What if you were stranded at sea with your one-night stand?
Read an excerpt from Beth O’Learys new book Swept Away.
After originally having zero intentions of seeing each other again, theyll have to navigate survival at sea.
Romantic comedies are one of my guilty pleasures and my favorite way to wind down after a stressful week.
Who doesn’t love getting lost in a feel-good story with characters you cant help but adore?
I stare at the bloodstained fabric.
…
If you put that green blanket over the bed, I can prop myself there, he says.
I move past him into the bedroom, grabbing the green blanket from the end of the bed.
I end up lying beside him, hands on my belly, staring up at the wood-paneled ceiling.
When I close my eyes, the skylight leaves its rectangle there, glow- ing black.
Weve never been in this bed together beforeweve al- ways taken it in turns.
Well, except for the first night.
Its wide, Zeke says, his voice strained.
I glance over, then down to the towel.
Hes feeling around underneath it; his fingers come back shining with new blood.
…
Its sort of stretched open?
I dont know if .
I feel like a cut like this, at home, it would need stitches.
At home, we would be in A&E right now.
Hed probably be bandaged up already, just waiting for a doctor to be free to suture him.
We wouldnt think twice about the painkillers hed pop on the drive to the hospital.
Do we have a needle and thread?
Oh my God, I say, lifting a hand to my face.
Do we have anything like that?
Theres actually a mini sewing kit in my bag, I say.
One of those hotel ones.
From a stay in the New Forest for a friends wedding.
Maybe it will look better in a bit, Zeke says.
His voice sounds strained, and I look at him closely, tracing his profile on the pillow.
Hes sweating and drawn.
Maybe thats the infection setting in, the bacteria already zipping through his blood- stream.
It is totally possible that Zeke will die.
Blood loss, infection without modern medicine, those things kill you.
Its not just the sea, the possibility of running out of food .
The tiny dangers we encounter every day arent tiny here.
Splinters, snagged nails, a bout of food poisoning: any one of those could feasibly kill us.
I watch as Zeke swallows, and I am hit with a sudden, searing pang of emotion.
Its not love, obviouslyI barely know the man.
Of course it isnt love.
But its akin to it: fiery, low, sweet.
Some- where between desire and grief, as bitter and strong as the way I feel for Mae.
Youll be OK, I say, and I reach across to grab his hand.
Ill wait with you.
…
Got it, you’ve been added to our email list.
