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Besides, there wasn’t much Kate could do to fix all of this. Anything she did to get Vince in trouble would literally ruin his life and his wife’s as well. Claire would likely never speak to her again, either.
It was best if she just let it play out however it was going to play out. Claire was going off to college in less than six months. Either they’d have to go long distance, or Claire would have to commute back and forth to keep seeing him.
Their relationship—if Kate could even call it that—wouldn’t last forever. Soon it would fizzle out and there would be nothing left but bad memories and regret. Sure, Claire didn’t see that now, but she would when she was older. Then Kate could shrug and say:I told you so.
A gentle pinging sound emanated from her laptop. A small notice in the bottom left corner of her screen told her that the confirmation email had come through. That was it. She was going on vacation. As easy as that.
Thundering footsteps came down the stairs as Claire rushed toward the front door. Kate looked through their open-plan home and saw Claire’s dark red bag slung over one shoulder. She rushed to the front door, slipped on her sneakers, and yanked down hard on the handle.
“See ya later, Mom!” she called, looking over her shoulder as she rushed out the door.
Kate called out goodbye after her, suddenly feeling tired. Watching her daughter sprint around like that was exhausting. How did Vince keep up with her? She was a young, vibrant woman, being held back by an old man. Surely he couldn’t feel young with her. Even Kate felt old in Claire’s energetic presence and she wasn’t anywhere near Vince’s age.
Kate didn’t want to think about it anymore. She had some packing to do. Her flight was in two days. That was plenty of time to get everything together, to prepare Claire, and to get the hell out of there.
Chapter five
All eyes on you
Theheatwasthefirst thing to hit Kate. It was like walking onto the freeway and having an eighteen-wheeler run her down. The sweltering temperature was unimaginable, as was the humidity. Who in their right mind could live like this?
As soon as Kate had stepped off the plane, she had felt her body start to melt. And that was at nine at night, local time. It was awful, sitting on a crowded sweaty bus as she was shuttled to her hotel. She knew she should have splurged for a taxi, but she hadn’t thought that far ahead. Clearly.
The clothes she’d worn onto the plane were too tight, too clingy, toohot. Kate couldn’t handle it. The whole night, all she could think about was how she’d made a terrible mistake. Even in the air-conditioned hotel room, she could barely stand breathing in the thick, hot air.
When the sun rose in front of her balcony, the sun filtering through her open curtains, Kate’s eyes opened and she took in a deep breath. Somehow, the air had cleared. All of the muggy air had been wiped away, replaced by a warm breeze and fresh, breathable air. Kate stepped out onto the balcony, her silk nightgown hanging down in the middle of her thighs, and felt the whole world come into view.
She was on the upper levels of the hotel, looking down at the rest of the world around her. Below her, she could see the hotel pool along with the guests sunning themselves in the early morning rays. People were walking around everywhere with large hats and purses. Kate could almost hear the sounds of their sandals crashing against the soles of their feet.
The delicate smell of salt was in the air, wafting into her hair. Kate inhaled deeply, feeling the scent invigorate her. This was exactly what she needed. The previous night had been hellish, but today had almost entirely made up for it. How could she have thought this was a bad idea? Soaking up the sun in South America wasneverbad.
Kate went back inside her hotel room to get dressed. She would have to choose something loose-fitting to keep herself cool. She chose a linen shirt and a flowing cotton skirt, something pleasant to go down and eat breakfast in. After that, she knew she would shed her clothes to reveal her bikini beneath. Nothing was going to stop her from going down to that beach and sinking her toes into the sand.
The hotel lobby was more beautiful than she’d remembered. It had been covered in a cloud of darkness when she’d arrived the previous night. But now it gleamed in the daylight, sparkling from top to bottom. The marble floors were immaculate. The bars and desks were sleek and modern, made of glass and white painted wood. Chairs and glass tables were scattered around, unused.
The dining area was much of the same. It was buffet-style, with hundreds of tables covered in white cloth. Kate perused the buffet before choosing a simple fruit salad to start her day. It wasn’t something she’d usually choose at home, what with it being filled with sugar, but she figured that it was time to splurge. After all, she was on vacation.
Little paper containers were at the end of the buffet, where you could take leftovers with you for the rest of the day. Kate did just that, packing herself a small roll of bread, some fruit, and even a couple of muffins.
Now that she had lunch sorted, she was free to follow her heart to the beach. That was where she really wanted to be. That had been the biggest selling factor in this hotel. With her food in her purse, she made her way out of the dining area and into a small patio.
It was covered in shining tiles with loungers and tables and chairs. A couple of bars were dotted around the place with dark-skinned men in white shirts serving elegant-looking drinks. Kate tried to keep her eyes straight ahead of her, aimed right at the beach.
Nothing was going to distract her. Not the splashes and gleeful giggles coming from the pool to her right, nor the shaking sounds of cocktails to her left. The only thing she needed was the beach.
The warm yellow sands were ahead of her, shining so brightly beneath the hot sun. Only a couple more feet and she’d be there, in the sand, with the sun blaring down from above. She could feel her heart racing in her chest as she approached.
People were everywhere. Tall men in shorts and small, skinny women in bathing suits. All of them had large smiles on their faces, their white teeth laughing out at the world.
Kate felt her foot sink into the ground, her skin suddenly enveloped by something silky and warm. When she glanced down, she saw that her foot was being swallowed by the sand. A huge smile came onto her lips, natural and free, as she felt the warmth of the sand wrapping around her skin.
Just the feeling of it sent tingles shooting up her legs. She pulled her foot from the sand and began to walk, feeling her body sinking as she took each step. A happy laugh came out of her mouth, a sweet giggling sound, as she tried to get to a free lounger.
She didn’t care that she looked like an idiot, or that she was kicking up sand to her waist, or that people were staring. None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was that she was here. She was enjoying herself.
Kate found a lounger and sat down in it, laughing to herself as she thought about how crazy life was. Only days ago, her boss had told her to take time off work. At the time, she’d thought it was the end of her career. Now she didn’t seem to care. When she thought about it, it didn’t weigh heavy on her heart. If anything, she felt lighter now.
It wasn’t clear to her how getting away from her home and her family could make her feel so much better but she wasn’t going to ignore it.
