Page 14 of The Wedding Pact

She lets out a long, low huff. ‘Wow. Well, that’s really generous of you.’

I press my mouth into a smile. ‘One of the many perks of being wealthy.’

‘Even so, it’s a lot of money to spend on your brother.’

‘Stepbrother.’

‘Right.’ Ida cocks her head. ‘How come it’s been such a last-minute scramble?’

‘The wedding venue in Croatia that my stepbrother had booked burned down a couple of months ago and they were really struggling to find somewhere else to hold the wedding last minute. As luck would have it, my friend Elliot’s hotel in the Maldives was free this coming week,’ I say.

She lets out a hiccoughy laugh. ‘That is lucky.’

‘Not for the company’s CEO who’d booked it out for his tech company’s annual getaway. Apparently, he had to cancel because he had an accident while volcano surfing.’

She widens her eyes at me then does an exaggerated blink. ‘Volcano surfing? What in the merry hell is that?’

‘I have absolutely no idea. And I have no interest in finding out.’

‘Well, no.’

She picks up her coffee and we both take a few more sips before looking at each other again.

‘Anyway, the first night is going to be a kind of hen and stag party in one with all the guests attending. I’m told there’s going to be a silent disco.’

‘You mean the thing where everyone wears headphones and dances to their own tune?’ Ida asks.

‘Exactly.’

‘Are you a good dancer?’ she asks with a twinkle in her eye. Clearly, she’s expecting me to say no and that I’m too cool to dance.

‘Yeah, I’m pretty good,’ I say, then smile at her look of surprise.

‘Well, I look forward to seeing that,’ she says. ‘I love dancing. Perhaps we can have a dance-off?’

I can’t help but laugh. ‘You’re just as competitive in real life, huh? Not just when you’re gaming?’

She raises her eyebrows. ‘It’s true. I like to win.’

‘Okay then. Sure. You’re on. But be prepared to lose that one,’ I say with a teasing grin.

‘Sure, Business Guy, we’ll see.’

I shake my head at her audacity. But I’m digging it. I’m actually quite relieved to find she’ll be a fun person to hang out with in real life too.

‘Anyway,’ I say, ‘back to the plan for the week. The next day is a chill-and-recover or an activity day, depending on how late we’re up the previous night. Then the actual wedding ceremony is the day after that, in the afternoon, with a meal and all the usual speeches and things. We can duck out of that early though. Then for the rest of the week we’re free to do whatever we want. There are various activities we can get involved in if we feel like it. I’m going to be working quite a bit, but feel free to go and do them without me.’

She looks a little crestfallen. ‘Oh. You’re not going to be doing all the activities with me?’

I shake my head. ‘I’m afraid I’ve got a ton of work to get through while we’re there so you’ll have to make your own fun at points. There’s an important tender document due in really soon and I have about a thousand questions to complete on it. God knows who’s going to actually want to sit and read that many answers, but hey, if that’s what they ask for, that’s what they get.’

‘Sounds like they want your soul too,’ she says.

‘It certainly feels like it. But don’t worry. There’s loads to do there. It’s a five-star hotel, with pools, gyms and evening entertainment each night. Plus, all the excursions and activities to choose from. I promise you, you won’t be bored.’

She waves her hand in the air. ‘Don’t worry about me. I know how to have a good time and I’m not shy about talking to people I don’t know.’

I feel myself relax a little. ‘Great. Because honestly, I could do with this whole trip going as smoothly as possible. We need to be seen to be there, but not raise any particular interest so we can creep away without it being noticed.’