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“I couldn’t go to the police,” she said, answering Kent’s question. “Why would they believe me? I could have easily got into that debt myself. Besides, this was the man I loved, you know? I just felt like such an idiot. It wasn’t like he could pay me back, either. He was swimming in his own debt, too. So I kicked him out and worked on paying it back little by little.”

“Seriously, all of it?”

Gemma shrugged. “I’ll be honest, it hasn’t been the most fun few years, but that’s okay. It’s surprising how much you can save when you get a shock like that. I’ve got less than three grand to go now. Ten per cent.”

The mattress dipped slightly as Kent rolled onto his side.

“And this guy, Robert, he just got away with it?”

“He did.”

Silence swelled between them, and even though she was still staring at the ceiling, Gemma could tell that Kent was looking at her with that familiar pitying gaze. That was another reason she didn’t tell people about what happened with Robert, because she knew how people would view her. An idiot who needed to be pitied. An idiot who didn’t see what was going on right under her nose. In some ways, she thought it was worse than being cheated on. At least in that case, there was another human, another person they were attracted to. But with Robert, it hadn’t even been that. It had been lie after lie, and there had been no point in any of it. It wasn’t like she had fallen for his money. She would’ve been happy, broke, but content forever. She could feel herself drifting back. All those feelings of despair and hopelessness that had followed her around like a shadow for years were somehow creeping back out of the woodwork, and she wouldn’t have it.She wouldn’t. And so she blinked the feeling away and turned to the cushions beside her.

“That’s enough about me,” she said. “Now I want to know why you’re still single.”

“Me?” Kent said. “Well, that’s an excellent question, and my parents are definitely to blame.”

CHAPTER 56

Kent was desperate to move the pillows. At the very least, he wanted to get rid of the one between their faces. He wanted to look Gemma in the eye as they spoke. Particularly as he was about to tell her something he’d only ever told one girlfriend before. A girlfriend who had laughed in response. Kent realised then that she probably wasn’t the person for him, but he didn’t think Gemma would laugh. He was almost sure she wouldn’t.

“Are you all right if I move this one?” he said, tapping the top pillow in the bed-barrier. He half-expected her to say no, and that she wanted to leave it in place, but instead her voice came across from the other side.

“Sure,” she said. “If you want to.”

Sitting up, Kent took the pillow and threw it across the room, where it landed softly in the tub chair. Seeing her face there, next to him, caused a wash of calm to roll through him. A smile rose on his lips and he could have stayed there, just looking at her, until she fell asleep. Only that would be creepy, Kent realised. Besides, she had asked him a question, and he wanted to answer.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” he said, lying back down.

“Honestly?” Gemma asked. “I don’t know. Probably not. I think it’s a bit far-fetched.”

It was the response he expected. After all, it was the answer most people gave and the one they all assumed he would give to. Only he never did.

“Well. I do,” he said. “I believe in love at first sight, and I know it’s real. My parents, they genuinely fell in love the first time they laid eyes on one another.”

He watched the surprise light up Gemma’s face. Surprise, but not disbelief.

“Really? Where were they?”

Kent propped himself up onto his elbows.

“They were both travelling and had been for months. And they’d visited lots of the same places, but they were in Borneo when they actually met. It’s where all the orangutans are. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it.”

“It’s in Asia, isn’t it?” Gemma replied.

“Right, there are loads of jungle there, and a big mountain. I mean, unfortunately, a lot of that jungle’s been lost to deforestation now, palm oil plantations, that kind of thing.”

“Wow, this really is a romantic story,” Gemma said, adding a quick grin to show she was only joking. Still, she was right. Talking about deforestation hadn’t been the aim of Kent’s conversation.

“Well, they were both there on the same day, taking a river safari. There’s so much wildlife on the island. It’s not just orangutans. There are crocodiles, flying foxes, pygmy elephants?—”

“Pygmy elephants, they’re not actually a thing?” she said, sitting up.

“They are, and, surprisingly enough, they’re found in Borneo.”

“All right, smartarse.” She grinned. “Get on with the story. They were on the same boat, I take it?”

“No. They weren’t. There are these tiny boats that only fit five or six people on. That’s it. They were travelling in opposite directions when their boats passed each other on the river. The moment my father saw her, he said he knew his whole world had changed. He had to find out where she was staying.”