‘Hey, Bell!’

‘How’s it going, Bell?’

Their answering calls had different accents to the one she’d known during the summer, but the same carefree smiles and wind-whipped hair.

She turned onto the main strip, glancing in through the open door of the harbourmaster’s office as she passed, walking with a long stride. ‘Hi, Dan,’ she called.

‘. . . Hell?’

She stopped walking like it was a command. ‘Kris?’ she shrieked as a scraped-up man-bun on top of a very handsome head appeared around the door frame, swiftly followed by Tove’s electrified perm. ‘Tove?’

‘We were literally just getting your berth details!’ he laughed, running over and picking her up in a bear hug, swinging her around so that her legs swung out. ‘Jesus, there’s a lot of boats here! It’s Sandhamn on steroids!’

She laughed with delight, feeling like a little girl as he swung her round, the Swedish language like music to her ears after her Kiwi hiatus. ‘But I wasn’t expecting you for hours yet! I’m out of milk!’ she cried, effortlessly speaking Swedish back and feeling very over-excited as he put her down and Tove swooped in for her hug.

‘Travelling winds,’ Tove said into her hair.

‘Huh, I could have done with some of those myself,’ she said, pulling back and taking in the happy sight of them both. They hadn’t changed a bit. Admittedly, it had only been four months, but in that time, her entire world had changed.

‘Yeah? You’re okay? You made it across safely?’ Kris asked, forever concerned.

‘Well, I’m here, aren’t I?’ she laughed.

‘It couldn’t come a moment too soon as far as I was concerned. He was fussing constantly,’ Tove said, rolling her eyes. ‘Kept checking the charts, looking at wind speeds . . .’

‘Aww, my mother hen,’ Bell grinned, leaning into his arm and squeezing it. ‘I told you I’d be fine. I was in good hands.’

‘I hope you don’t mean that literally,’ he said.

She threw her head back and laughed. ‘Oh, trust me, no! That ship has very definitely sailed. Mats is currently loved up with a bikini model from Brisbane.’

‘Well, you could be one of those. Just look at you!’

‘If I grew a pair of legs,’ Bell quipped, holding a hand several inches above her head. ‘Short-arse here.’

‘But you’re so thin!’ Tove frowned. ‘Were you even allowed to sleep?’

Bell laughed again, feeling the emotional release of being with old friends. She had missed it more than she’d realized. ‘Turns out sailing nine and a bit thousand nautical miles is all you’ve got to do to get a bikini body. There’s no coffee and cake shops in the middle of the Pacific!’

Kris chuckled. ‘Well, you look amazing, but then you always did. Curves are good, I don’t know why women don’t get that.’

‘Shame that you don’t,’ Tove muttered.

‘And Marc couldn’t make it?’ she asked sympathetically.

He gave a sad pout. ‘Exams coming up. But he sends his love.’