Page 69 of Never Gonna Happen

‘Then book me back into the hospital, I’m begging you.’

Mr Hunter laughed. ‘Come on, James, I know they’re both difficult, but they’re making an extraordinary effort for you. At least give them a chance. Maybe your near-death experience has opened their eyes to the importance of family.’

Jamie was quiet for a moment. ‘Then we need to protect Emily,’ he said quietly. ‘Send her off to look at another hotel, ask Jessie if she’ll have her to stay. Adam and Catherine will treat her like shit.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ said Mr Hunter briskly. ‘I need Emily here. And don’t underestimate her; she can take care of herself. Tough as nails, that one.’

Emily leaned against the kitchen counter and sipped her coffee. It felt like a compliment, kind of. But now Mr Hunter had said it, she had to live up to it. She lifted her chin and mentally shook off the feeling of impending doom, then crossed her fingers that they wouldn’t stay long.

Adam arrived after lunch, wearing a linen suit with deck shoes and a Panama hat, as if he had a lunch date in Monte Carlo in 1930. Emily heard him arrive from her desk in Mr Hunter’s office and found various reasons to work through lunch so she didn’t have to be anywhere near him. He swept off to his room for a nap in the afternoon, so Emily made herself a sandwich and ate it on the terrace with Jamie. He was quiet and moody, particularly as the cuts on his arms and chest were scabbing over and itched like mad in the heat. She spent half an hour trying and failing to rally his mood, then went back to work.

When she finished for the day at five, Emily took a deep breath and headed out to face Adam. She couldn’t put it off any longer, so she might as well rip the plaster off. He was keeping his brother company on the terrace, drinking a G&T as he tapped into a laptop.

‘Adam,’ said Emily, with as much bonhomie as she could muster. He glanced up briefly and smiled, then returned to his work like she was a scrap of nothing who wasn’t worthy of his notice. Jamie rolled his eyes in apology, as Mr Hunter appeared in shorts and a polo shirt, carrying a towel.

‘I’m off for a swim,’ he said. ‘What would you like to do for dinner this evening, Adam? Catherine won’t be here until much later, so it’s just the four of us. Do you fancy Sam’s Café?’

Adam pulled a face as though there was a bad smell nearby. ‘Can we go somewhere a bit more upmarket? Sam’s is a bit . . . basic, don’t you think?’

Mr Hunter pressed his lips together. ‘Well, perhaps we can go further afield. James, what about you?’

‘I’m really happy with Sam’s,’ said Jamie quickly. ‘It’s not far in the car and easy for the wheelchair.’

‘Well, perhaps you and Emily can go there, and I’ll take Adam somewhere a little more haute cuisine.’

Jamie gave him a look of heartfelt thanks, missing the disgusted glare that Adam threw in Emily’s direction, like she was dragging his beloved brother to a pigsty and forcing him to share her trough.

By the time they’d been at Sam’s for half an hour, Emily had decided that having Adam on the island might be worth it if it meant that she and Jamie got the chance to dine alone. They’d eaten here several times since they’d arrived, but always with Mr Hunter – Emily had no objection to his company, but he was still her boss and it was lovely to have a romantic dinner for two. Neither of them was drinking – Jamie because of his medication, and Emily because she was driving – but Jessie made them some delicious non-alcoholic cocktails and served them up a feast.

‘This is nice,’ Emily said, looking out at the moonlight over the water.

‘I’m sorry about Adam,’ said Jamie. ‘I know he ignores you.’

Emily laughed. ‘Ignoring me is FAR preferable to the time he called me a flat-chested gold digger.’

Jamie looked shocked. ‘What the hell?’

Emily smiled and shrugged, like it was no big deal. ‘He cornered me in the pool after New Year and gave me a mouthful about me “getting my feet under the table”. I also heard him on the phone to your dad the day of your accident, calling me a floozy. I don’t think I’m Adam’s favourite person.’

‘I don’t know what to say,’ said Jamie. He looked genuinely shocked.

‘I mean, at least he has an opinion,’ she said. ‘In some ways that’s better than him not caring about me one way or the other, like your sister. I get an odd kind of pleasure from knowing my existence pisses him off.’

‘I have to say, you’re taking this far better than I would.’

Emily shrugged. ‘I honestly don’t care what Adam thinks of me. All that matters is what you think, and what your dad thinks. As long as you both know who I really am, Adam is irrelevant.’

Jamie shook his head and took Emily’s hand. ‘He’s still a bullying arsehole.’

Emily smiled. ‘Yeah, but bullies are always cowards. They pick on the weak, or at least people they think are weak.’

‘My dad said you were tough as nails earlier,’ said Jamie. ‘He’s right.’

Emily laughed. ‘I grew up in a house with two brothers and went to the kind of school where you have three choices – to be a bully, to be bullied, or to find the right friends and keep your head down. Kelly and I chose the third option – we stuck together and didn’t draw attention to ourselves.’

‘I know you probably won’t believe me,’ said Jamie, ‘but my school wasn’t all that different. You learn to blend in and become invisible.’

‘Exactly,’ said Emily. ‘Unfortunately it hasn’t worked on Adam. But he’s just piss and wind.’