Page 43 of An Island Promise

‘I slept with a lot of women back then.’

‘Yeah, I get it. She wasn’t actually the one who told me?—’

‘Because it’s none of your business and you’re her boss,’ Diego commented.

‘Exactly. But you usually tell me everything.’

‘I really didn’t think it was relevant.’ Diego swigged his beer. ‘It was a long time ago.’

With an eight-year age gap between them, Caleb had known Diego since he was in his early twenties and was fully aware how he’d behaved back then. It hadn’t been much different to his own behaviour at that age.

‘Maybe I should have said something.’ Diego scrunched his lips and tucked his free hand in his armpit. ‘Mama said you like her?—’

‘Maria is making more of our relationship than there is.’

Diego leaned forward and placed his bottle on the table. ‘Is she? Then why are we having this conversation?’

Caleb inwardly grimaced. He had him there. Why the hell bring this up with Diego if it wasn’t because it bothered him?

‘The whole conversation and the way I found out was strange, as if Belle’s friend was having a dig at her.’

Diego’s eyes narrowed. ‘Which friend?’

‘The one with the sharp tongue and killer curves.’

‘Gem,’ Diego said with an intake of breath. ‘She’s here on Ibiza?’

‘They’re here for a week staying at Spirit.’

Diego rubbed his hand across his stubble. ‘I didn’t remember Belle. I mean I did, but only when she reminded me. It was Gem I remember.’

‘Wait.’ Caleb frowned. ‘You slept with them both?’

‘Don’t look at me like that. I don’t feel good about it but I was twenty-four and having the fucking time of my life. You remember being that age. You made Paloma perfectly aware of what you were like.’

‘What I wasoncelike.’

‘Sí, I have grown up a little since then but I can’t change how I behaved. I was single, they were willing. I didn’t intend to sleep with them both, but I did nothing wrong.’

‘Does Belle know about you and Gem?’

‘She didn’t, but I sort of told her about it when she came for lunch the other weekend because she realised I knew something I shouldn’t. She worked it out for herself.’

‘How did it even happen?’ Caleb shook his head. ‘Don’t answer that.’ He definitely didn’t want to hear the sordid details,but he felt guilty now for unwittingly leaving Belle on her own to deal with a messy situation.

Caleb took a bite of the now-cold pizza and dropped it on his plate.

Diego swigged his beer and gazed out through the open patio doors. ‘I remembered Gem because there was something special about her.’

Like there’s something special about Belle, Caleb thought.

‘I watched my sister marry you, the love of her life, and I was supposed to see Belle again the night after?—’

‘Hold on, you hooked up with Belle the week we got married?’

‘Yes, and I was supposed to see her the last night of their holiday and somehow I ended up with Gem.’ He shrugged.

‘Somehow?’ Caleb shook his head. ‘Somehow you slept with two best friends on the same holiday without either of them knowing?’

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