Page 72 of Another Lucky Number

‘He’s… a nice guy. Been very kind to me.’

‘Seems like it.’ His tone is light, but the affection he was displaying so plainly before is now distinctly absent.

As the others resume chatting, I consider whether to slip my hand back into James’s, to pick up where we leftoff, but I’m not getting the right vibes to feel comfortable doing that. Instead, I try to engage him in conversation.

‘Such a great place this, isn’t it?’ I say. ‘What do you think of the resort so far? Now you’ve had a chance to experience some of it.’

‘It’s a cracking place all right.’ He shrugs. ‘Won’t be a struggle to enjoy a good break.’

I continue to make what can only be described as ‘small talk’ with him, until I can no longer take the stark contrast between how he was with me before Sébastien appeared, and this odd sense of formality that’s settled over us like a cloud. It’s too reminiscent of how he was earlier in the day. Instead, I involve myself in the group chat, which I note that James is still heartily engaging with, so whatever is going on with him, it has to be about me and Sébastien – again.

By the time the fizz is getting low, Amber’s lobbying heavily for moving on to the resort club. I have no intention of taking the night any further from a drinking and dancing perspective, so I stay out of the conversation. Cat does the same. Having caught her stifling several yawns, I know she’s ready to call it a night. Tyler and Rob have already signed up to joining Amber, which only leaves James. A big part of me is hoping he’ll come with me, so that we can enjoy some time just the two of us. But as things have cooled between us since Sébastien swung by, I’m not sure that experience would live up to my expectations.

He holds back from signalling his intentions at the table, and no one questions him on it. It’s only after leaving the bar and reaching a fork in the path, which will send us in opposite directions that the decision can no longer be put off.

‘Hey, Emma,’ says James. ‘I’m thinking I’ll join the others in the club. You’ll need a good sleep ahead of your prep tomorrow, so best I give you peace.’

My heart sinks at this announcement, which for me is a certain sign that something’s badly wrong. It’s dressed up asconcern for me, but James’s strange behaviour in the bar, as well as the lack of an offer to at least walk me back to my suite, is screaming that there’s a problem – and he’s avoiding dealing with it.

‘Right, sure. I guess that makes sense.’ I try not to let my disappointment show.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?’

‘Fine. Maybe see you at breakfast?’

‘Ifwe make it.’ He laughs loudly, drawing attention from the others.

I make eye contact with Cat and I can tell that she’s tuned into the situation.

‘Shall we?’ She offers me her arm and I gratefully thread mine through it.

‘Have fun,’ we call to the others, who are already gravitating in the direction of the club, with Amber so caught up in her boisterous chat with Tyler and Rob that she barely notices us go. She certainly hasn’t clocked the awkwardness between myself and James, who jogs after them to catch up.

‘You OK?’ Cat asks, as we meander through the beautifully lit resort gardens, the faint sound of music from one of the many drinking establishments cutting through the quiet darkness. ‘What’s going on with you and James?’

‘You tell me.’ I look at her with hurt in my eyes. ‘He’s been weird with me ever since Sébastien came by our table.’

‘How so?’

She gestures to a bench and we sit down. I explain how things were before and after, and she listens intently, then frowns.

‘I’m no expert, honey, but maybe James is feeling threatened by Sébastien. Sébastiendoespay you a lot of attention. We know he has no romantic intentions towards you – at least that’s what he’s told you – but James might still be worried that he does. And that you might respond to them. All he’s seeing is this rich,charismatic, god-like man who he probably feels he couldn’t compete with, so he’s withdrawing to protect himself.’

‘Could be,’ I say. ‘But I feel it’s more than that. Also, James has never been backward in coming forward before. He’s normally so confident, yet he’s backed off twice now because of Sébastien – when there’s no reason for him to do so.’

‘Noreason?’ Cat raises a sceptical eyebrow and I wince.

‘OK, maybe the first time when he saw us dancing looked bad. Especially as he didn’t know what was going on. But I explained the situation.’

‘Then maybe you’ve discovered his Achilles heel. Maybe James is super confident provided there’s no competition. For all you know, he may have had a bad experience in the past.’

‘I guess.’ I bob my head in acceptance of this possibility. ‘I never thought about it like that. What should I do then? I need him to know that there’s nothing between me and Sébastien.’

‘Are you completely sure there isn’t?’ Cat asks.

I’m thrown by this question. ‘What do you mean? Of course there isn’t. Why would you ask that?’

‘Because I sense some chemistry between the two of you, and if I do, so will James.’

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