Page 75 of Sapphire

The sound pulls me from my nightmare, and I sit up on the sun lounge.

“Angel, are you okay?” Mateo rushes over to me dripping wet, he must have been in the pool.

“I … I …” I’m disorientated.

“You were thrashing about on the lounge. I tried to help you, but you fought me,” Gracie says.

Blinking a couple of times trying to shake the cobwebs of my nightmare from my mind, I notice Gracie’s bloodied lip.

“Shit, did I do that,” I say, reaching out.

“It’s okay. I think you thought I was Nikolai. You kept screaming out his name.”

Did I? Shit. That nightmare felt real. I haven’t had one in a while.

Gracie is in tears. I hold my arms out to her.

“Are you okay, my love?” Mateo asks.

I nod. “I think I drank too much and may have gotten too much sun. I have a headache. I’m sorry to have worried you.”

Mateo reaches out and cups my face. “I’ll go get you some water and Gracie some ice for her lip.”

“Does it hurt?” I look over at my sister.

“It’s fine. Are you okay?”

“Now that I know I’m here and not there, I feel better,” I say, reaching out and squeezing her hand. “Might steer clear of day drinking for a while. It seems the alcohol loosens my mind and lets things through.”

My sister nods in understanding.

24

ZOE

Tomas walks into the theatre room.

Gracie and I are curled up on the couches with a big bowl of popcorn between us. “What are you two doing?”

“We’re watching Mateo,” I say. This show is my new guilty secret. I won’t lie, watching Mateo kissing and fake fucking all these women on the show stings, but I’m still addicted to it. It’s so bad it’s good.

“I’ll leave you both to that. Mateo is painting in the studio. I have some work to do in my office, and Enrique has had to fly back to Barcelona for work.”

I notice Gracie sit up a little more at this information.

Tomas smiles at her. “He will be back on the weekend.” I think he has clicked that someone has a crush. He kisses my temple and walks out of the room.

“Spill, what is going on between Enrique and you?”

Gracie looks shocked and digs into the popcorn. “Nothing, nothing has happened. He is the perfect gentleman, which is frustrating. Who knows how long I’m going to be cooped up in this house that oozes sex from all its pores and I must sit alone in my room fiddling with myself?”

I roll my eyes. I love my sister, but her TMI can be out of control sometimes.

“Don’t act shocked. Seriously, those men ooze sex and so do you. It’s disgusting to the people on the outer.” She huffs.

“I’m sorry. So, is there any reason you like Enrique or is it a matter of convenience?”

“Zoe, I’m not like that. We spent a lot of time together before I arrived here. I mean, it was a shock that he turned up on my doorstep and told me about what happened to you—as much as he could.” She pops some more popcorn into her mouth. “He’s intelligent, funny, that accent, that body … plus he chases bad guys for a job. He’s kind of the whole package.”

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