Chapter 23
23
I love how quiet the villa is on a morning. I know, it’s the calm before the storm, but it really is peaceful.
I tiptoe downstairs, mindful that you could hear a pin drop right now. The girls are asleep, and it sounds like the boys are still asleep too – well, I can’t hear a thing coming from their room at least. If they were awake, I’d hear something.
Clutching my laptop, and my sad little breakfast that consists of a warm-ish can of lemonade and a packet of biscuits, I head outside, pausing briefly in the doorway to check for signs of life, because if any of the boys were out here I think I’d go right back upstairs, only to return once I had backup.
But no, there’s no one, it’s like the villa is holding its breath.
I walk across the garden, to the sun loungers by the pool. The paving flags are already so warm and the sun isn’t even in full swing yet.
I set my breakfast down on the table next to me and pull out my laptop. I really, really need to work. I’m finding it slipping my mind more and more, but without an internet connection, what can I actually do?
I can see Nolan’s special satellite (or whatever it is) network on the list – the only network on the list – but it’s password protected. I wonder if I could guess his password. Something like ‘ILoveFootball’ or ‘ImADick’ or ‘MeAndMyMatesStealGirlsShampoo’. Jokes aside, the chances of my guessing his password seem pretty slim, because you know a tech guy like Nolan isn’t just using his pet’s name as his password, he probably generates passwords with a computer program that spits out strings of random nonsense – letters and numbers mixed together in a way that would take an equally smart computer program a million years to guess.
With a resigned sigh, I close my laptop and sink into the sun lounger, letting the warmth wash over me like a cosy blanket. At this time of day, when it’s not too hot, it’s just what I need to warm up, so I’m enjoying it while I can before it feels like something that needs escaping.
‘Good morning!’ A familiar voice snaps me from my thoughts.
It makes me jump, only because I thought everyone else was still asleep.
Travis walks towards me, a cup of coffee in one hand, a plate in the other.
He sits himself down on the lounger next to mine, before placing his breakfast alongside mine too.
Oh… my… God. A perfectly golden bagel, piled high with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. It looks like something out of a magazine.
‘Morning!’ I reply, trying to sound nonchalant, although I’m talking to his breakfast, rather than his face. ‘What’s on the menu today?’
I look to him as he flashes a grin that makes me equal parts angry and doe-eyed.
‘It’s just a bagel with scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, and chopped chives,’ he says – just a bagel. When you’re as hungry for something real as I am, just the chives would feel like a big deal.
‘It looks like a work of art,’ I can’t help but admit, my stomach growling (it might even be moaning) at the sight.
‘Thank you.’ He laughs. ‘How are you feeling after our little brawl yesterday?’
‘Oh, I’m okay – I thought I did okay, considering I’ve never physically fought anyone before,’ I confess, laughing so he knows that I know we weren’t actually fighting. I mean, for me, it was closer to sex than it was a fight, but that really might just be me, and I should probably keep that to myself.
‘That said, if I wasn’t so malnourished from having no access to the kitchen or real food, I might’ve put up more of a fight,’ I point out – obviously food is on my mind right now, because I’m looking at the breakfast of my dreams.
‘Lucky for me you’re starving, then,’ he jokes.
‘Speaking of the competition…’ I start, trying to pull my gaze from his food. It doesn’t help that I can smell his coffee too. ‘It’s your turn to choose what we do for the competition today. Please tell me it’s not going to be awful.’
‘Well, Owen and Harry were cooking something up last night,’ Travis replies. ‘But they hadn’t decided yet.’
‘Oh my God, you torturer,’ I clap back. ‘Don’t say cooking up, you know I’m starving.’
‘Sorry, sorry,’ he insists, laughing it off.
He rubs his chin for a second, clearly thinking something over.
‘You know what, I don’t think I fancy a bagel any more,’ he announces. ‘I think I want something else so… I guess I’ll just throw this in the bin.’
‘You wouldn’t!’ I blurt.
‘Oh, I would,’ he replies.
Is he really so cruel that he would throw away something so delicious just to mess with me?
‘But I’m too hungry to throw it away first,’ he continues as he stands up. ‘So, I guess I’ll go make something else and I suppose I’ll just leave this here… unattended, until I’ve got time to throw it away. I just hope no birds swoop down and snatch it while I’m inside. I might come back out here only to find that it’s gone but, you know, I’m just so hungry so, yeah, see you later.’
With a smile that confirms exactly what I think he’s doing here, he casually heads back towards the villa. I stare after him, completely stunned, wondering if he really just did that, but he couldn’t have been more clear about it, without stating the absolute obvious.
The moment he disappears from view, I fully become the bird that swoops down and steals the bagel. I grab it with both hands, taking a huge bite, more than I can comfortably fit in my mouth. Oh God. Oh my God, is this the best thing I’ve ever eaten or am I just starving? Truly, I think it’s both. Travis knows what he’s doing with a bagel. The eggs are creamy, the salmon seasoned to perfection, and the chives are a perfect touch. I could take down ten of these without batting an eye.
I reach for his warm coffee next, washing the heavenly bagel down with a sip. It’s glorious. Warm coffee! It feels like it’s been forever. I feel like someone just gave me a shot of adrenaline. I don’t think there’s any round of any competition I couldn’t win now.
Now that my desperate hunger has been taken care of, I can sit back, slow down, and think straight.
Travis didn’t have to do that. That was so generous of him, to break the rules, just so that I could have something good – something great – to eat. I’ll have to keep this from the guys, and the girls, all in the name of keeping the peace, and not just because I’m hoping he’ll keep sneaking me things. Perhaps he could start sneaking things for the other girls too – but I don’t want to push my luck.
Maybe – just maybe – there is actually more to Travis than meets the eye. Maybe he’s not so bad after all.