Chapter 5 #2
I force a smile. I’m not sure what I was expecting.
A clipboard maybe? I think I expected him to wear a blazer with big gold buttons.
Instead, he’s giving backpacker vibes. I’ve heard about these sorts.
Next, he’ll ask me to carry a bag containing bricks of cocaine.
Zara seems to be buying into the idea of this exclusive holiday after the false start of the two of us waiting aimlessly in the airport.
She goes over to bend Ben’s ear whilst Jess comes over to me.
‘You’re George’s sister, right?’ she asks.
I look at her blankly before remembering that we already have a connection. I nod, still focusing one eye on Ben-Pedro.
‘You have the same smile.’
‘Jess from the baby group… yes, he talked about you. Twin girls?’
She nods, beaming. ‘First time away from them, which is why I’m probably anxious and all over the place. I just keep looking around thinking I’ve forgotten something. Two somethings.’
I laugh as she follows my gaze back towards Ben. Is this really the man tasked with looking after us? ‘George said you found your flyer in a restaurant?’
‘Yeah. It was at this place in Notting Hill. One of the waitresses was talking about the retreat. She said her brother owned the restaurant, and that he was branching out. She was very enthusiastic. I was probably swayed by the desserts in that place, they were very good,’ Jess explains.
‘But my husband booked it for me. He wanted me to some have time to myself.’ There’s a look on her face that tells me that time alone is an alien concept to her.
‘He sounds like an excellent husband.’
‘He is,’ she says, beaming.
‘So, do you think that’s the brother in question?’ I ask discreetly, grateful that Zara is keeping him occupied for now.
‘Possibly. He does look a lot like Pedro Pascal though, doesn’t he? I’m not just hot, dizzy and out of it, right?’ Jess asks. We both look in his direction, tilting our heads slightly. ‘There is a disconcerting resemblance. What if it is him?’ she says.
‘Then I think what we’ve paid is fair and excellent value,’ I joke.
Jess looks at me, studying my face: it still isn’t fully relaxed or found its holiday mode.
‘Are you OK, Chloe?’ she asks. ‘You look like you don’t quite trust him yet.
When I ran out that gate, I was literally about to collapse and he was very kind.
Very sweet. I’ve never known a man to carry tissues on him. ’
I turn away from Ben to try and be subtle.
‘Don’t you think it’s mildly weird it’s just him and us?
I’ve seen this movie. It starts at airports and women get driven to the mountains.
It doesn’t end well.’ Jess laughs but I sense I’ve struck a nerve and I immediately feel guilty that I’ve made her uneasy.
‘But you know, you’re a mum. I’d totally protect you, I’d let him take me first,’ I joke, hoping she doesn’t think my sense of humour is too warped.
‘It’s cool. We’re in trainers – we can make a run for it. I think your girl in the flip-flops will be in trouble though,’ she replies. We both laugh, and it’s tinged with relief. At least we’re bonding over the potential for disaster.
‘I’m glad to see we’ve broken the ice here,’ Ben says, interrupting the moment and offering me his hand to shake. I take it tentatively. ‘Do you have a last name, Ben?’ I ask.
‘Allbright. You’re going to get in the car and Google me, aren’t you?’ he replies, still smiling.
‘I was going to put you through Facebook first,’ I tell him, trying not to smirk at how quickly my face can be read.
‘Well, it’s spelled with two ls. My profile picture is me cuddling a cat called Pickle. It’s not my cat.’
‘So, you’re telling me you steal people’s cats and hug them. Noted,’ I say, not giving too much away, not yet, but it’s almost like he can read the lines on my forehead as I frown, see the tension in my eyes and jaw.
‘It’s my sister’s cat. There was consent.’
‘Cats can’t speak to give consent,’ I reply with a smile. He returns the grin with his eyes; shining with an unspoken understanding that he’ll need to do more to get me on side.
‘Well, welcome to Ibiza, Chloe.’
‘Thank you. That’s extremely formal.’
‘Well… I’m happy to welcome you to my island,’ he replies.
‘Do you own the island, Ben?’ I ask, tilting my head curiously.
He stops for a moment and laughs under his breath. ‘I don’t. I do own Benidorm though. They named the whole city after me as it happens.’
I don’t want to laugh even though that is quite funny, smart. ‘Are you the mayor?’
‘I am, yes.’
Up close, I can see his eyes properly: they’re blue, soft and look at me, trying to understand what I’m about, why I hold a bit of myself back.
He really does look like Pedro Pascal. It’s disarming because the fantasies I’ve had about that man have always played out a tad differently in my head.
The way he’s looking at me, staring at the space where my lips are slightly parted, makes me exhale gently.
‘Shall we, ladies?’ he asks, addressing us all.
‘Shall we what?’ I ask, still loathe to trust him despite his charms, and still none the wiser about what happens now.
‘Go to my car? Get to the villa. Then you can see for yourself what this is all about. Just so Chloe knows she doesn’t need to run away from me… in her trainers…’ he jokes.
I bite my lip and blush, realising he must have overheard my conversation with Jess.
The man can multitask too. I’ve never seen that in a man before.
He nods, a smirk at the side of his mouth hinting that he might enjoy the challenge of chasing me.
We’ll see. However, as we start to walk, I also do some light leg lunges. Just in case.