She cuddled her friend goodbye, very reluctantly, and vowed that tomorrow she would make it her mission to find a taxi driver she could call upon. She wanted to go shopping with Annie and see the rest of Miami before flying back to dreary London. She could imagine if she asked Luke to drive her anywhere, he would insist on hanging around and being a nuisance.
The afternoon sun was baking, and she suddenly yearned to feel the sand between her toes. She knew that Annie would be out there now, either by the pool or on the beach, chatting to holidaymakers and making friends along the way. She was as sociable as they came, and seemed to make new friends in every new situation that she found herself in. She imagined the sea frothing against her toes as Luke started the car, and she relished finding a shaded spot and falling asleep with her book, Annie beside her, listening to her precious Robbie Williams on her Ipod.
'You are very quiet today', mused Luke.
She didn't indulge him with an answer, instead preferring to take in the mid afternoon sun, and rows of perfectly maintained mansions with driveways the length of her entire street. As he drove on, even he didn't appear to be in a chatty mood, and she gave him a sideways glance. He looked little like his brother. He didn't share the same chiselled cheekbones, nor the sparkling blue eyes. She didn't remember what colour his eyes were, but they were probably as nondescript as the rest of him. She closed her eyes, feeling the heat of the day against her eyelids as she rested her head on the window. She drifted off to sleep in seconds, dreaming of Drew, and those eyes that melted her heart six years ago.
The sound of a pulsing baseline woke her. She felt her droopy eyes resist her attempts to open them, but the music, wherever it was coming from, was an unwelcome distraction. She could hear slurping too. Someone close by was drinking something. Via a straw. Very noisily.
'Ann!' she slurred. 'Cut that slurping out!' she batted her hand about.
'Welcome back sleepy head' said a vaguely familiar voice, and as she willed her eyes to open she realised she was still in the car. With her adversary, Luke. He passed her the cup he was holding, filled with something neon blue. As he smiled, she caught sight of his tongue, also stained blue.
'Where are we?' she asked, suddenly shaking off the slumber and in taking in her surroundings, she cricked her neck painfully.
'Owwww' she squealed, rubbing it furiously, unbuckling her seat belt. She batted away the cup, and it spilled all over her legs. As the cold liquid hit her skin she shrieked, hastily unlocking her car door and getting out. They had been parked under some tall, shaded palm trees, a Cuban bar the reason why she could hear music.
'Do you have to be such an annoying prick!' she spat at him, trying to dry off her legs with her hands. Under these trees the sun's heat didn't reach her. Checking her watch she realised it was just after eight, or it had been before the impact of the freezing drink. She could see water had entered her watch, and she tapped it angrily, knowing she'd have to throw it away.
'Look what you did! I have sticky, freezing legs, and my watch is ruined! Way to go Luke! A busted toe yesterday and now you're ruining my possessions. I think you'd better stay away from me!'
She stormed away, well aware she had no idea of her whereabouts. She strode ahead, not looking back, until she realised she'd walked onto a beach. She was furious with herself, why had she fallen asleep? Why had she agreed to him taking her home? She was independent, self sufficient and could pay for taxis with no problem. Ellie had paid for everything else. She dragged her phone from her wet pocket, discovering the screen was unresponsive, and she had five missed calls.
'Great! Everything you do ends in disaster!'
'British girls sure are dramatic' he said, no more than a metre behind her.
'Stop following me arsehole!'
'I'm not leaving you here, no matter how pretentious and freaking impossible you are, so go and have your tantrum and I'll wait by the car.' He retorted.
As she turned to face him, she watched as his eyes narrowed to slits, arms folded over his body. It was then she noticed his car keys. Dangling from his car keys, was a Union Jack keychain. She swallowed hard, moving closer, and inspecting it.
'Where did you get that Luke?'
He looked bewildered. He brushed self consciously at his trouser leg, where her eyes were fixated.
'That keyring, the keychain thing, the Union Jack one.'
Luke shrugged, the look on his face told her that right now, he thought she was some crazy lunatic.
She didn't care, he could think whatever he wanted about her. Once this holiday was over she was going home and would forget this puerile idiot in a matter of seconds. She did care about the keychain though.
Because I bought Drew that very design on Tower Bridge from some travelling seller.
I scribed my initials on the back.
Ignoring his expression, she grabbed his hand and he relinquished his ..' He trailed off, as she headed back onto the beach, walking purposefully away from the shade, trying to catch the last sliver of the dying sun.
'You're not driving my car....'
Neatly written on the white band of her native flag, she saw 'EC'.
She dropped the keys.
‘What the hell!’ Luke exclaimed, running across the sand barefoot, his shoes discarded. ‘You might not wanna come back with me, but I sure as hell don’t wanna be stuck on this beach with you!’
She walked towards the sea as if she didn’t hear a word he was saying, lost in her thoughts, wondering how in the world she would break this to Ellie. Wondering why he lied about his name. Wondering why he’d given up the chance to be with her. She wished she had introduced him to her friends. If she had, even on the off chance they had ever met again, Ellie wouldn’t have touched him with a ten foot barge pole and this wedding would not be happening. They’d still be in London, where granted it was cooler, and there wasn’t a gorgeous expanse of sea, or a swish, fancy hotel, but they’d be together. The three of them.
Luke was grunting behind her, fishing in the soft sand for his keys. She heard him jubilantly shout, as he found what he was looking for. He marched towards her, stripped off his two day old linen shirt and thrust it at her. She glared at him warily.
‘Dry your leg princess’, he said icily. ‘Do whatever you have to do, so you don’t do anything else stupid tonight.’
She snatched the shirt and sat down on the sand, her legs now the least of her problems. He stood above her, self consciously wrapping his arms around his body. She had been right about him, he was a lot softer in places than his brother had been, and although he had a little definition, he certainly wasn’t a gym bunny. She realised she was staring, and smirked. His face reddened, and he plonked himself down on the sand, body edged away from hers. It was then that she noticed the sun was setting, and the colours were breathtaking. Oranges, pinks and golds streaked the sky like an oil painting, and she heard herself exhale in appreciation.
She folded his shirt up and placed it behind her head, flopping back onto the sand. She laid there thinking, going over all the ways the conversation could go with Ellie and none of them were good. She knew that ‘Drew’ never made contact with her again, that she tried and tried, but it was as if he didn’t exist. That he’d used her as a convenient booty call while he was on British soil, but then disappeared without a trace. She had soon become furious with him, burning the photos of the two of them, and for a while, swearing off men entirely.
Now he was here.
And he was marrying her best friend. Sweet, sensitive, giving, loving, incredible Ellie.
The girl that always had time for anyone. A shoulder for anyone to cry on. A personality so warm that her smile brightened the darkest rooms. She deserved someone equally incredible. Not some charlatan like Drew. Or Mikey. Or whatever his name was. She had been totally wrong. Luke was the least of her problems, and though she hated to admit it, he was the preferable brother. She could take irritation, but she wouldn’t be able to bear being in the same room as a liar, a runaway bastard who didn’t have the balls to end their relationship.
Luke’s phone broke the silence, and he begrudgingly handed it to her.
‘Try not to throw it into the sea’ he hissed, as she grabbed the handset.
‘Emmy!’ shouted Annie. ‘Where are you?!’
‘On the beach.’ She said impatiently, not yet ready to face anyone.
‘We’re having drinks, and the other bridesmaid is here, oh my gosh Ems you wont believe who it is….’
‘Annie, I’ll be back soon, I’m with Luke. Go get started and I’ll catch you up.’
‘But Em, the bridesmaid….’
‘See you later sweetie!’
She threw the phone back to Luke, and it bounced off his chest into the sand. She stifled a giggle before being consumed by her thoughts once more.
Their drive had been even more excruciating than when she arrived in Miami. He was pissed, staring ahead, his jaw ticking and twitching. It was her turn to smirk, he couldn’t get the better of her. She was more intelligent, and she could play him at his ridiculous game. She needed to focus on staying away from Ellie’s soon to be husband, and just see this through. She would be home in less than two weeks. There was an end in sight.
He let her out at the front door and disappeared promptly. Heading straight to her room, she called out Annie’s name, but knew she would be in the hotel bar. Probably on drink five, or six by now. Checking her reflection in the mirror, she huffed at the sight of her blue stained top and stained shorts. Stripping them off, she grabbed a royal blue bandeau dress and slipped on some flip flops. She stepped into the lift and smoothed down her hair. Luckily the arsehole had missed her locks and looking in the wall to wall mirrors, she felt fairly presentable.
The doors of the lift opened, and she side stepped some already drunk hotel guests as she sashayed out onto the terrace and towards the bar. She could see the back of Annie’s head, she was talking to Ellie and they were both laughing. She noticed a sprinkling of other guests nearby, presumably friends of Ellie’s .
Or her husband to be….
As she walked towards the bar, someone got up quickly from their stool, knocking her backwards. She felt her footing give way, and as she fell, someone caught her, stopping her from hitting her head on the jagged, sculpted walkway.
Luke.
He helped her up, her knees weak, and one of her hands grazed. He wore a bright red Hawaiian shirt, but her dazed state stopped her from making a comment. He helped her onto a stool, and Annie and Ellie rushed over, their faces etched with concern. Suddenly, a hand pushed Annie aside, and she saw Saul.
At least she thought it was Saul.
But Saul was in London.
Perhaps Luke hadn’t stopped her head from hitting the ground.
She would complain about that paving. Who used such dangerous stones around a bar? Drunk people could not be trusted to walk in straight lines.
‘Emily I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!’
It was Saul. Or at least someone who sounded just like Saul.
And looked just like him.
She blinked as Sophia appeared at his side, she had only caught a glimpse of her, strapped to Saul, but that wasn’t something you forgot easily.
What were they doing here?!
Annie pushed in front of her brother shooting him a evil look.
‘Sweetie are you okay? I called you to tell you what a small world it is’ she gave a sideways look to Sophia. ‘I didn’t realise Sophia was Ellie’s cousin. She brought Saul as her plus one, he didn’t even know he was coming to Florida till she sprung this little surprise on him.’
‘What a lovely surprise’ she found herself saying, between slightly gritted teeth.
Ellie looked at her, concernedly. She knew that Emily would be less than pleased at seeing Saul here. With her cousin. Her very attractive cousin. The model.
Seeing him here reminded her of why she was attracted to him to begin with. He wore a fitted t-shirt and jeans, and looked like he’d stepped out of the menswear section of a catalogue. He was gorgeous. Completely and utterly, effortlessly gorgeous. By contrast, Luke wore a shirt that perfectly complimented his sunglasses. Totally eighties and totally hideous.
‘Lovely to see you again’ Sophia said. To everyone else she was being friendly, holding out her hand for Emily. The truth was, she saw ice in her eyes, an unspoken challenge to ward her away from her man.
‘Nice to see you again too, Sophia’ she smiled, ‘It’s going to be so nice getting to know you better.’
Saul smiled, relieved, and apologising again, headed back to his stool. Sophia followed him, looking chic in a tight red bandage dress and sky high heels. Right now she was vogue cover material and looking down at her blue dress, she looked like the discount section from a flyer you got in a newspaper.
The flyer you always threw away.
‘Drink anyone?’ Luke asked.
They had a round of drinks on him, and soon enough she had put Saul and Sophia out of her mind, focussing on her two best friends. Ellie was regaling a tale of how she had almost been sold to a farmer in Equador, and how she’d gone to the toilet on the side of a mountain only to find a whole village watching her. The laughter led to more drinks, and the drinks led to more laughter. At some stage in the evening, Ellie disappeared back to Laura’s mansion. The few friends she imagined were here for Ellie or Mikey soon filtered away, leaving her in the bar with Annie, Luke, Saul, Sophia and a DJ starting to play music by the poolside.
Being tipsy and dancing never looked sexy, but she found herself swaying to the music, and Annie joined her by the pool. Holding hands, she twirled her friend around, and soon the music was in full flow. She recognised a Daddy Yankee song and spotted Saul and Sophia, decidedly less drunk, kissing in a corner by a fountain. Looking around for a man to dance with, she found a middle aged man giving her the look from his table by the bar. He wasn’t her type, and was about ten years too old for her, but she wanted to show Saul what he was missing. Which was apparently not much, next to the likes of Sophia. She was now dancing against Saul, his arms strapped tightly around her waist.
The stranger was delighted to be propositioned for a dance, and she soon regretted dancing with him. He was a little too touchy feely, and his hands were clammy and greasy, as if he’d been eating chips. His table showed her why, it looked like he had been eating when she approached him.
Gross.
She looked for Annie, to beckon her over, and act as her saviour, but she was at the bar. A tanned, muscular heart throb sat transfixed to her every word. She had no chance of getting her attention. She could spontaneously combust and Annie would be none the wiser. This was a very bad situation. He was leaning in for a kiss, his sweaty head leaning down towards hers. She liked men to be forward, but this was plain revolting. The sweat stains under his arms added to his appeal, and she could feel the drinks she’d downed repeating on her.
Suddenly, Luke cut in. He was like a knight in shining armour. Except not dashing, not dressed to impress, and with no horse in sight. He was the lesser of two evils, and the middle aged man retreated to his table, head hanging low. Luke took her hand awkwardly and spun her around the dancefloor. When they turned their backs, the man was gone, and she let go of his hand. Eager to wash it, and desperate for another drink after that debaucle.
She didn’t remember the rest of the evening, the shots were free flowing and a dozen hunky men enjoying a bachelor party invaded the pool. As she heard a shrill sound, she shouted at the DJ, telling him to keep the noise down, she wanted to sleep. Her head was pounding and her legs felt like jelly.
‘Annie make the DJ turn it down!’ she murmured into her pillow. ‘I need to sleep….Annie where are you?’
She rolled over, out of bed, and straight onto somebody.
Luke.