Page 7 of Unstitch

I bet he would have thrown me over his shoulder, and carted me off to some tent, and fully taken control.

Ugh. I suppress a full-body shiver, because I wasn’t lying last night. I’m not interested in fucking him. There’s the smorgasbord of gorgeous guys that Alchemy affords me (or at least affords people who are allowed to avail themselves of it), and then there are guys like him. Guys who are simply too much. Guys who could easily get under your skin.

I didn’t come back to the UK for that.

Breakfast at Anton’s villa is a family affair. His own kids aren’t here. There wasn’t enough room for them this weekend, but they’ll be here, obviously, in a few weeks, when Anton and my sister tie the knot. I cannot wait to see her in stepmother mode. It will be fucking hilarious, especially since it sounds like his twins are mini versions of how I was at their age, but with presumably a tonne more entitlement than I had. It’ll be priceless, and I intend to have a front-row seat.

Even without his kids, his huge villa is rammed. Two of my sister’s three best mates from uni are here. Rafe and his new wife Belle, who I haven’t met yet, are still away on their honeymoon. Zach’s here with his two sweet little girls and fiancée Maddy, who I’ve already fallen madly in love with. And—be still my beating heart—Cal’s here too with his girlfriend and her two boys.

Cal. Sigh. The crush I had on that guy when I was like eight or nine and Gen used to bring her mates home from uni for the weekend. Rafe was too cool for school, and I always remember Zach being handsome and sweet and pretty quiet, but Cal? He was so patient with me, and he looked like a model. He was better looking than any popstar.

I may or may not have named one of my Ken dolls Cal. The name lasted for a couple of years, but that is a secret I’ll deny until my dying day.

Anyway, he may still be hot as fuck, but my hero worship of him has long faded. He’s just a great looking, fun guy. Besides, he’s revoltingly in love with Aida Russell, which kind of blows my mind. Should have known he’d end up with an actual celebrity, though I wouldn’t have guessed he’d go for a strikingly sophisticated older woman.

If anything, Zach and Maddy are the biggest surprise. Obviously, I followed the tragedy of his late wife’s horrifyingly fast demise from cancer from a distance. I was in Oz by then, but Gen kept me posted. It was so horrific.

So it’s amazing to see him here with his daughters, having a blast, while being head over heels for Maddy. From what I’ve seen, she and I have a similar personality type, so seeing her with the Hot Nerd is all kinds of fun. I’ve heard her call him Spreadsheet once or twice, too, which cracks me up.

Of all the couples here, my sister and Anton are the most obvious fit. She tried to feed me some opposites attract bullshit about him, but it’s clear these two belong together.

Naturally, a breakfast table that’s as heaving with kids as it is with delicious food is not the place for a post mortem on last night’s shenanigans. I console myself with the knowledge that no one around this table will have wild tales to share, given how coupled-up they all are. Instead, the conversation focuses on the plans for today. In a nutshell, Anton will take Zach, Cal and the kids out on his boat for a couple of hours, leaving the womenfolk to sunbathe and gossip.

Sounds just the ticket after last night.

6

DARCY

‘So, you were definitely the star of the show last night,’ Maddy tells me as she tops up my rosé. The boys and kids are blissfully absent and she, Aida, Gen and I are camped out on two of the huge daybeds. The pool is empty and tranquil, and the air is quiet. I swear, Cal makes more noise in the pool than any of the kids combined.

‘Thanks, love,’ I tell her, peering dolefully into my glass. ‘Fat lot of good it did me, thanks to Cockblocker Carew here.’ I jerk my head in my sister’s direction.

Maddy belly laughs. ‘I can’t believe you dragged your sister home so you could pimp her out and you won’t let her get any action,’ she tells Gen.

I twist to face her. ‘Thank you. Exactly.’

‘I’m trying to do precisely the opposite of pimping her out,’ Gen protests. ‘Fuck’s sake. It’s one thing giving her a dancing job, but I don’t want every playboy at Alchemy crawling all over her. I’m trying to protect her.’

‘Not just the guys,’ Maddy says, wriggling on the day bed in her tiny white bikini. ‘I was into it. You were hot.’

‘Aww, thanks, hon.’ I cock my head. ‘Good to know.’

‘You really were,’ Aida says. ‘Your dancing is fucking amazing. I wish I could move like that.’

I shrug modestly. ‘Thanks. If it makes you feel better, I can’t name any member of Parliament except the Prime Minister.’

Everyone laughs.

‘I appreciate that—I’ll take it as a tiny consolation,’ Aida says.

‘Know your strengths and limitations, right, Dots?’ my sister asks.

‘Don’t call me that,’ I growl.

‘Want to tell the others why I call you that?’ she asks with her trademark sly tone, and I want to punch her in the face.

‘I hate you.’

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