Page 62 of An Island Promise

Diego grunted.

Caleb clasped his beer on the stone between his thighs and stared down at his toes wiggling in the water. In the darkness, the pool shimmered a midnight blue. He often sat here, his place of contemplation, before diving in for a night-time swim.

‘I always hoped to have children. It was what we’d planned, me and your sister. She’d have made a great mum, the same as you’re going to be a brilliant father.’ He knocked his bottle against Diego’s.

‘This is going to blow Mama’s mind,’ Diego said with a grin.

‘Maria is going to explode – the questions, oh my fucking God Diego, can you imagine the amount of questions she’s going to have!’ Caleb shook his head at the thought of Diego’s wonderful but formidable mother finding out that she had another grandchild. ‘Please let me be there when you tell her.’

The evening couldn’t have gone any better; the bravery Gem had shown in being honest with Diego had been matched by his maturity in how he’d dealt with the news. But as everyone started to leave and a taxi was called to take Belle, Gem and Laurie back to Spirit, he began to realise there was only one way that the night would be absolutely perfect.

He watched Diego say goodbye to Gem and the easy way he slipped his arm round her waist and pulled her to him.His kisses to her cheeks lingered while his hands on her waist drifted slightly lower. He was confident and in full control of his emotions, seemingly knowing what he wanted and on the surface unfazed by all that he’d learned. As Diego let Gem go, her expression spoke volumes – that hard edge Caleb had so far witnessed was softened by a real smile that reached her eyes. There was something else in the way her eyes remained fixed on Diego, her confidence matching his, confirming Caleb’s earlier thought that whatever had been ignited ten years ago was still very much alive.

Caleb sighed, turning away to find Belle also watching Gem with Diego. It was a bizarre situation for her to be in the middle of, her friend and her holiday fling forever tied by the child they’d unintentionally made. Belle’s focus flicked from them to him and he melted, desperately wishing he had the same ease and confidence with Belle that Diego had with Gem.

Belle walked towards him, her short playsuit showing off long tanned legs that made him go giddy with desire.

‘Thank you so much for tonight.’ She took his hand, and he tried not to tense or to worry if anyone was watching them. ‘It went better than I dared hope.’

‘You’re going back in the taxi with Gem and Laurie?’ Caleb knew she was but he asked anyway because he was unable to verbalise ‘please stay the night’.

‘Yes,’ Belle said, her eyes tracing his face in a way that made him wonder if she was thinking the same thing.

She reached up and kissed him on each cheek. Her breath tickled, her perfume was seductively sweet, her hand on his bare arm almost more than he could bear. And yet, once again, he watched her walk away, his head and heart twisted in a power battle that he wasn’t going to come out of unscathed. The whole evening had been about openness and telling the truth,so taking a chance and opening up his heart to the possibility of happiness, wasn’t that a risk worth taking?

39

‘I am so going to miss this place,’ Gem said with a sigh as she closed the door to their poolside room behind her. She dragged her suitcase into the hallway and turned to Belle. ‘But I’m going to miss you more.’ She pulled her into a tight hug. ‘Thank you for everything, for being so understanding and for making me talk to him.’

The second Belle and Laurie had joined Gem at the seating area on Caleb’s terrace after she’d talked to Diego, she’d burst into tears as if she’d been bottling everything up all evening – or more likely for the last few years – and she finally felt able to release it.

‘He doesn’t hate me,’ she’d said, clutching a tissue. ‘He was shocked but he didn’t doubt me when I said Jack was his. He just held me and kissed me and told me it was all okay. I can’t even begin to tell you how that made me feel. Even if I don’t know what happens next or how we navigate our way, how I broach the subject with Dan, how I eventually tell Jack. Diego’s going to do a DNA test before I say anything so we have proof, then who knows.’ She’d shrugged. ‘We exchanged numbers and are going to keep in touch.’

Even if the future was still uncertain, Gem’s relief had been obvious. And now in the hallway at Spirit, happiness beamed from Gem as she let go of Belle.

‘You’re a good friend,’ Gem said softly. ‘And I’m going to try and be a better one.’

Laurie slid her arms around both of their waists. ‘Do you know how happy it makes me to see you two smiling at each other? And honestly, Belle, I’m so glad you made us do this and I’m unbelievably grateful to you – and Caleb,’ she said, squeezing Belle’s waist, ‘for putting us up somewhere so incredible. You’ve made me see things in a different way this week and to put things in perspective. I’ve realised the older I get the more disappointments there are, but there are plenty of good things too. I’ve been reading a book about the power of positivity. The defeatist attitude I had was not helpful. I’m trying to adjust my mindset. You and Gem were right about me living a little and not being so focused on fertility treatment. This week has gone a long way to doing that.’

Gem laughed. ‘Not that we were in any sort of position to give you advice about a positive mindset, let alone how you should tackle IVF.’

Laurie shook her head. ‘You absolutely were, because you were able to look at the situation with fresh eyes. I’m way too involved and invested. I’ve read far too many conflicting things about trying to get pregnant and I was in a complete muddle. I’ve been wound so tight, I could barely breathe let alone relax. A Spirit house cocktail with a salty breeze through my hair, dancing the night away at Ushuaïa and eating pizza with my best friends on a terrace overlooking the Med, made all my worries seem insignificant. I’m going to hold on to that feeling when I get home, have a glass of wine when I feel like it and just try and enjoy life with Ade. Make the most of what we’ve got.’

‘A pretty successful week all round then,’ Gem said with a grin. ‘Now all that’s left is for Belle to take a chance with Caleb.’

Easier said than done, Belle thought but, as she hugged Gem and Laurie goodbye, she resolved to be brave and honest like Gem and positive and hopeful like Laurie. Who knew where that mindset would lead.

Returning to Ibiza had been the right decision: eye-opening, eventful and impactful. Each of them had needed to hear hard truths and learn to embrace the ups and downs of life as well as accept that although things didn’t necessarily work out the way they’d envisaged, it didn’t mean they’d failed. Changing, adapting and navigating a trickier path had made each of them the people they were today. Belle couldn’t have asked for more. She felt closer to Gem and Laurie than she had in ages, a reminder of a time when their friendship meant everything and they’d share their hopes, dreams, successes and disappointments without letting anything else get in the way: men, jealousy, their own insecurities or any sort of toxicity.

With the importance of their friendship brought back into focus, Belle phoned Hannah later that day.

‘Did I ever tell you how grateful I was for the way you supported and looked after me following my accident?’

Hannah laughed. ‘What on earth brought that up?’

‘I’ve been talking about the past a lot this last week, reliving that time – the first holiday to Ibiza and the hell that happened after.’

‘You were so unbelievably brave. Honestly, I would have left London and gone back home if it had been me. You stuck it outin pain, scared, worried about your job, how to pay the bills. The least I could do was be your friend.’

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