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Jess and Gaynor looked at each other with horrified expressions. ‘Why have you never said anything before?’ said Jess, leaning over to take Trish’s hand.
‘Because you’d fucking feel sorry for me,’ said Trish, snatching it back. ‘With your rich husbands and your fancy holidays. I just want to feel sexy for five fucking minutes, and if that happens to be with a super-fit toyboy tennis coach, I’ll definitely take it.’ She burst into heaving sobs, then grabbed Hannah’s towel and buried her face in it.
‘Too much sambuca,’ said Gaynor, rolling her eyes at Hannah as Trish continued to wail.
‘Come on, it’s bedtime,’ said Jess, grabbing Trish’s handbag and hauling her to her feet as Hannah pushed from behind. Jess pulled a face at the others as she half-carried, half-dragged her towards the lift.
‘Happens every time,’ said Gaynor, emptying the rest of the bottle into Hannah’s glass. ‘She’s a hot mess.’
‘Do you think it might come to anything?’ Hannah asked casually, unable to help herself. ‘Her and Rob?’
Gaynor shrugged. ‘They looked pretty cosy earlier, and he’s obviously a total player. But if she’s OK with that, I’d be happy for her. Wouldn’t you?’
‘Sure,’ said Hannah, swallowing down a wave of sickness. She wondered what would have happened if she’d let Rob walk her back to the hotel – would he have tried to add her to his tally of women? She’d have turned him down, obviously, but that probably wouldn’t have bothered him – it looked like he’d moved on to Trish pretty fast. And even though she definitely didn’t want to get involved with anyone, and Rob getting with Trish would entirely solve that problem, somehow it still felt like a kick in the guts.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Hannah woke up feeling tired and scratchy, having played her encounters with Rob over in her head and come to the conclusion that he hadn’t actually done anything wrong. He’d been charming and fun to chat to, but at no point had he actually made a move on her, or made her feel anything other than the centre of his polite attention.
And that, she now realised, was one of the reasons why she liked him. He was clearly a womaniser, but when they’d chatted in Marbella and in the Luna Lounge last night, he hadn’t acted like one. Was that how he got women into bed? Hannah didn’t know much about chemistry, but Graham had never made her feel like that.
‘We’ll be ready in ten minutes,’ said Gaynor as Hannah hurried into the hotel breakfast room to find the others. They were all slumped around a table in joggers and sweatshirts, Trish dropping two Berocca tablets into a glass of water, then adding a third for good measure. Hannah smiled, taking comfort in the knowledge that even when her head was full of big questions, these women could be relied on to bring her back down to earth.
Rob was laying out baskets of balls when Hannah got to the courts, but he stopped when he saw her coming down the steps and watched her approach. Being under his gaze made her feel naked, but she did her best to not look away. He smiled as she stopped in front of him, and Hannah felt that thing again, that crackle of electricity between them that made the back of her neck feel hot.
‘Hey,’ said Rob. ‘Where are the others?’
‘Hungover again,’ she said lightly, putting on her sunglasses in the hope it might hide how jittery she felt in his company. ‘They’ll be here in ten minutes.’
Rob grabbed a handful of balls and started to fill his pockets. ‘You want to warm up for a bit before they get here?’
‘Sure,’ said Hannah, hurrying off to the baseline. They hit back and forth for a few minutes, keeping things slow and gentle to allow her muscles to warm up. It gave her a chance to watch the way he moved around the court and marvel at how effortless he made it look. She’d worked with lots of coaches, but he was the first one she’d ever reallynoticed.
‘I find you quite challenging to coach,’ he told her as they both took a water break. ‘There’s very little I’d change about your game.’
‘Really?’ Hannah wondered if he said that to all the girls.
‘When did you start playing?’
‘I was eight,’ said Hannah. It was a long story, and now probably wasn’t the time.
‘You could have gone all the way, I think,’ he said. ‘Why didn’t you ever pursue it?’
Hannah shrugged and put her water bottle back in her bag. It didn’t feel like a chat-up line any more, and she felt bad for dismissing what was clearly a huge compliment. ‘I don’t know. We weren’t that kind of family, I guess.’
‘Mmm,’ said Rob thoughtfully. ‘Well, you’re good.’
‘Thanks.’ Hannah felt the heat rush to her cheeks. ‘The others are good too though, right?’
‘Sure,’ said Rob, looking away. ‘But you’re in a different league.’
Hannah felt the sweat break out on her neck again, and not just because the day was warming up. Were they still talking about tennis? ‘Don’t tell Trish that,’ she said with an awkward laugh.
Rob looked at her, his brow furrowed. ‘What’s Trish got to do with it?’
Hannah rummaged through her bag so she didn’t have to look at him. ‘Oh, I just heard you and she were getting on pretty well last night, that’s all.’
Rob gave a weak laugh. ‘Her gran lives in Bath, which is where I’m from. We talked about that.’
