“That’s actually why I called. I can come for three nights—a long weekend—at the end of August if you’re still there.”
“Yes, I’ll be here. I’ll send you some options for hotels. I’d ask Stella if you could stay with her; I honestly don’t think she’d mind, but I just want to see how this goes first.”
“No need. I’d rather not listen to you two getting it on at night,” Ebony said humorously. “And at the speed you’re moving, you’ll probably have your wedding around that time, so I’ll make sure to bring my bridesmaid’s dress.”
“Stop making fun of me.” Lisa rolled her eyes and smirked. “I told you, I’m not moving in-in. It’s just a practical temporary flatmate situation, that’s all.”
“Sleeping in one bed certainly seems like the most practical solution.” Ebony’s full laugh roared from Lisa’s phone speaker, and Lisa couldn’t help but laugh along. “Okay, I’ll stop teasing you,” she finally said. “Tell me about her. What does she do? What does she look like? And most importantly, how is the sex?”
“She’s very cute,” Lisa said, smiling as she pictured Stella’s face. “Spanish, about my height, shortish dark hair, a dazzling smile… She’s the poolside manager here, and she lives in a town about fifteen minutes from Benidorm with her five cats. She’s kind and fun and she has serious charisma.” She hesitated. “And the sex… My God, it’s out of this world, like we were physically made for each other.”
“Phew. It’s getting hot in here,” Ebony said in a high-pitched tone and Lisa imagined her fanning her face. “Happy to hear you’re quite literally in good hands. And she sounds totally different from Sandrine, which is a bonus.”
“You’re the second person to tell me that,” Lisa said, remembering her brother’s comment. “Was Sandrine really that bad?” She zipped closed her case before she opened the next and placed it on her bed.
“Not really bad, just not good enough for you. I don’t think she ever fulfilled you emotionally.”
As Lisa shifted her attention to her underwear drawer and pulled everything out, she realised that Ebony was right. Sandrine had never made her laugh and smile the way Stella did. “No, she didn’t,” she said, hoping she’d made the right decision.
35
“Yo, Stella! What are you doing with that suitcase?”
Stella muttered a curse when Manuel walked up to her car as they were loading in Lisa’s luggage. “Nothing,” she said in a defensive tone, then reminded herself that they didn’t have to sneak around anymore. She’d purposely parked around the corner where her colleagues rarely came as they tended to walk the other direction, into town or to the bus stop opposite Paradise Hotel after work but really, there was no need to be secretive. “Just moving Lisa out.”
Manuel looked shocked to see Lisa appear behind the car after she slammed the boot shut. “Oh, it’s you. Are you leaving? Going back to the UK?”
“No. Just moving out of Paradise.” Lisa shot him a nervous smile, then glanced at Stella, leaving the decision on what to tell him to her. When Stella didn’t answer, she put a large weekend bag on the back seat, closed the door and crossed her arms as she leaned against the car.
Manuel studied them both with a frown. “Sorry to hear that.” He hesitated, looking uncomfortable as he shuffled from one foot to the other, his hands deep in his pockets. “Before you go, I just wanted to say… Well, I guess I should have apologised for that night a long time ago, but Stella told me it would be best to leave you alone.”
Lisa shrugged and shot him a small smile. “It’s okay. Long forgotten.”
“Thank you. I really am sorry,” he said. “Which hotel are you moving to?”
“She’s not going to a hotel.” Stella impatiently tapped the bonnet of the car while she waited for Manuel to walk on. When he made no effort to move, she let out a long sigh and confessed. “Lisa’s moving in with me for the remainder of her stay.”
“Oh...”
“Yeah…” She shot Manuel a toothy smile. Now that she’d admitted it, she was enjoying his baffled reaction. He looked from her to Lisa and back, wide-eyed, no doubt speculating what was going on between them. ‘The hot girl’ was moving in withherof all people, and she knew he wouldn’t be able to keep that to himself. It didn’t matter all that much though, as Lisa was not a guest anymore and it was no one’s business who Stella invited to stay at her house. “I just figured I have enough space, the cats would love some company while I’m at work and it beats Paradise, so why not?”
“The cats, of course,” Manuel said with a hint of humour. “I’m sure the cats will be delighted.” He turned to Lisa. “Well, you’re lucky; Stella’s got a nice place. I stayed in the guest room after one of her famous pizza nights on that amazing roof terrace.”
Lisa nodded. “Yes. I love her place and I’m very grateful.”
Stella chuckled at the cat comment and a silence followed. A playful look passed between them as she met Lisa’s eyes. There was no way Manuel hadn’t spotted their electric chemistry, so she shot him a wink before she opened the door.Fuck it, she thought. Her colleagues were going to gossip anyway, so why keep secrets? “But Lisa won’t be staying in the guest room.”
Lisa got in the car too and they laughed as she drove off. “Did you see his face?” she asked, wiping tears of laughter from her cheeks.
“I did. I’m sorry but I just couldn’t resist.” Stella put a hand on Lisa’s thigh. “You don’t mind, do you? That was a little naughty of me; I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
“Are you kidding me? That was priceless.”
Stepping on the accelerator, Stella felt on top of the world as she drove towards Altea. She had her crush next to her and they would be spending six weeks together. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how nice it would be to wake up next to Lisa every morning. To see her beautiful face and cute smile first thing. “I think I’ve just made myself the most popular woman at Paradise.”
“I gathered from the pizza night comment you’re pretty popular already,” Lisa said. “Staff parties?”
“Sometimes. The last time I threw one was just before you moved here. To celebrate finally getting back to work again. We never thought we’d actually celebrate being able to work, but God, we were so excited that week we got the news about the no-restrictions, full-house opening.”
