Come Away With Me: The hilarious feel-good romantic comedy you need to read in 2018. Maddie Please
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‘You’re very wise. Some of these tourist places are expensive and very crowded,’ he said. ‘Have you ordered?’
Callie came back and was standing eagerly on tiptoe next to him, pencil and pad at the ready. That’s the other thing about American restaurants: they give you a closely typed, three-page menu without any pictures, and 2.7 seconds later they come to take your order.
‘A carafe of red,’ I said. Hair of a reasonably large dog. ‘And some whole-wheat toast with avocado and chilli flakes.’
‘Jerry said that was supposed to be good for hangovers,’ India said.
‘Ideal. I’ll have the same, thank you,’ Gabriel said. ‘And a glass of Pinot Grigio.’
‘You’re welcome! Excellent choice,’ Callie said, wrinkling her button nose with pleasure. ‘Can I freshen up your water a little?’
She topped up our glasses to the brim. I couldn’t believe it – Gabriel was being chatty, agreeable, nice even. What had happened to the grumpy man I’d met/chucked my drink over in the airport lounge, or our rude neighbour on the balcony? Perhaps he was getting into the holiday mood too?
‘Thank you,’ Gabriel said.
‘You’re welcome!’ came the inevitable reply, and she darted off again.
‘So is this your first trip to the States?’ Gabriel asked.
‘We’ve been to Florida and New York before, but yes, this is our first time in New England. It looks beautiful,’ I said, waving one hand around me. ‘The boats and the sea. And the … and the boats,’ I finished lamely.
Next to me India tried and failed to look bright and alert.
‘This is a little overdone for my taste,’ he said, ‘unless of course you’re a boat owner. I know a publisher in New York who has a boat here. He recommends it very highly, but I prefer the Maine coastline, although it’s not nearly so pretty. Just big hunks of rock and the sea.’
Hunk is about right, I thought, rather unexpectedly. Especially if he stayed in this mood – I could begin to see why Marnie Miller might have gone for him …
He sat back in his chair, shrugging his broad shoulders under his turquoise polo shirt. I wondered if he had managed to get the one I’d soaked with champagne laundered.
Callie was back with our drinks and behind her was another equally trim and glossy girl with our food.
We exchanged thank yous and you’re welcomes a few times before they left us to it.
‘What do you think of the ship?’ I asked as Gabriel helped us to wine. If he could do small talk, so could I. Plus, India wasn’t being much help, staring down at her plate thoughtfully.
‘It’s fine. Rather bigger than I was expecting but Marnie was so keen for me to come …’ He tailed off.
Ah yes, Marnie Miller.
‘I have a great deal to do. I can’t see me doing it if I keep getting enticed from my cabin.’
Enticed? Who was enticing him?
I had an image of Marnie in a silk negligee and rather silly swansdown-trimmed mules, hanging on to his doorframe, luring him out. But then she wouldn’t do that, would she? Otherwise they would both be out in the corridor …
Callie was back.
‘Is everything okay with your meals?’
We reassured her we were happy and the food was perfect. She looked a little doubtfully at India who was doing her best, but evidently the hair of today’s particular dog was a little hard to tame. She was sitting a bit lopsidedly in her chair with a glassy-eyed expression. Even so she was still drinking Merlot with some enthusiasm.
‘I hope you’ll come along to Marnie’s talks,’ Gabriel said. ‘She’s a great speaker.’
How long had they been ‘good friends’, I wondered. And how old was he? He looked to be in his thirties but I wasn’t very good at that sort of thing. Surely Marnie was in her late forties? Despite the veneers and the possibility of cosmetic surgery.
‘I think we will,’ I said.
‘Are either of you writers?’
‘Not really, I mean not since school,’ I said, kicking India under the table to try and make her a bit more responsive. She took another bite of her food and pulled a face at me.
‘Alexa was always the clever one,’ she said, ‘not me.’
‘No, I wasn’t!’ I said, shocked. This was the second compliment India had paid me recently and I wasn’t used to it.
‘Of course you were.’ She looked away. ‘Every teacher I ever had told me I wasn’t as good as my sister.’
‘Really?’
India rolled her eyes.
‘That sounds like you had some really nasty teachers! You must come along to Marnie’s talks so you can Spring-Clean Your Life,’ Gabriel said. ‘I insist.’
He smiled at me and my heart did a little flippy thing in a very silly way. He really was phenomenally attractive. His turquoise shirt seemed to bring warmth to his grey eyes, and they sparkled as the sunlight reflected off the water.
We discussed Boston, which was our next port, and Maine where his parents had a house on the coast. The way he described it was magical. The view of the ocean and how, in the winter, the force of the waves was astonishing. I could almost imagine the chill winds from Canada bringing snow to hurl against the shuttered windows and picture him walking on the beach, his boots crunching on the icy stones.
We finished our food and the minute the last fork hit the plate Callie was back with more iced water and the dessert menus. India had perked up a bit by now and wanted a warm chocolate brownie with ice cream. Evidently the hangover was abating.
Gabriel’s phone buzzed with the arrival of a text message and he read it, frowning.
‘The last tender goes back to the ship in an hour,’ he said, standing up. ‘I promised my mother I’d pick up something for her. I’ll see you back on board maybe?’
He was going to buy something for his mother? Were there actually men like that in the world?
We smiled and waved him off, watching him go in almost a daze. He really did seem too good to be true, but then I remembered the champagne incident and his icy tone and calmed down. Almost immediately Callie was back with a weighty slab of chocolate brownie, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and two spoons that she put down in front of us with a sparkling smile and a wink.
‘Just in case you need help. Your friend is very charming,’ she added, watching as Gabriel walked through the wine bar and out into the sunshine.
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I suppose he is.’
Ah! But he’d left us to pay for his lunch. Nice one.
Callie topped up our water and brought us some new napkins.
‘The check is all taken care of,’ she said.
‘What?’
‘Your friend has paid the check, so no hurry, ladies; enjoy your dessert. It’s really good.’
‘Bloody hell,’ India said, ‘we weren’t expecting that – were we?’
I sat back and blinked a bit. ‘No, we certainly weren’t.’
Rhode Island Red
Tequila,