Page 47 of An Island in the Sun

Elspeth snorted. ‘You’re just friends… Yeah, right.’

With Elspeth making Tabitha promise to send regular updates to take her mind off getting the barn finished in time for the looming wedding with eighty guests, they said goodbye.

Tabitha missed her terribly. She missed all of her family, but Elspeth and her mum and dad in particular made the time away hard. And her nieces. Tabitha adored being an aunt, not just to Olivia and Nancy, but to all of her other nieces and nephews. Being the fun aunt was the best, but the maternal feelings that had crept up on her over the last couple of years had taken her by surprise. Initially, she’d put it down to being head over heels in love with being an auntie, but then, after being terrified when she discovered she was pregnant, an early miscarriage, which she assumed she would feel relief at, had in reality torn her apart.

A sob caught in her throat. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it, the wave of grief hitting her so unexpectedly that all she could do for a minute was cry into it as she allowed the upset to echo through her. Fudge moved up the bed until his paws were on her legs, his head cocked, wide eyes looking at her. Tears streamed down her face as she proper ugly cried. Getting pregnant had been the last thing she’d wanted, yet the moment it was taken away she’d realised it had meant everything.

Tabitha grabbed a tissue and dabbed angrily at her face. She’d run away to try to escape feeling like this. She didn’t understand how to deal with losing something she never knew she’d wanted in the first place.

Fudge was still watching her intently; she couldn’t help but smile. She was glad of the dogs’ constant, lovable companionship. And, she realised, she was glad that Raff was here too, albeit at the bottom of the garden.

Reconnecting with an old friend and letting a new one into her life felt like a step forward. After Madeira, perhaps she would head to Wales and take Elspeth up on her offer of staying for a few weeks. It had been too long and the tug of home… No, not home, because she wasn’t sure where that was. The pull of family was what had become so strong.

Tabitha forced herself out of bed and banished her thoughts with a swim in the pool.What better way to start a Sunday, she thought as she swam a couple of lengths. With the sun warming her shoulders, the water was the perfect temperature. She rested her arms on the side of the pool and gazed down the garden, the gentle slope allowing a glimpse of the deep blue of the ocean between the palms and tropical bushes. Apart from the birds of paradise flowers and the hammock slung between the palms, there was nothing but fresh green and soothing blue.

The garden office was well-concealed by the trees; it was easy to see how Raff had managed to stay hidden. She wondered what he’d been up to for the last few days.

Tabitha pushed away from the edge and glided across the pool on her back, the tepid water and sun caressing her skin.

A door banging at the bottom of the garden disturbed the peace. Tabitha flipped onto her front and swam back to the edge of the pool. Fudge, lying on the patio, lifted his head as Raff strolled towards the villa.

‘Morning,’ Raff said, shooting her a smile before dropping to his knees to ruffle Fudge’s ears.

Fudge manoeuvred as close as possible to Raff, climbed up his legs and pushed his nose into his face. Raff was so good with the dogs and they seemed to adore him. The thought that she was rather jealous of Fudge being in such close proximity to Raff crossed her mind. She felt relieved that the rush of heat working its way up from the pit of her stomach was tempered by the cool water.

It was just as well Elspeth couldn’t see this scene playing out: Tabitha in the pool in a bikini; Raff half naked, his chiselled chest gleaming in the sunshine.

‘You slept okay?’ Tabitha turned her thoughts to polite conversation.

‘Yeah, not bad.’ He switched his attention from Fudge to her. ‘I really do appreciate you being okay with me staying.’

‘What have you been doing for food?’

‘Bought stuff in the village market.’

‘And what have you been doing down in the office each day?’

‘Working.’ He shrugged. ‘I used to work as a video game designer a while back so have taken on some freelance work to tide me over.’

‘How do I not know this?’ She rested her arms on the terrace paving. ‘For some reason I didn’t think you were working.’

‘It’s a fill-in job. I’ve kinda bounced from one thing to another most of my life. I’m pretty good at turning my hand to anything. Keeps life interesting. As well as waiting for the house sale to go through, I’m waiting on my first royalty payment too.’

‘For what?’

‘My debut novel.’ He looked sheepish, his voice tentative as if it wasn’t something he usually revealed. ‘The first of three thrillers written under a pseudonym.’

‘So you’re a writer too.’ Tabitha smiled; just something else they had in common.

Raff smoothed his hand along Fudge’s back, then stood up. ‘I was, um, going to have a shower if that’s okay?’

‘Of course.’

‘Although a dip in the pool first looks rather appealing.’

The way he was looking at her made her wonder if it was the pool or her in it that he meant.

‘Come and join me then.’ She meant to come across as friendly, yet she was aware her excitement made it sound flirty.

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