Risking It All
Page 32
‘Welcome to Majorca,’ Nathan said, slinging his arm over my shoulder before kissing the side of my head.
91
Gemma
‘We’d better find somewhere to stay. Otherwise, we’re going to be spending Christmas sleeping rough,’ Nathan said, as we strolled hand in hand along the promenade next to the empty beach.
‘I can’t face staying in another hotel. Can we rent an apartment instead?’ I rubbed Nathan’s arm and batted my eyelashes, trying my best to persuade him as we walked towards the town centre.
Nathan shook his head and gave me a grin. ‘It’s Christmas Eve, so we’ll have to take whatever’s available.’
Turning the corners of my mouth down, I let out an exaggerated sigh.
*
Palma’s old town was just as I’d imagined it would be: full of colourful buildings, magnificent architecture and monuments. While we were exploring the ancient passages, in the heart of the district, we almost walked right past the unassuming exterior of a small boutique hotel.
‘What about this place?’ Nathan said, stopping outside the entrance down a narrow side street.
Although I didn’t want to stay in a hotel, the location of this one couldn’t be better. It was in a peaceful position, in the shadow of La Seu, the Gothic cathedral, whose gargoyles and spires dominated the skyline. But it was only a short walk from all the major attractions, restaurants and bars.
*
Our modern, minimal room was on the fourth floor of the renovated nineteenth-century building. I sat on the end of the bed, running my hand along the pure white linen, admiring the view from our window. High above the rooftops, I could see a glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea in the distance.
Suddenly the mobile Alfie had given me started to ring in my bag. The sound of it made me jump. With fumbling fingers, I retrieved it from my backpack and stared at the unknown number on the screen in front of me.
‘What should I do?’
‘I think you’d better answer it,’ Nathan said.
‘Hello.’
‘Hello, Gemma.’
I didn’t recognise the man’s voice on the end of the line. ‘Who is this?’ I asked once I had swallowed the lump in my throat.
‘I’ve got a message for you from Alfie.’
My heart began pounding as I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. After a lengthy pause, the mobile went dead. My hands were clammy, and all sorts of thoughts started swimming around in my head. What was the man implying by ending the call without saying anything? I didn’t understand what his silence meant. Why hadn’t he just told me Alfie’s message instead of making me suffer like this?
‘Who was it?’ Nathan’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
‘I don’t know. He said he had a message from Alfie and then he put the phone down.’ I knew it would be a huge mistake to let this man get inside my head. But by staying quiet, he’d sent my imagination into overdrive.
My phone buzzed. At first, I was reluctant to open the text. I was scared of what it might say, but then curiosity got the better of me.
Just for the record, you were wrong about me. I didn’t sleep with you out of revenge. I love you, Gemma. You mean the world to me and that’s why I’m going to let you go. Keep the money; you earned it. I hope it will make you happy. You deserve to be. Love always, Alfie.
As far as I was concerned, the night we’d spent together was a mistake, and something I regretted. It was clear he didn’t feel the same way. I turned off the phone and threw it onto the bed next to me. Nathan crossed the room and squeezed the tops of my shoulders.
‘What did it say?’ Nathan crouched down so that we were on eye level with each other.
‘Alfie said he’s going to let us go. Do you think we can believe that? It seems too good to be true, doesn’t it?’
‘Maybe.’ Nathan shrugged his shoulders.
I decided not to tell Nathan the details of the text. What was the point? It would only upset him, and the last thing I needed right now was to go on another guilt trip. So instead, I chose to keep Alfie’s confession to myself. Nothing good would come of Nathan knowing what he’d said. It would fill him with insecurity. I knew it was wrong to keep the contents of the text a secret but justified my actions because I wanted to protect Nathan from getting hurt again. Surely under the circumstances, I needed to edit out the part that would distress him, didn’t I?
‘So Alfie knows we’re still alive. Is that all he said?’
‘Pretty much.’
‘I wonder if he knows we’ve got the money.’
‘He does. He said we could keep it.’
Nathan raised his eyebrows. ‘Well in that case, why don’t we go out and celebrate? You might as well drink some champagne while you still can, Mrs Stone.’ Nathan leant forward and planted a kiss on my lips.
The thought of being pregnant brought a smile to my face, and as I stared into my husband’s eyes, I knew I’d made the right decision keeping the contents of Alfie’s text to myself. I couldn’t risk losing Nathan.
We’d let each other down in the past, but now it was time to put that behind us. I’d been broody for years, whereas up until now, Nathan hadn’t wanted to start a family. Finally, it looked like we were on the same page.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Hannah Smith, my wonderful editor, for giving me this opportunity and for holding my hand through the entire process. You’ve made my dreams come true.
Thank you to my husband Barry and children, Sarah and James, for your constant support and encouragement. I couldn’t have done it without you!
Thank you to my parents, my brother, Keith, my sister, Katharine and the rest of my family and friends there are too many to mention individually, but you know who you are!
Thank you, Sinéad Goulding, my cousin and lifelong friend for suggesting I write a book in the first place. I’m glad I listened to you!
Thank you to my dear friend Bruna Aylieff for your tireless enthusiasm and the good times we’ve shared being the ladies who lunch!
Thank you to the members of the Romantic Novelists’ Association for their invaluable advice on the road to publication, especially Imogen Howsen.
Thank you to everyone at Aria Fiction for working so hard behind the scenes.
Finally, thank you to the readers, reviewers and bloggers.
About the Author
STEPHANIE HARTE was born and raised in North West London.
She was educated at St Michael’s Catholic Grammar school in Finchley. After leaving school she trained in Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy at London College of Fashion.
She worked for many years as a Pharmaceutical Buyer for the NHS. Her career path led her to work for an international export company whose markets included The Cayman Islands and Bermuda.
For ten years, Stephanie taught regular beauty therapy workshops at a London based specialist residential clinic that treated children with severe eating disorders.
Stephanie took up writing as a hobby and self-published two novels and two novellas before signing a contract in March 2019 with Aria Fiction.
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Stephanie Harte, Risking It All