She started to pick up her pace.
Chapter 102
It seemed the person in the next lane understood Niamh’s challenge and began to speed up as well.
The two of them were racing now, stroke for stroke. In the end, Niamh was just a
second too late.
She surfaced, pulling off her goggles, and glanced over at the neighboring lane.
The swimmer there was doing the same, revealing his face.
“What are you doing here?”
Niamh’s eyes widened in surprise when she realized it was Jonathan. “Didn’t you go
to the ball?”
“It ended ages ago.”
Only then did Niamh realize just how long she’d been swimming.
Jonathan, still in the water, looked different from how he’d appeared earlier that day at the water park. He wore only swim trunks, his bare torso lean and sculpted,
looking almost like a marble statue in the shimmering blue pool.
She hadn’t even realized she was racing against Jonathan just now.
Well, no wonder she’d lost.
Niamh climbed out of the pool.
1
Jonathan remained in the water, but his gaze followed her as she stepped onto the
deck.
Tonight she wore a simple black one–piece swimsuit, athletic and modest–nothing revealing, nothing flashy. Still, the sleek cut and high–quality fabric accentuated her curves in a way that was understated yet captivating.
Jonathan’s eyes flickered, darkening for a moment.
“Done already?”
“I’m done.”
“Because of me?”
Niamh paused mid–step.
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14:17
Before she could answer, Jonathan spoke again: “Why didn’t you go to the ball tonight?”
This time, Niamh turned to face him.
“My dress got ruined.”
Jonathan’s eyebrows lifted just a fraction.
“Marina’s my roommate. She’s the most likely culprit.”
After she said it, Niamh saw the suspicion in Jonathan’s eyes give way to a faint, skeptical smile.
She knew it–he didn’t believe her.
As she was about to leave the pool area, Jonathan called out to her again.
She couldn’t understand why he was suddenly so talkative tonight.
“Niamh, do you like the color black?”
She didn’t answer.
After three years of marriage, he still knew nothing about her.
Just as she closed the pool door behind her, Niamh nearly bumped into Marina.
Marina had changed into a new swimsuit–still pink, but even more provocative than the one she’d worn earlier. The bottoms were tied with flimsy little strings, a tug away from falling off.
Seeing Niamh, Marina flashed a self–satisfied smile.
“Jonathan’s inside, isn’t he? We agreed to go for a swim together. Niamh, why don’t you join us?”
Niamh couldn’t understand who Marina was trying to impress–there was no one
else around to see her little act.
“I’m done. You two go ahead.”
Niamh made a quick exit.
She should have known Jonathan wouldn’t show up, at the indoor pool without a reason he and Marina must have arranged this.
No wonder he’d stripped down to just his trunks; clearly, he was putting on a show
for Marina.
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14:17
Niamh felt a wave of nausea.
The next three days were filled with sightseeing and shopping trips at various ports. Normally, unless coworkers were particularly close, everyone just stuck with their
own roommates.
But Niamh was alone from start to finish.
Marina never left Jonathan’s side.
Supposedly, this was a team–building cruise, but it felt to Niamh like nothing more than Marina’s excuse to flaunt her relationship with Jonathan.
At night, Niamh always returned to an empty cabin.
Technically, Marina was her roommate, but she hadn’t spent a single night in their
room.
Niamh knew exactly whose cabin Marina was sleeping in.
What she didn’t understand was, if they wanted to be together so badly, why hadn’t they just shared a room from the start?
Her phone pinged with a new notification. Someone had sent her a friend request.
The username read: Jeffrey from Sales.
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