“Fancy buying someone an expensive diamond ring,” Josh scoffed back. Wonderful. So “anti-relationship Josh” was making an appearance. I ignored him and slipped on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts and slid my feet into my flip-flops.

Just then, I heard a huge laugh which I knew belonged to our missing Irishwoman. “Well, we found Siobhan,” I said, heading towards the sound of her voice. She was seated at the bar, charming one of the crew members.

“Sarah, Josh, come and meet Paddy,” she called out, waving us over.

“Hello Paddy,” I said as we got within earshot. Paddy smiled as he cut a lime into slices.

“He’s Irish,” said Siobhan. I had figured as much with a name like Paddy. She took a sip from a plastic cup and cooed, “Ooooh, this is delicious.”

“Would you like one?” Paddy asked me and Josh.

“What are you making?” asked Josh.

“It’s a caipirinha,” he replied.

“Two,” I said, raising my hand. Josh flicked an amused glance at me.

“My treat,” added Siobhan.

“No, you got us drinks yesterday,” I protested.

She wasn’t having it. “Put them on my tab, Paddy.” She’d been there long enough to run up a tab?

“Did you like the snorkelling?” Josh asked her.

“I loved it. Beautiful. But I was starting to get pink—I’ve got my grannie’s pale skin, I’m afraid—so I popped back on board. That’s when I met Paddy.” I was guessing she was on her second drink, or maybe her third.

Paddy shook the cocktail shaker, placed two plastic cups on the bar, filled each with some fresh mint, muddled the leaves, and poured out the cocktails. He added a slice of lime to each and handed them across the bar.

“To my new besties, Josh and Sarah.” We three tapped our cups together and Josh and I took a sip.

“Mmm, that is delicious. Thank you.”

“A pleasure,” Paddy replied with a smile.

A line had formed behind us, so we stepped to the side. “Did you want to come get some lunch?” I asked Siobhan.

“Oh, the buffet! I had completely forgotten. Let’s go and see.”

“I can take our drinks over to where our stuff is, if you like?” Josh offered. “I’ll grab my lunch after you.” It was a good plan, as it would be a little tricky to juggle a drink and a plate while trying to load it up. After she paid her tab, I grabbed Siobhan’s hand and pulled her towards the line for the buffet.

“So, how are you doing?” I asked. I had been wondering how she felt about being on board with a bunch of honeymooners, considering she was supposed to be one too.

She didn’t even pretend that she had no idea what I was talking about. The smile vanished, her shoulders drooped, and she sighed heavily. “Oh Sarah. In truth it’s been harder than I thought. I didn’t even consider that coming here alone I’d be surrounded by people celebrating their new marriages. What was I thinking?”