“We wanted it to be a surprise,” says a voice I recognise.

“Gerry!” She climbs up onto the deck and we hug tightly. Then she hugs Josh and shows off her own rings, a white gold band and a simple solitaire diamond. Duncan looks more pleased with himself than I’ve ever seen him.

I’m reeling with excitement. These are some of my favourite people in the world, and we’re together for the next ten days to sail the Croatian coast.

“So, we’re just waiting on one other couple,” says Duncan. I kind of feel sorry for whoever they are, because there’s a lot of love amongst the five of us, and I hope they won’t be overwhelmed by it.

Just then, I hear another voice.

“Hey, Sez.” What? No! My mind can’t decide if it’s a trick or real, but when I turn around, Cat and Jean-Luc are standing on the dock.

I stand stock still, my mouth gaping.

“Surprise,” she says, grinning and throwing an arm into the air.

“Ahhh,” I yell, jumping up and down so vigorously, the boat starts to rock on its moorings. I pick my way carefully over to the railing and climb over, then ensconce my sister in a massive hug, nearly suffocating her. Her little arms wrap tightly around me and we bounce up and down.

“Did we surprise you?” she asks, her voice muffled by my shoulder.

I finally let her go, a sob escaping my throat.

“Yes, but how?” I seriously can’t believe she’s here. I last saw her and Jean-Luc at Christmastime in Sydney, but we’d barely got a chance to catch up before I flew off to Hawaii.

“Lots of emails.” she wipes a finger under each eye, laughing.

I finally tear my eyes from her and stare up at Jean-Luc. “I—” I’m still speechless and he leans down to kiss me on both cheeks.

“So, Sarah, we have, eh, pulled it off, the surprise, n’est-ce pas?”

“Uh, yeah, I’d say that’s a big fat yes. Oh, hey—” It suddenly dawns on me that I may be the only one who wasn’t expecting them, and I look at the tableau of people standing on the deck of the boat. Siobhan is clapping softly and bouncing on the spot, Gerry’s head is tilted as she beams at me, and Duncan and Josh share a look that I can only describe as “well pleased with themselves”.

“You all knew!”

“They did,” says Cat simply.

“But, how? How did you …?” I cannot finish a coherent thought.

“It was Josh’s idea.”

I look from my sister to my love, who shrugs his shoulders as though it’s nothing. But it isn’t nothing. It’s everything.

It’s the best surprise I’ve ever had.

I laugh with glee, touching my fingertips to my mouth, then wrap my arm around my sister’s shoulder. “Come on, then. And take your shoes off before you come on board.”

The tableau breaks and there’s a flurry of activity as Cat and Jean-Luc are welcomed onto the boat and officially meet Duncan, Gerry, and Siobhan.