Page 70 of Another Lucky Number

‘Not at all.’ I wave his worries away. ‘There’s only one person who has Cat’s heart – and that’s you.’

I make a mental note to reassure her later that appreciating Sébastien’s magnetic qualities is not her being unfaithful on anylevel. The man is a god. Even Mike would probably fancy him to a certain extent.

We enjoy chatting for a few minutes longer, then I excuse myself to give Cat and Mike some ‘alone time’ – and return to my own hot man.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

By eleven p.m., the steel drum band has long wrapped up and Amber’s impatience at us not yet having moved on is evident.

‘Can we go already!’ She dings her glass to get our attention and succeeds in silencing half the bar in the process.

‘Amber, where would you like to go?’ James asks.

‘So kind of you to ask, James. I want to go to the resort club.’

‘There’s a club here?’ Rob seems surprised by this.

‘Think it’s more a bar with a dance floor. Can’t confirm that though – thanks to these two boring bastards.’ Amber jerks a thumb at me and Cat.

James looks to me and I shrug. ‘She only asked once and we weren’t in the mood that night.’

‘And tonight?’

‘I guess we could go. Although I don’t want to have a late one for obvious reasons.’

‘How about we head to the wine bar for a couple of drinks, then those who want to can go for a dance after that?’ he suggests. ‘Tyler and Rob will probably be up for it, right lads?’

‘Sure, why not,’ says Rob,

‘Few glasses of champers and I’ll beowningthe dance floor.’ Tyler mimics some dance moves.

‘Awesome!’ Amber punches the air. ‘Glad I’m finally with people who know how to have fun. Let’s go.’

We vacate our table and amble through the gardens to The Cave. Amber walks ahead with Rob and Tyler, the three of them having a right carry on as they go, while James, Cat and I follow behind.

‘It’s nice that Amber’s found some playmates,’ I muse.

‘You sound like a proud mum,’ says James.

‘Itcanfeel like parenting with her sometimes. Right, Cat?’

‘Sure can,’ she says. ‘Amber can be hard work, but her heart is in the right place – though sometimes it requires the skills of a code breaker to work that out.’

‘She’s certainly a character.’ James chuckles. ‘If she wasn’t married, I’d have been trying to pair her up with Tyler. He has a devilish sense of humour as well. Though maybe that would be too dangerous a combination.’

‘Probably.’ I nod.

We round the last bend to The Cave and discover that the others have already gone inside.

‘Good evening,’ the same hostess from our previous visits greets us. ‘It’s lovely to see you again. Your friends are being shown to your table and Ashwana will return for you shortly.’

Moments later, we’re collected by Ashwana who chaperones us to the outdoor terrace.

‘Ilovethis place,’ I say James. ‘I mean look at the moon and the stars. They’re so bright and visible from here because of there being less artificial light around us. And the décor. It really makes you feel like you’re in the opening of an actual cave.’

‘It’s very cool.’ He looks around him, appearing impressed. ‘I’ve seen photos but they don’t do it justice.’

We perch ourselves on the tall chairs and join the others in staring out across the seascape. It may be dark but the sense of openness to the elements, the noise of the waves lapping on the shore and the idea of there being nothing but water beyond us is still mesmerising. The only person who’s not hypnotised by the experience is, of course, Amber.

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