Page 44 of An Island Promise

‘No, Gem knew I’d already been with Belle.’

‘Bloody hell, Diego. No wonder the two of them seem pissed at each other.’ Caleb was fuming on Belle’s behalf; some friend Gem was.

Diego clasped his hands around the bottle of beer. ‘I never expected to see either of them ever again. But I remember Gem because I’ve thought about her since.’ Diego shrugged. ‘You know I’ve never made a relationship work, I still prefer a good time with zero commitments. But that night with Gem, we just connected. I talked to Belle plenty, but Ireallytalked to Gem, opened up to her in a way that I never do. She told me all kinds of stuff too; it wasn’t just about sex.’

‘If it was Gem you connected with, why the hell did you go for Belle in the first place?’

‘I was working, selling club tickets, got chatting and was flirting with all three of them. It was Gem who I’d noticed first,it’s just their other friend made it clear that she and Gem weren’t single.’

‘So you decided to try your luck with Belle instead?’ Caleb clenched his fists.

‘I did fancy her, but Gem caught my eye.’ He rubbed his hand across his stubble and took a swig of beer. ‘I had every intention of seeing Belle again on their last night and never expected what happened with Gem to happen. I gave Gem my number but never heard from her.’ He folded his arms across his chest as if he was trying to close himself off. He didn’t meet Caleb’s eyes. ‘I thought about getting in touch with Gem, but never got further than thinking about it.’ He shrugged. ‘It was one night that shouldn’t have happened, but I was glad it did.’

Caleb’s jaw tightened. ‘They’re going to the Ushuaïa club night so you’ll have every chance to see her. You slept with them both, Diego. You’ve talked to Belle; at least do the decent thing and talk to Gem, particularly if you have feelings for her.’

‘I said we connected with each other ten years ago. I didn’t fall for her,’ he said brashly, but there was something about his sudden brusqueness that suggested Gem had got to him more than he was willing to admit.

‘But you liked her enough to have remembered her, and I get the feeling you still do, so don’t ignore her or let the situation with her and Belle get worse.’

‘Maybe take your own advice then and talk to Belle. What have you got to lose?’ Diego drained the rest of his beer and stood up. ‘Are you coming with them to Ushuaïa?’

‘Nah, going to give it a miss. Not sure I’ll be particularly good company that day.’

Diego frowned before realisation crossed his face. ‘The twenty-first of July.’

‘It would have been our tenth wedding anniversary.’

Diego gripped Caleb’s hand and kissed him on each cheek. ‘If you change your mind and need company, you know where I’ll be.’

27

Gem was lying on the bed with the curtains drawn when Belle and Laurie returned to their room after their chat on the beach. Belle was unsure if she was actually asleep or pretending, but either way she obviously didn’t want to talk. She was playing the victim, which should have annoyed the hell out of Belle, but she actually felt sorry for her having been burdened by a secret that must have been tearing her apart. Unless of course Gem hadn’t considered it to be a big deal to keep the secret at all?

Belle and Laurie tiptoed past her bed, grabbed towels and sunscreen and spent an hour in the pool making the most of the gentle heat of the evening. They showered, dressed, then strolled through Santa Eulalia and along the palm-fringed promenade to the marina which was packed with yachts and bustling with people eating and drinking in the bars and restaurants lining the waterfront.

Breakfast the next morning was a sullen affair with Gem finally joining them after having slept for fourteen hours straight. Belle noticed how puffy her eyes were behind her sunglasses as if she’d been crying. Never one for conflict, Laurie looked decidedly uncomfortable, while Gem, with deep frownlines and tight lips, was broadcasting ‘don’t you dare mess with me’ vibes.

Belle had never been so glad for the distraction of food, a breakfast of poached eggs and avocado on toast. Laurie tucked into her pancakes with wild Ibizan strawberries as eagerly as Belle did with hers, while Gem sipped her orange juice and picked at a morsel on her plate.

Eventually Belle put her knife and fork down and turned her focus to Gem. ‘Are we just going to pretend that yesterday never happened?’

Gem shrugged. ‘Works for me.’

‘Well, for me it doesn’t. We actually started to open up to each other so don’t go closing yourself off again.’

‘I opened up and now feel like shit. Not something I want to repeat today or any other day, quite frankly.’

They were at a table with a view towards the pool, blue and inviting in the morning sun. A whisper of a breeze wafted the white chiffon curtains around the closest double day bed. Guests were already radiating to the beanbag loungers to laze by the pool all morning. Belle would much rather be doing that than instigating this conversation.

‘The truth’s out in the open now about Dan, about Diego,’ she said. ‘So let’s talk; let’s figure stuff out.’

‘You want to compare notes about what Diego was like in the sack, huh?’

Belle sat back in her chair, Laurie’s wide-eyed look of shock echoing her own. ‘That is not what I meant and you know it. Why would you even suggest that? And why the hell areyouso angry withme?’

‘I’m not angry with you.’ Gem pushed her poached egg and smoked salmon around the plate with her fork. She’d barely had a mouthful, while Laurie had quickly resumed eating. ‘I’m jealous of you and angry with myself.’

‘Why on earth would you?—’

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