Free How to Date a Millionaire by Allison Rushby

Seth’s direction.
    I half-walk, half-jog over the grass in Seth’s tracks, dodging people as I go. By the time I get to him, Seth has wandered off down a hill and is sitting, away from the eyes of most of the other tourists, staring out at the water.
    ‘Seth?’ I come up behind him.
    He glances up, shading his eyes. ‘Hey.’
    So far, so good. I sit down cautiously beside him. ‘Are you okay?’
    Seth sighs. ‘I’m fine.’
    ‘Sorry if I went on a bit back there.’
    He turns around to face me now. ‘Oh, no. Don’t think it was you. I’m not mad at you. It’s Jason. I can’t believe he said that back there, that …’ his voice fades out.
    ‘That he told everyone?’
    He looks away again, out over the water. ‘Yeah.’
    ‘I guess you don’t like people knowing.’
    Seth pauses. ‘I …’
    ‘I know it must be really hard. It must have been awful.’
    He shakes his head.
    Right, Nessa. Time to back off a bit. I know I wantto ask him a million questions, but that would make me just as bad as Jason, wouldn’t it? But how weird that I’ve only found out about it now. It seems strange. I mean, it’s such a big deal. Such a huge thing to have gone through. He hides it pretty well. I think back now to the time I’ve spent with Seth. At the pool, in the plunge pool, seeing him here and there around the apartment building. I realise then that at the pool, and in the plunge pool, he always had a rashie on. He never took it off. Wow. He must be really embarrassed about his surgery if he can’t even show people his scar. Not even his friends.
    ‘Your mum needed a heart transplant, did she?’ Seth says softly, drawing me away from my thoughts.
    ‘Hmmm? Oh, yes. She had viral myocarditis.’
    ‘Oh.’
    There’s something about the way he says the small, insignificant word. ‘Is that what you had too?’ I ask him quickly.
    Seth, however, simply shakes his head. ‘No. But I’m sorry to hear that. About your mum, I mean. I really am.’
    I nod.
    Seth keeps eye contact with me. ‘My mum died when I was seven. In a car accident.’
    I try not to gasp again, but something quite like a gasp comes out of my mouth anyway. ‘I was six.’
    Seth smiles a small smile. ‘Not such a great thing to have in common, huh?’
    ‘There are nicer things. Maybe you’re a Taurus?’
    ‘Sorry. Libra.’
    We both shrug. And then laugh.
    And then, for some reason, without even thinking about it, I lean over and kiss Seth.
    At the time, it just seems like the right thing to do. I almost do it automatically. Like we’ve kissed before. Plenty of times. But, of course, we haven’t. Which kind of shows up in Seth’s reaction.
    ‘Nessa, I …’ He pushes himself back so he’s sitting further away from me on the grass.
    Oh.
    My.
    God.
    I stare out at the water. Frozen. What? What am I doing? What did I just do that for? Because I felt sorry for Seth?Because he had a heart transplant? Because our mothers died when we were practically the same age? Because what we saw today was so sad? Because it’s sunny? Because I’m in Hawaii?
    Because I’m insane ?
    I stand up. ‘Sorry, I … I don’t know why I did that, I really don’t. I …’ I start off back across the grass towards the rest of the group.
    ‘Nessa,’ I hear Seth say behind me, but I don’t stop. I keep right on going.
    I’d keep right on going to the end of the island if I could. And then I’d walk out into the ocean and keep right on going all over again.

    Fifteen minutes later, we’re all back on the shuttle bus. Alexa, Nat and I take the back seat, Jason and Connor sit two seats ahead of us and Seth sits in front of them.
    Fine with me.
    And I’m sure it’s more than fine with Seth.
    ‘What’s the matter?’ Alexa whispers in my ear as the bus takes off. ‘Did you talk to Seth? Is he okay?’
    I nod.
    ‘Well, are you okay then? Is it a bit much? You know, remembering everything that happened with your mum?’
    I shake my head.
    ‘What is it