Page 60 of The Island of Hopes and Dreams

Leaving his cup next to the pool, he joined her inside. He put his hand on her shoulder and flinched as she jumped.

‘Lola?’ he said softly.

She turned to him, her face sheet-white, and held out her phone. ‘Read this.’

I’ve had enough, you ungrateful bitch. After everything I gave you and everything I’ve done for you. I was the best thing that ever happened to you and you’ve thrown it all away. You’ll just have to live with the regret. We’re done.

Rhys looked up from the message and met Lola’s wide eyes. Tears streaked down her pale cheeks.

‘Bloody hell, Lola.’ Putting the phone down, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. ‘You still need to get an injunction, but this might just mean he’s given up pursuing you.’

* * *

Lola didn’t exactly creep through the hotel, but she was conscious that she was in the dress she’d been wearing the night before and looked like she’d just got out of bed, but that didn’t really matter when she had other things on her mind. In daylight, the threat of Jarek and his disturbing letter wasn’t quite so frightening, even after that morning’s message. The possibility that he’d decided to cut his losses and move on for good was more than she could have hoped for.

Brunch had been arranged for eleven, a decent time after a wedding, although she’d been up for quite a while already talking to Rhys. The kiss they’d shared before she’d left his room had been chaste, as if neither of them wanted to allow the rumbling feelings of desire to take over. The night before had definitely not been the right time, while this morning hadn’t felt quite right either, even if there was a tug of war happening between her heart and head.

Brunch was in the herb garden, with groups of family and friends clustered around tables dotted between raised borders packed with salad leaves, mint and marjoram. Mirabel glowed with happiness and Fabs’s own contentment shone through; perhaps they were the only two people that morning who were truly happy. For everyone else, the wedding was over and real life beckoned.

Lola found herself sitting with Deni, Mark, Sarah and Polly enjoying a breakfast of fresh bread, local honey and deliciously salty charcuterie in surroundings awash with sunshine. Rhys was on another table with Barnaby, Gareth, Freddie and Zoe. They caught each other’s eyes and Lola smiled, holding his gaze and drinking him in; dark hair and smiling eyes, pale skin that had caught the sun and perhaps flushed a little as he looked at her, and sensual lips that she’d spent alongtime kissing last night.

‘You made up with Rhys then,’ Sarah said with raised eyebrows. ‘I saw you coming back to your room this morning. Hell of a night, eh?’

Lola switched her focus to her friends: Sarah with a mischievous grin, Polly smiling encouragingly, while Deni and Mark watched on with amused interest, their hands clasped together.

Full disclosure – that was what she’d promised herself from now on, to not withhold stuff from her friends or feel as if she had to hide any part of herself, both the good and the bad, either the things that worried her or brought her joy.

Lola rested her hands on the table, leaned in and kept her voice low. ‘I haven’t slept with him. I mean, we have slept together in the same bed, but we’ve not had sex.’

She could have laughed at the incredulous look her friends were giving her. Mark took a large gulp of coffee.

‘How is that even possible?’ Sarah sat back wide-eyed. ‘And there was me thinking I was the only one out here not getting any action.’

‘I’m not,’ Polly said.

‘I wasn’t either.’ Deni shrugged. ‘Till Mark arrived.’

Lola laughed as Mark’s cheeks flushed poppy-red. ‘And that’s my cue to leave.’ He kissed Deni and scraped his chair back. ‘I’ll finish packing and check us out.’

Deni waited until Mark had escaped across the herb garden terrace and was out of earshot before whispering, ‘I’m actually getting quite a lot of action.’ She flapped a hand in front of her own flushed cheeks. ‘You were right, Lola, about this island being made for romance.’

Polly whooped and Sarah high-fived her. Lola smiled, but her heart was twisted with longing for the happiness that was now radiating from her friend. From all three of her friends, actually. And she knew without a doubt how happy Mirabel was.

Her friends’ attention turned back to her.

‘So you haven’t doneanythingwith him?’ Sarah asked.

‘Our first kiss was at the restaurant when Freddie and Zoe announced their engagement and it wasn’t even meant to be a proper one, just my way of taking Rhys’s attention away from his friends having stomped all over his heart. And if you all believed Rhys and I were together, then everyone would leave us alone.’

‘Wait?’ Deni frowned. ‘So it was all pretend?’

‘The first night at Villa Sereno when I went out for some air I got talking to Rhys. We were both escaping.’ Lola cleared her throat. ‘We were both escaping from our friends. I’m so sorry.’ She looked between Deni and Sarah. ‘Jarek treated me appallingly. He shattered my confidence, my self-belief and he destroyed so much of me. You were all pushing for me to hook up with someone and move on, except that was the last thing I wanted.’

‘Oh my goodness, Lola.’ Deni reached across the table and held her hands. ‘You should have said something.’

‘I know, but it would have unravelled everything and I couldn’t face that, talking about Jarek with you. I foolishly thought by bottling everything up and pretending I was okay, I’d be able to move on and forget about him.’

‘But he didn’t let you.’

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