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All of it looked so peaceful, so dream-like. Kate wanted to go out there, to enjoy the sunshine on her skin, and figured that she may as well. She hadn’t visited the pool yet and now looked like a good time to do it—since she’d arrived, she hadn’t seen it this empty.
Kate had a couple more bites of her salad before getting up and heading out to the pool. The water reflected the sun’s bright rays, stinging into her eyes. Kate made sure to look away from it as she walked around, heading for the first free lounger she could find.
There was one free, all on its own, toward the back of the area. It had plenty of sun, and its own little parasol to keep her cool if she needed it. Kate set her bag down on the floor beside her and immediately stretched out.
Her body warmed up quickly. It worked like a massage, getting rid of all the tension and knots in her body. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear ambient music playing. She glanced around, looking for a speaker, but gave up quickly. She didn’t care where it was. All that mattered was the soft wooden sounds soothed her.
This is the life,Kate thought, sighing.This is exactly what I needed.
As she laid there, stretched out with her arms behind her head, she wondered how her daughter was getting along. She had exchanged the mandatory daily texts with her, but aside from that, she hadn’t heard much.
It didn’t matter, really. Claire was checking in regularly and that was all Kate asked for. Kate had to keep reminding herself that Claire was an adult now, perfectly capable of looking after herself, even if that meant spending all of her free time pining after a married man.
There was no point in her thinking about any of this. It was all out of her control. The only thing she could do was sit back, relax, and enjoy the remainder of her vacation. And that’s exactly what Kate did.
A finger poked Kate roughly, right in the shoulder. She opened her eyes, not remembering when she’d closed them, and looked over at the person poking her.
It was just a young girl, only a couple of years older than Claire, frowning down at Kate.
“Miss,” she was urging. “Miss, there are men asking for you.”
*
Kate tried to clear her head and sat up in the recliner. “What?”
“Men,” the girl repeated. “In the lobby. Asking for you.”
“Men?” Kate asked. “For me?”
Nothing was making sense. The girl’s beautiful black hair fell around the sides of her face, framing her tanned skin beautifully.
“Come,” the girl said. “Two men. They won’t leave the hotel.”
Christ, Kate thought.Who could that be, I wonder?
There was no doubt in her mind that it was her previous night’s conquest, coming back to haunt her. Why was it that men just couldn’t let her go? They always had to come marching back, demanding more of her time and harassing those around her in the process.
Kate peeled herself off the lounger and put her purse over her shoulder, following the tiny girl back into the hotel. She didn’t want to do this. She wanted to go back to the lounger, back to her dreamless sleep, but of course, life had a different plan for her.
As soon as she got into the lobby, and saw Fabian and Alessandro’s bodies draped over the front desk, she could have snapped a neck. The rage appeared out of nowhere and burned through her body like a fire in the middle of a scorching summer.
When they saw her, they knew they’d fucked up. Their shit-eating grins were wiped off their faces. Kate waved them through the lobby curtly, before turning on her heels.
The only place she knew she could take them was the dining hall. It was long after lunch and they weren’t still serving food. No one would be in there to overhear them.
They sat down opposite her with pale, sullen faces. Kate just stared at them, expecting them to explain why they were there.
“Hi,” Fabian said softly.
“What do you want?” Kate snapped. “Why are you harassing the staff at my hotel?”
“We wanted to see you again,” Alessandro said. “We tried calling your room number but nobody answered.”
Kate’s eyes darkened as she stared at them. “So what?” she asked. “I’m supposed to sit around in my hotel room waiting for your call?”
“No,” Fabian started, “but—”
“Just tell me what you want,” Kate blurted. “Please. Just tell me and let’s get this over with.”
