Page 13 of You Lied First

‘C ome on over! The more the merrier!’ Guy shouts. ‘We set a place for you!

‘Yay!’ Over the other side of the pool, Celine does a little cheer with her fists in the air and wiggles her hips.

She’s wearing a flowing white maxi dress with gold jewellery at her throat, wrists and ears, and high-heeled mules that clack on the tiles as she skirts around the pool.

Her lip gloss matches those red-orange nails and her dark hair is loose, but held back from her face with a casual clasp so it catches the breeze as she walks.

The overall effect is one hundred per cent Greek goddess.

I feel utterly inadequate in my crumpled shorts and shirt set.

It had looked so nice on the mannequin in the shop, but I hadn’t really thought ahead to how it would look once I’d sat in it for a bit.

In the heat. I hope there’s no sweat marks when I stand up.

‘Hey, hey, hey!’ Celine sings as she gets closer. She kisses her fingers and waves them around the table in a greeting. Her hair actually bounces like it’s in a shampoo ad.

‘What a treat,’ she says to Margot. ‘You were on the nose about being hungry later. This looks absolutely delicious.’

‘You look very smart. Don’t let us hold you back if you had plans,’ Margot says.

‘Oh, no. Not at all. Absolutely everyone and his dog went away for Christmas. I’ve been Billy No-Mates for the last week. I’ve practically forgotten how to speak.’

‘I love your dress,’ I say, although I do wonder why she’s all dressed up if she has no plans. Had Guy invited her on the sly?

‘Thanks! Outnet sale,’ Celine says. ‘Absolute bargain. You look lovely, too. I adore linen.’

Guy offers her the platter of fish and we all start passing food around.

‘So what did you two get up to this afternoon?’ she asks Guy. ‘Anything you can talk about in front of the kids?’ She winks at Flynn, who looks at his plate.

‘I slept off lunch in time for dinner,’ Guy says with a chuckle, ‘and Margot, I think – what did you do, Mar?’

She waves her hand at the table, presenting the food as her reply.

‘Well, it all looks lovely,’ Celine says. ‘Sara and I hung out by the pool. I tried to persuade her to move here. So, did it work? Have you been googling one-way flights and residence visas?’ she asks me.

‘Ha ha!’ I laugh. ‘I wouldn’t need much persuading!’

‘What about me?’ Liv says, and I open my mouth then close it again. Is she worried I might move abroad? I smile and reach over to squeeze her hand.

‘I’m not going anywhere, don’t you worry.’

‘Good!’ Liv says, and it lights me up like a Christmas tree.

‘How about you guys?’ I say to the Forrests without thinking. ‘Would you ever come back here to live? Maybe after Flynn’s A-levels?’

Flynn glances at Margot and they both look away. I can’t believe I put my foot in it just like that.

‘We’re settled in Cheltenham now,’ Guy says smoothly. ‘For Margot’s dad. And it would be too difficult to run the business from here. Margot does a lot of home visits.’

Margot’s staring at the salad, her face inscrutable.

‘Of course,’ I say, wishing the ground would swallow me up.

‘Well, if you won’t come back, maybe I can tempt Flynn back once he’s finished school,’ Celine says with a grin. There’s a beat of silence before she says, ‘So, what are you all up to tomorrow?’

‘I’ve got a round of golf booked at the Club,’ Guy says. ‘And I think Mar’s got her own plans.’

‘I’m having a pool and spa day at The Chedi,’ she says.

I looked up The Chedi the first time she mentioned it – it’s a five-star hotel that looks absolutely divine. I thought about joining Margot but she hasn’t said anything to lead me to believe that she wants me there – besides, it’s pretty pricey.

‘Maybe we could do something,’ I say to Liv. ‘Explore a bit?’

But Liv and Flynn exchange a look. ‘Flynn and me are going to some of his favourite places from when he was growing up,’ she says.

‘Oh! Maybe I could come with you? Would that be fun? I’d love to see.’

Liv gives her head a tiny but definite shake as she mouths, ‘No!’

‘It’s only Marah Land,’ says Flynn with his hand over his mouth because he’s chewing. ‘It’s not very exciting.’

‘And then we’re going to the mall,’ Liv says.

‘Oh, lovely – have lunch there. Put it on the credit card,’ Margot says to Flynn, and irritation flares inside me. Can’t Margot see that I want to spend time with my daughter? Isn’t it obvious that’s why I’m here?

‘So what will you do, Sara?’ Guy asks. ‘Do you play golf? Want to join me?’

I shake my head. Again, I’m the odd one out. ‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll lie by the pool, or maybe go down to the beach. I’ll be grand.’

‘So what else do you have planned while you’re here?’ Celine asks. ‘You go back early next week, don’t you?’

‘Yes. We want to get over the jet lag before the kids go back to school. They’ve got their mocks,’ Margot says.

‘I’m sure you’re hard enough to cope with a bit of jet lag,’ Celine says, raising her eyebrows at Flynn.

‘You should stay longer. Let the others go back, and stick around till after New Year. I’ll look after you.

’ She chuckles. ‘Remember the fun we had when I used to babysit? This could be the grown-up version!’

‘We need to revise,’ Liv says glancing at Flynn. ‘Exams start the first week back.’

‘What’s the desert like?’ I ask, trying to deflect the conversation from whatever was making Flynn blush. ‘Is it worth a trip? Is it far?’

‘It’s magnificent,’ Guy says. ‘Actually, you’re right. You can’t come to Oman and not see the desert. It’s magical. You should see it at least once in your life. Watching the sun sink into the dunes is one of the seven wonders of the world. At least it should be.’

‘How would I even do that?’ I ask. ‘Can I just ask a taxi to take me there? Is there somewhere I should head to, or a scenic route I should follow? I don’t really want to drive myself.’

‘ Yalla , James! Take me to the desert!’ Guy says in a posh British accent. He’s poking fun at me, and it makes me feel silly. But how am I supposed to know?

‘No, seriously,’ he continues. ‘It’s about a hundred and fifty miles.

But we could head out that way. We might get to see some camels, and it’ll be nice for Liv to see some desert, too.

’ He scratches his chin thoughtfully. ‘But you want to be out there for sunset, really. Nothing beats that silence when you’re in the middle of nowhere and the sun’s just gone over the horizon. ’

‘It makes you realise how small and insignificant your problems are in the general scheme of things,’ Margot says.

‘I find the desert experience is vastly improved if there’s a glass of champagne on hand,’ Celine says. ‘Or, even better, a couple of magnums!’

I laugh with her. ‘I like your style!’

‘Sara and Liv could go on a desert safari,’ Margot says.

She turns to Sara. ‘I think they go to Wahiba Sands, which is stunning. It’s a full day.

They take you out in a four-wheel drive, throw you about a bit over the dunes, show you a traditional Bedouin house and give you a chance to swim in a wadi.

But it’s a long way in a day,’ she muses.

‘You could go overnight, then you’d have a traditional Arabic dinner and there’s usually some belly-dancing and some camels to ride – stuff like that – and you’d stay in one of those “luxury” tents.

It’ll give you a real taste of the desert and you’d see the sunset. I think you’d love it.’

Guy sighs and clucks his tongue. ‘Too touristy. But I tell you what.’ His foot starts to jiggle and his eyes narrow thoughtfully.

‘We could do it ourselves. We could rent another four-wheel drive and camp in the desert.’ He turns to Margot, eyes shining.

‘You can get to some decent bits of desert within a couple of hours from here … we could borrow gear from Tom and Di. I’m sure they’d lend us their camping stuff.

I mean – why not?’ He’s nodding slowly as he runs through the logistics in his head.

‘If we put our minds to it, we could make it happen. What d’you reckon? Do you fancy a night under canvas?’

I look at Margot. ‘It sounds fun. What do you think?’

Margot opens her mouth then closes it again. Then she sighs and starts clearing the plates.