Page 100 of Never Tell Secrets

“Well, good.” Laura gave her a brief nod before turning to me, her face breaking out into a wide smile. “Lola! It’s so good to have you here, we missed you!”

“Mrs Larson, thank you for having us.” I accepted her hug, giving her a light pat on the back.

“You’re welcome and this must be Maia?” She smiled at our friend and they shook hands. “Well, come on in.” She ushered us into the house and we followed like ducklings, pulling our luggage behind us. “Richard, our guests are here!”

I winced at her calling her daughter a guest.

Richard, a man with dirty blond hair, a smooth jaw and a physique that always reminded me of pudding, appeared in the kitchen, a bright smile on his face that fell slightly when he saw us.

“Oh. I thought they were coming tomorrow?” He looked at his wife.

“Apparently, they decided to come a day early.”

“Actually, we were supposed to be arriving today,” I cut in. “I sent you the information myself.” That was a lie, but I didn’t want Keira going through this again.

“Oh, then it must have been our mistake.” He reached for me, kissing me on both cheeks. “How are you, Lola?”

“I’m great, this is Maia.” I introduced our roommate and they shook hands.

“Sit, sit.” Laura waved us over to the dining table and set about placing ice water and home made Koulouri in front of us.

I picked at one, splitting the bread ring and handed half to Maia. I took a bite, relishing the warm sesame seed bread. I’d eaten a hundred of these during my last visit, sometimes with honey, sometimes with butter. Keira, not being a fan of sesame seeds, left them untouched.

“So, how have you been?” Laura asked, her dark eyes fixing on me. “Keira told us a little while ago that you were being mentored by…what was her name?”

“Imani Kishi. It’s going fine, thanks. Did Keira tell you about her showcase? It was incredible, wasn’t it Maia?”

“Yes, I enjoyed the show very much,” Maia nodded, “her designs were very impressive.”

“How lovely.” Laura smiled again but it didn’t quite meet her eyes, eyes that were the perfect mirror of her daughters, with none of the brightness. “Well, seeing as you’re a day early I’m afraid your rooms aren’t quite ready.”

“That’s fine, we can do it,” Keira said.

“Wonderful, we’re heading into town to do a spot of shopping. Lola, would you like to come with us? Keira you could come too but I know shopping isn’t really your cup of tea.” She gave me an expectant smile and I tried not to wince again as another wave of tension settled over us.

“Another time?” I offered. “I’m pretty tired from the flight.”

“Oh, of course! Alright girls, well, make yourselves at home.”

They left us alone in the kitchen and we sat in silence as we listened to their car roll out of the driveway. Without a word, Keira grabbed her bag and headed out the door.

Maia and I followed suit, grabbing our own cases.

“Keira loves shopping more than any person I’ve ever met,” she whispered as we followed Keira to the villa.

“I know,” I muttered back, wondering if coming here had maybe not been the best idea.

The small villa was situated fairly close to the main house, separated by a thin veil of olive trees. Inside was a small kitchenand sitting room, and upstairs two double bedrooms and a smaller room that Maia offered to take. It only had a single bed but the balcony with the ocean view made up for it.

Keira rustled up bedsheets and once I’d made up my bed, I went to find her. Her sheets were in a crumpled pile on her bed, rejected as she went through her case, which was three times the size of mine. Yeah, Keira definitely loved shopping more than anyone else I knew. I set about making up her bed for her as she unpacked her favourite Chloe dress in pale pink.

“So, I’m thinking that time with your parents maybe wasn’t the best idea when you were already in a funk.”

“I’m fine, we’ll hardly see them anyway.” That was true. Laura and Richard Larson were the most self-absorbed people I had ever met. They would hardly notice us. “Well,I’llhardly see them. Mum will probably be all over you.” She placed the dress on a hanger to let the creases drop out and hung it in the closet.

“I don’t know why they’re like that,” I muttered. It was true. Their behaviour had always been a mystery to both of us. True, Keira had gotten into some trouble growing up but nothing too outrageous. It made no sense that they would prefer me over their own daughter. Over the years, we’d learned to try to laugh about it but I knew it was a source of pain for my best friend.

“I guess they just really like redheads.” She shrugged, the glint of humour in her eyes telling me she didn’t blame me for her parents being idiots.