Page 43 of An Island in the Sun

‘Okay then,ifyou let him stay out of the goodness of your heart, then you absolutely deserve answers. And whether you like it or not, you’ve already got yourself involved with him – getting drunk and snogging him probably wasn’t the smartest move if you wanted him out of your life.’

‘Aarrghh!’ Tabitha exclaimed. Fudge’s head shot up from her knee. She stroked him and mouthed, ‘Sorry, buddy.’

Elspeth chuckled. ‘I’m only stating the truth, Tabs.’

‘I know you are; that’s why I’m annoyed with myself.’

‘At least he’s a distraction from Ollie. Why don’t you take him a peace offering – cook him a meal and have a chat over dinner. Perhaps that way he’ll open up to you.’

Without knowing much about him, beyond him being a similar age to Tabitha and assuming he was good-looking, Elspeth was encouraging her to get to know him better. The trouble was, despite a small part of her wanting to kick him out completely, take the keys off him and demand he leave for good for a second time, a bigger part of her had been drawn in by him, by the things he was hiding, the things Julie had told her about him, by his gumption and confidence, not to mention the feeling he evoked in her. On some level, Elspeth’s idea was the right one, to take the middle ground and find out more before making a rash decision. Even if her sister was desperate for her to hook up with someone she didn’t even know. Elspeth wanted to see her happy again and settled, rather than a nomad of a sister, the only member of the family still with itchy feet and nowhere to call home.

19

When Nancy’s screams reached full volume, Tabitha and Elspeth said goodbye, with Elspeth making Tabitha promise to keep her updated on the Raff and Ollie situation.

Tabitha took her sister’s advice and cooked dinner. Enough for two. It was a simple dish of spaghetti with sun-dried tomatoes, but it felt like a peace offering of sorts. She dished the pasta into two bowls, grated over some São Jorge cheese and, with a bowl in each hand, headed down the garden with Bailey and Fudge.

‘Knock, knock,’ she called from outside the closed office door.

The door swung open and Raff looked at the bowls and then at her in surprise.

‘I thought you might be hungry.’

‘I am, thank you, but you didn’t have to do this.’

‘I know.’

They sat outside on the office deck, Tabitha cross-legged in a chair, the bowl cupped in her lap. Raff had turned on the fairy lights that edged the overhang of the roof. They cast a warm light over them, banishing the darkness to the grey shadows of the surrounding palms and banana plants. It was an idyllic spot, looking out over the ocean, the endless black shimmering silver when the moonlight caught the ripple of incoming waves.

Tabitha lifted up a forkful of wound spaghetti. ‘This was my sister Elspeth’s idea.’

‘It’s a good one and much appreciated.’ He finished chewing his mouthful. ‘Are you close to your sister?’

‘Yeah, she’s my big sister but the one closest in age to me, although she’s still four years older.’

‘You’re the baby of the family?’

‘Uh-huh.’ Tabitha nodded as she chewed and swallowed the spaghetti. ‘Elspeth is married with two young children – my nieces are utterly gorgeous but a handful. I love them to bits. They used to live in Camberwell, so not too far from me in Wimbledon, but at the beginning of last year they moved to Wales and started The Wildflower Hideaway, this incredible glamping place in the Brecon Beacons, so I didn’t get to see them as much.’

‘You must really miss them, travelling around like you do?’

The sudden lump in her throat took her by surprise. ‘I do, but the desire to get away from everything and everyone was stronger than me wanting to stay with them for a while – which they offered.’

‘You needed to get away?’

Tabitha nodded. ‘Completely. Even from the people I love. Mostly from them. It was too hard being around everyone.’ And it was too hard talking about it now. Elspeth had urged a peace offering in making dinner for Raff, not a heart-to-heart, unless of course he opened up about himself first. She deserved that much after the events of the last few days. ‘Julie talked about you, when I was over there this afternoon.’

‘Oh?’ Raff stopped chewing and cast a worried look in her direction.

‘Don’t worry, I didn’t tell her you’d been here, although I feel like I should have because she’s so lovely. She really cares about you.’ Tabitha focused on winding spaghetti onto her fork, aware that she was talking about emotional stuff. ‘She said how much you struggled moving here only to be sent to boarding school, forced away from your dog…’

‘Jeez…’ Raff put his nearly empty bowl on the decking. ‘This is stuff I’ve not talked about with anyone for a long time. I kinda try not to give it any thought.’

‘Because it’s too upsetting?’

‘Because it still hurts like hell,’ he said, his voice cracking.

‘Oh Raff, I’m sorry to have brought it up.’ She reached out and briefly touched his knee, feeling the need to comfort him.

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