‘Oh, hi,’ she said to someone behind me.
Expecting Minh, I turned around and my smile disappeared.
‘Oh hello,Tom.’
He looked so handsome, damn him – wearing well-worn, hip-hugging jeans and a white loose-weave shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
‘Hello, Ally,’ he said with a strained smile. ‘I was hoping to borrow you for a minute – get your thoughts on the sailing trip, that sort of thing.’
He made it sound like the most natural thing in the world to ask of ‘the face of Aetheria’. Sayingnoin front of Niki would make me look like a right cow, which I was sure was his intention.
‘Er, I would but I promised Niki and Minh we’d?—’
‘Oh, we only need a couple of pics of you at the bar, Ally,’ she interrupted unhelpfully. ‘Once Minh gets here, it’ll take two secs. Then she’s all yours,’ she told Tommy.
‘Perfect,’ Tommy answered, and I wasn’t sure which one of them I wanted to strangle more.
7
Thought of the day…
At times you will be blindsided by a memory – ride out the pain, then move on.
(Or go ahead and torture yourself because, let’s be honest,sometimes it feels good to wallow.)
Minh arrived shortly after, camera at the ready, and Tommy at least had the courtesy to step away.
There were two set-ups I particularly liked – one of me facing the view and sipping my cocktail with the dishy bartender in the background looking on (a drawcard by himself), and the second taken from the other side of the bar with me in the foreground against the backdrop of that incredible sunset.
Both would be perfect for the Divorced Diva socials, but I’d let Maya choose which to feature once we got the go-ahead from Niki.
‘I think that’s all we need, Ally,’ said Niki. She watched over Minh’s shoulder as he swiped through the shots on the camera screen, then lifted her head and flashed me a smile. ‘Yep, all good.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, returning the smile.
‘She’s all yours, Tom,’ Niki called out, and I dropped the smile.
Tommy had been lurking down the end of the bar sipping Mythos from a bottle and the second Niki and Minh excused themselves, he wandered over. He was taking his time and I contemplated making a run for it, but I was wearing wedges. Not only would he catch me without much effort, I was at a boutique resort on a tiny island – where would I even go?
Besides, part of me was curious about what he had to say. Okay, okay, Idesperatelywanted to know. Though my plan was to pretend I didn’t.
Tommy took the stool that Niki had just vacated and rather than acknowledge his presence, I stared out at the view and sipped my cocktail.
Immature? Definitely. Warranted? Definitely not. But you have to understand, this was me in self-preservation mode.
‘It’s quite something, isn’t it?’ he asked.
Now, there’s pretending nonchalance to make a point and there’s just plain rudeness. As I pride myself on having good manners, I answered.
‘It’s stunning. I can’t remember the last time I simply sat and watched a sunset.’
‘Remember that sunset on Santor—’ He cut himself off, but it was too late. My head jerked involuntarily in his direction, my mouth agape.
The only other time I’d been to the Cyclades Islands was with Tommy – to Santorini for our honeymoon. It was only four nights but even so, we could never have afforded it ourselves. It had been a gift from his parents – his parents who, for several years, I’d calledMumandDad.
Oof. Thinking about Tommy’s parents was like pressing on a bruise that had never quite healed.
‘Sorry,’ he said sheepishly, not meeting my eye.
