26. Twenty-Six

Twenty-Six

T he five-star luxury hotel sprawls across one acre of glorious sandy white Ibizan coastline, overlooking the shimmering sapphire Mediterranean. Bleached wood benches and cabana beds lie dotted around each of the four swimming pools beneath the shade of palm and juniper trees. It's expensive and very lavish.

I tug at the bright red bikini bottoms I've borrowed from Lucy and sit down on the sun lounger, hidden from the scorching afternoon sun beneath the shade of an enormous parasol.

Lucy opens a beady eye and shoots me a look. "Stop fiddling."

"I feel self-conscious," I moan, immediately feeling ungrateful.

In my rush to get away from Art and leave the apartment, I only managed to pack underwear, one bikini, one pair of flip-flops and a few dresses. Lucy has kindly lent me some of her things, so I don't have to bother going to the shop, but the bright red halter-neck bikini I'm wearing makes my boobs feel as though they're pushed up beneath my chin.

"You shouldn't. You look hot."

"Art would have a fit."

"Yes, well, he isn't here, is he?" She beckons a passing waiter over. "Two cosmopolitans, please."

I ignore her request and turn to the waiter. "Can I just have a water, please?"

He flashes us a polite smile before scuttling off.

"Oh, come on. Let your hair down."

"I did!" I insist, lying down on the lounger. "Last night. And now, I'm paying the price for it."

I rub a hand across my thumping forehead and stare out across the turquoise waters of the pool in front of us. She's right; I'm a lightweight when it comes to drinking.

"I'm planning on making the most of the all-inclusive bar." She shrugs and retrieves her beeping phone from the floor beneath the lounger.

I watch curiously as she taps the screen and breaks into a smile, confirming my suspicions.

"Is that Steve again? He's been texting you all afternoon."

"I know." She grins. "He says he can't wait to see me again."

"Sounds like someone's keen."

The waiter returns with our drinks and places them on the wooden table between the sunbeds.

She gives him a smile of thanks as he disappears, and she takes a sip of her cosmopolitan. "I do hope so."

"I want you to be happy, Luce; everyone deserves that. Just … be careful."

"I will, I will," she blusters, leaving me with little confidence.

I know her, and I can tell she likes Big Steve more than she's admitting.

"And I want you to be happy too." She smiles and turns to me. "What Art did was bad, but he's done his time for it, and what happened to your dad is in your past. If you let those things affect your future, you'll never move forward. And you should. Together. You love him, and he's in love with you, whether he's told you or not. You're happier with him than I've ever seen you."

My throat tightens with emotion, and I take a sip of water to stop myself from crying. I love him more than I've loved anyone. There, I've finally admitted it to myself. I'm totally in love with him and utterly scared that my heart won't recover.

"I don't want to finish things with him," I admit. "But I need some space and time to get my head straight before we have the discussion we need to have. Coming out here with you was the right thing to do. If I'd stayed at home, he would have tracked me down again and bulldozed his way through, like he always does, distracting me and getting his own way."

She frowns. "Bulldozed?"

"He has his ways of distracting me."

A sly smile creeps across her face. "I bet he does. Have you told him about Theo?"

My eyes close at the mention of his name. No one knows the worst things Theo did. Not even Lucy.

"Bits."

"Well, maybe you should. You're asking him to be honest with you; it's only right that you do the same."

Why does she have to be so right all the bloody time?

"I know, and I will."

The beat of a thumping dance tune starts up in the distance, and I lazily open one eye. "What's that racket?"

Lucy shoots up like's she's been shot and drains her cosmopolitan in one mouthful, jumping to her feet. "That's the pool party starting over in the other pool. Come on."

I glance about at the other guests lounging on sunbeds in peace and quiet and feel envious. "Can't we stay here?"

"No, come on," she insists. "Cocktails, music, hot men." She catches the doubtful look I throw her way. "Okay, you just look at the hot men then. More for me!"

I've never been to a pool party in my life, and I'm not sure I'm in the right frame of mind to go to one now. "Luce …" I begin, but she grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet, clearly in no mood for resistance.

"Come on. I'm determined for you to drink something more than bloody water today. It'll be fun."