One of the Girls(55)

Bella sat up. No, she would not lie here, sweating.

Naked, she crossed the room, then padded downstairs. She poured herself a glass of water and drank it too fast, giving a little shiver as the water chilled her insides. She meandered onto the terrace. The lanterns were still glowing and the air smelled faintly of herbs and chlorine.

She moved towards the pool, lowering herself onto the edge and slipping her feet into the cool, uplit water.

One day and one night left. That was it, then it’d all be over. The hen party had been a beacon for weeks now – that one golden thing in her diary, underlined three times and surrounded by a cluster of biro stars. Whenever she was having a crap day, she’d remind herself: Greece! Sun! Lexi’s hen! Keep going! But now the hen was nearly at its end and she would soon be returning home to a rented flat, and a job at a jeweller’s that left her unfulfilled.

She missed being a nurse. No matter how she dressed it up – I was ready for a change. The shift work was relentless. I’ve always wanted to sell jewellery – the truth was she missed nursing. She missed her colleagues. She missed the satisfaction of being good at her job. When you work out that a patient presenting with a fever in fact has meningitis and you manage to get them on the right medication before permanent damage is done – now that means something. Yet she’d swapped that for selling silver bangles. Another great life choice, Bella!

See? Middle of the night. Who wants to be awake then?

She slipped her legs from the pool and stood. Maybe she should take up reading … find a good book to keep her company in the middle of the night. Fen’s aunt had a well-stocked bookshelf. She’d pick one. Begin tonight. That could be her thing: she’d become a reader. Maybe she’d start her own book club. That’d knock Ana from her literary throne!

She left a meandering trail of wet footprints as she headed for the villa. Then paused.

Voices.

Who else was awake?

She listened, ears pricked.

Yes, a low whisper was coming from behind the villa. Strange. Why would anyone be out there? She felt a strange beat of unease. She followed the voices, moving gingerly across the terrace, her nakedness suddenly making her feel exposed as she tiptoed along the floodlit path.

Ahead, she could just make out Eleanor’s broad frame, arms folded across her chest. She was standing beneath a lemon tree, the limb-like shadows from its branches cross-hatching her face. She was talking to Ana, who had her back to Bella. Her hands cut sharply through the space between them. Their voices were low, hushed.

She caught Lexi’s name being whispered.

Bella pressed her naked back flat to the wall, listening.





47

Eleanor

Eleanor stood beneath the lemon tree, the scent of its fruit leaving a citrus kiss on the night air. She suddenly felt very sober.

The floodlight cast strange shadows across Ana’s face. Her voice was low, strained, as she finally answered. ‘Yes. Ed is Luca’s father.’

Eleanor felt the shifting of something deep in her body as the confirmation settled. Her folded arms tightened, fingers gripping the fabric of her top. She studied Ana’s face, searching for something she could understand in her expression.

Ana was rooted firmly. ‘How did you find out?’

‘Ed video-called at the taverna. He saw you.’

Ana ran her tongue over her top teeth, nodding once.

‘You’ve been careful, haven’t you? You weren’t at their engagement drinks. Or Lexi’s birthday.’ Now she thought about earlier in the day when Bella had taken a photo on the yacht, and Ana had quickly turned away. ‘You’ve managed to duck out of all the photos this weekend, haven’t you? You couldn’t risk Ed seeing them.’

Ana said nothing.

She could feel her anger building. ‘I’m guessing there’ll be an excuse about why you can’t make the wedding, too?’

Still, she remained silent.

‘What the hell are you doing here?’ Eleanor burst out. ‘You’re at Lexi’s hen party! We’re here to celebrate her marrying Ed! I assume you know that Lexi has no idea he already has a child?’

‘I guessed, yes.’

‘What are you trying to do? Sabotage their wedding? Is that it?’

‘No.’

‘Then, why? Why are you here?’

Ana remained very still, as if her body had been sculpted into the stone. ‘Are you going to tell Lexi who I am?’

‘Ed is.’

Ana shook her head. ‘I need to speak to her. Explain.’

‘Explain what exactly?’ Eleanor demanded. In the glare of the floodlights, she could see Ana’s expression was steely. ‘Are you obsessed with my brother? Is that what this is about?’

‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘You use words. Put them in order.’

Ana took a breath, her chest rising, chin lifting. ‘I’ve always tried to be honest with Luca. He knows I wasn’t in a relationship with his father. He knows the pregnancy was a surprise. He knows his father made it clear that he didn’t want children. Luca had always accepted that. But then, last year, he started asking more questions. Told me he wanted to meet his father.’

‘And you didn’t want him to meet Ed because of the contract? Because the money suited you?’