Page 15 of The Island of Hopes and Dreams

Rhys followed her lead, finishing his wine and leaving his empty glass next to hers on the coffee table.

Lola mussed up the sofa cushions. ‘Let them wonder,’ she said with a wink. ‘Actually, one last thing.’ She scooped up her phone from the coffee table, opened up the camera and switched it to selfie mode.

With her arm flung across his shoulder and her head resting in the crook of his neck, he put his arm around her waist. She smelt delicious, a fresh mandarin scent, and her eyes were cornflower blue – he hadn’t noticed in the darkness of the jetty.

‘Don’t look so worried!’ She tugged him closer. ‘Smile!’

He tried to focus on her rather than himself. He’d been faking being okay for a while to get through the day, but her vivaciousness made him let go of his inhibitions and not concentrate on what he looked like.

As she snapped a handful of photos, Rhys tried not to let his worry show. He wasn’t drunk enough and not 100 per cent convinced they were doing the right thing, but he was swept up by her enthusiasm and her magnetic smile.

‘There we go. Proof.’

She clicked on the last photo she’d taken and he was struck by how convincing they looked, cosy and happy like they were enjoying each other’s company, which he realised they had. At least he had.

They swapped numbers and she sent him the selfie.

‘Right,’ she said, tucking her phone into her bag. ‘I’m going to head to bed before everyone gets back. I’ll see you in the morning when we can have some fun.’ She spun round on her heel. ‘A different kind of fun than we had this evening!’ She grinned. ‘Night, Rhys.’

‘Night, Lola.’

He watched her until she disappeared. Leaving the empty wine glasses on the table as Lola suggested – even though he was itching to clear up after himself – he headed to his room, which was on the opposite side of the villa to hers. Although he’d been put at the other end of the hallway to Freddie and Zoe, they were still too close for his liking and he clenched his fists as he walked past their room. He needed to worry less and care more about the things that mattered, not about a past he couldn’t change. He should really take Giada’s advice and live a little, have fun. He was in Sardinia, a place that held only happy memories, so he should make more of them. Spending the end of the evening talking to Lola was a good start.

After getting a wash, cleaning his teeth and changing into boxers and a T-shirt, he slipped into bed. He clicked on the photo Lola had sent him. While her eyes danced with mischievousness, all he could see of himself was that his smile didn’t reach his eyes – he looked weary, a shadow next to Lola. Would anyone actually believe that a woman as stunning as Lola would wind up with him? Maybe, if they thought they’d both been drunk and stuff had happened without them intending it to. Perhaps he’d let Lola lead in the morning, in case she’d changed her mind.

The idea that the only way he’d feel less alone was to pretend to be with someone punched a hole in his heart. He fisted the sheet and breathed deeply, trying to tell himself to think less negatively about the situation, his go-to reaction. Lola’s company had been easy and he’d felt more relaxed chatting to her than he had with anyone for a long time. Perhaps the next few days were looking up. Companionship and her friendship would be welcome. That side of things wouldn’t be hard to fake.

8

‘Where on earth did you get to last night?’ Before Lola reached the table on the terrace that had been laid out for breakfast, Deni steered her into the garden. ‘Anything you’d care to share?’

Lola hadn’t yet seen Rhys this morning. She had wanted to gauge what he thought about their pretence before being cornered by her friends, but Deni was far too observant.

‘I got talking to Rhys and we came back here early and chatted some more,’ Lola said smoothly. ‘We may have kissed a bit.’

There, it was done, their love pact sealed. And ‘may have’ was a suggestion of what might have happened rather than an outright lie.

‘Rhys?’ Deni frowned. ‘Fabs’s friend, the quiet one?’

‘Yep, him.’ Lola felt her cheeks flush, although it was through worry about being caught in a fib rather than any embarrassment. Rhys wasn’t who had caught her eye last night and Deni undoubtedly knew that if her continuing frown was anything to go by.

‘I didn’t realise you’d even talked to him.’

‘I went out for some air and we got chatting. Yes he’s quiet, but he’s actually really easy to talk to and interesting.’ Now that wasn’t a lie.

‘And one thing led to another?’ Disbelief wrapped around Deni’s words matched by a raised eyebrow.

‘We were both rather drunk…’

Deni grinned. ‘I take it there was no vomiting to put a stop to things this time?’

‘A lady never tells.’ Lola battered her eyelashes and twirled away back across the sunny lawn. ‘But no, nothing untoward.’

There, she’d seeded enough suggestion without denying or confirming anything for Deni to start gossiping, which she knew she would do with relish. She wondered how Rhys would spin things to his friends. She guessed she’d find out soon enough as she and Deni headed back towards the villa and the breakfast table.

A little awkwardness around each other would be expected if everyone believed they’d hooked up. Although the perfect thing about feigning things between them was that she wasn’t at all worried about seeing him again. She’d thoroughly enjoyed his company and adored his openness as much as it had been refreshing to chat frankly with him. Pretending stuff had happened between them would make it easy to spend time together, put an end to her friends’ matchmaking and keep at bay any potential suitors.

The moment Deni clocked Rhys already sitting at the table with Barnaby and Gareth, she cast a look his way and asked if he’d had a good night, finishing off with an unsubtle wink. Rhys’s freckled cheeks flushed crimson. He met Lola’s eyes as she sat down opposite and flushed even more, managing to perfectly play into their ruse.

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