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Holly edged towards the staircase as Caroline opened her mouth to respond, but before she had got a word out, thundering footsteps came hammering behind her.
‘Holly! Oh my God. What the hell?’ It was Jamie speaking, with Zahida and Naomi standing behind her, looking like a group of schoolgirls desperate to catch up on a piece of juicy gossip. ‘I thought you were going to miss the flight. What does this mean? Are you two together now?’
‘This is the yacht guy?’ Naomi said. ‘I can’t believe I tried to flirt with him. I am so sorry. I didn’t realise you and him were a thing.’
‘We’re—’
‘So you’re properly together now?’ Jamie asked. ‘I’m guessing that’s what you staying the night on his boat means. So I promise I’ll try not to judge, but it might take a bit of practice. You know I’ve despised him for a very long time.’
‘This is so exciting!’ Zahida joined in. ‘You’ll need to fill us in on the taxi journey. It’s going to be here any minute now.’
‘I wasn’t actually—’
‘I packed your suitcase for you,’ Caroline continued. ‘I thought it would be best to be prepared. Don’t worry, I kept all the dirty and clean washing separate, though you might want to do a quick last-minute check in case I missed anything in any of the cupboards.’
They were talking in every direction. Over one another, as well as over Holly, and it was impossible to keep track of it all. Her head had barely stopped spinning from the hangover. If they didn’t stop yelling at her soon, it was going to push her over the edge.
‘Did anyone pack my speedos?’ Spencer stood at the top of the stairs as he spoke. ‘I looked by the pool and I can’t find them?’
‘Will you all stop talking!’ Holly squeezed her eyes closed and clenched her fists as she yelled. It was a toddler-esque shout and the type she could never remember making as an adult, and yet it worked. Everyone fell silent. Every pair of eyes, including those of Tyler – who evidently still hadn’t found his speedos, or any other pieces of clothing, for that matter – were now looking on.
Steadying herself with a deep breath, Holly looked first at Jamie and then at Caroline before she spoke.
‘Thank you for sorting my luggage out, Caroline,’ she said. ‘Now, will someone please let me know where Evan is? I need to speak to him. Now.’
The silence that had descended when she raised her voice extended far longer than Holly had expected, and suddenly all the people who’d had so much to say had lost their tongues. And whether it was her imagination or not, they seemed to be avoiding her gaze, too.
‘Caroline. Jamie?’ She focused her attention on her closest friends. ‘Where is Evan? I need to speak to him.’
Another second of silence remained, and in the end it was Fin who cleared his throat and finally spoke.
‘He was pretty gutted if we’re honest, Holly. He tried not to show it, but I know the guy. He thought you and him, you know… that you might have something.’
They were all still staring at her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. Was it guilt? No, pity.
‘So, where is he? I need to talk to him.’
‘Holly, you spent the night with another guy,’ Jamie cut in.
‘But I didn’t. That’s what I’m trying to say. When I got the boat, Giles was there with a girl, and I felt like an idiot, and drank loads.’
‘Giles was with another girl? Then whose car was it we heard dropping you back?’
‘I thought you and him were fate?’
It was taking all Holly’s willpower not to snap again. Had her friends always been this infuriating?
‘Giles dropped me back. He found me at the bar, already drunk. Look, I really want to talk to Evan. I didn’t choose Giles. I didn’t want to choose Giles. I chose Evan. It was always Evan. I just needed to be sure. Now will one of you please tell me where he is so that I can let him know this too?’
Her question was met by a silence more consuming than before. And now there really was no denying it. They were definitely avoiding looking at her.
‘I’m sorry,’ Jamie said, as she stepped forward and took hold of Holly’s hands. ‘I’m really sorry, Holly. He’s gone.’
49
Holly stared at her friends as they surveyed her with a look of deep, unwavering pity.
‘You know what? I think I remember where I left my speedos,’ Tyler said and made a sprint for the nearest staircase.
