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After about ten seconds of silence, she says, “It’s yours, isn’t it?”
“Yep.”
She looks at me. Then we both burst out laughing.
“Fucking cheek,” I say as we continue walking.
“You asked for it,” she scoffs, “driving about in something like that.”
“She’s beautiful. I love her with all my heart.”
“I wasn’t sure you had one.”
“It’s small, sure, but it’s loyal to my one true love.”
She laughs, then gives me an appraising look. “I thought motorbikes were your thing.”
“Not anymore,” I say gloomily.
“The accident wrote yours off?”
“Yeah. It was a magnificent Kawasaki Ninja H2R. Black and stunning. I loved that thing.” I sigh.
“I am sorry,” she says softly. “Especially about your dog.”
I roll my right shoulder, which always aches whenever I think about him. “Thank you.”
“What breed was he?”
“A Dachshund. A rescue dog. I went to the shelter to get a dog to run with me, but I saw him and fell in love, even though he had little legs and didn’t like running. He was dignified, placid, and very funny. He was my best friend.” I swallow as my throat tightens.
“We’ve always had dogs at the commune,” she says, seemingly unbothered by my emotion. “They belong to everyone, but there was a sheepdog called Shadow who stayed with me most of the time. I missed him a lot when he died.”
I clear my throat and nod. “They’re good company.”
“What was the Dachshund’s name?”
“Doyle. After Arthur Conan Doyle.”
“Oh, you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan?”
“I am.”
“You sound surprised that I recognized his name.”
“I am,” I say, still smarting a bit at her insult about my car. “I thought you only read books about unlocking your inner goddess.”
“No need,” she says, “my inner goddess is unlocked and raring to go twenty-four-seven.”
We both laugh again. Jeez. When I first saw her in the lobby, glaring at my father, I didn’t envisage that I’d be exchanging smiles with her later.
We leave the grounds and enter the copse of trees leading down to the river. They close over our heads, leaving us in a quiet, sheltered world far removed from the busy opulence of the resort.
“Are you okay being alone with me?” I ask, suddenly aware it’s just the two of us.
She frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I mean would you rather I ask my PA or one of the other women at the resort to come with us?”