Page 33 of The Island of Hopes and Dreams

Fire raged inside her. ‘Yes, I have, thank you,’ she snapped. ‘And he’s Welsh, not English.’

‘If you want to have more fun than you have with him, you only have to say.’ His voice was dripping with suggestion. He was clean-shaven and classically handsome. Valentino might be benign, but there was no way to know without putting her trust in him. But his arrogance incensed her, along with his belief that he’d give her a better time than Rhys because of the way he looked.

The idea of a fling with a sexy Italian should have been tempting, and yet… He put her on edge, whereas around Rhys she’d felt relaxed and safe from the moment she’d sat with him at the end of the dock, their conversation flowing effortlessly.

She scrunched her lips. ‘You honestly think I’d have more fun with you?’

He raised an eyebrow and snorted like he could see right through her, that the fun she was having with Rhys wasn’t the sort of fun he was suggesting.

But what if she and Rhys could have fun that way? Their kiss. She hadn’t stopped thinking about it. Something had ignited and he’d surprised her. He was quiet instead of confident. He didn’t dominate, crowd her out or overpower. He allowed her to be her. He listened and understood. He was sensitive and thoughtful. His eyes twinkled when he laughed, and the way the hollow of his neck pulsed and focused her attention on his skin, imagining how it would feel beneath her fingers…

‘I am certain you would have more fun with me.’ Valentino’s voice was deep and seductive.

Lola held his gaze, her annoyance growing at the way he was invading her personal space, his eyes zoning in on her lips and shifting down to her cleavage. ‘Yet I’m not sure I would with you.’

‘You only have to say if you change your mind.’ He leaned closer and kissed her on each cheek while his hands caressed her arms.

‘I won’t,’ Lola said lightly, because despite his looks, he left her cold. But most of all he wasn’t Rhys. That alone was enough to make her walk away and not look back.

* * *

Rhys wanted to pace over and claim Lola because his blood was boiling so much, yet he stopped himself because of how inappropriate that was. Claiming Lola was what Valentino was trying to do; sex appeal oozed off him, while his eyes undressed her. Claiming her was what Jarek was still attempting to do. No one should be treated like that. What Rhys wanted to do was protect her, to hold and kiss her. To be with her and there for her. So he watched from afar, letting his friends’ conversation wash over him as he clenched his bottle of beer and breathed through his annoyance. She wasn’t his, they weren’t really together, and he couldn’t – wouldn’t – interfere.

It had been different earlier with Jarek, to witness her shock as the blood had drained from her face before she’d stormed up to her ex and confronted him. Rhys had feared for her safety then. He’d wanted to help her, to make sure she was okay and could walk away unscathed – at least physically. Emotionally, he knew she was a mess. But he had no right to interfere now, even if he loathed the look Valentino was giving her because it was the way he wanted to look at Lola, with seductive desire and longing. Not that he’d have the nerve to be so blatant, and he sure as hell wasn’t a tall, dark, handsome Italian who could effortlessly sweep her off her feet.

Valentino had obviously tried to do that; Rhys didn’t need to lip-read to understand his intentions when his body language said it all, but Lola’s reaction was clear too as she leaned away, angling her head to avoid that intense gaze. When he’d kissed her on each cheek, she extracted herself from his hold and walked away.

Across the room, Rhys met Valentino’s eyes, dark moody pools that narrowed arrow-like at him. Valentino batted his hand, a dismissive gesture as he pushed away from the wall and stalked off into the garden. Rhys should have felt smug, yet he didn’t. Lola had obviously shut down Valentino’s advances, but she hadn’t sought him out either. Now he didn’t know what was right: to go and find her or leave her in peace. So he took the easy, least complicated way out and followed Gareth and Barnaby onto the terrace.

Ten minutes later when Lola hadn’t returned and he noticed Deni and Sarah leave – presumably to find her – he regretted his cowardice. But by then it was too late. Doing anything now would feel like an afterthought and he hated himself for his indecision.

20

It had been easy for Lola to turn down Valentino, but it wasn’t easy to drag herself out of the well of worry she’d fallen back into. She woke early and couldn’t get back to sleep. An uneasiness nibbled away. Jarek was on Sardinia. What else would he do? She wished Polly was here sharing the room so she wouldn’t be alone. Or that they were back in Bosa and Rhys was lying next to her.

She was worried about that too. Her thoughts kept straddling the line of friendship and the possibility of more. Not that they needed to define their relationship, but she was longing to feel comfortable around him again. They still hadn’t talked about their kiss and since their conversation before yesterday’s gathering, Lola hadn’t seen much of him at all.

Rhys wasn’t at breakfast, but not many people were, likely taking the opportunity to have a lie-in after a busy few days.

Lola found a shady spot beneath a pine tree on the villa’s beach and read for the rest of the morning, only joining Sarah and Deni for lunch.

Lola had messaged Mirabel earlier that morning to check in on her after she and Fabs had left unusually early the night before. She’d thought it strange to not have heard anything back, but hadn’t been concerned until she got an unexpected call from Fabs when she was on her way to her room.

‘Hey there,’ she said, ‘everything all right?’

‘Not really, no. Is Mirabel with you?’

‘No. Why?’

Silence, apart from the birdsong floating in through the open bedroom doors.

‘What’s happened, Fabs?’

‘A huge fucking argument, that’s what, which I’m trying to resolve with little luck so far.’

‘With Mirabel?’

‘No, between my mamma and hers. Again.’ He sighed. ‘Mirabel left half an hour ago and I can’t get hold of her. At least she’s not answering to me. I thought you might have more luck.’

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