Chapter Nine - Nude Beaches and New Discoveries

‘You need to get away.’

It was Sarah who made the suggestion, with a hint of steel in her voice that told you she wouldn’t take no for an answer. ‘This is going to break over you like a tidal wave if you stay in L.A. So you can either lock the door and sit in your hotel room for a month, or… you can jet off somewhere far, far away and ride out the storm in comfort.’

Emma had turned to you, eyes sparkling. ‘James? What do you think?’

You’d muttered something about it sounding fantastic, albeit expensive, which Emma had waved aside impatiently. ‘Please. If you were the rich, important movie star and I was your penniless girlfriend, would you even consider letting me pay? Fuck gender roles, okay – it’s the twenty-first century. I get paid ridiculous amounts and you don’t… so this one’s on me. Okay?’

You’d squirmed a little, and Emma had actually rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake. Fine. Just treat me like a best friend, then. Pretend I won a holiday or something. If you absolutely insist, you can pay for the drinks and stuff. Deal?’

Sarah had chosen that particular moment to lean over with a laptop showing the views from Hermitage Bay, Antigua.

And that had settled it. One business-class flight later…