Rose climbed to her feet, and Madeleine scrabbled up, too, hoping what had become an evening to treasure wasn’t about to be blown out of the water by Lysander.
‘Well, Lysander, just for the record, I’ve never found you particularly entertaining, either.’
Madeleine had no idea what Rose was talking about, and Lysander looked equally confused, but Rose didn’t get the chance to say anything else, because the sound of bare feet slapping their way up the stairs had Gull joining them. He paused at the top of the staircase, his expression melding excitement and confusion with a touch of embarrassment as he glanced down and tugged at the waistband of jogging bottoms which looked hastily pulled on. He snaked a hand across his naked torso before drawing a deep breath.
‘Apologies. Ignore me. Just on the hunt for the bottle of génépi.’
Lysander plucked the bottle from the counter, checked how much liquid remained inside, and then held it out. Gull reached for it, uttering his thanks before he realised that Lysander wasn’t letting go. With the bottle suspended between them, Madeleine could see the confusion on Gull’s face, while Lysander narrowed his eyes. His perfect blue eyes no longer looked swimmable, in fact Madeleine considered their waters had frozen over as he fixed Gull with a sharp, calculated look. ‘The last one was married. Did she tell you?’
‘Pardon?’ The muscles in Gull’s arm flexed, but Lysander retained his hold, on the bottle and on Gull’s attention.
‘Lysander …’ Rose’s voice held a warning, but she was too late.
‘Married,’ continued Lysander. ‘He’s a film star. Rory Flannagan is his name– ask her yourself if you haven’t heard of him. He has a baby on the way. Did she mention that?’ Lysander shook his head. ‘Her sheets have barely had time to cool down, and, hey presto. Here you are.’
Gull’s features closed down. He let go of the bottle and glanced around as if seeing them all for the first time. His expression clouded with confusion. ‘What?’
‘No witty comeback for me this time?’ Lysander said, waving the bottle. ‘Don’t want this after all?’
Gull squared his shoulders and reached for the bottle. This time Lysander let him take it, huffing a laugh as Gull turned and headed down the stairs.
‘You really are a grade-A shit, aren’t you?’ Rose said.
‘Well,’ he said, winking at Madeleine. ‘He is a bit of a wanker, don’t you think?’
‘I think the only wanker in this building is stood right in front of me,’ Madeleine replied.
Gull had only been out of the room for a few minutes, but Tania was already missing him, missing the way his fingers had been tracing gently along the line of her jaw, then down the side of her neck as he suggested he go and grab the bottle of génépi. His fingers were featherlike, the sensation making her shiver. The absence of them made her sigh in frustration.
‘Don’t go,’ she’d said. ‘I don’t need any more alcohol. Stay here.’
He was determined, though, pulling on his underwear and then his joggers and grinning at her as he cracked the door and slipped through it on silent bare feet. ‘Won’t be long.’
She’d resisted the ridiculous urge to tell him to stay forever. That she would be happy to inhabit that moment, that quiet moment in his arms, for the rest of her life. The way he’d batted back every one of Lysander’s comments, the fact that he hadn’t subsequently made any reference to her brother’s slurs about her love life– there was an under-the-radar strength to Gull that she hadn’t appreciated. Which only made him even more attractive.
But when he returned, his whole demeanour had changed. Dumping the bottle onto the bedside cabinet, he didn’t acknowledge her, ignored her as he riffled through his belongings for his phone. With his back turned, he sat on the edge of her bed, the wide elastic band of his joggers bunched and folded in the small of his back. It looked uncomfortable. She wanted to reach out and set it smooth for him. Instead, she rested her fingers on his shoulder.
‘Everything OK?’ she said.
He turned at her words, or her touch, but this time, the expression on his face made Tania withdraw her hand. He didn’t look like someone who was casually checking his texts. Turning the phone so she couldn’t see the screen, his expression took on a sudden guarded edge, his jaw tight.
What had changed in the few minutes he had been away? What had caused a total transformation in his expression?
Oh, God. He knew. That had to be it. He’d worked out who she was. As she looked at the tautness in his face, another darker thought occurred to her– maybe he’d known who she was all along and this whole thing was a scam. Some nasty plan to gain access to the inside track of one of the Harringtons. He must have thought he’d struck it extra lucky to have Lysander here, too. Maybe he was busy texting a contact in the press and was annoyed that she’d interrupted him. Exclusive scoop incoming. What else could it be? Maybe she should make a grab for his phone and find out.
‘What is it?’ she said. A memory surfaced of Gull’s phone buzzing earlier. She’d assumed it was his brother, returning his message. But perhaps it wasn’t that at all.
‘Please tell me what’s happened.’
He let out a strange laugh. ‘I should have known,’ he said. ‘I should have realised it was too good to be true.’
‘What’s too good to be true, Gull?’
He looked at her, the lines on his forehead more pronounced than she’d ever seen, the hard edge to his expression morphing into something else, something laced with disappointment, almost sadness. Looking around for the rest of his clothes, he gathered up what he could find in his arms and headed towards the bathroom, glancing at her a final time.
‘Please tell me what’s changed,’ she said, sinking onto the edge of her bed.
He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Tania. I need to leave. I can’t do this.’
