Page 3 of One Week in Paradise

Dinner is an incredibly awkward affair because, on Mum’s insistence, Cash is still here. He’s seated directly opposite me, and aside from a small grimace when I first entered the room, he’s paid me no attention whatsoever.

To be honest, that suits me just fine. I can’t stop thinking about the email and just how unfair life is. All I want to do is run back up to my room, crawl into a ball, and cry. But Dad insisted I come down and join them for dinner, so here I am.

I stab at my spaghetti, scratching the plate slightly with my fork. I drown out the sound of conversation around the table, my mind swirling with thoughts of Ethan and what he’s doing right now. Does he miss me? Probably not.

The thoughts unsettle me slightly. I don’t want to think about him, but they keep pushing to the forefront of my mind without permission. After everything Ethan’s put me through, why do I even miss him?

‘… sure you could find something for her. What do you think, Bailey?’

I snap back to reality and realise that everyone is staring at me. Even Cash. I catch his gaze for half a second before he glances away, his lips dipping slightly into a frown.

‘Did you hear me, Bailey?’ Dad asks.

‘No, sorry,’ I say. ‘I must’ve zoned out. What’re we talking about?’

‘You,’ says Dad sharply. ‘And Dane. He may be able to get you a job.’

I grip my fork tightly. ‘Dad, I already told you. I have a job.’

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Mum pretending to be interested in a random spot on the ceiling to avoid getting involved. Thanks for the support, Mum .

‘And I’ve already told you, you need to get a job that actually pays you,’ he says. ‘When was the last time you earned any money from this Instagram nonsense?’

Nonsense ? I squeeze my fork even tighter. The metal is going to leave a groove in the palm of my hand if I don’t stop soon.

‘Dad,’ Dane says softly. ‘We don’t need to do this now. Me and Bailey can talk about work later.’

‘No, we can’t,’ I say through gritted teeth. ‘Because I don’t need you to give me a job.’

I know my anger is misplaced. That Dane has probably been blindsided by Dad just as much as I have. But I don’t care.

‘Things have been difficult recently,’ I say slowly. ‘Yes, that’s true. But I’m fine. I don’t need anyone’s pity.’

Cash shifts awkwardly in front of me. He’s desperately trying to avoid catching my gaze again. Why is this happening in front of him ?

‘We don’t pity you, darling,’ Mum says, finally deciding to throw me a bone. ‘We’re just worried about you. You’re not yourself lately. And you still haven’t told us about what happened between you and sweet Ethan.’

Sweet Ethan again .

‘Have you thought about the fact that Ethan maybe wasn’t so sweet?’ I snap.

Mum recoils slightly at the venom in my tone, and guilt washes over me.

‘Sorry,’ I mumble. ‘I just need some time.’

‘How much time do you need?’ Dad says sharply. ‘You’ve been here for two weeks, and you’ve barely left the house. We’ve tried to be compassionate, but you need to come back to the real world.’

If this is what compassion is, I don’t want to see Dad’s idea of tough love.

‘What’s happened with the influencer thing?’ Dane asks, looking genuinely confused. I allow a wave of relief to wash over me. He definitely hasn’t seen The Video. ‘I thought you were smashing it?’

‘I was. I mean, I am,’ I say defensively. ‘It’s going great. In fact, just today, a brand reached out and offered to fly me to Jamaica for a week.’

The words fall from my lips before I can even register what I’m saying. I can’t help but feel a little smug when I notice the way Dad’s thick eyebrows shoot up into his hairline.

‘Jamaica?’ Dane whistles. He shoots me an impressed nod. ‘When are you flying out?’

The smugness disappears almost instantly. I clear my throat and say, as casually as I can, ‘I’m not going to go, actually.’

‘Why?’ Dad asks. ‘You’ve got something else to be doing?’

I scowl at him. Why is he being so mean?

‘No, it’s just… well, the trip is only for couples,’ I admit reluctantly. ‘And since Ethan and I have broken up, I can’t really go, can I?’

A very painful silence blankets the table. Aside from The Video going viral, I don’t think I’ve ever been more embarrassed. I move to push myself away from the dining table, but before I can flee upstairs, Dane clears his throat.

‘You could still go,’ he says with a nonchalant shrug.

‘I’m pretty sure they don’t want my single ass there depressing all the happy couples,’ I mutter.

‘So take someone,’ he says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. ‘Does it say in the email that you have to bring Ethan specifically?’

‘No,’ I say slowly. ‘But I don’t have anyone to bring. I’m not exactly on the market right now.’

For a brief moment I consider trawling through Tinder or Hinge to find someone to take with me, but I quickly dismiss the idea. I can’t think of anything worse.

‘Bring a friend,’ he says. His lips curl into a sly grin. ‘Hell, bring Cash.’

I can’t think of anything worse – except maybe that .

Cash’s head whips around so fast I’m surprised his neck doesn’t snap.

‘Dane, I don’t—’ Cash begins, but Dane is on a roll.

‘Yeah, you and Cash should go!’ Dane says excitedly. ‘Listen, you both need a break.’

I glance at Cash. There’s a light pink dusting slowly blooming on his cheeks. He’s still not caught my gaze.

‘And what better place to rest and relax than Jamaica?’ Dane asks. He shoots Cash a devilish smirk.

Dad rolls his eyes. ‘This is ridiculous. She doesn’t need a holiday – she needs a job!’

‘I think it sounds like a lovely idea,’ Mum says loudly, cutting across Dad.

She offers me a warm smile, and a wave of gratitude washes over me.

‘Dane’s right, sweetheart. I don’t know what’s happened, and I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk about it, but you clearly need a break.

Go to Jamaica, get your head straight, and then come back ready to get going again. ’

That does sound very enticing, but…

‘I’m sure Cash doesn’t want to spend a week with me,’ I say. And I definitely don’t want to spend a week with him. No doubt he’d cast a gloomy and grumpy shadow over my tropical paradise.

‘Nah, he’d love to,’ Dane says, still wearing that smirk. ‘Like I said, you both need a break. Cash has been working like mad recently, and with everything that’s happening with—’

‘The conservatory,’ Cash cuts in suddenly.

He shoots Dane a look I can’t quite decipher, but it looks relatively similar to the one Amber and I share if we want the other to stop talking for some reason when we’re with other people.

‘With everything that’s happening with the conservatory, I’ll have some free time. ’

What?

Is Cash actually considering this? The man who, for all the time I’ve known him, has made it his personal mission to ignore me is actually considering this?

It’s not that I don’t want to go to Jamaica. This is the biggest opportunity to slide into my inbox since way before The Video, and I don’t want to turn it down. But it’s Cash . Has he ever even thrown a friendly glance my way? I genuinely don’t think he has.

It won’t be all bad, though , I think to myself. Surely we won’t have to spend all our time together? I think back to what Amber said earlier. I know she’s right. I do need to start posting again, and this trip could be the perfect way to start rebuilding my brand.

And, as terrible as this sounds, I’m not entirely opposed to the idea of showing up with someone who looks like Cash on my arm.

Hold on.

Am I considering this now?

Dane nods eagerly. ‘Exactly. We’ve got to order some equipment in for the job, and it won’t be here for a while.’

I bite my lip and glance over at Cash. For the first time, he actually meets my gaze. His grey-green eyes lock in on me, and I feel something stir in the pit of my stomach.

‘I, uh… I wouldn’t mind going,’ he says quickly, like he needs to get the words out fast before he regrets them. He scratches at the perpetual five o’clock stubble on his chin. ‘If you don’t mind, that is.’

A week of pretending to be dating Caspian Reid.

I weigh up my options. Option one: stay at home, basking in my misery and hiding from the world in the hopes that they’ll forget about The Video.

Option two: Go to Jamaica, face my fears head on and spend the week pretending that Cash is my adoring boyfriend.

I take a deep breath and offer Cash a weak smile. ‘Let’s do it.’

‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ I whack Dane with one of Mum’s fancy sofa cushions.

Dane cackles and expertly dives out of the way before I can continue my onslaught. ‘I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

We’re alone in the living room. Mum and Dad have gone up to bed, and Cash has taken an Uber home. We’ve made tentative plans to meet up next week to discuss our upcoming trip, and the thought of it fills me with anxiety.

‘You know what you did!’ I glower at my brother. ‘Stop laughing. It’s not funny.’

‘It’s actually very hilarious,’ Dane snickers. ‘I don’t see what the big deal is. Do you not want to go to Jamaica?’

I roll my eyes. ‘Of course I do.’

‘Then what’s the problem? You get a free holiday out of it. Cash gets a tan. It’s a win-win situation in my book.’

‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Cash isn’t exactly my biggest fan.’

Dane pauses for a second before his eyes light up, and he throws his head back, roaring with laughter. ‘ What ?’

‘What’s so funny?’ I scowl.

‘Nothing, nothing. Don’t worry about it.’ His expression turns serious. ‘So, are you gonna tell me what happened?’

‘Nothing happened.’

‘Bailey, come on,’ he says. ‘You broke up with Ethan. You’re back home. Something happened.’

‘You never liked Ethan anyway,’ I say, hoping to steer the subject away from me. ‘So you should be happy.’

‘True. I hated the guy. He’s such a snob. But, if he made you happy, then…’ Dane shrugs. ‘Tell me what happened, Bailey.’

There’s something earnest in his expression that begins to chip at the carefully constructed walls I’ve put up.

‘He was cheating on me,’ I mumble. I avoid eye contact, blinking away tears. ‘Was cheating the whole time.’

‘Jesus, fuck.’

Dane scooches a little closer to me on the sofa and wraps an arm around my shoulders. I instinctively lean into him as the tears begin to fall.

‘What a dickhead,’ he mutters.

Despite everything, I can’t help but laugh at that. ‘Exactly.’

‘But why’re you back home?’ he asks after letting me cry quietly for a minute or two.

I stiffen slightly and pull away. I’m not ready to talk about The Video and aftermath of it all just yet.

Dane seems to sense my hesitation, and he holds his hands up defensively in front of him. ‘All right. I get it. Whenever you’re ready to talk, I’m here.’

‘You sound just like Mum.’

‘Good.’ Dane flashes me an easy smile. ‘She’s a wise woman.’

He dips into his pocket and pulls out his phone. On the lock screen, I can see notifications of unread messages from at least three different women. I roll my eyes.

‘When are you going to stop being such a player?’

‘Hm?’ He looks genuinely confused. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

Before I can probe any further, he opens up our chat history and fires off a quick message. My phone vibrates. He’s sent me Cash’s contact details.

‘So you can message each other about the trip,’ he says, and that sly smirk from the dinner table is back.

‘I can’t believe he agreed to it,’ I say as I save Cash’s number into my phone.

‘Why wouldn’t he?’ Dane asks. ‘Free trip to Jamaica. I wish I was going.’

‘But he’ll have to pretend to be my boyfriend,’ I say, and I can feel my cheeks warming with each passing second. ‘And even if you’ve never noticed it before, I know Cash doesn’t like me.’

‘You know nothing, Bailey Clarke,’ Dane laughs. We recently went through a phase where we were both obsessed with Game of Thrones . ‘Stop overthinking things. Go to Jamaica, get a tan, take some nice pictures, and bring me back a shell. And some rum.’

‘I’ll do my best,’ I laugh.