Sunlight over Crystal Sands: A gorgeous uplifting romantic comedy perfect to escape with this summer

by Holly Martin

  There were lots of boats dotted around and Lyra had no idea what Nix’s looked like. There were sailboats, dinghies, great luxury yachts, catamarans and everything in between. There were even more boats tied up to buoys further out in the sea but, as he was coming ashore every day, they were unlikely to belong to Nix. His would more likely be tied to one of the jetties or wooden walkways.

  Suddenly she spotted Nix and Dexter sitting on the deck of one of the boats. She hurried along one of the walkways that would take her to his boat and as she approached his eyes found hers.

  He quickly stood up, brushing down his t-shirt and running a hand through his hair. Dexter, realising there was company, put his paws on the side of the boat and started wagging his tail furiously.

  She stopped by the boat, her mouth dry, suddenly unable to find the words she wanted to say.

  ‘Lyra, I’m so glad you came,’ Nix said. ‘I’ve been looking forward to solving the next clue with you.’

  She shook her head. ‘We can get on with that in a minute, I have something I want to say. Can I come aboard?’

  ‘Of course.’

  He leaned over and offered out his hand. As soon as she took it she felt something spark between them. The flash in his eyes said he felt it too. And suddenly doubt and fear slithered away to the corners of her mind.

  She climbed onto the boat and stood there in front of him.

  ‘Is everything OK?’ Nix asked.

  ‘Yes, I think so… I thought about what you said today. About us.’

  ‘Oh.’

  She paused, wanting to get this right. She wanted to give them a chance but she felt like she needed to put some rules in place. Life always felt better when there were rules. But she hadn’t put any thought into that.

  He tentatively put his hands on her shoulders and goosebumps erupted across her skin, stalling all words in her mouth.

  He smiled at her, his eyes gentle. For once, she was going to be brave.

  ‘I’d like to give us a go – that is, if you want to.’

  His smile spread right across his face and then he frowned slightly. ‘Lyra, I need to say something.’

  Her heart dropped. Had he changed his mind?

  Then he shook his head. ‘You know what, it can keep. I’d like that very much.’

  He bent his head and kissed her.

  God, the taste of him was utterly magnificent, the feel of his lips against hers was heaven. Lyra loved the way he cupped her face, holding her with such tenderness and adoration. She found herself pressed tight up against him, feeling the warmth of his body against hers. There was not a single part of her that thought this was wrong.

  He pulled away slightly, kissed her on the nose and then left another lingering kiss on her forehead.

  He moved his face so he could look her in the eyes, a large smile lighting up his face. ‘This is the best news I’ve heard in a very long time.’

  She smiled.

  ‘Come and sit over here,’ Nix said, pulling her down next to him.

  Dexter sniffed around them, wagging his tail, and Lyra stroked his velvety head, glad of the distraction. Her heart was racing in her chest.

  She glanced at Nix who was watching her with a smile. She reached out and stroked his face and he looped an arm round her shoulders and pulled her gently against his chest, running his fingers through her hair.

  ‘I meant what I said today,’ he said. ‘We’re going to take this really slow, get to know each other properly.’

  She nodded. ‘OK.’

  Maybe that was all they needed, maybe they didn’t need rules, just an understanding that they weren’t going to rush into anything.

  ‘And I can’t promise this is forever—’

  ‘You might get bored of me,’ Lyra said.

  ‘I think that’s very unlikely, but in the event that I do want to end it, I will talk to you, I’ll be honest. I can categorically promise that I will never ever cheat on you. This is an exclusive arrangement. There will never be anyone else while I’m with you.’

  She smiled. She trusted him, at least with that. He still had the potential to break her heart, but at least not in the way that previous relationships had.

  ‘And I will promise you the same thing.’

  He stared at her, taking her in, as if he couldn’t believe she was here. He placed another kiss on her forehead and kissed her again, gently, on the lips. She couldn’t help smiling as the kiss continued.

  He pulled back, stroking her face.

  A thought occurred to her. ‘I think we need to keep it quiet at work. At least for now. We’ve only just started there and I don’t want them to think we’re being unprofessional. Especially when they’re considering us for a management position. Let’s give it a few weeks so they can see that we’re great at our jobs and then they won’t care what we get up to in our private lives.’

  ‘OK,’ Nix said, slowly.

  ‘It’s not that I’m embarrassed about being with you or anything. I just don’t think we should be blatant. We don’t want Clover walking into our office to find—’

  ‘Me making love to you on my desk,’ Nix said, and she burst out laughing.

  ‘I was going to say kissing but we should probably hold off on the sex at work too.’

  He smiled. ‘It’s OK, I understand. Although I now have a pretty wonderful image of making love to you on my desk in my head that I need to get rid of.’

  She giggled. ‘Well, we do have a lock on the inside of our door.’

  He groaned. ‘OK, let’s change the subject, because I just promised you we would take things slow and now we’re talking about sex.’

  ‘On your desk,’ Lyra teased.

  He shook his head. ‘Have you eaten?’

  ‘Yes, my sister made sure I was well-fed.’

  ‘That’s good. Well, would you like the grand tour?’

  ‘Sure.’

  He stood up and took her hand. ‘Well, it might take a while. It’s quite big.’

  She looked around and smiled. Big wasn’t exactly the word she would choose to describe it. More like compact or cosy.

  ‘This is the deck,’ Nix gestured expansively, as if it were far larger than it appeared. She giggled. ‘The benches all pull out to make a double bed or sunbed.’

  ‘Oh that’s cool.’

  ‘It’s handy for sunbathing or stargazing.’

  ‘I’m definitely more of a stargazer than a sunbather,’ Lyra said.

  ‘Duly noted. There’s storage space under here too, quite a large amount. And through here we have the galley, dining room and lounge.’

  She smiled as she stepped inside to see a tiny stove on one side and a little dining table with two benches either side opposite the small kitchen area. It was neat and tidy but had a lovely cosy feel.

  ‘And all the way up here,’ Nix said, taking one step past the kitchen. ‘Is the helm.’ He gestured to the steering wheel and various other levers and buttons. It looked very high-tech for what appeared to be a very simple boat.

  ‘This looks very complicated,’ Lyra said.

  ‘It’s a lot easier than it looks. I’ll let you have a go one day. Down here we have the bedrooms and bathroom.’

  He took a step down next to the steering wheel and Lyra followed him to be faced with three very narrow doors. He pushed open the left door and Lyra could see a room with a smallish double bed. There was no space around the bed, just a tiny gap by the door. There were a few overhead cupboards though. The boat had quite a lot of storage for something which from the outside looked fairly small. But it was clear that living on board Serendipity would be a sparse existence. There was no room here for anything unnecessary. She thought about her beloved glitter-lamp sitting in the bedroom at her cottage, her small collection of snow globes from various places she’d visited around the world, the large coffee table decorated with bright colourful buttons in the middle of the lounge. There was no space for anything frivolous here.

  ‘This is the
guest bedroom.’

  He pushed open the middle door and Lyra could see a large round bed in the middle of the room. This room was quite spacious and had lovely skylight windows above the bed.

  ‘Master bedroom,’ Nix said, then pushed open the third door. ‘And this is the bathroom.’

  This room was more like a cupboard but there was a tiny shower cubicle and enough room for a toilet and a sink squashed in there too.

  ‘Well, that’s the extent of the tour,’ Nix said.

  ‘I love it, what a wonderful space to live.’

  ‘It’s a simple life, but I love that the open sea is out there ready for me to explore at a moment’s notice. Life is short and I want to make the most of it. Eventually, I’d like to save up and get a house again, but I don’t think I’d ever give up Serendipity or Judy. I love the freedom too much.’

  ‘I love the idea of it,’ Lyra said, although she didn’t know if she would really want that life. Her mum would have loved it, which was a good reason to run in the exact opposite direction.

  ‘Well, shall we have a look at the next clue?’ Nix said.

  She nodded and went back up to the dining area, excitedly pulling the glass bottle from her bag, popping the cork and easing out the small scroll. She took a seat and Nix sat down next to her. She broke open the seal and spread out the piece of paper.

  There was another simple drawing of what appeared to be an island, although definitely not this one. Jewel Island had two distinct hills on either end and a valley in the middle where the village was, but the drawing had a jagged point right in the middle. There was what appeared to be a tiny figure of some kind at one end, with a cross underneath it.

  There was another drawing of a mermaid underneath the picture of the island.

  And that was it, there was no writing, no other symbols. It was pretty sparse.

  ‘So I guess the next clue is not on Jewel Island,’ Lyra said. ‘Although I have no idea where this place is.’

  ‘I do, I know it,’ Nix said. ‘This is Mermaid Island.’

  ‘Mermaid Island, I’ve never heard of it.’

  ‘I don’t think it has an official name, but some call it Seal Island because of the sheer number of seals that live there. Some call it Shark Island because it looks like a shark’s fin, but I’ve always known it as Mermaid Island on account of there being a statue of a mermaid there. No one knows where the statue came from, who put it there or how long it’s been there, but it stands on the peninsula so you can see it from the sea. Many say she’s cursed and sailors that used to traverse those waters would meet a very watery death.’

  Lyra laughed. ‘That sounds a bit far-fetched.’

  ‘I agree, in fact that sounds like just the kind of rumour put about by a fisherman trying to hide his treasure. Imagine one fisherman tells another that he heard that Mermaid Island was cursed and he’d heard a few sailors had died there. They tell a few more. The rumour gets embellished and exaggerated over the years. Who’s going to go anywhere near an island that’s cursed?’

  Lyra looked down at the piece of paper. ‘Well, I guess we are.’

  He grinned. ‘I was hoping you’d say that. Only, it’s about three hours down the coast from here.’

  ‘Oh no.’

  That was quite far.

  He looked at his watch. ‘What are your plans for the weekend?’

  ‘No plans really. I thought I might explore some of the local area and obviously we need to discuss the birthday party at some point. What are you thinking?’

  He grinned. ‘That we could go on an adventure.’

  Chapter Eighteen

  ‘To Mermaid Island?’ Lyra almost squealed.

  Nix grinned at her excitement. He had loved seeing her enjoying the treasure hunt over the last few days. ‘Yes, if we leave now, we’d probably get there just before sunset. We could stay overnight and explore the island tomorrow.’

  Her smile slipped from her face.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll have you back at work first thing Monday morning,’ he said.

  ‘You want to go away for a weekend?’

  ‘Yes, why not, be spontaneous.’

  ‘I’m all for spontaneity but I don’t even have any clothes,’ Lyra protested.

  ‘I have clothes I can lend you.’

  ‘You can’t lend me underwear.’

  ‘Well I can, I have boxer shorts. They are clean, I promise.’

  ‘I don’t have a toothbrush,’ Lyra said.

  ‘I have a spare, it’s brand new.’

  ‘But…’

  ‘I have enough food and fuel on board to accommodate us for our trip to Mermaid Island and back, or wherever else you want to go after we’ve retrieved the next clue.’

  ‘We’re supposed to be taking things slow.’

  ‘I have two bedrooms; we don’t have to sleep together.’

  Lyra looked out over the horizon. The sky was a pale cloudless pink, the sun hovering just above the horizon. The sea was flat calm with barely a ripple breaking the surface. It was the perfect evening for a boat trip.

  ‘Any more protests?’ Nix said.

  She was silent for a while and he got the distinct impression he was pushing her completely out of her comfort zone.

  ‘I’ll let you know when I think of them,’ Lyra said.

  ‘OK, although we might be a bit too far away from home to do anything about it by then.’

  ‘I’m sure you can put my mind at ease,’ she said.

  He took her hand, stroking his fingers across her palm. ‘I certainly can think of a few things to help you take your mind off it.’

  ‘I bet you can.’ She smiled as he kissed her but then she pulled away. ‘Wait, I don’t even have my phone with me.’

  ‘What do you need your phone for? We can just switch off from the outside world. I have my phone and the boat’s radio if we get into trouble. What else do we need?’

  She clearly thought about it for a moment and then nodded. ‘You’re right, my phone doesn’t stop beeping sometimes with Facebook updates from my family, silly videos of dogs from my youngest brother, Ethan, or photos of amazing cakes from my sister, Michelle. Sometimes I turn my phone on silent because it’s non-stop and you just want some peace. They can do without me for one weekend.’

  ‘Right, I think we better set sail, before you find any more objections,’ Nix said.

  He went about the preparations ready to leave, untying the knots that secured them to the jetty and pulling the fenders over inside the boat. Lyra was watching him keenly and he felt like he needed to do everything right.

  He grabbed a life jacket and handed it to her. Her eyes widened as she took it. ‘Are we going to need this?’

  ‘I very much doubt it, this boat is as stable as a rock and the sea is flat calm out there. But I’d like to keep you safe.’

  ‘Why aren’t you wearing one?’

  Nix didn’t like to admit that he never wore one. He grabbed the second life jacket and pulled it on, zipping it up, and Lyra slipped hers over her shoulders. He spent a few moments adjusting the straps but if he was honest he was just using it as an excuse to be close to her, to touch her. Having her here felt so right.

  He pushed away the doubts that said he still hadn’t told her why Emily had really left him. It seemed such a ridiculous thing to talk about when they were supposed to be taking things slow. He knew he’d have to tell her at some point, but maybe they could enjoy the weekend together before he ruined everything with his secrets.

  He started the engine and slowly manoeuvred out of the harbour. Lyra moved to the seat next to him, her eyes wide with excitement.

  ‘Oh, look at the seals,’ she said, pointing to a few fat ones lying sleepily on top of the floating pontoons.

  ‘They’re always there. They’re so lazy, they spend all day there. We’ll see loads more at Mermaid Island.’

  Once they went past the buoys that marked the edge of the harbour, he put the boat into gear and accelerated out into t
he open sea.

  Lyra gave a little shriek of delight next to him and Dexter came over to see if she was OK.

  Nix glanced over at her as she took everything in and as she looked around she caught his eye.

  ‘What are you smiling at?’ Lyra said.

  ‘I’m excited about this weekend.’

  ‘About finding the treasure?’

  ‘About spending it with you,’ he said.

  She smiled and he leaned over to kiss her but she squawked in protest. ‘No, keep your eyes on the road.’

  He laughed. ‘The road out there is pretty bloody big; also, not a lot of traffic.’

  She looked around. There was one sailboat out on the distant horizon, which they were heading away from, but other than that there were no other boats to be seen.

  ‘A quick kiss then,’ Lyra said.

  Nix smiled and kissed her before she changed her mind again, and after a moment he felt her melt against him. God, this woman, there was something incredible about her. She made him feel warm inside.

  ‘OK, that’s enough,’ Lyra said. ‘I don’t want you to crash.’

  He smiled and turned his attention back to steering the boat.

  ‘I can’t believe we’re doing this; I can’t believe I’m doing this. It’s you, you make me do things I wouldn’t normally do.’

  ‘Is that a bad thing?’

  She didn’t answer at first and then she smiled. ‘It’s definitely a good thing.’

  Lyra stared at the stars above them, millions of tiny crystals peppering the inky sky. It looked magical. They had followed the coast to the west, chasing the setting sun as it left a trail of cranberry and tangerine across the clouds. They had watched the sky turn from the deepest pink to purple to inky black as they continued to make their way west, the moon lighting up the water ahead of them, but not long after Nix had found Mermaid Island and anchored off for the night in a secluded cove. He had pulled out all the benches on the deck, which made a makeshift bed so they could lie down and watch the stars. Without streetlights here, the starry sky seemed to be endless and she felt like she could stare at it forever.

  ‘Tell me more about your family,’ Lyra said, watching a satellite move with purpose across the sky above them.