Page 16 of The Forbidden Fling

“I’m not helpless. I’m twenty-two, for Christ’s sake. I don’t need you to tell me what to do.” She stomped across the tiles. “I should’ve never agreed to this.”

“I’m not telling you what to do.” Diana sucked in a deep breath, looking at one of the framed pictures of waterfalls on the wall. “I’m trying to help you find some direction.”

“To be like you, you mean,” Molly snapped.

Diana flinched. It hurt, hearing Jason’s words leave Molly’s lips, but she tried not to show it. “That’s not true. I’m worried about you. When you dropped out of your final year of university, well—”

“You act like I need rehab or something. It’s so dramatic.” She shook her head, her curls falling around her face. “I changed my mind. My degree sucked.”

“I’m trying to help. This is important. Your decision was so sudden…and since then you’ve not been yourself.”

“Like you’d know,” Molly huffed, mumbling something under her breath that Diana didn’t catch.

She sighed. “Come on, Mol. You’re acting as though I’ve checked you into a prison cell. We’re together in sunny Portugal, on a beautiful island with blue skies…”

Molly softened a tad, her pout slacking.

Diana took a step towards her. “Why don’t we make the most of it? Give me a chance.”

Molly relaxed her arms, then the tease of a smile curled her lips. “I guess I do look good with a tan.”

“Okay, good.” Diana tried not to mind that that was the part Molly focused on. “Now, do you fancy getting some dinner together? I saw a little van selling food in the courtyard.”

When Molly hesitated, her heart flopped.

“Actually, I just wanted to get an early night. With the storm yesterday and then that bloody cockerel this morning, I got no sleep.”

She nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. “Alright, love. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Molly waved bye and shut the door behind her. At least this time she hadn’t slammed the door in her face. But as the sky continued to darken, burning orange at the horizon, loneliness enveloped Diana like a blanket. She sighed into the humid air and walked the short distance to her cabin.

Chapter Six

Faye

The next day, the group followed the path towards the ruins, where blue and purple oleanders bloomed from bushes along the hillside. Sweat beaded Faye’s forehead as her feet carried her up the incline, Quin chattering in her ear. She breathed in the fresh air—the sea salt and the pollen—catching a whiff of Quin’s woody aftershave too.

Somewhere in the mostly one-sided conversation, she caught Quin’s hope to see turtles.

She stopped for a moment to rest her aching muscles. It’d been a long time since she’d done anything strenuous, but at least her hangover had passed. “Did you know that sea turtles use the moon and stars’ reflection on the waves to find their way back to the ocean?”

“Wow. You’re like the coolest person ever.” Quin readjusted their vest strap across their rich, russet-brown skin. “Like an encyclopaedia.”

Faye laughed. “Are they cool?”

“Umm. Maybe not. But my dad says an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. So maybe?”

Faye’s focus drifted ahead of her, where the rest of the group were following the path up towards the ruins. She’d only known Quin for a day, and despite them being a couple of years younger than her, their presence comforted her. With all the uncertainty going on, having a friend eased her nerves, and Quin didn’t mind when she didn’t have much to say.

She shifted the heavy rucksack on her shoulders, starting to feel an ache in her back from the weight. In her professional Pankhurst style, she’d prepared for every possible type of bag-related emergency.

Which reminded her—she still needed to speak with Diana.

Diana was walking at the back with Molly. Apparently, they’d “buddied up”, which must’ve been a result of the introductions yesterday. She couldn’t help glancing behind her, pretending to admire the view, but really she wanted to get Diana alone. The last thing she needed was an awkward “how do you know each other?” in front of Molly. Hard pass.

Raised voices behind them pricked Faye’s ears. But before she could turn round to nosy, Molly stomped past, her blonde ponytail swinging.

Strange.