Page 128 of Worth Every Moment

I raise my hands, letting them drop a moment later.

“Old Mr Hawkston brought her,” Marie fills in. “Kate didn’t know she’d been invited. It was all pretty bizarre now I come to think of it.”

She’s right. It was bizarre. I can’t make it make sense, not least because I’m too distraught to use any brain power to untangle the mess. I hang my head and start to cry.

“Oh, no,” Marie says, rushing to the bed and hauling me off it with a firm grip on my forearm. “No tears. You don’t have time. Boat’s leaving. You can cry later.”

Amy rushes to my other side, ushering me to the door, while Marie grabs the suitcase and rolls it behind us.

“I want to get out of here before Seb realises where we are,” Amy says. “I don’t want to end up in some James Bond-style boat chase when he finds out I’ve kidnapped you.”

Outside the back door, one of Amy’s bodyguards is waiting. He takes my bag, lifting it with ease, and the three of us follow him to the jetty where the boat is moored.

Marie hugs me. “You’re better off without him.”

I squeeze her and step back. “Maybe.”

“Definitely. You wouldn’t believe the Jacob’s Ladder-related injuries we see in the hospital.” She winks, and I have no idea whether she’s joking or not, but the thought of Seb’s dick has me weepy all over again.

“I lied,” I say between sobs. “It’s not pierced.”

Marie frowns. “Oh. I did th—”

“It’s perfect,” I blurt, my voice cracking.

Marie’s frown disintegrates as an awkward smile shifts in to take its place.

Amy puts her arm around me and pulls me close. “Oh, honey. It’s just a dick. We’ll get you another one. In fact, that’s on the to-do list as soon as we get back to the UK. You’re going to show the world you do not give a fuck about that man and his soon-to-be-wife by going out on a hot date with some celebrity. Fuck Seb and his perfect penis.”

Marie sucks in a breath, and Amy squeezes her eyes shut for a second. “On second thought, don’t do that,” Amy orders. “Absolutely do not do that, ever again.”

A few minutes later, we’re settled in the boat and waving to Marie’s shrinking figure on the jetty as we sail out to sea.

“So,” Amy says, linking her arm in mine and leaning her head on my shoulder. “Did you fuck him before he fucked you over?”

“Yeah.”

“Any good?”

A sob shudders out of me. “Yeah.”

“Oh, babes. I’m so sorry. I promise you, we’ll find you someone else. Someone better.”

I let out a shaky sigh. “I don’t think there is anyone.”

She says nothing. I let my weight fall against her, and together, snuggled up in the boat, still robed in all our wedding finery, we begin the journey home.

45

SEB

Arough shake to my shoulder wakes me, the pounding in my head crashing into my awareness. Sand on my face; grains of it in my mouth.

What the fuck? Where am I?

I spit out the sand, wiping my lips with the back of my hand.

“Hey, Seb,” comes a soft voice.