Page 36 of One Bed

‘Fifty,’ Reena muttered, ‘and she’s asked me many times. I said no.’ She wiped her hand across her mouth, swiping drool over her chin. Lovely.

Bea’s wide eyes met Cass’s, then Nadia’s. Oh, this was just getting better and better. Reena had turned down Golly? ‘Why?’ she asked, intrigued.

‘Don’t fancy women, and your godmother is damn hard work. Best friend butverydramatic. Got a fella back home, and he’s very good in the sack. We like a bit of slap and tickle, do Charlie and I.’

OK, who was Charlie and why had she never met him?

Bea spread her hands out wide, shocked. Cass slapped her hand over Nadia’s mouth to muffle her giggle.

‘Thanks for that, Reena,’ Bea said, hearing Gib jogging down the stairs.

He strode into the kitchen and flashed Bea a smile. ‘Golly’s out like a light.’

‘Thanks.’ She leaned over the table and poked Reena’s shoulder. ‘Hey, Reena, it’s time to wake up.’ She looked at Gib. ‘She was talking to us a minute ago. Reena,wake up!’

Reena turned her head away from Bea and buried her face in her armpit. Then she released a low snore, and when Bea shook her shoulder again, she didn’t respond. She placed her hands on her hips and stared down at Reena. ‘I suppose we could leave her there and eat at the other end of the table.’

Nadia waved an expensive-looking kitchen blade in her direction. It was one of her fancy ones that lived in rolled-up material. ‘No, I have too much to do today, and I need her out of my kitchen.’

Gib made a production of stretching his arms and his back, and they laughed.

‘I’ve got this,’ he told her before grimacing. ‘But if I hurt my back, I expect to be waited on hand and foot.’

‘Dream on,’ Cass scoffed, amused. ‘We might toss a piece of bread your way if you’re lucky.’

‘Such a hard woman,’ Gib said, as he pulled Reena’s chair away from the table. As she flopped forward, he boosted her up and over his shoulder, where she lay, like a loose rag doll. ‘Where am I taking her, Bea?’

She followed him to the stairs. ‘Turn right on the landing, she’s in the east wing.’

Bea followed him down the long hallway, the walls covered with art and photographs and even framed finger paintings Bea had done in kindergarten. There was no rhyme or reason to the way Golly assembled her pictures, but somehow it simply worked.

‘Should they both be this out of it?’ Gib asked, shifting Reena higher onto his shoulder.

‘They were both drinking heavily last night, and I know they carried on after the cocktail party ended. Golly posted a picture on Instagram of them laughing at around two-thirty, and they looked like they were still going strong. And they did eat way more dope brownies than they should’ve. I think the combination of drugs and booze knocked them out.’

‘Do you not think that Golly, at some point, should consider her age and start slowing down?’

Bea opened the door to Reena’s bedroom. ‘Oh, I very much do, but Golly doesn’t listen to anything I say. Feel free to suggest that to her, but there’s a chance she’ll rip off your head.’

‘Noted.’ Gib laid Reena down on her large bed and tucked a pillow under her head. He was surprisingly gentle. ‘Are either of them taking any medication that might interact with the drugs and the booze?’

‘No, nothing,’ Bea shook her head. ‘They’re both incredibly healthy. Reena takes nothing, but Golly takes vitamins and cod liver oil.’

Gib grimaced. ‘Ugh.’

Bea agreed, it was vile stuff. ‘Even if she did have a health issue, Golly wouldn’t take the meds. She’s never been a fan of Big Pharma, and if there’s a homoeopathic way to treat an illness, she’ll try that first. I remember having to eat copious amounts of garlic and parsley when I had a summer cold.’

Gib opened the door for her, and they stepped into the hallway. He pulled the door shut behind them. ‘Did it work?’

‘Eventually, but I’m pretty sure conventional medicine would’ve had me sorted in two days rather than six.’ Bea walked over to the window at the far end of the hallway and leaned her shoulder into the wall. This was a good view of groves of olive and almond trees and Profitis Ilias, the highest hill on the island.

Gib stood next to her, relaxed and at ease in his body and skin. He looked nothing like the CEO of one of the biggest and best talent, production and entertainment agencies in the world.

‘Thanks for lugging them up here. I owe you.’

He put his hands on his lower back and faked a wince. ‘I think I pulled a muscle in my back. I might need you to give me a massage.’

Bea nudged him in the ribs with her elbow and rolled her eyes at his over-egged ‘Oof.’ He was absolutely fine. In every way possible.

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