Until I Met You

‘One break-up makes you an expert?’

‘I’m a quick study.’

Hugo slumped lower. ‘I don’t even know where to start.’

‘Is it the move to the suburbs?’ she asked. ‘Is Weston truly horrendous?’

‘It’s fine for the rich moms, but it’s not for me.’

‘Damn.’

‘But that’s not it,’ he said. ‘It’s everything.’

Samantha nodded. That made perfect sense to her. ‘What else is going on?’

Hugo stared out ahead of him, his square jaw tight. ‘He’s got the money, which means he’s got the leverage.’

‘Oh my God, are you broke?’ The question just flew out of her. Samantha clamped a hand over her mouth, mortified. ‘Sorry! You don’t have to answer that.’

Hugo didn’t mind. ‘I’m not broke broke. Business is good. But I’m a freelance graphic artist and he’s a surgeon. At the end of the day, it’s not apples and oranges. It’s melons and grapes. Marrying rich is overrated. Don’t do it.’

Samantha didn’t make much money, either. That didn’t mean she was going to let a well-off partner call the shots. ‘You listen to me. You’re not just any grape. You’re Cabernet Sauvignon.’

‘Calm down,’ he said. ‘I’m Chardonnay at best.’

‘My favourite,’ she said. ‘If Adrian wants to live out his posh suburban dreams in a gated community, let him go. You rent a flat near a beach and start over. Life is too short to compromise.’

Hugo took a swig from his bottle, considering her words. ‘You’re off script,’ he said. ‘You’re supposed to say, love will find a way.’

She didn’t believe in that rubbish, not anymore. There was no rhyme or reason to love. People made of it what they liked. If Hugo wasn’t being heard or his contributions to his relationship were undervalued, love alone couldn’t fix it.

‘I want you to be happy. You deserve it.’

Samantha meant every word. Hugo brought so much light to their lives. It would be a tragedy if he, of all people, ended up miserable to please a man.

‘I want you to be happy, too,’ he said. ‘Do you know what you’re doing with Roman?’

‘Not really.’

He nodded. ‘That sounds about right.’

Roman found his way to her, and not long after they dipped out of Harry’s Hideaway, hand in hand. However, her talk with Hugo had stung. The love bubble was leaking air fast. While they drove along the dark and quiet streets, she watched him, studied his sharp profile. He kept his eyes on the road and one hand on the wheel. There was so much about him she didn’t know. She tried to convince herself it didn’t matter. She was leaving soon. Their time in Tobago wasn’t the start of anything. It wouldn’t lead anywhere. This was the entire adventure, beginning, middle and end.

When they arrived at his place, he pulled into the carport and cut the engine. ‘Now tell me what you’re thinking.’

Typical. He could read her; with him, she was illiterate.

‘The fun ends on Sunday.’

He reached out and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, his knuckles grazing her jawline. The gesture was familiar. She filed it away for future reference.

She saw a shadow of an expression. He knew exactly what she was talking about. Until she’d met him, she firmly believed relationships had to last to have meaning, if not forever then at least more than a couple of dates. But this man had wrecked her in a few days. What they’d shared was somehow deeper, richer than her most stable relationship had been even in the best of times.

He got out of the car, went around to open the passenger door and helped her step out in perilous heels. They entered the house through the side door and under the glassy gaze of the cat. He locked the door behind them. The kitchen was tidy except for the little table that served as his desk. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out two beers. She declined, but it looked as if he needed one for courage. He twisted the cap open.

‘Go on,’ he said. ‘Tell me what’s really bothering you.’

Samantha hopped onto the tiled countertop. Her mind was blank. Naturally, she’d forgotten all the little things that had been plaguing her these last days. Her eyes fell on the desk again. It was a good place to start. On the surface, leaving your job and relocating to the Caribbean seemed like a boss move. What was the story behind it? Even if he were dissatisfied at work, surely there were less drastic ways to make a career change. Helping his grandfather with his business was generous. However, Naomi’s words had stuck with her. Tobago was a place to heal. If Roman had come home with wounds and battle scars, she wanted to see them.