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Another knock, this time soft and tentative. Rob looked through the peephole to see Nick loitering in the corridor. He opened the door to find Aaron was there too, both of them looking worried and sheepish.
‘We just wanted to check you were OK, mate,’ said Nick, holding out a bottle of beer.
Rob sighed and reached out to take it. ‘Come in.’
He opened the doors to the tiny balcony so they could stand outside, leaning on the metal railing as they sipped their beers. It was quiet out here, just the noise of crickets and people laughing as they smoked outside the hotel.
‘You all right?’ asked Aaron.
‘I’ve been better,’ said Rob with a shrug.
‘Was Hannah here? Did Mark fire you?’
‘Yeah, she was,’ said Rob. ‘Not sure if I’ve still got a job. I’ve got to go to his office in the morning.’
‘Are you and her, like, a thing?’ asked Nick, looking mildly impressed.
‘Nope,’ said Rob. ‘You probably won’t believe me, but I’ve never laid a finger on her.’
‘Fuck, really?’ said Aaron.
‘I swear to God,’ said Rob. ‘There’s nothing to tell. She was here but nothing happened. We were just talking.’
‘Man, that sucks,’ said Nick, draining his beer. ‘You’re into her, though, right?’
Rob thought about how much to tell them; he didn’t want to lie, but he didn’t want to compromise himself or Hannah either. ‘Yeah, I guess. But this isn’t the right time or place for either of us.’
‘Yeah, totally,’ murmured Nick, looking sceptical.
Rob turned to look at them both. ‘How did Mark know she was here?’
Aaron shrugged. ‘Olly, I guess. I was chatting to him at the bar, then he saw Hannah leave and said something like “Shit, I bet I know where she’s gone.” Then he left, so I guess he went to find Mark. I should have stopped him, I’m really sorry.’
Rob shook his head. ‘Forget it. It’s not your fault.’
‘I’ll be proper gutted if you get fired,’ said Nick.
‘Me too,’ said Aaron. ‘You can’t leave us with Olly and Chris. They’re absolute melts.’
‘Out of my hands now,’ said Rob with a shrug. ‘I’ve got no idea what Mark is going to do.’
Nick turned to look at him, his expression a mix of regret and admiration. ‘Big question though, mate. Is she worth getting fired over?’
Rob thought about it for a minute, weighing up everything that had happened since he arrived in Club Colina. Nothing he’d experienced felt as powerful as meeting Hannah – tennis was just a sport, coaching was just a job, Spain was just a country.
But Hannah? She was a glimmer of something else; a kind of life that would be made immeasurably better by having her in it. Maybe just as a friend, or maybe something else when they were both ready. Right now it didn’t seem to matter, and he wasn’t afraid of it. The only thing he was afraid of was never seeing her again.
‘Yeah,’ said Rob, grinning at them both. ‘Never thought I’d say this in a million years, but she might be totally worth it.’
CHAPTER TWENTY
Hannah jogged through the car park and into the hotel with her head down, studiously avoiding the gazes of other guests who’d got wind of some kind of gossip-worthy activity but hadn’t quite managed to pin down who was involved. If she could make it back to her room without anyone interrogating her, that would feel like a small win in what had been a hectic evening.
She avoided the lifts and ran up the stairs, exactly as she had barely half an hour ago. But this time she bypassed Rob’s floor and carried on up to the third.
‘Thank fuck, there you are,’ said Gaynor, who was hovering in the corridor outside her room. ‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere.’
‘Why?’
