‘Why am I in a store cupboard?’

‘You tell me.’ Lenny held out an arm to help me all the way up as I shook off the tea towels I’d repurposed as tiny blankets. ‘The last time I saw you was at three a.m. when you and Juliette were trying to start one of the jet skis.’

‘Jet skis?’ My throat was dry and scratchy and my tongue felt like I’d used it to clean a lion’s litter box.

‘Jet skis,’ he confirmed. ‘You were both very determined, in spite of the fact they were chained up, the ramp was closed, and neither of you knows how to start a jet ski.’

‘We were trying to find my phone,’ I said, groaning as I pressed my fingers into my temples, flashes of the night before coming back in sharp, stilted fragments. ‘I lost it.’

‘You told me you were going to visit Ariel and all the other mermaids,’ Lenny replied flatly.

‘A girl can’t do two things at once?’ I asked with a wince. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘No need to apologize, it looks like you’re suffering quite enough as it is.’ He cleared his throat to smother a laugh as I popped my left breast back into my coconut bikini before following him down a very narrow corridor and into the galley. ‘Coffee?’

I nodded and more memories shook themselves loose. The champagne, the pizza, the captain’s hat. My conversation with Stew. A flush of feeling coloured my cheeks. That wasn’t even the worst part. I’d crossed a line I had never crossed before and it was something so much worse than getting off with the boss.

I’d fallen in friend with Juliette.

Like all great love stories, it happened slowly at first and then all at once, and under the influence of alcohol.

‘In case you’re interested, we arrived at our destination two hours ago. We can’t take The Songbird any closer than this, she’s too big and the water is too shallow.’ Lenny poured a huge mug of coffee and I grimaced as he handed it over without adding any milk or sugar. I was an unprofessional, hungover mess, he was right, I didn’t deserve dairy. ‘We’ll go over on the tender when Juliette is ready.’

‘Juliette.’ Any colour that might have come back to my face drained away. ‘Oh my god, where is she?’

‘Isn’t keeping tabs on madam your job?’ he replied. ‘It’s still early for her, she doesn’t usually surface until the afternoon when she’s had a big night.’

‘What time is it?’ I asked, willing him to say something bright and early.

Lenny pointed at the large analogue clock on the galley wall. It was twenty to twelve.