Page 8 of The Bet
Chapter 3
Aweek later she was lying on a recliner around an aquamarine, kidney-shaped pool, with sun-loungers and cocoon pods dotted around. It was surrounded by tropical gardens, and a small walkway led to sun-kissed white sandy beaches. Tobias and Savannah were in separate hammocks under the palm trees and Jacob was further away, near the sand.
“Izzy, come and see this!” he yelled.
She got up from her recliner and held her flat hand against her forehead, like a shade from the sweltering sun. Staring at him, she couldn’t help but admire the scenery. It was like a snapshot from a luxury holiday brochure.
“Izzy! Look!” Jacob held up something she couldn’t make out.
“I’m coming!”
She got up and sauntered over, barefoot.
“He’s not letting you have a moment’s peace, is he?” Savannah, in her two-piece brilliant blue bikini, looked up from her book.
“He’s excited. I’m excited!” Izzy waved at him. Kawaya was a picture perfect paradise straight out of a movie. It was a world away from her lectures and the bustle and chaos that was New York.
Even stepping foot into Tobias’s private plane had her spell-bound, and no matter how much she tried not to be dazzled by such wealth, she couldn’t hold back her amazement. The interior of the plane was fancier than anything she had ever seen in real life. It was luxurious, and stylish, with large cream leather seats, huge, shiny, TV screens, sleek wooden tables and vases of flowers.
Vases full of flowers on a plane?
They had arrived yesterday, and gone straight to bed, exhausted after the long flight, but this morning had been her chance to see exactly what Kawaya was like.
“Look,” said Jacob, and gave her a map of the island. It was huge, with a sprawling huge main house where the immediate family stayed. Savannah had insisted that Izzy also have a room there, next to Jacob. For the rest of the guests, there were lots of small cabins dotted around, further along the beach.
The island had a waterfall and in the main, it was unspoiled, still in a state of natural beauty.
The bodyguards were discreet. Every now and then she caught sight of them in their black t-shirts and black trousers, and felt sorry for them, wondering how they kept so cool in the heat. Though a gentle wind kept the edge off.
“What have you got there, Jacob?” He was squatting, in his Iron Man swim trunks, which he had put on soon after he’d woken up.
“Seashells. Look.” He fished one out with his tiny hands and put a shell to his ear. “I can’t hear anything.” He made a disappointed face. “Lenny says you can hear the sea but I can’t hear nothing.”
“Anything,” she said. “You can’t hearanything.”
“I can’t,” he agreed. “You try.”
She did, and couldn’t hear anything either. “I think we need to find a shell that has more curvature.” She looked around, until she found one. “See,” she said, “This one has more of a curve.” She put it to her ear and smiled. “I can hear something now.”
“You try.” She knelt on the soft powdery sand, like sugar, but golden, and held the shell close to Jacob’s ear. “Listen,” she whispered. “It’s very, very, very quiet. Like a ‘sssssshhhhhhhhh’. Hear it?”
He frowned, then his eyes opened wider. “Yeah … yeah, I do! I hear it!”
She let him enjoy the moment. After a while, he put it into his plastic basket. “I’m collecting them,” he explained.
“Shall we walk around the beach seeing how many we can find?”
He shook his head.
“Then what do you want to do? We could go for a swim or—”
“Let’s go swim in the sea! Race you!” And he rushed off, into the water, before she could reply. She followed, and noticed that one of the bodyguards stepped forward. There were two of them—discreet, yet visible, and always around. Being here had given her a taste of what it was like, being part of Tobias Stone’s world, being constantly shadowed by men who never spoke. Men who were there to guard your life.
The Shoemoneys were relatively normal compared to this.
~ ~ ~
The next day, Tobias and Savannah were still lying in their hammocks and relaxing.
