by Megan Cole
‘Sapphire.’
‘Yes?’
‘Just stay away from the drinks cabinet, OK?’
Sapphire was making her way outside later when a voice called her name. She turned around. Her stomach did a back flip, then somersaulted over again. It was Cam, looking heartbreakingly gorgeous in a V-neck T-shirt and dark-blue jeans. A baseball cap turned backward was on his head, accentuating his dark, long-lashed eyes.
‘Heading to the pool?’ Cam asked. He came and stood unnervingly close to Sapphire, so close she could smell his aftershave and the washing powder on his clothes.
Sapphire nodded dumbly. In her bikini top and faded denim shorts, Sapphire suddenly felt very naked. Cam’s eyes lingered on her body and instinctively Sapphire crossed her hands over her breasts.
‘H-h-how about you?’ she asked. Oh great, now I’ve got a stutter!
Cam didn’t seem to notice her stumbling over her words. ‘Needed to stretch my legs — I’ve been writing all morning.’ Sapphire jumped as his hand suddenly brushed her collar bone. The very feel of him on her bare flesh made her skin prickle all over. ‘Had a bug on you,’ he said, smiling.
Approaching footsteps made them both look round. Raphael was walking towards them carrying a guitar. Next to Cam’s all-American good looks, Raphael’s lean physique, pale complexion and startling eyes made him look almost supernatural.
‘Hey, buddy,’ Cam said. Raphael nodded coldly and swept past.
Cam shook his head. ‘I can never work that guy out.’ He reached across and tucked a stray hair behind Sapphire’s ear. ‘Gotta fly. Catch you later, babe.’
As he walked off, Sapphire touched her ear again in wonder. It was tingling as if he had physically branded her. As she caught another lingering waft of Cam’s aftershave, Sapphire started grinning. Cam Tyler had just called her babe! Shallow as it was, at that moment nothing else mattered.
OK, she thought. So I’m staying. Just for a little bit.
Chapter nineteen
Sapphire’s euphoria didn’t last long. She knew she had to confront Madison and Simonetta, but she wasn’t looking forward to it. Two against one was always bad; especially when it came in the form of her newly found half-sisters.
‘Hey, Tito, you seen Madison and Simonetta anywhere?’ Sapphire had come up to the swimming pool to find them, but to her surprise they weren’t there. They practically lived there usually. Tito was busy clearing up the remains of two breakfast trays, which had been left messily on the floor.
He grinned goofily. ‘I think they are down the beach, Signorina Stevens.’
‘Thanks, Tito,’ she said gratefully. His eyes twinkled. ‘How are you feeling after your little party?’
‘Oh, not you as well,’ she groaned.
He laughed. ‘Hey, don’t worry about it.’ Tito dropped his voice and looked around. ‘I shouldn’t really say anything, but Maggie is on your side. I overhead her saying she doesn’t trust Signorinas Vanderbilt and Mastrangelo.’
Sapphire smiled ruefully. ‘Pity no one else agrees! But thanks, Tito, I appreciate it.’
Sapphire finally found Madison and Simonetta on the jetty, dangling their long legs over the edge. A speedboat with three hunky young men was zooming round showing off. Madison threw them flirty little waves every now and again. As Sapphire reached them, Simonetta looked up, her face expressionless.
‘Oh. Hello.’
‘Is that all you’ve got to say for yourself?’ Sapphire demanded. I sound like my mum! she thought, cringing inwardly. She stood with her hands firmly on her hips, even though she was a nervous wreck inside.
‘What else do you want us to say, honey?’ Madison said, her eyes following the speedboat. She looked the picture of all-American innocence in a white Ralph Lauren sundress and a large-brimmed straw hat.
‘You set me up with the champagne!’ Sapphire said hotly.
Madison turned round, her pretty face alive with malicious glee. ‘I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Have you been drinking again? God, you’re like a frickin’ alcoholic.’
‘I said, “You set me up”,’ Sapphire repeated through gritted teeth.
Madison glanced at Simonetta. ‘So what if we did? It’s not our fault you were dumb enough to take the bait.’
Sapphire shook her head, angry little tears pricking the back of her eyes. ‘Why would you do that?’
‘Why not? It’s time Brad started to see your true colours. Your sweet and innocent act might fool him, Sapphire, but I can totally see though it.’
‘I’m not putting on an act!’ Sapphire cried in frustration. ‘Stop trying to shit-stir!’
Madison smiled nastily. ‘Oh, there’ll be plenty more where that came from.’
Sapphire said what she’d been wanting to, ever since she’d found out they were all Brad’s daughters. ‘I cannot actually believe we’re related.’
‘Oh, honey. And why’s that? You thought as soon as we all found out we’d fall into each other’s arms? As if. You’re just some frumpy little freakazoid who I’ve got to put up with for a while.’
Madison turned back to face the sea as the speedboat zoomed up.
‘Hey girls, you wanna come for a ride?’ the hunky young men on board shouted.
Madison tossed her hair sexily. ‘O.M.G, totes! Simonetta?’
The model looked confused. ‘Totes?’
‘Like, totally! Oh sweetie, we really are going to have to teach you the lingo.’ Madison stood up and tossed a contemptuous look at Sapphire. ‘You still here?’ She turned her back on Sapphire. ‘OK, guys, we’re coming!’
As Sapphire stood watching, the white-hot rage that had been building inside her exploded. Without really thinking about what she was doing, she leapt forward and shoved Madison hard between the shoulders. Madison screamed and, as if in slow motion, toppled off the jetty, landing with a resounding splash in the waves below. The guys in the speedboat cracked up with laughter, as Madison came to the surface, coughing and spluttering. Her sunhat floated off like a bedraggled jellyfish.
‘Sapphire, I am gonna frickin’ kill you!’ she shrieked.
Simonetta, her eyebrow raised in amused astonishment, looked down at Madison and then back to Sapphire. ‘You really should not have done that. Madison is not someone you want as your enemy.’
‘Seems like I’ve done a pretty good job already,’ retorted Sapphire and, feeling a lot happier than she had in days, she walked off back up the jetty.
Sapphire half expected a bucket of water to be waiting on top of her door when she returned to her bedroom later, but there was nothing. She knew it hadn’t been wise to piss off Madison, but the American bitch had wound Sapphire up so much she didn’t care. She might be a nice person, but that didn’t mean people like Madison could be a cow and walk all over her. Still, she’d have to watch her back — and her drinks — from now on.
In a funny way, Simonetta and Madison’s nastiness had made Sapphire, for the first time, really want to be chosen as Brad’s heir. She wasn’t normally very competitive, but they had stirred something in her. Anything to piss them off and stop them getting their sticky little hands on the money. Sapphire grinned at the thought of Madison’s face as she, Sapphire, wrote a cheque out for the entire inheritance to some random squirrel charity. That’d teach her!
She was roused from her daydream by the sound of a raised voice outside her window. Sapphire pulled the muslin curtains aside and looked out. It was Raphael, having a fierce argument in Italian on the phone. His hair was wild and his angry eyes seemed more penetrating than ever. Sapphire didn’t know much Italian, but she did have a basic understanding from her GCSE course. She edged closer to the balcony to try to hear. Straining her ears, she could make out the words morte and distruzione. Sapphire frowned. Those words sounded familiar. As she racked her brain, Raphael glanced up, as if aware he was being watched. Sapphire jumped back behind the curtain, her heart beating so loudly she thought it would give her away. But a few seconds later
his voice floated off down the garden. Sapphire leant against the wall, her mind whirling. Morte and distruzione, what did those words mean? Suddenly they came to her and her blood ran cold. Morte meant death and distruzione meant destruction.
‘Death and destruction,’ she muttered. What on earth had Raphael been talking about? Another chill went through her body. She’d thought Raphael was mean… but what if he was dangerous too?
Chapter twenty
Madison speared a tomato viciously. She was still burning from Sapphire pushing her in the sea and making her look like a total idiot in front of those hot guys. And now, to her complete annoyance, it looked like Brad had forgiven Dorkface for the drunken episode. They’d been having some dumb love-in conversation about soul music for ten minutes and Madison was bored.
‘Look at that sap kissing Brad’s ass,’ she hissed at Simonetta.
The model gave a secretive smile and surveyed Madison through half-closed eyes. ‘You are going to have to try harder,’ she told her. The more she encouraged Madison, the better. Madison was revealing her game plan to Simonetta without even realising it. There was no way Madison was going to trick her.
‘What are you two girls whispering about?’ Brad said, smiling over the table.
‘Oh, girl stuff!’ Madison said brightly. She smiled sweetly at Sapphire. ‘Sapphire, me and Simonetta were just saying it is so cool you can be around alcohol and not act retarded.’
Sapphire went a dull red. Why did Madison have to bring that up? She looked down at her glass, which contained sparkling water. Alcohol was the last thing she wanted to think about at the moment.
Brad frowned, as if he didn’t want to recall the events of the other night either. To Sapphire’s relief, he changed the subject. ‘How do you girls fancy a little day trip tomorrow?’
All three looked at him with interest. ‘Yes, please!’ trilled Madison. Brad grinned. ‘Excellent. It’ll be an early start so you’d better turn in early.’
‘What time are we leaving, Brad?’ Simonetta asked.
He turned to her. ‘I’d like you to meet me at the heliport at five thirty.’
‘In the morning?’ gasped Madison.
Brad looked at her, amused. ‘Yes, is that all right?’
‘Perfectly,’ Madison gushed. It was like the middle of the freakin’ night! ‘Where are we going?’ she asked.
Brad smiled mysteriously. ‘Ah, now that’s a surprise. But pack your bikinis.’
It was still dark the next morning as the three girls made their way to the helipad. ‘My ass is seriously going to freeze off,’ grumbled Madison from under her Juicy Couture hooded top. ‘And my ass is my best asset. I’m not swimming anywhere until it warms up.’
Her mutterings swiftly stopped when they saw the sleek red helicopter. It looked like a giant squatting insect, rotors resting on the ground. Brad was already there loading bags into the back, while a uniformed pilot sat at the controls, fiddling with knobs and buttons.
‘This is so cool!’ squealed Madison.
Brad turned round. ‘Morning, girls! You didn’t oversleep then?’
‘I’ve been too excited to sleep,’ Sapphire confessed. ‘I’ve never been in a helicopter before.’ She ignored the incredulous looks from Simonetta and Madison.
Brad gestured at the pilot. ‘This is Santo. He’ll be flying us to our destination.’
‘Hi, Santa!’ trilled Madison. ‘Like, it is so cool that your parents named you after Father Christmas.’
Brad, Sapphire and Simonetta exchanged amused glances.
‘Are we ready, Santo?’ Brad asked. The pilot nodded. ‘All right girls, you can climb in the back.’
Inside, the helicopter was small but snug. The three girls sat closely, their legs touching. Sapphire realised it was the first human contact she’d had with her half-sisters since she’d come to Casa Eleganza. To her surprise, Madison’s skin wasn’t ice cold.
Suddenly, the engine started up and the rotors began whirring into life. The noise was deafening. Sapphire felt a thrill of excitement as the helicopter slowly began to lift off the floor. They were flying! As they rose, the trees all around shook and waved with the down-draught from the whirring blades. Sapphire watched, her nose pressed against the window. Soon Casa Eleganza looked like a little toy house below, as they soared off into the distance.
As dawn approached, the sky began to lighten. Hundreds of feet below, the sea sat like a smooth glass surface, the occasional boat bobbing around now and again. It was like nothing Sapphire had ever seen before.
After half an hour, Brad turned round. He had to shout to be heard over the roar of the engine. ‘We’re landing in a minute.’ He pointed out of the window to a small island in the distance. As they approached, a sweeping white sandy beach backing on to luscious green woods spread out before them. To her surprise, Sapphire could see the tiny figures of people standing on the beach. Who would be on an island this isolated at this time in the morning?
A few moments later they touched down on the beach, spraying sand everywhere. Brad turned to Santo. ‘Nice work. You’ll be back for us at four?’ The moustached pilot smiled and nodded. Brad turned to the girls. ‘We’ve got quite a welcoming committee.’
‘Where are we?’ Madison whispered. ‘Who are all those people?’ A smiling man dressed in a white shirt and linen trousers came to open the door. One by one, he helped the girls out. Already, more similarly dressed men and women were opening the back and getting the luggage out.
As Sapphire looked around, she could see palm trees fringing the beach. High above, a mountain soared up high, its peak heavily forested and alive with flowers. This is paradise, she thought to herself. Beside her, Simonetta and Madison were looking just as impressed. Brad walked over and waved his hand over the surroundings.
‘Welcome to Charlotte Island.’
‘This is so cool!’ Madison gushed. ‘Is it a new resort? I’ve never heard of it.’
‘You wouldn’t have. It’s very exclusive,’ Brad told her.
‘Oh, I get it!’ Madison exclaimed. ‘It’s like Richard Branson with Necker Island. He charges, like, zillions of dollars to stay there. So who owns this?’ she asked.
Brad smiled. ‘I do.’
Before it could sink in that there was a private island up for grabs, Brad ushered them down on a little path through the woods. ‘There’s something I want to show you,’ he told them. From where they’d landed it looked like the island was pretty much uninhabited, so the girls were astonished to be led to what looked like a luxury mini-resort, complete with sprawling bungalows, a swimming pool and gymnasium. In the middle of all this stood an amazing modern house with razor-straight lines and floor-to-ceiling windows.
‘We’ve got to hurry,’ Brad told them. They followed him inside and up a glass staircase to the next floor. There was a living-room running the entire length of one side of the house, with spectacular views out to sea. Brad opened a sliding door and led them out.
‘We’re just in time.’
Before them, on the crest of the horizon, the sun was just beginning to move skywards. The blue-black sky became filled with a brilliant, luminous light, changing night into day. I wish Cam was here to see this, Sapphire suddenly thought. The big orange ball continued its spellbinding journey, until it was hanging high in the sky, casting a sunny glow on everything under its gaze. In just a few minutes, the world had changed before their eyes.
‘Pretty good, hey?’ Brad said. ‘That’s one of the reasons I bought this island. You don’t get a better view of the sunrise anywhere else in Italy.’
‘It was bellissimo,’ said Simonetta. Being a lover of beautiful things she was actually quite overcome.
Madison’s gaze travelled back inside, already bored. It was just the sun — she’d seen it, like, a million times. ‘So, is this your house? Who are the condos for?’
‘Anyone I want to invite to Charlotte Island. They’re all empty right now, though.’
Until now
, Sapphire had been left speechless by the beautiful spectacle they’d just witnessed. ‘Who runs the place when you’re not here?’ she asked.
‘I’ve got a team of live-in staff.’ Brad looked at his watch. ‘Which reminds me, breakfast should be ready.’
Charlotte Island was also a nature reserve and the girls spent an idyllic morning being shown around by Brad. It was clear how passionate he was about the place and even Madison couldn’t fail to be impressed by the hundreds of species of exotic plants and birds. By lunchtime, they were sitting at a beautifully dressed table on the terrace by the pool. They ate fish caught that very morning off bone china plates, with discreet staff to cater to their every whim.
‘I could get used to this,’ Madison declared. Simonetta had excused herself to use the toilet and it was just her, Brad and Sapphire sitting round the table.
Brad chuckled. ‘You can have too much of a good thing, believe me.’
By the look on her face, Madison clearly didn’t. ‘So was it called Charlotte Island when you bought it? Who named it?’
‘It’s named after my mother, actually,’ Brad said.
Madison looked blank for a moment.
‘Oh. So that would, like, make her my grandmother?’
‘Yes.’
‘Neat,’ she said. ‘Is she still alive?’
A sad expression crossed Brad’s face. ‘No, she died a long time ago.’
Madison shrugged, as if he’d told her he’d just lost on the fruit machines or something. ‘Oh well.’
Sapphire gave Brad a sympathetic smile and resolved to ask him about his mother later. She wanted to know what her grandmother had been like.
Simonetta returned to the table and Sapphire noticed that her eyes were red, as if she’d been crying. She raised an eyebrow questioningly, but Simonetta shot her down with a dirty look. If she had been crying, she didn’t want anyone to know about it. What has Simonetta got to cry about? wondered Sapphire, before realising that she actually knew very little about her two half-sisters. It made her feel sad and weird at the same time.