Fates Tied Read Free

sympathy and her anger faded a little more.
    “Oh some men just can’t help themselves,” said an older woman. “My Edgar did it more than twice and like a fool I took him back every time. Thank God I finally found some self-respect and left him for good. Believe me sweetheart, you’re much better off without him. Don’t take him back, no matter how much he begs.”
    “Trust me I have no plan to take him back,” Suzanne said confidently and firmly, “I refuse to be more of an idiot than I was before.”
    “Good on you girl!” the woman said, toasting Suzanne with her drink before taking a big gulp.
    Some of the other women laughed too, toasting her. Edward toasted her too, and smiled gently even though he said nothing.
    The conversation turned to other topics and Suzanne listened intently.
    Now and then she would be smiling at a joke and she would catch Edward’s eye and their gazes would lock for a while. Now and then he would talk to her alone as individual conversations would spring up and they would discuss their work slightly. She noticed though during those conversations that he always turned their talk back to her no matter what the topic turned to. Slowly the dinner drew to a close and people began to drift away towards the bar, she felt her heart racing and sinking at the same time. She didn’t want to leave the table, to say goodbye to Edward and maybe never see him again, even if he was married. Suzanne eventually decided that she had overstayed her welcome at the table and really wanted to change into something more comfortable.
    Just as she was about to stand though someone asked her a question that made her stop where she was.
    “What about you Mr Connor?” One of the older women asked, “Do you have a Mrs Connor waiting for you at home?”
    “I don’t, no” Edward said a little sadly. “Well I do… sort of. I’m in the middle of separating from my wife and I had to get away.”
    Suzanne didn’t hear the response from the rest of the table. All that she could hear were the words running through her head, ‘ I’m separating from my wife’.
    She felt her heart racing with excitement, maybe there was a chance for her after all, a chance to talk to Edward more and see whether the connection that she felt was real or whether it was all in her head. Butterflies fluttered around in her stomach and voices all around her were just buzzing in the back of her mind.
    “I’m sorry,” Edward said suddenly, “I have to go.”
    Edward suddenly stood and turned to leave, catching Suzanne’s eye and smiling gently. She saw the tears that shimmered in his eyes and realised how much admitting this had brought the pain back to him. She smiled back, understanding instantly how he felt.
    With Edward leaving so suddenly the rest of the table began to disperse as well, somewhat brought down by the sudden sadness in the air and the feeling that a line had been crossed in the question asking and conversation. Suzanne slipped away, bidding good night to some of the women who had sympathised and toasted her. She couldn’t believe what she had shared and put it down to too much alcohol and the rush of being around Edward and finally talking to him at last.
     
    Suzanne woke up the next morning to the announcement that they were drawing close to port. She got up, dressed and packed and headed up to the deck.
    She wanted to see Edward again, to talk to him and see whether there truly was chemistry between them. She hurried up and down the various decks, looking for any sign of that tall dark head but she had no luck. She couldn’t help but feel the regret that she’d not spoken to Edward sooner, that he had waited until their last night on board to approach her and waited to reveal that he was effectively single until there was no chance of their relationship, the little relationship that there was, developing any further.
    She knew that she was being ridiculous, even as she continued to search for him. She