Page 45 of The Island of Hopes and Dreams

‘Acid reflux,’ Fabs said.

‘Sì. Acid reflux. Heartburn. I had heartburn. We eat much, we drink, we argue, we have many late nights. We are all stressed. That is why I feel the way I did. It is clear I need to slow down, to take it easier, to be kind to myself. To everyone.’ She looked around the table again, her eyes pausing on Felicity and Michael, then Mirabel. She clutched Fabs’s shoulder. ‘Tomorrow is Fabrizio and Mirabel’s wedding. We have much to celebrate, but perhaps we take it a little quiet today.’

‘I’ll second that!’ Michael raised his coffee cup and laughter trickled around the table.

With a flourish of her hand, Giada sat down. ‘Now, we eat.’

* * *

Giada’s thoughtful words and Felicity and Michael’s honesty over breakfast seemed to put an end to the animosity and power play between the parents.

Revived by coffee and food, Lola and Rhys were ferried across the bay to Villa Capparis, but any chance of spending time alone was snatched away the second they stepped inside. Their friends pounced on them with a million questions about their overnight disappearance, and they were forced to catch them up about Mirabel running away and Giada’s health scare.

Eventually, Lola escaped to her room to get changed – although with Polly’s imminent arrival, it would soon be hers no longer. The huge bed had been separated into two singles with chocolates left on the pillows. Lola should have felt elated at shortly seeing her friend, at Giada being fine and Mirabel less stressed, yet niggling uncertainty was still burrowing into her. Swept up in Mirabel’s drama and off her feet by Rhys, Lola’s own concerns had briefly been forgotten about. Now her thoughts returned to the one person she didn’t want to think about. When life felt as if it was back on track, that would be whenhewould strike. She didn’t want to consider how closely he was keeping an eye on her. At least here she was surrounded by people; it would be back in London when she’d be at her most vulnerable.

A knock on the door dragged her away from her spiralling thoughts. Sarah was standing in the doorway holding a bunch of flowers.

‘These just arrived for you.’ She raised an eyebrow and handed them to her.

The flowers were striking, but not in a good way. Yellow and mauve were Lola’s least favourite colours and she knew before she’d even opened the attached card who they were from.

A night away with your new bloke, eh? What was his name again? Rhys, that’s it. Rhys Strickland, lives in Bristol, teaches kids. He’s seriously your rebound choice? I do hope you were thinking about me the whole time. Forever yours, J

‘Do you have a secret admirer or are they from Rhys?’

Sarah’s words barely computed as Lola stared at the black-printed words. It was if he’d known her thought process.

Sarah plucked the card from her hand. Her chatter abruptly stopped as she read, then reread the card. Her head snapped back up to look at her. ‘What the hell, Lola?’

26

‘Lola, talk to me.’

Lola dropped the flowers on the bed and looked up at Sarah, whose face was pinched into a frown.

Sarah pointed at the discarded flowers. ‘They’re from Jarek?’

Lola nodded.

‘This note is weird. Plain creepy.’ Still clutching the card, she shook her head. ‘I have so many questions.’

‘It’s a long story.’

Sarah shoved the flowers to the other side of the bed, sat down and patted the space beside her. ‘Then catch me up.’

So Lola did, starting with the truth about her relationship with Jarek and what he’d really been like, along with the times he’d contacted her, from the hen do in Cornwall to the messages he’d sent while she’d been here, all the way to seeing him in Porto Cervo.

Sarah looked at her in open-mouthed disbelief. ‘So he’s here on Sardinia spying on you? Does anyone else know?’

‘Just Rhys. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to worry Mirabel.’

‘Oh Lola, I get that, but you could have talked to me, to Deni. We’re here for you.’

Fighting back tears, Lola bit her lip. Dealing with Jarek on her own was what she’d been doing the whole time. Perhaps she’d been naïve to think he’d allow her to humiliate him. The idea that he still believed she belonged to him terrified her.

‘I know you are,’ Lola finally said, squeezing Sarah’s hand. ‘Thank you.’

‘What do you want to do?’ Sarah gestured at the flowers as if they were the problem rather than symbolic of the hold her ex still had over her.

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