Chapter 27
By eight that evening it looked as if a dressing-up box filled with feathers and glitter had exploded all over the terrace at Villa Sereno.
With the music cranked up – a mix of Euro pop hits – Mirabel’s friends and family were twirling and dancing about with colourful feather boas draped around necks and ostentatious costume jewellery decorating hair, ears and arms. Fabs’s sisters really had brought out their old dressing-up box.
Even Giada and Felicity joined in, their feud behind them as they swayed together with matching red lips and purple feathers in their hair, beaming as Deni took their photo.
Embraced in the warmth of two loving families, Lola felt safe among her friends.
She was grateful for the distraction, but she knew that was all it was.
Jarek hadn’t come to Sardinia just for the hell of it, but to break her spirit, yet surrounded by such vibrant women, she felt invincible.
Someone draped a turquoise feather boa around her and Lola found herself next to Mirabel, who was sparkling in chunky gold jewellery with a tiara perched on her head.
Deni, Sarah and Polly joined them, flinging their arms around each other, shouting ‘cheese’ as photos were snapped.
While the dressing-up accessories were being cleared away to make room for wine and nibbles, Polly caught hold of Lola and whisked her inside to the library-come-snug where Rhys had slept the night before.
It was a cosy, book-lined space that Lola coveted for herself.
One day when she had a spare room that could fit more than just a bed and wardrobe in, she’d create a haven like this.
They sat together on the sofa, their legs tucked beneath them. Lola’s fingers brushed the smooth velvet, her thoughts turning to Rhys lying in this spot the night before.
‘Deni and Sarah have caught me up on a lot of stuff this evening.’ Polly looked at her knowingly, her pale, freckled cheeks flushed, a glass of wine clasped in her hand.
‘Sexy Welsh teachers and psycho ex-boyfriends. You couldn’t make it up if you tried, not to mention a full-out war between the in-laws-to-be and a not-so-romantic night away in an Airbnb. ’
Lola shrugged. ‘Yeah, it’s been a lot.’
‘And you don’t have to talk about any of it.
I get why you kept stuff about Jarek to yourself, even if I also know how unhealthy that likely was.
’ She flashed her a no-nonsense motherly look, one Lola knew she’d perfected on her children.
‘I’m not sure we helped with things though, pushing you to hook up with various blokes, teasing you about that incident with Dax.
If we’d known – if I’d known – we would have gone easy on you.
I understand now why you weren’t ready for another relationship, even if we only meant it as a bit of fun.
’ She cleared her throat. ‘Obviously I’ve only just met him, but I am surprised about you and Rhys from the bits and pieces Deni and Sarah have said. Mirabel seemed surprised as well?—’
‘It’s all been a lie, Polly.’ Lola loosed a long breath and ran her fingers down the back of the velvet sofa, wondering if it had taken Rhys as long to fall asleep last night as it had for her. ‘At least it started that way, now it feels messy and confusing.’
‘What do you mean?’
For the second time that day, Lola found herself spilling secrets, this time about the love pact she’d made with Rhys.
Polly took her hand and studied her. ‘So you’re telling me you and Rhys were pretending to be together to get Deni and everyone off your back about setting you up with some hot Italian guy, but you’ve actually fallen for him for real?’
‘Fallen is too strong a word.’ Lola pursed her lips and met Polly’s knowing gaze. ‘But, yes, something like that.’
Polly grinned. ‘I think I need to get to know this Rhys properly.’
They talked a little more and by the time they returned to the terrace, the table had been laid with extra bottles of wine and an array of fresh seafood.
Any remaining animosity between the matriarchs had been washed away with wine and laughter, while Mirabel glowed, finally looking blissfully happy and at ease on the night before her wedding.
The whole evening was joyful and lively, occasionally verging on raucous, with Deni and Sarah leading the conversation with great hilarity as wine was poured and grilled octopus and juicy prawns were consumed.
With her jaw aching from laughing so much, Lola nipped inside to freshen up and down a glass of water.
The last thing she wanted to be was hungover for her best friend’s wedding, while Mirabel had stayed off the wine completely.
Her married life with Fabs was in touching distance.
Lola was happy for her, she really was, but her happiness was tempered with sadness.
As Lola went the long way round to get back to the terrace, she considered if it was the time of year that was making her sad. In the moonlit garden, there was a freshness in the air that signalled the end of summer.
Bathed in shadows, she stood on the edge of the terrace and watched the women laughing together.
It was only late September, but the terrace was lit up like a Christmas tree.
Lights adorned the vine-covered pergola, and storm lanterns cast amber, purple and cerise light over the paving.
The team of manicurists that had been earlier had given everyone gel nails in a colour to complement their wedding outfits.
While Mirabel had opted for a classy French manicure, Lola’s own nails were rose gold.
Mirabel’s only request for the evening had been for a colourful dress code, so everyone was adorned in dresses the colour of summer: bold prints and bright patterns.
Lola’s own maxi-dress was a vibrant plum and white colour block one.
Only Deni had opted for trousers, but she’d swapped her blouse for a hot-pink animal-print top.
It suited her, as did the joy she exuded, her cheeks flushing as she laughed with Sarah and Polly.
Lola was certain her husband was in for a treat when they eventually returned to the villa.
Lola tore her eyes away and turned towards the sea; the endless black made her shiver.
The moonlight was bright enough to make out the jetty, the slosh of water against the wood foaming silver.
She felt like escaping there again, but for a different reason this time; although what would be the point without Rhys to talk to?
She couldn’t stop thinking about him, but there’d been little opportunity to spend time with him at the villa earlier.
She could have made an effort to find him, yet he hadn’t sought her out either.
Did he regret what had happened last night?
Did he believe them doing more than kissing had been a mistake or, like her, was he hoping that yet more could happen?
It had been good to confide in Polly, the sensible friend who truly listened – more than Deni and Sarah ever did.
Lola loved them all, but it had always been easier to talk to Polly, and considering she didn’t want to talk to Mirabel about anything that had happened since they’d been on Sardinia, Polly being here was a huge relief.
And yet she felt lost without Rhys’s steadying presence.
Since Jarek, all she’d desired was to be on her own, to not rely on anyone but herself, yet Rhys made her feel wanted and safe, desired and loved. She wouldn’t let Jarek get his claws into Rhys; she wouldn’t allow him to ruin any part of her life, not any more.
Lola retreated further into the garden, past a border carpeted with fragrant yellow flowers and dotted with olive trees up-lit by solar lights.
She skirted the neat lawn and headed towards the shadowed seating area next to the gate that led to the sea; it was as if there was an invisible pull towards the jetty.
But she halted, not wanting to leave the safety of the garden and her friends, while knowing that sitting on the dock without Rhys would just make her heart ache all the more.
She was about to return to the colour and love radiating from the terrace when footsteps padded up behind her.
‘It’s quite a view,’ a voice with a touch of a Mancunian accent said softly.
Lola turned and met Zoe’s considered gaze. Rhys’s ex-girlfriend was the last person she thought would seek her out, particularly when Lola had purposefully avoided Zoe, even while her own friends had tried to include her this evening.
‘It certainly is,’ Lola replied. She didn’t quite know what to say to Zoe.
Zoe cleared her throat. ‘I overheard Sarah and Deni talking, caught some bits about your ex.’
Lola silently cursed Sarah’s big mouth.
‘You doing okay?’ Zoe asked.
‘Do you really care?’
Zoe shuffled awkwardly and turned her gaze to the dark expanse of rippling sea. ‘I care that my friend is getting married tomorrow and nothing mucks that up.’
‘I care about that too, which is why, until tonight, I had kept things to myself.’
‘Does Rhys know about him?’
‘Yes,’ Lola said tightly.
Zoe nodded. ‘Good. Rhys is dependable to a fault and will have your back. Until the trust goes, then it’s a different story.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘I don’t know.’ Zoe shrugged. ‘I saw you out here alone. Honestly, I wanted to check you were okay.’ She kicked her sandaled toes through the short grass.
‘I appreciate you all including me tonight. I often feel a bit of an outsider, particularly with women. I’m Fabs’s friend, not Mirabel’s.
I’m the token woman when I’ve always felt like one of the lads, even if sometimes I don’t feel a part of the group like I used to.
Actually, more often than not that’s how I feel. ’
‘You went on the stag do.’
Zoe grunted. ‘And what a mistake that was.’
Lola raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. She hadn’t considered that the stag do might have been as challenging for Zoe as it had been for Rhys. Obviously for different reasons and she was the one who had treated him like shit, but still…
‘Change can be a right ball ache. I had a dead good time at uni, all my friends were men mainly because I did a course where the students were predominately guys. I’ve never really had girl friends, which wasn’t a problem till my male mates got into serious relationships.
Barnaby’s wife doesn’t like me; I’m not sure how Mirabel feels, but I figure she’s too nice and polite to kick up a fuss?—’
‘I think she’s pretty secure in herself and her relationship with Fabs to not worry about you.’
Zoe gave a sharp nod and folded her arms. ‘I deserve that. Fabs is a great bloke and someone I never tried to hook up with because, believe it or not, I never fancied him.’
‘You just fancied Rhys and Freddie instead?’
Zoe pursed her lips and let out a long breath into the star-filled night.
‘Actually, yeah, I like down-to-earth guys and both Rhys and Freddie tick that box. And the trouble with being attracted to your mates means it kinda messes up that side of things, and not just with them, but the whole damn group. I see it now with all of them; it’s harder for me to be one of the guys like I used to be.
Me and Freddie being together might make things a bit easier, but everyone knows my history, everyone has an opinion and considers me to be the bad guy – or should I say girl. ’
‘Perhaps that has something to do with your track record of cheating on Rhys with Freddie?’
The words slipped out, but Lola didn’t regret them; she’d stand up for Rhys not because he’d do the same for her but because she wanted to defend and protect him.
She hated the thought of him having been hurt by Zoe as much as she had by Jarek.
Neither of them had deserved such destructive relationships.
That Zoe didn’t immediately snap back came as a surprise.
‘I behaved atrociously at uni, towards Rhys at least. We should just have been friends, the same way I was friends with Freddie back then too.’
Lola frowned. ‘You mean friends with benefits? You wanted to have fun with both of them with no commitment or pushback.’
Zoe shoved her hands into the pockets of her summer-yellow dress. ‘But Rhys isn’t built like that. When he’s with someone he’s all in, committed and so loving. I wasn’t ready for that when we were older, never mind as a student.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘Because I get the feeling you’ve had a shitty time of it in a past relationship and I don’t actually want to see Rhys get hurt.
Again.’ She gave a weak smile, her eyes tinged with sadness.
‘I really am in love with Freddie; it’s not a stunt to hurt Rhys more than I already have.
We have good memories together, it’s just the bad ones have overridden everything else.
And I don’t want him to lose Freddie either.
We have to move on and be happy. We were once really good friends; that was what our relationship was based on till I fucked it up.
I lost his trust and friendship, which I deserve, but I miss him.
I miss being his friend. My reaction is to fight back to protect myself and I’ve perhaps said some unfair stuff to him this week that I regret. ’
That was news to Lola, but then she remembered the look on Rhys’s face when Freddie had announced his and Zoe’s engagement, so she wondered what else had been said.
‘Broadcasting you were engaged in front of everyone probably wasn’t the smartest move. Even if he says he’s over you, he’s still hurting.’ Lola glanced towards the jetty and remembered Rhys sitting at the end sad and alone. ‘This is probably a conversation you should be having with him.’
Zoe pulled her hands from her pockets, held them up and looked at Lola wryly. ‘Then consider this the start of me making amends.’