‘Grace,kalispera.’
‘Kalispera, Celine.’
‘Are you waiting to try on some of our clothes?’
Celine didn’t bother to temper the astonishment in her voice. It was almost comical.
‘Out of my price range, I’m afraid. I’m waiting for my friend.’
‘Ah, I see. I was worried that we might not have your size.’
Grace contented herself with a tight smile. It was either that or punch her.
Celine fiddled with a dress on the ‘not wanted’ rail.
‘You left Will’s party early. Strange, as you seemed to be enjoying yourself so much.’
‘I wouldn’t say early.’
Celine leant over and lowered her voice to a whisper. Her cloying perfume got right up Grace’s nose, in more ways than one.
‘I stayed right to the end, and I mean right to the end. I spent the night in Will’s bed.’
Grace’s heart squeezed in her chest. She mustn’t let Celine see her shock. She was probably lying anyway.
‘Good for you.’
The curtains opened with a flourish and Sofia stepped out. Grace wasn’t sure how much of the conversation she’d heard.
‘There’s nothing here that I want.’
Celine looked past Sofia at the selection of clothes left hanging up in the cubicle.
‘That is a shame. There are some stunning pieces.’
Sofia linked arms with Grace and walked towards the exit.
‘Some of the quality is not what I would expect’ was loud enough for another two women browsing the rails to turn round.
Grace snuck a look at Celine, who had a face like thunder. As soon as they were out of earshot, Sofia halted her stride.
‘Who the hell was that? What a bitch. She sounded as if she hated you.’
Grace was confident that Sofia hadn’t heard Celine’s final words to her, otherwise she’d have been straight in with that. She wouldn’t be repeating them to anyone.
‘She’s another of Will’s exes. A very recent one.’
‘Shit. Has he slept with every female on the island?’
The thought made her dizzy for a moment, but she needed to keep it light. The way to get through this was to make out that her night with Will had just been a bit of fun. Treat men like Sofia did, take what she wanted and move on. Will had broken her duck, admittedly in the most spectacular way possible, but he wasn’t the only man out there.
‘It’s just the three of us, as far as I’m aware.’
She had no real idea if that was true.
‘I’d like to meet this Will.’
Not if she could help it. She didn’t want Will to know that she’d confessed all to Sofia. What had happened between them was private. But what Celine said had unnerved her. What if she was telling the truth? Last night had felt like something special. But maybe it was all in a day’s work for Will. The sooner they got back to being friends and put the whole thing behind them the better.
