her time to think. Turning thirty had made her consider the next ten or even twenty years. She thought she wanted a family at some point but what was most pressing was her career and how and where she wanted to be. The Maldives was her reality but for how long? It could be longer than nine months – she hoped for that, but how long could she stay on an island like this for? An island where it was proving difficult to grow her budding relationship with Aaron. Did she even want a more serious relationship with him? And what about her dream of working for herself, and building her own business? The idea of running a bookshop of her own was becoming more and more appealing. But not in London. She was certain that she didn’t want to go back to commuting and working in the city. Or any city. She loved being by the ocean; she loved the freedom and space and hope it gave her. Would she manage to recapture the feeling somewhere else, somewhere less luxurious, hot and tropical? Time would tell and she still had months and months to work out where she went next. She didn’t want this experience to come to an end any time soon.
~
Without wanting him to, Aaron consumed her thoughts, although not constantly because her attention was taken up by a steady stream of guests popping into the bookshop. She enjoyed the sociable aspect, talking to couples about books and finding them a perfect holiday read. But as soon as the last guest of the day left, the sun went down and it was time to close, Aaron snuck back into her thoughts and remained there until the following morning when work took over again.
Freya would usually catch sight of Aaron before he left for the dive school, a little earlier than she went to the bookshop, and although something had changed between them, he still left her with a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. His good looks were a magnet and the attraction she’d felt since first setting eyes on him still smouldered, along with a good dose of uncertainty.
The first cocktail evening she’d hosted themed around Casino Royale had been a hit, and Zander arranged to meet her at the bookshop one evening to work out a plan of action for the coming weeks.
‘I hope you’ve got plenty of ideas,’ Zander said as he entered the bookshop. ‘Because I think we should do a regular book-inspired cocktail evening.’ He joined her on one of the stools in front of the large open window and placed his laptop next to hers on the shelf. ‘Starting with the next one on the 22nd November and then fortnightly after that.’
‘We’ll need a lot of different cocktails,’ Freya said with a raised eyebrow.
‘And a fair few literary gems.’
‘That I’m sure we can do.’
‘And I already have the head bartender at the Sand Bar on the case with the cocktails.’ He gazed out through the open window. Candles flickered in coloured-glass holders on the tables. ‘And this really is the ideal sitting. It worked a treat the other night thanks to all your hard work.’
Freya’s cheeks flushed hot at the compliment. ‘It was very enjoyable to plan.’
‘I should say. We don’t need to come up with hundreds of different ideas, we just need a rolling selection of six or seven books which we can theme the evening and cocktails around. It’ll be too much like hard work otherwise. And although a literary themed evening with cocktails might not be to everyone’s taste, it won’t matter because we have plenty of other romantic things they can do.’
‘Like the sand bank picnic – I’ve had two couples this week telling me how incredible it is.’
‘And for some people nothing will top that. I think honeymooning couples want slightly different things to couples celebrating a wedding anniversary. I think they’re the type of guests who will be up for something a little different. I also want to encourage guests to come on their own, if one fancies it and the other doesn’t.’
‘Absolutely, let’s make it inclusive and welcoming for everyone.’
‘Either way the Casino Royale evening was a winner.’ His face lit up as he spoke. ‘I think if we make it start slightly later so guests don’t have to rush their dinner, and we serve just light nibbles alongside the cocktails, it will be the perfect balance. Books, music, drinks, food. The ideal combination.’
‘Definitely. And I’ve been thinking and doing a bit of research... we could have a Breakfast at Tiffany’s champagne cocktail themed one; a Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas one with Singapore Slings...’
‘I love it.’ Zander nodded. ‘And I was thinking for our next one, we should have The Great Gatsby cocktail evening...’
Freya’s fingers tingled with excitement as they flew across the keyboard putting their ideas down. When Zander said ‘go all out’ she knew he meant it. Money didn’t seem to be an issue and he was encouraging her to utilise the skills of the other staff, from the bar staff to the head chef, and if anything needed to be ordered in specially, she was
