‘Hunter…’ I smiled and he raised an eyebrow. ‘Please show me the photo.’
He watched me for a moment before holding up the camera, screen first towards me.
‘Oh!’ I reached for the delete button but he caught my hand.
‘Ah ah ah!’ He laughed.
‘You have to get rid of that! It looks…’
The raised eyebrow came again.
‘Not good.’
Hunter glanced down and did a side-to-side motion with his head. ‘Oh… I don’t know. I think it looks pretty damn good, actually. Or whatever you’re doing does.’
‘You know what I was doing!’ I thumped him on the arm. ‘I was eating cake!’
‘Yeah… I know that, but no one else does.’
‘Oh Hunter, stop being mean,’ Liv chided him. ‘Mia, don’t worry. He won’t use it.’
‘Says who?’ Hunter countered.
‘Says you! Or at least you should.’
‘Got to make a living.’ Hunter grinned, tucking the camera away in its bag, on the other side of the chair to me.
I glared at him again before selecting a delicious-looking, cream-filled concoction. ‘You’re such an arse.’
Chapter Nine
‘OK, that’s twenty minutes now and you haven’t spoken a word. I’m officially worried.’
Hunter’s voice close behind me made me jump. I turned and looked up. The sunglasses that had shaded his eyes earlier were now pushed up on his dark hair. His shirtsleeves were folded back to just below the elbow and his hands were shoved casually into his pockets. His camera hung from his shoulder.
‘You’re funny.’
‘I have my moments.’
‘Well, just so you know, that wasn’t one of them.’
He pushed his bottom lip out for a moment and nodded. ‘OK, so are you still mad at me about the photo thing earlier, or is this a new reason to be pissed off at me?’
I sat down on a marble step, still cool despite the blazing heat that had been beating down on it all day and was only now ebbing. Hunter sat next to me.
‘I’m not mad at you. You’re an arse but you’re a decent one. I think. At least you were. And I think sometimes you just like a reaction.’
‘I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.’
‘And the reason I haven’t said anything for the last twenty minutes is… it’s the Taj Mahal, Hunter! You know how I’ve always wanted to see it. And I’m finally here. I’m actually seeing it and it almost doesn’t look real. It’s so familiar that it’s kind of illusory. To really be standing – or sitting – here now, able to put my hands on it… I guess I’m just taking it all in.’ I turned a little and watched it all – the other visitors, the security guards replete with scary-looking guns, the reflecting pool and the utter perfection and beauty that I was lucky enough to be in the presence of.
‘It’s so beautiful, Hunter. So utterly beautiful. It’s actually pink now! If you didn’t know differently, you’d think it was created from soft pink marble instead of brilliant white. Isn’t that just wonderful?’
He smiled and stood, holding out his hand to help me up. I took it and brushed a little at my backside. We walked in companionable silence over to the opposite side and leant against the wall, looking out at the Yamuna River. The banks were visible, and Hunter explained how the levels would have been higher back in the summer as the rains replenished it. The bend kissed the grounds of the Taj before curving away on either side.
‘It’s so tranquil here.’
‘It is.’
I looked over to the piece of land opposite the Taj, the other side of the river bend. ‘Do you think he really did intend to build a matching one in black marble over there? You know, before the whole son-locking-him-in-a-tower-thing happened?’
Hunter shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. He might have had it in his mind, but it would have been unbelievably costly. I mean, he was stinking rich, but even so, the cost of getting that much black marble here and then building another incredible structure like this one? That might have been beyond even Shah Jahan’s means. Or it could all be a fabrication that’s just been passed down over the years and taken into people’s hearts because of the romance of it all. Who knows?’
I turned my back to the river and let my eyes drift over the Taj again, still glowing pink in the light from the setting sun.
‘He must have loved her very much. It’s quite sad really.’
‘That he loved her enough to build her something like this?’
‘No,’ I said, turning back to face him. ‘That he had to build it in the first place, and then just sat there looking at it every day from his prison.’
‘Would it have been better for him not to have been able to see it at all?’
I thought about that one.
‘I’m not sure.’
‘No,’ Hunter said, ‘me neither. There are definitely arguments f or and against.’ I waited for him to say more but his face had taken on that distant look again and I couldn’t read him. He turned his gaze back to me. ‘Come on, let’s go and find the others. I want to get a few more shots before the sun disappears.’ He texted and immediately got a reply. ‘They’re over that way. Ready?’
I nodded and kept up with his long strides, mostly by taking at least one and a half each time, but I knew his rules about sticking together as a team. And I certainly wasn’t going to give any sort of hint that I was struggling to keep up and get another black mark against my name. He’d always walked fast and I’d always done my best to keep up but, back in what seemed like a different world now, he’d suddenly remember and slow down a bit, even if I told him I was OK. Clearly, rules for colleagues and girlfriends differed. Or, at least, they differed for me. And that was fine. It was more than fine, actually. It was great. It showed he was treating me as a colleague. Which was exactly what I wanted. Of course it was.
‘You’re frowning. Is that internal monologue running in your head again?’
‘What internal monologue?’
‘Mia. You always have an internal monologue on the go. Looks like some things never change.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, I was just thinking about… how to even start putting this experience into words.’
Hunter glanced down. ‘Sure you were.’ His tone suggested absolute disbelief. ‘Do you want me to slow down?’
‘Nope. I’m fine.’
Admittedly, I’d probably have mugged a small child for a bottle of water right at that moment, but that was neither here nor there.
‘Here,’ he said, reaching into a side pocket of his bag and pulling out a water bottle, ‘you’re kind of going purple.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, taking the drink. ‘So long as Willy Wonka doesn’t rock up and take me off to the juicing room, I’m good,’ I huffed out, still keeping pace.
‘I’ll keep an eye out for Oompah Loompahs.’
I gave him a thumbs-up sign to save breath. Now in close sight of the others, I veered off and found a bench in the shade of a tree and sat on it heavily, signalling I was going to stay right there for a bit. I saw Hunter hesitate a moment, but the only way he was going to get me to shift now was by bodily lifting me, and that was most definitely not going to happen. He nodded and finished his progress to Liv and Sandeep, then set about taking some more shots of them, the grounds and the monument in the dying embers of the setting sun. My eyes drifted to the camera he held and I shifted position a little. Although I felt like I was returning to a more normal colour, I made a conscious effort to ensure my hat’s wide brim was pointed in his direction the entire time. After the soft-porn cake shot, I wasn’t about to be caught out again.
We left the Taj behind and returned to the car, once again running the gauntlet of hawkers. Back inside the car we relaxed against the seats, ready for the short drive to the hotel, from which we would still have great views of India’s most famous landmark. Sandeep and Olivia invited us both to dinner but a quick exchanged glance showed
thatwe shared the same thought. Having just come from the world’s greatest monument to love, to then sit with a distinctly lovey-dovey, soon-to-be-married couple seemed like a perfect opportunity for Hunter and I to be two of the biggest gooseberries you ever did see. We thanked them anyway, and headed off to the bank of lifts.
Stepping in, I pressed the button for the floor where he and I were staying. The suites were all on the top floor so Liv and Sandeep were up there this time.
‘Got a minute?’ Hunter asked as the lift doors began to close.
‘Sure.’
He hit the open button and they slid apart again. I waited, unsure. ‘What did you want?’
‘Just come with me a minute.’
‘O… kay.’
He glanced back at me and rolled his eyes. ‘Relax. You’ll like it.’
That was exactly what I was afraid of.
He strode out and began to cross the lobby. I stepped up my speed again until we came to a door at the end. He pushed it and we went through into the gardens. I followed him as we wound our way along the edge of carefully tended flower borders. The strong scent of old-fashioned English roses hung in the air, mixing headily with the jasmine that covered the nearby wall, its white flowers almost luminous in the twilight.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked, noting suddenly that I was only taking one large stride now instead of the earlier one and a half. ‘And you don’t need to slow down for me. I already told you that.’
‘You’ll see,’ he replied, maintaining the steadier pace and ignoring my comment about it.
‘Hunter. Just tell me. I don’t like surprises, you know that.’
‘You’ll like this one. I promise.’
I mumbled something about him being impossible and gave in. We got to a narrow set of winding brick stairs and he headed up, checking that I was behind him. Which I was. Right behind arguably one of the best backsides on the planet. I really hoped we got to wherever it was we were heading soon.
I wasn’t with Hunter any more, and I didn’t want to be. I knew he wasn’t right for me and I wasn’t right for him. We’d found that out painfully enough and I had no wish to revisit it, thanks very much. But there were moments… I knew it was nothing more than basic, honest-to-goodness lust, but still… For God’s sake, I might have split up from him but I wasn’t completely dead inside!
We reached the top of the stairs and he looked back at me, happiness radiating on his face – for a moment, totally unguarded. Like he used to be. I couldn’t help but smile back.
‘What do you think?’
I pulled my gaze away from him and looked around. We were on a tiny rooftop, just big enough for some pot plants and a two-seater metal swing chair. Brick walls came halfway up the side and beyond it lay the city of Agra and the Taj, radiating white as a full moon in the night.
‘Hunter!’ I whispered, my smile broadening as I looked back at him, ‘this is wonderful! How did you know about this?’
‘I like to explore a hotel, know its ins and outs. I found it earlier. I don’t think many people know it’s here. It’s not very well signed and there’s nothing about a rooftop on the website. Probably because the service doesn’t extend to up here. But I didn’t think you’d mind the lack of hot and cold running waiters for a few minutes.’
I laughed, relaxing in the quiet night as the flower scent drifted past on the gentle breeze that wrapped itself around us, teasing my hair and the soft fabric of my wide-legged trousers. Leaning on the wall, I looked out over the city, teeming with life, lights, death and celebration. Everything was there and yet, up here, all seemed perfect and serene. Hunter had stepped back and was now sitting on the swing chair, one leg lazily moving it to and fro. I stepped over his leg and took the other seat, pulling my feet up to my knees as I sat back.
‘Thank you for showing me this.’
‘You’re welcome.’ He glanced across at me. ‘See? Not all surprises are bad.’
I gave him a smile and had to agree. ‘Habit of a lifetime. Hard to break.’
He nodded once and looked away.
‘Have you shown this to Olivia and Sandeep yet?’
‘No. I didn’t like to interrupt them tonight. We’ve got all of tomorrow before the Diwali party in the evening so I’ll show them then.’
‘I’m so excited about the thing tomorrow. Are you?’
‘Yeah. Should be good.’
He didn’t sound all that excited.
‘Everything OK?’
‘Yep.’ His leg had stilled now and the easy feeling of earlier seemed to have suddenly dissipated. Honestly, sometimes I felt so comfortable around him, and other times it was like he was a total stranger. He’d never been complicated before. Now I wasn’t so sure.
‘Ready to go down?’
I nodded and we began our descent from the secret rooftop gem.
Chapter Ten
‘Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many marigolds as I have in the past few days. It’s incredible!’ Liv exclaimed as we wandered past yet more gorgeously vivid decorations on our way down to the dining room the following evening. The doors to the terrace had been thrown open and guests spilled out onto it and further still into the garden, all in readiness for the Diwali celebrations, which were culminating tonight in what we had been promised would be a firework display to rival any other we had seen.
Having been lucky enough to squeeze onto a friend’s balcony with about twenty others – which now, when I think back, was probably highly unsafe – in a flat close to the Olympic Park in London, the hotel was making quite a claim. That opening ceremony back in 2012 had kicked so much arse that I wasn’t entirely convinced anything I ever saw again would beat it, but I was always ready to be proved wrong. Well, in this case, anyway.
Liv and I chatted easily as we perused the choices for dinner. Hunter and Sandeep fell behind a little as they dropped into conversation with a couple. Liv held her plate with one hand and casually scratched her neck with the other as she looked back again.
‘I don’t think you’re being as subtle as you think you are,’ I laughed.
Liv dropped her hand, and grinned at me. ‘Really?’
‘Really. You’d make a terrible spy.’
‘Oh. Guess I should cross that one off the future career choice list then.’
‘It might be best. He’s fine anyway.’
‘Oh, I’m not worried about Sandeep. I’m just wondering how that woman can so blatantly fawn over Hunter when her husband is standing right there!’
I shrugged and studied the label for the next curry. ‘Mmm! This sounds interesting,’ I said and dished some onto my plate.
Liv glanced at the same sign and followed suit but I could see her looking at me from the corner of my eye.
‘Say whatever it is you want to. I don’t mind.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure. Go ahead.’
‘Doesn’t that bother you?’
‘What?’
‘The women falling over themselves for him.’
I shook my head. ‘No. It didn’t bother me when we were together. He never gave me cause to let it. Why would it now?’
‘I don’t know. I just wondered if… you know, maybe?’
‘I’m not entirely sure what you’re saying,’ I smiled, ‘but I think I’m going to go with “no, definitely not” as the answer anyway.’
‘Really? I mean you do look so good together.’
‘Looks can be incredibly deceiving.’
‘But you’re in the same sort of world.’
I dropped a garlic naan, gleaming with butter, on top of my rice and shook my head.
‘Definitely not. Same but very different, I think.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Hunter’s career has gone interstellar. He mixes in the same circles you do, meeting movie stars and models and sports types and all that.’
‘So do you!’
‘No. I really don’t. I cover their wedd
ings but I’m not socialising with them.’
‘All right. But that doesn’t really matter, does it?’
‘No. Not at all. Liv, honestly, I probably won’t even see him again after this is over. Even if I get to move on – rather, when I get to move on – I’m highly unlikely to be working with him again. And I’m not sure he’d choose to work with me again either. He didn’t want to this time.’
‘Is that true? Or are you just assuming?’ I sat down at a table for four on the terrace, and Liv took the seat next to me. ‘I mean, I know we can all be a bit paranoid about ex boyfriends and things like that,’ she continued.
I put the naan on the bread plate and wiped my fingers on a linen napkin.
‘Not paranoid. Heard it from the horse’s mouth.’
Liv pointed her fork in the rough direction of Hunter, her eyebrows raised in silent question. I nodded and set about loading up my own fork.
‘Well, that was kind of mean.’
‘No. It’s all right. Honestly. I probably shouldn’t even have told you. It’s all done with now and I’m here so it doesn’t matter.’ I took a mouthful and savoured the flavours. ‘Mmm, this is good.’ I pointed at the curry with my cutlery, hoping to change the subject.
Olivia took her own taste and soon agreed. We glanced over to where Hunter and Sandeep were still politely suffering being pinned to the wall by the couple.
‘Why don’t they just say they have to leave?’ Olivia asked, as only someone who was used to things being a little easier could.
‘It’s a British thing, isn’t it? Polite. Don’t cause a fuss.’
‘I’m going to cause a bloody fuss in a moment if they don’t get their backsides over here and have some dinner with us before the display.’
I opted to keep silent.
‘And Hunter’s not even British! He’s South African. He has even less excuse!’
The Christmas Holiday Page 10