The Guilt Trip(10)

“Listen,” says Jack, sounding suddenly authoritative. “I’ve had this going around on a loop in my head for months, wondering what I should do.”

Now, it’s all beginning to fall into place, thinks Rachel. He’s been so wound up lately. “But don’t you think he deserves to be told?” she offers meekly.

He turns to face her. “You said yourself, that you’d never seen him so happy.”

She nods miserably.

“He’s a grown man who can hopefully see Ali for what she is,” says Jack. “And if he’s happy with that, then who am I to stand between them? It doesn’t mean I have to like her, but I can put the face on to get through this weekend and I’d ask that you all do the same.”

He looks at Paige with raised eyebrows, knowing that she’s the most likely to struggle with such a request.

“I’ve never liked her,” she hisses.

“I shouldn’t have told you,” says Jack, raking a hand through his hair.

“I wish you hadn’t,” says Rachel, wondering how on earth she’s going to stand by and let her trusting brother-in-law marry a woman who has been unfaithful to him.

“But you have to promise to keep it to yourselves and not let it ruin the weekend.”

“It just goes to show that you never know what goes on behind closed doors,” says Noah.

The four of them fall ominously silent when Ali and Will appear at the top of a flight of stairs leading onto a darkened corner of the patio. Rachel immediately feels herself going hot at the thought of them having heard what they’ve been saying. She searches their expressions for any telltale signs. There are none.

“Oh my God, you guys,” shrieks Ali, as irrepressible as ever. “You need to see our room.” She claps her hands together like an excited child on Christmas morning.

“Another drink, anyone?” asks Paige, not even trying to disguise her indifference.

“I’ll help you,” says Jack, getting up. “What are we having?”

“Just a glass of water for me, please,” says Ali. “I’m still recovering from the flight.” She pulls an apologetic face.

“Will?” asks Jack.

“A glass of red, please, mate.”

Rachel watches as Jack and Paige retreat to the kitchen, half-wishing that she’d been quicker off the mark.

“Honestly, guys, our room is insane,” squeals Ali. “It’s got windows into the pool, so you can see underwater.”

“Wow,” says Rachel lamely, willing herself out of the stupor that she’s become entrenched in. She can’t let Will see the change in her, no matter how dramatic the reason.

“So, whose villa is this, exactly?” asks Noah, proving he’s better at pretending everything is fine than she is.

Will sits down on the plump cushions opposite Rachel, and Ali immediately plops down next to him, snuggling herself under his arm.

“Funnily enough, it’s owned by the family of my business partner back in the UK,” says Will, looking up at the villa. It’s now awash with cool blue lighting, giving Rachel the vibe of a club that she and Noah went to in Ibiza, the summer after they graduated from uni.

“He and I met through the surfing school I set up down here,” Will goes on.

“God, I’d forgotten about that,” says Noah.

Rachel hates to admit it, but so had she. Will had had so many failed business ventures and half-cocked, hare-brained ideas, it was probably easier to remember the things he hadn’t done.

“So, he’s who you work with on the water-sports company back home?”

Will nods. “He had the finance to set us up with all the equipment, but it’s gone so well that we’re fifty-fifty partners now.”

“Do you think it’s something you’ll look to expand even more?” asks Noah.

“I hope so,” says Will. “It’s all very well having a water-sports company on a lake, but I miss the sea. We’re looking at premises down in Newquay, with the hope of setting up a surfing school again.”

“I’d love to give surfing a go at some point,” says Noah.

Will smiles. “Well, you never know…”

Ali bounces up and down in her seat. “Can I tell him?” she says. “Please, please let me tell him.”

Will looks at her with such warmth in his eyes that it almost makes Rachel cry. She doesn’t care if it’s still going on or not: she’ll never understand how Ali could ever cheat on him. She forces the thought to the back of her mind, because she has four days to get through and she can’t feel like this every time she looks at him.

“Go on then,” says Will encouragingly.

Ali sits up and looks between Rachel and Noah, her eyes alight with mischief.

“So…” she says, drawing it out. “We’ve got something to tell you.”

Jack and Paige return with a bottle of wine and a glass of water, which Paige almost looks pained to offer to Ali. This trip is going to be harder than any of them could imagine.

Ali waits until she has everyone’s undivided attention. “We’ve arranged a little surprise for tomorrow.”

Rachel’s sure that she hears Paige groan. If she did, Ali chooses to ignore it.

“The boys are going surfing, while us girls are having a yoga session on the beach.” Ali smiles and puts her arms in the air. “Woo-hoo, surf’s up, dudes.”