Page 11 of The Jealous Girl

I tugged the case off the belt. He steadied it anyway.

I muttered a quiet, begrudging, ‘Thanks.’ The word felt wrong. Forced and insincere. I didn’t want to owe him gratitude. I didn’t want to owe him anything.

He gave a small nod. ‘It’s been good to see you.’

Has it? I almost said. Instead, I forced a smile. ‘Yeah, you too. Have a good holiday.’

He hesitated, as if he’d been about to say something more, but the moment passed.

I positioned my suitcase between us. A deliberate barrier. Whenever we’d parted before, there’d always been a hug. I couldn’t be sure if I was putting the case there to stop him from offering one, or to stop myself from wanting it. I didn’t trust my own arms any more than I trusted my heart.

I walked through the exit, past the people holding up signs for private transfers and pre-booked guests, signs that spoke of being wanted, expected, welcomed. None of them were mine.

Outside, the queue for taxis snaked towards the road. I joined it, doing quick mental maths of how many people stood in front of me, how many taxis were pulling in. I was going to have to wait a while.

I leaned against the rail, trying to steady my thoughts. The heat pressed down, heavy and dry.

‘Hi again.’

I lurched forward, almost losing my balance, and swung around.

‘Are you following me?’ I forced my voice to sound light and joking.

‘What? No, of course not.’ He pointed towards the taxi sign, a crooked half-smile tugging at his mouth. ‘Same as you. Just need a ride.’

Right. Of course. We’d relied on taxis and buses to get around when we’d come here before. The habit had survived, even if we hadn’t.

We shuffled forward as the queue slowly shrank.

‘Where are you staying?’ he asked, filling the silence between us.

I hesitated, but his eyes widened before I could answer.

‘Don’t tell me you’re staying there too?’

The name of the hotel hung between us, unspoken and unavoidable.

When the next taxi pulled up, the driver glanced between us. ‘You together?’

‘No,’ I said quickly.

‘We’re both staying at the Radisson Blu Resort and Spa Golden Sands, though,’ Ryan added unhelpfully.

‘So you may as well travel together, then.’

I froze.

The taxi driver shrugged. ‘You know it will be cheaper if you share…’

I opened my mouth to protest but stopped. Was I really going to make a fuss over a taxi ride? It was only twenty minutes. I could handle twenty minutes. I swallowed.

Couldn’t I?

‘Fine,’ I said quietly.

We climbed into the taxi in silence, heading back to the place that had once been ours.

The taxi pulled out into the flow of traffic. I kept my hands clasped tightly in my lap, my gaze fixed out of the window beside me, determined not to look at the man sitting next to me.