Island Fling to Forever Page 7

  ‘So, is that what I was?’ Jude asked, after a moment. ‘Just another new experience?’

  No. He’d been the experience. The one she judged every other moment of her life against. And all too often found them lacking.

  No other man had ever lived up to four weeks with Jude. And yes, she’d had regrets, had imagined what could have been.

  And he couldn’t know that. Because regrets didn’t change anything. The only way she knew how to move was forward.

  Rosa gave an apologetic shrug, and Jude dropped her hand.

  ‘So, does every experience have to be new?’ He’d gone back to staring at the sea again now, and Rosa’s heart had started to settle back down to a normal rhythm. Maybe that was why she didn’t think carefully enough about her response. As usual.

  ‘Some are worth experiencing twice,’ she admitted, her words coming out soft and husky.

  Jude’s gaze snapped back to hers, and she saw the lust there. The want. The need.

  And the worst thing was she was almost sure her eyes were reflecting the same feelings right back at him.

  Rosa leapt to her feet. ‘Right! We should get back to work.’

  ‘Work.’ Jude shook his head. ‘Sure.’

  She’d given him the answers he wanted, and now he owed her his help with this damn wedding.

  And if Rosa wished she could have told him the truth?

  She’d get over it. She’d move on.

  She always did.

  * * *

  Jude stared at the room full of boxes, all with comprehensive shipping labels stuck on them.

  Somehow, the resolution he’d made to be all business with Rosa was coming back to bite him. He’d almost rather live through that soul-crushing conversation with Rosa on the beach all over again than sort through fifty boxes of wedding decorations and accessories.

  But only almost. He wasn’t sure he could take hearing Rosa tell him how he was just one more experience again.

  It wasn’t as if he hadn’t known she was a free spirit back then—it was one of the things he liked most about her, the way she surged forward after her own life, not caring about schedules or plans or what other people thought.

  She was the way he’d always thought he was, until he realised how much of his life was organised by other people.

  Music—that was supposed to be the ultimate freedom, wasn’t it? Creating something from nothing, something from inside the soul, something that touched millions of others. It was supposed to be his escape—from a town with no work, a father who told him he was a waste of space and a school that told him he had no future. He and Gareth had dreamed of the day they’d prove them all wrong—and they’d never doubted they could do it, together.

  Music was their thing. The one thing in the world that no one could take away from them. But then the world, and addiction, had taken Gareth away from him. Maybe that was why he felt sometimes as if it wasn’t his at all, any more.

  That was why he’d come to La Isla Marina—to find his freedom again. The fact that he’d found the one person chaining him to his memories of the past was beside the point.

  Jude knew it all came down to what happened with Gareth. It was all tangled together in his head—the promise he’d made, and broken. If Rosa hadn’t been there, he’d have seen the signs sooner. He’d have been at whichever party it was when Gareth decided just one more hit wouldn’t hurt. He’d have noticed one becoming two becoming every night again.

  Gareth had overdosed less than a month after Rosa left, and Jude knew that if he hadn’t been so focussed on his own pain during that month he would have noticed Gareth’s. The events were all tied up together, running together like two melodies in his head, twisting together to make a new song. However much he told himself that Gareth’s addiction wasn’t his fault, wasn’t Rosa’s fault for leaving, he knew he was the only person in the world who could have stopped it.

  He knew he’d always blame himself for his friend’s death, more than the drugs that had caused it. Because when Gareth had needed him, Jude had been too caught up in Rosa to even notice. He’d broken the most important promise he’d ever made—the promise he’d made in that hospital room, a year before Gareth died, that he’d be there for him. That he’d keep his friend safe.

  He shook his head, and tried to focus on the task in hand. Gareth was gone. All Jude could do now was live their dream for both of them. Enjoy the success Gareth had craved, and the high life he’d looked forward to so much. Show the world that had dismissed them that they could do anything—even if the price they had to pay seemed far, far too high.

  And as for Rosa... He had the closure he’d asked for, at last. He knew why she left—however much he didn’t like it.

  Now he had to keep up his end of the bargain. Which apparently involved wedding decorations and accessories.

  ‘Did you count them yet?’ Rosa asked, clipboard in hand. ‘Anna’s notes say there should be fifty.’

  ‘What could Valentina possibly need for her wedding that requires fifty boxes?’ Jude asked as he started counting again. Just the sight of Rosa in her tight jeans, rolled up to show off slim ankles, and her close-fitting white T-shirt was enough to make him lose count.

  ‘Everything, according to these lists.’ Rosa stared at the clipboard with disgust. ‘My sister and her bloody lists.’

  ‘When is Anna getting back? And it’s definitely fifty, by the way.’ Jude pointed to the boxes when she looked confused.

  ‘Of course it is. Just like on the list.’ Rosa ticked something off, and scowled at it again. ‘Mama says she and Leo should be back this afternoon. With a full report of the catering staff that Valentina’s flying in from Barcelona.’ Perhaps her sister’s imminent return explained Rosa’s bad mood.

  ‘This is going to be quite the wedding, huh?’

  Jude opened the first box to find string after string of fairy lights, all neatly wrapped around pieces of card. The next box revealed larger lanterns to house candles, and the one after that the candles themselves.

  ‘Is Valentina expecting some sort of power cut?’ he asked, motioning towards the boxes.

  Rosa laughed. ‘Sort of. She wants a very traditional Spanish wedding, apparently—which means it doesn’t start until the evening and it goes on all night long. And since it’s all taking place outside...’

  ‘Hence the candles.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  Rosa perched herself on the edge of the nearest box, sitting gingerly until she was certain it could take her weight. She’d pushed her sunglasses onto the top of her head, and her usual heavy plait hung over her shoulder. Jude couldn’t help but watch her. What was it about her that drew his eye, even after everything? Even now he knew the risk of getting caught up in Rosa again?

  She was beautiful, of course. Maybe even more beautiful than she’d been three years ago. She’d been fresher then, he supposed, but there was a new worldliness about her now that he liked.

  The tension he’d noticed on the first day was still there, tight in the lines of her shoulders and her mouth, for all that she kicked her feet casually back and forth. She chewed a pencil as she stared down at her clipboard.

  ‘Okay, so as far as I can tell, this is what’s happening. The bridal party arrive on the Wednesday, for general wedding prep and whatever it is bridesmaids do before a wedding.’

  ‘Drink, mostly, I think,’ Jude said. ‘Have you never been a bridesmaid?’

  Rosa looked at him as if he were crazy. ‘Aren’t they supposed to organise things and commit to being in the country on the right day and stuff? Who on earth would ask me to do that?’

  ‘Good point,’ he allowed. Rosa wasn’t the woman you went to for commitment. He had the heartbreak to prove it.

  ‘Anyway, the groom and his family and groomsmen arrive on Friday night, then the wedding is on the Saturday eve
ning, so that whole day will probably be pretty hellish with last-minute traumas. If you wanted to run, I’d suggest you do it then.’

  She was watching him from under her lashes, Jude realised. Waiting to see what his reaction to the idea of leaving was.

  Did that mean she wanted him to stay? What had she said last night? Some are worth experiencing twice. Well. If that wasn’t a hint...

  ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ he said, cursing himself a little as he did so. What was he doing, promising to stay for the woman who’d been running from him for three years?

  ‘Want to stay and see the ex-girlfriend, huh?’ Rosa asked, and Jude realised he’d actually forgotten for a moment that staying would mean seeing Sylvie.

  ‘Not really.’ Especially since thinking about her still made his blood boil.

  ‘You said it was a bad breakup?’

  ‘She fabricated stories about me to sell for the stupid kiss-and-tell book about me.’ Of course, the made-up ones were easier to laugh off than the true, private ones she’d also sold. The ones where she’d talked about Gareth, and his remorse and guilt over his death. The broken promise. Those were the ones that hurt the most.

  Gareth was no one’s business except his.

  ‘The Naked Truth thing?’ Rosa winced. ‘Ouch.’

  ‘Yeah. The book came out this week.’

  ‘Which is why you decided to be on a remote Spanish island at the time.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘Except now your fantastically twisted love life is following you here,’ Rosa commented.

  Jude shot her a look. ‘In more ways than one.’

  ‘Well, you said you wanted closure.’ Jumping down from the box she was sitting on, Rosa busied herself with sorting through a box full of orders of service and menus and such, sending them flying into haphazard piles on the other boxes. Jude foresaw a lot of resorting them in his future.

  A figure appeared across the courtyard: Anna. Rosa’s sister picked her way carefully past the reflecting pool towards them.

  ‘Looks like you have some closure coming your way, too,’ Jude said, nodding towards her.

  Rosa spun round, then froze as she spotted Anna. The tension that had been hidden under casual, forced relaxation was suddenly obvious to all—but only for a moment. As Jude watched he could see Rosa purposefully relaxing her shoulders, her arms, as Anna grew closer. She took a few lazy steps towards her sister, then hopped up to sit on the large wooden table Sancia used for breakfasts, leaning back on her hands and waiting, letting Anna come the rest of the way to her.

  Jude busied himself with the boxes, hoping it wasn’t too obvious that he was eavesdropping.

  They didn’t hug. That was the first thing he noticed as the sisters greeted each other. What had Rosa said? That it had been three years since they’d last spoken.

  He wondered if it was a coincidence that her last conversation with Anna must have been around the same time as she left him. Or was there more to the story than she’d told him before?

  ‘You made it back, then,’ Rosa said. ‘I thought you might decide to just stay in Barcelona with this Leo I’ve heard so much about from Mama.’

  ‘Not really my style, abandoning the family when they need me.’ Anna’s tone was mild, but Jude could hear a bite behind it.

  ‘Right.’ Rosa heard it, too, judging by the tightness of her reply. ‘Mama gave me my chore list, by the way.’

  ‘Good. Any problems?’

  ‘Other than the fact I’d be much more use to Mama out on the island, dealing with stuff, than stuck going through lists of bungalow allocations and boxes of fairy lights.’

  Anna looked past her and her gaze alighted on Jude, who looked away quickly. He did not want to get drawn into a sibling squabble. It was the only advantage he’d found to being an only child—and besides, bandmate squabbles were bad enough for him.

  ‘Looks like you’ve found someone to palm some of the work off onto already, anyway,’ Anna said, drily. ‘Why am I not surprised?’

  ‘Well, since you were off gallivanting with your Latin lover, I had to work with what I had.’ Jude hadn’t expected Rosa to go into the details of their complicated history, but hearing himself resigned to leftover help stung a little all the same.

  ‘As long as it all gets done.’ Anna turned away. ‘Let me know if you can’t manage any of it.’ She tossed the words back over her shoulder as she walked away, and Jude saw Rosa’s hands clench up into fists before they relaxed again.

  ‘You okay?’ he asked softly, once they were alone again.

  Rosa spun round so fast he wondered if she’d forgotten he was there. Again.

  ‘I’m fine.’ Her clipped words said otherwise, but Jude didn’t call her on it. Not yet, anyway. ‘Come on. Leave this. We’re going sailing.’

  CHAPTER SIX

  ROSA DIDN’T WAIT for Jude as she stormed down to the jetty. He’d catch her up if he wanted to come with her, and if he didn’t she’d go alone.

  So, it seemed that regular sex with a man Sancia had described as a hunky pirate hadn’t mellowed Anna out any—which probably meant nothing could. She was still the big sister who thought she could run her life, who would always highlight her perceived mistakes and ignore her successes. Rosa didn’t know why she’d imagined for a moment that three years apart would have changed anything.

  The hardest part was, even now Rosa could see that eighteen-year-old Anna had only been trying to hold the family together after Mama left, it seemed that twenty-eight-year-old Anna still thought Rosa was the sixteen-year-old little sister she’d got used to bossing about. She still didn’t trust her to take care of anything herself, not really. She had to control and manage everything, because only Anna could get it right.

  Of course, some of that might be more to do with their argument three years ago...

  Rosa shook her head. She wasn’t thinking about that now.

  The small boats the resort kept for guests to borrow to sail over to the mainland were all neatly tied up along the jetty, each looking freshly scrubbed and cleaned—which made Rosa scowl even more. Just extra evidence of all St Anna’s hard work.

  She squeezed her eyes tight and tried to get a grip on her temper. She was better than this. Older and if not wiser, at least more rational. She’d seen sights all over the world that others couldn’t imagine, highlighted horrific situations to the public, and uncovered forgotten treasures with her work. She was not going to let herself get all riled up by her sister’s martyr complex. That was just one of many things she’d decided to break free from when she’d left Britain, three years before.

  The other main thing she’d broken free from caught her up pretty quickly, standing beside her as they stared at the boats.

  ‘So, where are we going?’ Jude asked, and Rosa realised that you couldn’t leave everything behind, every time.

  Sometimes you had to stand and face them.

  But not Anna. Not today.

  ‘The mainland,’ she said, choosing a dinghy and starting to prep it to sail. ‘There’s a little seaside village, Cala del Mar, just across the way. It has the best tapas outside of Barcelona. Also, wine.’

  ‘Then let’s go,’ Jude said, stepping aboard.

  He let her get a little way away from the island before he started asking questions, which she appreciated.

  ‘So, you and Anna. Any more you wanted to tell me about that?’

  ‘Not really.’ Mostly all she wanted to do was get away from the island for a while. Even a few days there had left her feeling claustrophobic, in a way living in a tent in a war zone or an unexplored rainforest never did.

  ‘Because I realised something. If it’s been three years since you last spoke to her, that must have been around the same time I last saw you.’

  He was fishing. Suddenly Rosa regretted bringing Jude along. Sh
e’d hoped they were done talking about their past relationship, now she’d given him the closure he’d asked for, but apparently he wanted more.

  ‘It was at my grandfather’s funeral, actually.’ The mention of death usually shut people up.

  Not Jude. ‘A difficult, emotional time for you, then.’

  Sighing, Rosa turned to face him. He lounged, pale and beautiful, against the back of the boat. His sharp cheekbones and brooding eyes that looked so perfect on album covers looked oddly out of place here on the water, as if he were a being from another world.

  In a way, he was, she supposed. The world of celebrity, a million miles away from La Isla Marina, before this week. Now it looked as if it was going to be packed with them.

  Hopefully none of the others would be so interested in her past.

  ‘Look, why don’t you just ask whatever it is you want to know?’ Rip the plaster off and get it over with, that was her way of dealing with difficult things. Anna, as always, disagreed, most of the time.

  ‘I just thought you might like to talk about it,’ Jude said, mildly. ‘I mean, whatever that last conversation was, it was clearly a corker.’

  It had been. Fireworks and hateful words and dramatics all together. The culmination of seven years of frustration and lack of understanding. Of Anna never listening to Rosa’s feelings, Anna always knowing best and Rosa always screwing up.

  Rosa sank down to sit on the little bench at the front of the boat, where she could keep steering, but slowed them to an almost stop so they just bobbed in the water. She needed her full attention for this conversation.

  Maybe it would help to talk about it. If she could explain her side of the story, and have someone understand, maybe she’d stop feeling so damn guilty about it.

  ‘Like I said, Anna and I had both come to the island for our abuelo’s funeral. Anna was fretting about leaving Dad home alone, which was ridiculous, because he’s a grown, intelligent man who should be able to take care of himself.’