Page 81 of Benidorm Again

He shakes his head.

‘And are you following me?’

He holds his palms up. ‘I know this looks bad, but I had no idea you’d be here.’

‘You had no idea I’d be here. In Benidorm? I literally told you I was coming here.’

‘I had no idea you’d be in this street. Honestly. Obviously, I did come here… to Benidorm… to see you. To apologise properly.’

I don’t believe him. ‘Then why not just text me?’

He visibly swallows. ‘Because I deleted your number from my phone after the tour, and Dolly wouldn’t give it to me again because of the way I behaved towards you. Then when I came to Benidorm Palace, Liberty said you didn’t want to have anything to do with me and that I should forget it.’

People are beginning to push their way through us as we jostle to talk to each other in the centre of the throng. We couldn’t be standing in a more inconvenient place.

‘I just wanted the chance to say I’m so sorry. Sorry for tricking you into staying at the hotel in York. I wasn’t thinking straight. I was just so excited to… Sorry. Excuse me. Let me help you with that.’

I watch as Luke, all politeness, bends to help a young woman pushing a buggy through the crowd between us.The wheel has jammed in the cobbled stones. He lifts the pram up and sets it down again. She thanks him in Spanish, and after he answers her in what sounds like impeccable Spanish, he continues as though it didn’t happen.

‘I was just so excited to get to know you. We had this chemistry on stage. And instead, I messed it all up. I had my chance to impress you, and I blew it.’

He’s not wrong there.

This time a large and very lively walking tour group come to stand in the same spot we are in. They are instructed to admire the architecture of the old buildings. The guide points to the famous sign Calle Santo Domingo and sweeps his arm around the compact square leading down to several narrow pedestrianised lanes crammed with foodies taking delight in the famous culinary treasure trove of authentic Spanish cuisine.

Luke nods towards one of the empty alleyways. I make my way to the side of the lane. Luke follows me keeping a respectable distance.

‘I was awful. I was trying to seduce you with big romantic gestures and… I got it all terribly wrong.’ He is shoe gazing, and his cheeks are flaming with embarrassment.

He sounds genuine. I just wish he would look me in the eye while he is rambling. Instead, he’s talking nervouslyto the palms of his hands, that he is waving around like a politician. He is doing the Hugh Grant.

‘But the proposal was genuine. Yes, it was spur of the moment… and totally weird and I was horrendously drunk, but I’ll always regret the way I messed that up.’ His eyes finally meet mine. ‘I completely blew my chance with you, didn’t I?’

I nod back. ‘And who jumps on a plane just to say sorry? Can’t you see that’s a bit stalkery?’

Luke’s face drops a mile. ‘Oh, my God. No. Please. That’s not what I intended. Not at all. Sorry. I’m just making things worse. I see that. I thought that if there was some way I could make it up to you, you’d forgive me, and then when we tour together for the Sinfonia, everything would be okay.’ He rakes a hand through his hair. He is flustered. His eyes are pools of fear and disappointment. ‘I’ll get on the next flight out of here. I promise. And you won’t see me again until the next tour. And you don’t even have to speak to me. I’ll be professional and courteous, and we can put this whole nightmare that I created behind us.’

They say the eyes are the window to the soul. He still has strong feelings for me despite everything he’s saying. ‘Okay,’ I say stiffly. This has been a lot to process.

‘Bye, Connie. And again. I’m so very sorry.’ We lock eyes and it’s as though he’s willing me to say something kind to him. Something hopeful and promising. He gives me a sad smile.

Suddenly, I feel stifled. ‘Goodbye, Luke.’ I dart across the promenade, pushing past the tourists, into the main shopping square, to catch my breath. That was so intense. I scan the crowd to make sure he hasn’t followed me. He hasn’t.

I sit down on the nearest bench to take a moment. I suppose it was good to clear the air, but it means I’ve run out of time to get even half of what we need on this shopping list.

PING. Instagram. Ged has posted a gorgeous photo of the four of them under the waterfall with a caption, ‘Just had the best double date ever’ and tagged us all in. My hearts swells for them. Part of me wishes I had gone with them. They all seem deliriously happy. Thank God things are starting to get back on track.

PING. Big Sue is FECKING furious on the WhatsApp. Big Mand is also LIVID. How dare Ged ‘out’ them when they aren’t even ‘out’.

Fuck.

Chapter 29

‘What the fuck is going on?’ squeaks Liam tearfully. I hurried back to their villa as quickly as I could, post the WhatsApp spat. It has escalated into a massive online argument, even though I suspect that all the people involved are a few yards from each other, texting from their bedrooms, and could easily do it face-to-face to clear up the ‘misunderstanding’ much quicker.

Ged is also visibly upset by the spat.

I try to broach the ‘unexpected outing’ of Big Mand and Big Sue. ‘What were you thinking? You know they are very protective of their friendship and whatever may be developing between them,’ I say.

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