‘What were you two talking about?’
‘I was talking to her about your play. Any more news on ticket sales?’
‘The weekends are beginning to sell out, and Russell is hopeful for the rest of the run. But I really should have tackled the publicity issue earlier.’
‘You’ll know for next time.’
He remained silent and she felt bad for bringing it up. He was always so hard on himself. They walked onto the sand, her sandals sinking into the soft powder. A few torches had been lit to illuminate the beach, but no one was there except them. She supposed this crowd saw breathtaking natural beauty like this all the time. ‘Can we sit here a moment?’
‘Sure, there’s some loungers around here somewhere…’
‘I’m happy to sit on the sand.’
‘No worries.’ They sat down, their shoulders brushing against each other. Ellie crossed her legs beneath her maxi and sipped her rum punch, staring blankly out into darkness and enjoying the sounds of the surf. The stars and torches cast glittering shadows on the cresting waves, and a few faint lights shone in the distance from the surrounding islands.
‘I’ve never been anywhere as beautiful as this.’
‘It’s nicer in the daylight.’
‘Maybe, but you see the true heart of a place at night, and this really is paradise.’
They sat in companionable silence for a while until the quiet darkness gave her the confidence to speak.
‘How do you want to play it, this week? If you want to avoid them like the plague, I don’t mind, but we’d probably need a plan of action. It’s a small island.’
‘I’m ashamed of how I acted earlier. I shouldn’t have made you worry like that. I think I just needed to get some of that bitterness off my chest, you know? It drives me crazy that they keep pretending like nothing happened, but I guess they just want to move on, and I should do the same.’
‘Hmmm.’ She wasn’t convinced. If anything it made her worry that there was a lot more emotion hidden beneath the surface. Not just for Alex, but for the entire family.
‘Honestly, I’m feeling a whole lot better about it. We don’t have to avoid them.’
‘You’re honestly okay about your ex marrying your brother?’
He paused, considering, then the air rushed out of his lungs in a sigh of relief. ‘Yeah, I think I am. I have to be – not just for them, but for me too.’
‘Did the matching pink outfits help?’
They both started laughing and Alex bumped her shoulder with his.
‘Definitely.’
The following morning, after awkwardly shuffling around each other getting ready, they met everyone for breakfast downstairs. This time in theformaldining room, as the staff were busy cleaning up the sun room, informal dining room and garden from the night before.
The formal dining room was bigger than her family’s shop, but so were most of the rooms in this mansion.
A continental buffet was laid out for them. Everyone was there, including Richie, in what she supposed was his attempt at leisure wear – tailored shorts, a muted Hawaiian shirt, a Bloody Mary in one hand and his phone in the other. Apparently he’darrived during the party, although she didn’t really remember seeing him.
Alex’s family, as well as the rest of their entourage, were decked out in a variety of safari and hiking outfits.
If she was to take a quick guess, she’d say they’d had some serious plans for the day.
‘We’re going to see Savannah and Liam’s island after breakfast. Would you two like to join us?’ asked Jessica, sipping her coffee delicately.
She glanced at Alex, but by the look on his face the answer was a definitehell no.
Alex’s father looked up from some business documents, saw the lay of the land, and quickly returned to burying his head in the sand. So, there was no help there either. Everyone else had dived into their pastry selections as if they were backpacking around Europe and this was their only meal for the day.
The tension in her shoulders eased when Alex finally piped up.
