Page 4 of Another Lucky Number

‘Yes, I have.’ Her face lights up. ‘We’ve been messaging loads.’

‘That’s amazing, Cat. He’s obviously hooked. I can’t wait to meet him.’

‘I can’t either. I think you’ll like him. He’s so kind. And generous. And patient.’

‘Very much like you then.’ I smile at her and she looks away, unable to accept the compliment.

‘Yawn.’ Amber makes it clear our U-rated ‘fluff’ is boring her. ‘Tell us more about these messages, Cat. Were they juicy?’

I can see exactly where this is headed but unfortunately Cat fails to pick up on the true motivation behind Amber’s question.

‘Not really,’ she says. ‘It was just chat about…well, nothing, really. You know, just silly things… Jokey banter. It’s hard to explain.’

‘I bet it is.’ Amber’s eyes glint wickedly. ‘Were there pictures too?’

‘Pictures? No. Why would… Oh, you mean pictures of the resort. You know I didn’t even think of that. I should—’

‘Dirty pictures. I meant pictures of you both naked.Come on, you must be at the sexting stage by now.’

‘What?’ Cat looks a mixture of horrified and perplexed. ‘Should I? Will he be expecting me to—’

‘No, he will not.’ I jump in, aware that Cat’s relationship confidence is too fragile for this; last thing she needs is Amber playing unsolicited sex therapist. ‘Mike is obviously a decent guy, and he respects you, so take things at your own pace.Thatis never a necessity. It’s simply somethingsomecouples choose to do.’

Cat looks relieved. I shoot Amber a warning look.

‘I was just asking.’ Amber throws her hands up in spiritlesssurrender. ‘What about you then, Emma? Have you heard from your hot man yet? Tell me you and James are at least hitting it hard.’

‘No and no,’ I reply. ‘You really need to get your mind out of the gutter. We’ve only been on one date so he’s hardly going to be pining for me – like Mike clearly is for Cat.’

Cat blushes and I can tell she’s secretly pleased by my comment.

We finish our drinks and wander along one of the many meandering pathways of the resort gardens to a laid-back pan-Caribbean eatery which is housed in a white building with a beach house feel to it – one of eight restaurants on the resort. Even in the darkness of the evening, the balminess of the air and the noise of the waves crashing on the shore nearby reminds us that we’re somewhere exotic and utterly fabulous.

A short while later, we’re tucking into our mouth-watering mains of jerk chicken, barbeque pork with peas and rice and conch caesar salad in relaxed, satisfied silence, which of course, never lasts long when we’re with Amber.

‘So, Emma…’ she says. ‘What’s the plan for when you get home?’

‘Amber, please don’t wish the holiday away,’ says Cat. ‘I expect Emma doesn’t want to think beyond the next week or so of R&R. Let’s just be present and enjoy every second of this experience.’

I look across the table and see Amber mimicking Cat in a rather unflattering way.

‘Hey. Don’t do that,’ I scold her. ‘Cat’s looking out for me and it’s very much appreciated.’

She stops and looks at me. ‘Yeah, well, that plan sucks. If we’re not allowed to talk about anything of any substance, we’re going to run out of chat pretty damn quick. In which case – no offence – but I’m going to find better things to do than sitting around staring at each other.’

‘I didn’t mean we couldn’t talk about anything of importance,’ says Cat. ‘But Emma’s had a challenging time over the last few weeks and I expect she wants to switch off and recover from it.’

‘It’s not like it’s a hardship thinking about what she’s going to do next.’ Amber puts on a voice. ‘Oh, poor me, I won lots of money on the lottery, and I don’t know what to do with it. Life is so unfair.’

‘Amber, you’re exaggerating just as much as you claim Emma is.’ Cat frowns at her. ‘Emma’s been lucky financially but you know fine well she didn’t win enough to live the life of a socialite, and—’

‘Ding ding. Let’s call time on this.’ I grab Cat’s hand and squeeze it tight so she knows I’ve got her. ‘Cat, thank you for your support, and Amber,quit it. I get where you’re coming from but your delivery could use some work.’

Amber shrugs in apparent acceptance of this.

‘I agree with Cat that I want to make the most of this down time…’ Amber’s about to protest and I hold up a hand to stop her. ‘But… that can include a bit of chat about my next steps, and in particular, what I’m going to do career-wise. Because as you know, that’s very important to me. It’s been at the back of my mind anyway, and I’ve come to the realisation that I want to do somethingtotallydifferent.’

‘You do?’ says Cat.

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