Life's a Beach and Then... (The Liberty Sands Trilogy Book 1)

by Roberts, Julia

  He pushed her gently back onto the pillows and kissed her again, allowing his tongue to push between her slightly open lips. He felt the familiar arousal. He still fancied his wife like mad. The back of his hand stroked her cheek and then travelled down her neck to rest on the top of her breast.

  ‘I’m sorry, Rosie,’ he said breathing heavily, ‘do you want me to stop?’

  She pulled the top of her swimming costume down to reveal her still firm breasts and moved his hand to caress them.

  ‘I’m dying, Bobby,’ she said, looking deep into his eyes. ‘I’m not dead yet.’

  Chapter 10

  The bubbles were beginning to dissipate and the temperature of the water was decidedly on the cool side which was not surprising as Holly had been relaxing in the bath for half an hour or more, reflecting on an interesting afternoon chatting to a group of young people whose mobile phone company was rewarding their high achievements with a five-day stay in Mauritius. It wasn’t quite the holiday they had been expecting as each morning they had lectures or team-building activities, but at least the afternoons were their own before they had to meet up for dinner.

  They were mostly a good ten years younger than Holly but she was used to being around younger people and was delighted when they had asked her to join in a game of beach volleyball. It had been fun at the time but she was already starting to feel her muscles tightening up despite the soak in the bath.

  I might have to book my complimentary massage at the health spa for tomorrow, she thought, as she pulled the plug out and allowed the water to drain away, while climbing out of the bath and wrapping a generous but not overly soft towel around herself. She had hoped for an invitation to have dinner with the group but apparently that was not allowed by the corporate organisers, although cocktails by the beach post dinner were mentioned if she was ‘up for it’.

  To add to her disappointment the group were taking over the whole of Roberto’s, the Italian restaurant, where she had been intending to dine that evening. She sat on the bed, wrapped in her towel and read through the resort newsletter to find out what theme the cuisine would be in the main restaurant that evening. A smile crept across her face as she discovered it was Italian anyway so she could indulge in the pasta she was craving.

  Half an hour later Holly stood at the entrance to the main restaurant waiting to be seated. It was busier than the previous evening, probably due to Roberto’s hosting the private event, and most of the tables inside seemed to be occupied. She looked out to the terrace and noticed the British couple just being seated near the edge of the pool. The man raised his hand and waved to her just as a waiter came up to show her to a table.

  ‘You know Mr Robert?’ he asked.

  Holly looked at him questioningly.

  ‘Mr Robert,’ he said, indicating the man who still had his arm mid-air in a wave. ‘You know him?’

  ‘No,’ replied Holly smiling and waving back to ‘Mr Robert’. ‘We travelled here on the same flight yesterday and our paths seem to have crossed a few times.’

  ‘I think he wants you to join them,’ said the waiter.

  Sure enough the man was gesturing for Holly to go across to their table.

  What a stroke of luck, thought Holly, it saves me having to make the first move.

  ‘Well that would be lovely,’ said Holly, following the waiter as he moved between the tables in their direction.

  As she approached, the man she now knew to be Mr Robert said, ‘It’s a bit busy in here tonight so Rosie and I wondered if you would like to join us,’ and then hastily added, ‘unless of course you are meeting someone?’

  ‘No, I’m not meeting anyone,’ said Holly, ‘and it’s very kind of you to offer. My name’s Holly,’ she added, holding her hand out to shake his and then repeating the process with his wife.

  ‘I’m Robert,’ he said, ‘and this is Rosemary.’

  While they had been making their introductions the waiter had brought an extra chair for Holly, and a second waiter had laid a place for her.

  ‘The waiter called you Mr Robert,’ said Holly, ‘I thought that was your surname,’

  ‘They’ve always called me that. I think Mr Forrester sounds too formal and Robert is too familiar, so we settled on Mr Robert,’ he explained.

  ‘It sounds like you come here a lot,’ Holly observed, wondering what this man did for a living to enable him to afford frequent trips to a five-star resort in Mauritius. Maybe he really was a retired rock star, although he didn’t look familiar.

  ‘Robert’s an architect,’ said his wife. Holly was surprised. Had Rosemary read her mind about his occupation? ‘He designed and built this hotel and the owners were so pleased with the result we are allowed to come and stay whenever we want, provided they are not too busy. They even named the Italian restaurant after him,’ Rosemary explained, positively glowing with pride.

  ‘What an amazing coincidence,’ said Holly. ‘My—’ she stopped herself just in time and recovered. ‘My goodness, what a lovely building.’

  Robert and Rosemary were both looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to explain the coincidence but she knew better than to deviate too far from her cover story and create too many lies as at some point she might forget a lie she had told. Instead of referring back to her slip she pushed her chair back and said, ‘Shall we get some food? I’m really hungry after a rather energetic game of beach volley ball I played earlier.’

  When they sat back down at the table, their plates filled with delicious-looking antipasti, the waiter, Siraj, approached with a bottle of red wine.

  ‘Do you like red?’ Rosemary asked. ‘The waiters know it is our preferred tipple so they don’t bother to take our order any more.’

  ‘I think I will stick to water this evening,’ said Holly. ‘I enjoyed rather too much of a bottle of white last night, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Are you sure, because we can easily ask for a glass of white if you would prefer that to the red. After all, you are on holiday,’ Rosemary said.

  Holly thought she noticed just the tiniest hint of a question at the end of Rosemary’s statement but she ignored it and answered, ‘No thanks, I’ll just stick with water although I may go crazy and have sparkling if that’s okay?’ she said to Siraj.

  ‘No problem, madam,’ responded Siraj, leaving the bottle of red wine on the table for Robert and Rosemary to help themselves.

  ‘So do you often holiday on your own?’ persisted Rosemary.

  There was no escaping the direct question but Holly had been expecting it so she was well-rehearsed with her answer.

  ‘No, I used to holiday with my husband,’ she said in a slightly faltering voice, fingering the gold band on her left ring finger. Funny how the little token of affection that Gareth had given her all those years ago helped to validate her cover story. Holly was pretty sure it wasn’t real gold so it was just as well she didn’t have to wear it all the time or she may have ended up with green-fingers and not of the gardening variety.

  There was an awkward pause during which they all concentrated on eating the food on their plates before Rosemary ventured, ‘Are you not together any more?’

  ‘He’s dead,’ Holly said quietly, a single tear rolling down her cheek. It was a reaction this lie always produced because if it had been the truth she would have cried, and Gareth had been dead to her from the moment she had lost contact with him when he went to America.

  The older woman reached across and placed her hand on Holly’s arm.

  ‘I am so sorry,’ she said with genuine remorse in her voice. ‘I didn’t mean to pry.’

  Holly looked into Rosemary’s eyes and immediately wished she hadn’t. They were full of compassion and concern. It was the look she had hoped for from her mother when she had told her about the baby but instead she had been met with a look of revulsion and disgust.

  Holly shook her head to clear the image of her mother from her mind, wiped the tear away and said, ‘It’s okay, I’m getting used to being o
n my own,’ which was the first truthful thing she had said in several minutes. ‘We came to Mauritius on our honeymoon and I felt a need to come back, a kind of closure I suppose.’

  Rosemary nodded her understanding and Robert remained silent with his head down, seemingly concentrating on his food.

  Holly was glad that the lie had the desired effect of closing the conversation about her private life, just as it always did, but she was feeling terribly guilty about Rosemary’s reaction to it.

  Chapter 11

  After Holly said goodnight to Robert and Rosemary, she didn’t feel like going for cocktails on the beach with the youngsters from the mobile phone company, choosing instead to return to her room and check if the Internet was back on. She was relieved to find that it was for two reasons. She would be able to send the work she had done that morning and, more importantly, she suddenly felt the need to chat to Harry.

  She was still feeling upset about lying to Robert and Rosemary, which was strange considering she had told the lie about her dead husband dozens of times to scores of people over the last eight months since she had started this job. It was Rosemary’s reaction that had unsettled her, looking into her eyes with such love for a person she barely knew, and she could have sworn she had seen a tear fall from the end of Robert’s nose onto his fried whitebait.

  They really were a lovely couple, Holly thought, and obviously still very much in love. They hadn’t mentioned how long they had been married, probably not wanting to rub salt into Holly’s wound, but they had both looked sad when she asked if they had any children and Rosemary replied that they hadn’t been blessed with that gift.

  Perhaps that’s why I’m feeling so wretched, thought Holly. I fell pregnant a few months into a relationship with a man who obviously didn’t love me as much as I loved him, and they are happily married and would have been able to offer a child so much. It just didn’t seem fair.

  Even though she had been frightened and alone, after her mother had refused to speak to her and warned her dad that he mustn’t either, Holly had never once contemplated having an abortion. She had no idea how she was going to manage financially but she had loved her baby from the moment she had felt the first tiny fluttering in her swelling belly.

  She hated denying Harry’s existence to her new friends but the less anyone knew about her real life the better and besides it had only been a part untruth when Rosemary had asked whether Holly and her husband had ever had any children.

  Holly had never been married so technically she had no children with a husband, but it had still felt wrong not to tell them about Harry, although she had almost let it slip when Rosemary had revealed Robert’s occupation.

  She reached for her iPad and pressed the Facetime button and then selected Harry’s number.

  Moments later her son’s smiling face popped up on the screen.

  ‘Only a day late, Mum,’ Harry said in his good-natured manner. ‘I noticed your blog wasn’t up so I wondered if you had been snowbound at Gatwick?’

  ‘Hi Harry, sorry but the Internet was down and I haven’t got 3G on this thing. It was pretty bad at Gatwick as it happens, we were probably the last flight out. What’s it like in Bath?’

  ‘Two feet of snow,’ he enthused. ‘It’s been brilliant. We just got back from a snowball fight and we’ve been racing down the hills on campus on trays from the canteen. Look.’ He stood up and moved his iPad behind his back to show his mum a big wet patch on his bottom.

  ‘Harry, you’re such a child,’ she teased. ‘Have you been sitting on your sofa in your soaking wet jeans?’

  ‘Oops,’ he said. ‘Not to worry it will have dried out by the time I get home from work always assuming there are any buses running. I’m not risking Toby on those roads.’ Toby was their nickname for the ancient green Vauxhall Corsa he had inherited when his mum had bought a newer car with her extra earnings. The number plate started with T and ended OBY so the pet name had been obvious. ‘You okay?’

  ‘All the better for seeing you,’ she said in a jokey manner, but meaning every word. ‘I had dinner tonight with a couple who were on the same flight as me yesterday. They seem really nice so I hated having to lie to them. You’ll never guess what the man does for a living?’

  ‘Brain surgeon, astronaut, prime minister ... am I close?’

  Holly laughed indulgently. ‘He’s an architect, he designed and built this hotel. How weird is that?’

  ‘Shame you can’t tell him about me, he might have been useful when I’ve finished my degree. Contacts and all that. Gotta go, Mum, I’ve got a bit of coursework to finish before my shift at the pub. Love you.’

  Holly just had time to say ‘love you too’ before Harry hung up at the other end.

  She marvelled at the young man her son had turned into, and so handsome too. She hoped he wouldn’t break some young girl’s heart like his dad had.

  She turned her iPad off and picked up her laptop, as she preferred writing with a proper keyboard. Reading through her work from that morning, she made one minor adjustment and then pressed send. Her shoulders were starting to ache from the beach volleyball as she settled back onto her pillows to make a start on Day Two.

  Chapter 12

  Life’s a Beach ... in Mauritius

  Even after a twelve hour flight from the UK, which had been delayed three hours due to snow, I wasn’t too tired to appreciate the look of the Plantation House resort, designed by British architect Robert Forrester, as we approached. As the name suggests it is built in the style of the colonial sugar plantations, but on a grander scale and with some clever modern features.

  The entrance is at the top of half a dozen steps but this wouldn’t be a problem for you if you are in a wheelchair as there are ramps either side.

  The reception area was a pleasant cool relief from the heat of the early afternoon sun with ceiling fans and a breeze from the glassless windows. The view is fabulous as the hotel gardens meet the beach. I felt like kicking my shoes off and making a run for the sea. You know me, I love the feel of the sand between my toes.

  Check-in was very civilised, seated in a lounge sipping a cocktail, and loads of staff on hand. It beats queuing up at a desk for the next available receptionist. It only took about fifteen minutes and then I was taken to my room on the back of a golf buggy. I should imagine if you are in the main building you might be expected to walk to your room with a porter taking care of your bags.

  The staff seem very attentive and eager to please without being intrusive, and they all have their names on little metal name badges to give a personal touch. I deliberately requested a room change, even though there was nothing wrong with the one I was in, and my request was met with no suggestion that I had put them to any trouble.

  My room is a deluxe double with a sea view so I can sit on my balcony and enjoy the sunset, which last night was spectacular. The balcony is a decent size with a lounger and a table and chairs, but the terraces on the ground floor are bigger so you could request that if you need more space.

  The room itself is easily big enough for either two double beds or a king size and there are two comfy chairs and a table as well as a writing desk... handy for me! The furniture is generally a bit dark and old-fashioned, but the decor is neutral and there is a flat screen TV. The deluxe rooms have a bath and a separate shower, and the loo is in its own little room. My favourite thing in the room is the venetian blind at the glass-less window that separates the bathroom from the bedroom – a little bit of privacy if you close it but quite sexy for newlyweds when left open and I would definitely recommend this hotel as a romantic honeymoon destination or even the perfect location for a beach wedding.

  I had dinner in the main restaurant tonight which is buffet style and seems to cater for most dietary needs. There is a different theme each evening with tonight’s being Asian cuisine. I opted for the Thai green curry and I can highly recommend it.

  There are two other restaurants on the complex which I shall try out during my
stay, purely research of course, so I’ll let you know how much of the menu is available to you if you are travelling ‘All Inclusive’ like me.

  Time to try out the comfort level of my bed and pillows... I’ll let you know tomorrow.

  Liberty Sands xx

  Chapter 13

  Rosemary nestled into her husband’s shoulder as he stroked her hair. She had always found his touch calming and soothing which was just what she needed after hearing Holly’s tragic story. Rosemary had sensed a sadness in the younger woman the moment she had noticed her sitting on her own in the departure lounge at Gatwick airport. She hadn’t looked like someone going on holiday, nor had she the look of anticipation of meeting up with friends or her partner in Mauritius.

  ‘What a terrible shock it must have been for her,’ Rosemary said, voicing her thoughts, ‘to lose someone you love so much. At least we will have time to say our goodbyes.’

  Robert continued stroking her hair, not trusting himself to speak. It had taken him years to find the person he wanted to devote himself to for the rest of his life and he still found it difficult to believe he was going to lose her.

  The diagnosis had come out of the blue, after a routine health check, but the experts believed they had caught the chronic myeloid leukaemia in time, particularly as the early results with the oral chemotherapy drugs had been so encouraging.

  No one could have predicted that Rosemary would develop the rare mutation known as T3151 that stopped the medication from working. Her body thought it was being clever by finding a way around the block the drugs provided but the reverse was true.

  They had been told by the doctors that there was still hope that newer, experimental drugs might work even though they had worse side-effects, and she was put on the register for a suitable donor for a stem cell transplant, providing the leukaemia could be brought sufficiently under control.