Page 65 of An Island in the Sun

‘What are you up to these days, work-wise, Raff?’ Tabitha heard Anton ask as he prepared the salads on the table next to the barbecue.

Even in the late afternoon, the patio was a suntrap. A heat haze shimmered across the garden. Sitting there reminded Tabitha a little of her meal with Cordelia and Rufus the evening she’d arrived. Tabitha had been on edge, steeling herself for the inevitable personal questions that had steamrolled her way. It felt different with Julie and Anton. Although Julie had a quiet demeanour, she was actually rather chatty and easy to talk to, while Anton seemed reserved but affable, nowhere near as outgoing as Rufus.

Tabitha picked up her glass of Madeira wine, wedged her sunglasses in her hair and leaned back, enjoying the blissful warmth of the sun on her face.

‘Raff seems happy,’ Julie said wistfully. ‘Calm too and settled somehow. He’s different to how he normally is when he’s back here – on edge. Although it has been a while.’

Tabitha dropped her sunglasses back over her eyes and looked at Julie. ‘Perhaps it’s because his parents aren’t here.’

‘Perhaps…’ Julie said. ‘Or maybe it has something to do with you.’

Tabitha deflected the insinuation with a laugh. ‘To be fair, though,’ she said, watching Raff, broad and strong, towering over Anton as they chatted together in Portuguese, ‘he certainly seems more relaxed than he did when he first arrived. We’ve got to know each other a bit and I think we’ve been good for each other. He’s certainly been good for me…’ Her sentence trailed off as her thoughts detoured to the pulse-racing memory of just how good he’d been the night before and again that morning.

‘Well, good, I’m glad you’re happy with him being at the house,’ Julie said without a hint of suggestion, even though Tabitha’s cheeks were red hot. ‘I know it must be a bit awkward Cordelia and Rufus not knowing.’

Tabitha waved her hand. ‘Oh, that’s a whole other thing.’ She felt bad every time she thought about them, knowing she was withholding the truth.

Julie raised her glass. ‘Well, let’s say no more about that tonight.’

29

An hour later, the four of them sat round the patio table with only the contented sound of munching filling the air as they tucked into Anton’sespetada, beef skewers seasoned with garlic, salt and bay leaf and dripping with melted butter. A colourful array of salads filled the rest of their plates, along with Anton’s homemadebolo do cacobread. It was simple but utterly delicious and Raff, a seriously good cook himself, was particularly impressed, asking Anton a load of questions about how he’d prepared the beef and made the bread.

‘One of Raff’s many talents,’ Julie said to Tabitha, ‘is making delicious food. He was always eager to try different recipes when he stayed here during the holidays.’

‘Because my mum wouldn’t let me cook in her kitchen.’ Raff raised an eyebrow. ‘Mind you, she didn’t cook in it either. Least maternal mother ever.’

‘Not everyone enjoys cooking, Raff,’ Julie said with a calmness Tabitha had become used to. ‘But at least you had the opportunity to hone your skills here. I’m always happy for someone to take over in our kitchen. I’m lucky that Anton loves to cook and is good at it.’

‘I can tell.’ Tabitha motioned to her nearly empty plate.

‘I wasn’t surprised Raff ended up working as a chef when he was travelling,’ Julie continued, ‘but I was surprised he gave it up when he went back to the UK.’

Raff pursed his lips. ‘I’m not allergic to working hard, I just didn’t want to spend sixteen hours a day, six days a week sweating in a kitchen for someone else.’

Anton leaned closer to Tabitha in a conspiratorial way. ‘Raff likes to do things on his own terms.’

‘Nothing wrong with that,’ Raff said with a grin.

The relaxed banter continued as if Julie, Anton and Raff had picked right up from where they’d left off. It was clear how well they knew each other, Raff and Julie in particular. She’d babysat him when his family first moved to Madeira and then looked after him for longer periods when his parents went away. Even when he was old enough to be left on his own, he’d still chosen to go over to Julie and Anton’s for dinner and Julie had been happy to encourage her relationship as a surrogate aunt. Yet Tabitha sensed a distance had grown between them, which had probably been inevitable once Raff had left the island for good. Perhaps Julie wasn’t too sure where she stood with him now he was an adult and not having seen him in nearly three years.

Raff and Anton got into a conversation about home brewing beer and they disappeared into the kitchen, with Bailey following. Tabitha and Julie remained on the patio with Fudge asleep between them, sipping wine and chatting about the places Tabitha had lived when she was growing up and where she’d stayed while pet sitting. Tabitha was about to show Julie photos of the Paris apartment and the Shetland pony she’d looked after in the Yorkshire Dales but realised she’d left her phone in her bag at the villa. Not that it mattered, plus Julie seemed riveted just by Tabitha’s descriptions. And, of course, the conversation soon returned to Tabitha’s time on Madeira, her reconciliation with Ollie and her newly formed friendship with Raff.

‘Can I tell you something, Julie?’

‘Of course.’ Julie’s smile made the corners of her grey eyes crinkle. Her quiet demeanour gave Tabitha the sense that there was underlying sadness there, yet with the surprising enjoyment of each other’s company, it made Tabitha want to confide in her. ‘Going back to what we were talking about earlier. I don’t know if Raff is truly happy, but he’s made me very happy after a difficult time and a break-up that was for the best but has left me… I don’t know how to put it, hurting, I guess.’

‘I did wonder if your reason for travelling had been due to heartache.’

‘Heartache is the right word, but it’s probably not the reason you’re thinking of.’

‘Oh?’

‘I was the one doing the breaking up – not because I’d met someone else, but because we weren’t right for each other. I didn’t want to remain trapped in a relationship that was stifling me emotionally and creatively.’ Tabitha considered how much she could tell Julie without blurting out the whole story. ‘So I finished with him and escaped. I’ve steered clear of men for the last twelve months and then Raff—’

‘Broke into your life.’ Julie smiled.

‘Literally!’

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