Page 72 of The Making of Jonty Bloom
Devan laughed. “Is there anything you wish Northumberland had that it doesn’t have?”
“Marlon Teixeira? Warmer weather? But if we had higher temperatures, we’d get swamped with visitors. Maybe even Marlon Teixeira!”
“I’ve met him.”
Jonty tripped and almost faceplanted. “You’ve met him? I’m surprised you’ve even heard of him.”
“My ex is a fashion model.”
“Bloody hell. That was why you said you were glad I wasn’t a supermodel.”
Jonty went uncharacteristically quiet, then scooted in front of Devan and began wriggling his backside and swinging his hips as he walked.
Devan sniggered. “You’ll get a modelling job so easily walking like that.”
Jonty came back to his side. “It was that bad?”
“Awful. Terrible. The worse catwalk demonstration I’ve ever seen.”
Jonty huffed. “How did that work experience go with the Samaritans? Not well, I’d guess.”
Devan chuckled. They moved from the road to cross farmland and eventually walked over undulating dunes. Jonty never stopped talking and the longer they walked, the better Devan felt.Accept what you can’t change.Griff was Griff. But that didn’t mean Devan would be his best man if he married Ravi.
“Not trying to remind you again, but what was it that made you want to marry Ravi? Does your brother see the same thing? How did you meet? Was it instant attraction?”
“I met him at a charity event in London. He was sitting on the same table. He’s good-looking. He doesn’t have that androgynous look that seems to be so popular. He’s more naturally beautiful than that. Ravi was one of the items being auctioned. A day with him. He worked the room. He sashayed up to people as they were bidding and flirted. He was confident and funny.”
“Did you bid for him?”
“Yes. I didn’t intend to go as high as I did, but he pleaded with me, got down on his knees at the table and it was for a good cause, a cancer charity. When I’d won, he announced he’d pay the same for a date with me so the charity got double the money. He told me…” Devan swallowed hard. “He told me it was the first night of the rest of his life.”
Devan didn’t want to remember how happy he and Ravi had been, because it brought back the pain of what he’d done.
“He was kind and fun and even if he was a bit demanding, I just thought it was because of his job. He was used to being pampered and getting his own way. I let that happen more often than I should have because I liked making him happy. He told me all the time how much he loved me and when he turned out to be a lying, cheating, selfish bastard, I couldn’t believe what he’d done. I wonder now if he was just a good actor, that he said things he didn’t feel, not for me anyway. He had money, but not much as me, and Ravi likes luxury. But Griff doesn’t have money so it wasn’t that that kept Ravi at my side. Or maybe the pull of Griff was stronger.”
“You loved him.”
“I loved them both. I no longer do.”
“Maybe he loves you both?”
“Who? Ravi or Griff?”
“Ravi.”
“Then he loves Griff more.”
WHEN THEY REACHED THE TOPof the dunes, the views were fabulous, a sandy beach stretching for miles in either direction. Bamburgh’s majestic castle was on the right and what he assumed was Holy Island lay on the left. And not a soul in sight.
“Wow,” Devan whispered.
“Takes your breath away, doesn’t it?”
“Get out that chicken and the dartboard. No wonder this is a secret.”
“It can’t ever get busy, because not only is it a protected area, there’s not much parking available. You saw how long a walk it is from where you have to leave your car. No sane parent is going to drag kids and all their paraphernalia this far when there are plenty of great beaches that are more accessible.”
They headed down onto the sand.
