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I needed to get out of my head and into someone’s bed, as my therapist would say. I loved the woman dearly but I didn’t think it was as easy as that. I think I was broken.
Looking around, I could see so many of the women who I had pissed off last time staring at me like I didn’t belong here. Maybe I didn’t, maybe it was just Mara giving me a chance I didn’t deserve to have.
I got up and headed back to my bungalow for a midnight swim. That would take the shit from today off my shoulders and I could start anew tomorrow morning. Luckily, my bungalow wasn’t far from the beach. I unlocked the door and stepped inside, realizing I had left my sandals at the beach.
Great.
I peeled off my dress and changed into my new swimsuit and headed out the front of the bungalow. A few steps led down to the gate that would let me swim out into the lagoon. The water was warm, just like the night air, but it wasn’t hot. It was actually refreshing. I swam out into the water and headed down to the big pool. The swim up bar had closed for the night, being a weeknight, so it was dark but there was just enough lighting to show me the way. I saw the inlet where you could swim up to the beach and head down into the ocean. As I got to the stairs to get out, I saw someone walk down from the hotel entrance.
Someone I could have sworn I recognised.
I waited on the steps for her to turn sideways and when she did, I almost fell back in the pool. No…my mind had to be playing tricks on me.
She couldn’t be here.
Could she?
I swam back to my bungalow as quickly as I could, my heart racing, my stomach threatening to unleash the cocktail I had downed too quickly. My mind was fuzzy.
Why would she be here?
No. I needed a good night's sleep and to start over tomorrow. I was here, finally, on the island, nothing else could get me.
Matilda Walker was not going to be here in the morning.
I headed for the shower, hating how much my fear had gotten to me. I’d never feared anything before but that woman’s eyes haunted me every day.
CHAPTER3
MATTIE
The dining hallof the hotel was packed full of women in vacation wear but on a mission. I’d never seen so many laptops in my life. The entire room was loud, everyone talking over each other excitedly. Mara came over to me, obviously noting how worried I looked.
“Relax, Mattie. It’s just excitement. Have you met any friends yet?”
“Not really, it’s not my strong suit.”
“Don’t worry, there’s plenty of others like you here,” she said. Her arm linking with mine was oddly comforting as she led me to a table of women I recognised. Sophie beamed up at me. “Ladies, let me introduce you to Mattie. She’s here for her first conference and as you know, it can be a little overwhelming at first. Do you mind taking her under your wing?”
“We’d love to,” the leader said, her smile as fake as the diamond on her finger. “Mattie, please sit down.”
Sophie jumped off a seat at the end and pulled another chair over. I sat down, still incredibly aware of just how much the woman who spoke was putting on an act.
“Thanks Mara,” Sophie said. “I can help her.”
“Thank you, Soph.”
Mara walked away, with every bit of my courage. I could feel myself starting to shake nervously but I was skilled at hiding it.
“Mattie, from over here we have Ella, then we have Esme and this is Eva.”
“Wow, that’s a lot of E’s,” I said. There was a silence at the table and I had tried to hide my geekiness until every one of them laughed.
“Oh that’s hilarious,” Eva, the queen bee, said. “Why don’t you get yourself a plate of food?”
The snark in her tone told me to get up and run.
“I’ll come with you,” Sophie said, much to the surprise of the women at the table. We walked over to the table with the food. “You saved me.”
