‘Maybe he finds out he can’t have them,’ he says. ‘But he refuses to adopt.’
‘That’s a good idea. Once Kit is his and only his, she realises she’ll never be happy.’
‘So she ends up sad and alone?’
I regard him warily. ‘How do you feel about that?’
‘How do I feel about you writing a book about a bigamist who ends up sad and alone?’ He checks I’m being serious.
‘Yes.’ I nod. ‘I’m not sure it’s what Nicki would have wanted.’
‘She’s not here, so we can’t second-guess her, but I think that ending feels appropriate.’
‘Really?’
‘Yep. If you’re going to bring this story crashing down around Kit’s ears, I support that. Nicki built the story up; it’s your job to tear it down. But, for God’s sake, make it clean, because the last thing we need are readers wanting a trilogy.’
I grin at him.
He smiles back at me and tops up my wine.
‘I told you, you were the only inspiration I needed,’ I say.
We chink glasses.
Charlie goes back to the hut to make sure everything is okay with April after dinner, but he tells me he’ll meet me on the beach. As soon as he’s gone, I realise I meant to ask him to bring our swimming costumes back. Hopefully he’ll remember.
He doesn’t.
‘There’s no one around,’ he says with a mischievous glint in his eye. It’s true. The beach is completely deserted.
‘Are you suggesting we partake in a spot of skinny dippy, Mr Laurence?’ I ask cheekily. We’re both a little drunk.
‘I’m game if you are,’ he replies.
‘You first,’ I say.
He shrugs and unbuttons his shirt. Thankfully it’s dark up here by the cliffs, because I amblushing.
I turn my back on him and shiver as I hear the sound of a zip going down.
‘See you in there,’ he says.
When I hear his footsteps padding away across the sand, I have a quick look over my shoulder at his tall, naked body in the moonlight.
I’m still trying to compose myself when he calls out to me. I turn around and make a spinning gesture with my forefinger in the air. He gets the hint and looks the other way. I slip out of my knickers and pull my slip dress over my head, then wade in.
As soon as I’m submerged nearby, I say, ‘Hi.’
‘Hi,’ he replies, turning around to smile at me. ‘Nuts, huh?’
‘Ridiculous,’ I reply.
The sky is sparkling with starlight, punctuated only by the dark, ghostly shapes of the nearby cliffs and islands.
Charlie looks at the shore, where the resort restaurants are glowing with candles at either end of the beach.
‘Was April okay when you went back to check on her?’
