Page 46 of An Island Promise

Another message from Cara appeared in answer to Belle’s first reply.

Oh, and if by complicated you mean the almost kiss that happened between you two at the Serenity wedding, I kinda know about it and think it’s a bloody good thing and probably should have been an actual kiss. Just saying. x

Belle pressed her palms against the edge of the sink and stared at the screen, taking in Cara’s words, particularly the ‘probably should have been an actual kiss’ bit. How on earth should she reply to that? How to explain the mess and confusion and the conflicting emotional messages Caleb must be receiving when they’d hadthatmoment the night of the Serenity wedding, then, less than two weeks later, he had the image of her having been with Diego thrust in his face, while today he was dealing with an incomprehensible loss.

She thumbed a reply and sent it.

If today would have been his anniversary it’s probably for the best nothing really happened. His emotions must be all over the place. But if I see or hear from him of course I’ll let you know x

Within moments Cara replied.

I should be with him and I’m not. He could really do with a friend. Feeling kinda helpless so thanks for being there x

Cara was his best friend and was worrying about him thousands of miles away. Belle wasn’t sure what she could do to help if he wanted to be on his own. There was probably little anyone could do when such a sad milestone was reached.

Belle opted for the emerald maxi dress, deciding it was classier to show either cleavage or legs and not both like she’d done when she was twenty-one. Gem had gone short, her long tanned legs smooth and gleaming, the high neck of the dress jewelled and sparkling, the snug fit accentuating her curves. Belle wondered if it was all for Diego. Laurie was as classy as ever in a simple black dress, her hair straightened and shiny where it grazed her shoulders.

Ushuaïa pulsated with people and music, the hypnotic beat of the crowd-pleasing DJ MK getting the evening started in style. Spirit’s guests had two tables reserved in the second VIP area next to the pool with an unspoilt view across to the stage. With a host bringing them ice buckets filled with drinks, all they had to do was sit back and soak up the party vibe. Belle considered partying from 5 to 11p.m. was far more civilised than dancing till the early hours, particularly when Spirit’s guests had a luxurious hotel to return to.

The atmosphere kicked up a notch as the sun began to go down. The dance floor surrounded three sides of the pool and was packed with partygoers, the energy magically euphoric. From the VIP area they were able to dip in and out. They experienced the thrill of being in the midst of everyone on the dance floor, then escaped back to the comfort of their tables where they could look out across the sea of dancers to the stage.

The DJ was backlit and the lights were beginning to pierce the dusk. A wave of hands reached up, phones in the air and heads back as people gazed up at the sunset-streaked sky with cotton-candy clouds and the white underbelly of a plane as it came into land at the nearby airport.

Diego was no longer trawling the beaches and pool bars promoting events at the clubs; he was now one of the people organising them. Although it was still a serious amount of money to spend on drinks to secure the table, with matesrates – or brother-in-law rates – it was a ridiculously good arrangement.

Laurie was on her feet dancing next to a couple of Spirit’s guests and Gem was sitting on her own nursing a glass of champagne.

‘You doing okay?’ Belle curled her arm around Gem’s shoulders and leaned close. ‘You seem to be avoiding Diego.’

‘It’s quite easy to avoid someone when they’re doing their best to avoid you too,’ Gem said cuttingly.

‘He’s busy working, so not technically avoiding you.’ Belle sighed and removed her arm from Gem’s shoulders. Why the hell should she care if Gem wasn’t having a good time when she’d brought the situation on herself? ‘Maybe talking to him will help clear your conscience. He was single, I was single, you weren’t, but from what you said he meant something and I know how that feels. So maybe seeing him again will help you to figure out what he means to you now, if anything.’

The guests from Spirit were having the time of their lives, Laurie too, and Belle eventually gave up on Gem when nothing she said would shift her from the depressed slump she was in. She didn’t need to be worrying about Gem when she was already concerned enough about Caleb, who hadn’t yet shown up.

The blue sky had darkened to indigo when the atmosphere switched again. The darkness was spliced by lights flashing across the Ushuaïa stage, and a voiceover boomed out over an electronic beat. Practically every phone in the place was raised in anticipation. The strobe lighting flickered faster and faster, and the silhouette of Calvin Harris behind the decks sharpened into focus. The lights dimmed, then ‘Blame’ started up, blue and pink lights flickering across the stage, the vocals of John Newman matched by the screams from the dance floor. Even Gem was finally on her feet and Belle’s worries subsided.

A few minutes into the set Diego pushed through the people in the VIP area and came over.

‘Cara messaged me!’ His hand was warm on her bare shoulder as he shouted in her ear. She could smell his cologne and tried her hardest to block out the memory of what that reminded her of. ‘She can’t sleep for worrying about Caleb. He’s not answering his phone either. I think someone should go check on him. I’d ask Mama but it’s a long way for her to drive and I don’t want to upset her, so…’

‘I’ll go, of course I’ll go.’ Belle glanced around their section of the VIP area. ‘The guests though…’

‘I’m here; I’ve got it. I’ll make sure everyone gets back to Spirit. I’ll call you a taxi.’ He grabbed her hand. ‘Just one other thing. Me and Gem, are you…?’ He glanced in Gem’s direction where she and Laurie had their backs to them, their arms around each other by the pool.

‘It’s fine, Diego.’

‘And you and Gem?’

‘We’re working through a lot of shit. You are an added layer of complexity.’ She grinned at how sheepish he looked. ‘You should really talk to her though.’

Belle should have felt gutted leaving in the middle of Calvin Harris’s set, ‘We Found Love’ swooping out over the crowd, the stage lit up ruby-red and smoke billowing up in shafts of light as hundreds of phones were raised in the air showing multiple images of the stage on screens. But she realised she wanted to make sure Caleb was okay not just for Cara’s and Diego’s sakes but to ease her worry too.

After letting Laurie and Gem know what she was doing, Belle took a taxi from Playa d’en Bossa. Her feet and fingers still felt as if they were thrumming from the dance beat. Instead of continuing in the direction of Serenity, they turned off and drove through Cap Martinet, one of the most exclusive areas onthe island. The taxi climbed a narrow road up a tree-carpeted hillside, its tyres churning up white dust, the rocks edging the side of the road glowing in the taxi headlights. To the right where the trees thinned out, the hill dropped away with Cap Martinet lit up below and the moonlight reflected in the dark sea.

The taxi driver waited while Belle pressed the buzzer next to the gated entrance to Solace. The villa itself was hidden from view and apart from the taxi’s rumbling engine, there was only the sound of cicadas making a racket in the surrounding trees. Her heart raced as she waited, wondering what to say if he answered.

‘Belle?’ Caleb’s voice crackled to life in the darkness, making her jump. ‘What are you doing here?’

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