He grins at me. ‘Seriously?’
‘Completely.’
He shakes his head, seeming amused. ‘It’s just a story, Bridget.’
‘There aresomesimilarities, though,’ I point out, rolling onto my tummy and facing him.
‘You mean Isak and Timo,’ he says.
‘Exactly. Timo sounds just like Isak. Do you know if Nicki ever saw him when she went to Thailand to visit her dad?’
His amusement dissolves.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,’ I say quickly.
‘It’s fine.’ But it’s clearly not fine. ‘They used to occasionally bump into each other,’ he tells me. ‘She claimed it was awkward, but it still freaked me out.’
I nod, sympathetically. ‘Why didn’t you ever go to Thailand with her?’ I ask after a moment.
‘We couldn’t afford it. We always talked about it. Nicki had every intention of using her book money to take us all there. I’ve always wanted to go, and, even though I think Alain can be a selfish git, he should have a relationship with April.’
‘I’m going to need to travel there myself,’ I confide.
‘Really?’ He looks at me with interest.
‘Yeah. I’ve been once, briefly, but that was almost twenty years ago. It’s been so helpful, being here, writing about the places I’ve visited. Tintagel and Lansallos have given me loads of ideas.’
‘When will you go?’ he asks.
‘Probably October or November.’
‘Don’t go in October – it rains like you wouldn’t believe.’
‘November, then. Does Nicki’s dad still work at the same resort?’ I ask Charlie.
‘Yes.’
‘I wonder if I’ll get to meet him,’ I muse.
‘Will you stay at that exact place?’
‘I’d like to. I want to see the same setting that inspired Nicki.’ I elbow him. ‘You guys should come with me.’
He raises his eyebrows. ‘Think it’ll be a long time before we can afford to do that.’
‘I get brilliant discounts as a travel writer. I might even be able to wing free accommodation.’
He smiles at me. ‘We couldn’t even afford the flights at the moment.’
‘Fair enough.’
‘First star,’ he says, nodding at the sky.
‘Pretty.’ I watch it twinkling. ‘I need to go to the loo, but I can’t be bothered to move.’
‘I should leave in a bit,’ he replies.
But we don’t leave. We stay there talking for another half an hour until my bladder can no longer stand the pressure. Charlie gets up first and holds his hand down to me.
