“Aren’t you getting in? The water’s amazing...” Colette, her translucent skin dripping in sea water, ran up to where Kim lay on a towel on the beach. She was dressed in a yellow-and-white polka-dot swimsuit she’d borrowed from Annie, which really accentuated her figure.
A week had passed since Kim had found that little journal full of motivational quotes and interesting tidbits, and since then she’d been dipping in and out of it, finding more stuff of interest to use for her social media captions.
And it seemed to be working. Whether it was the photographs or the captions, the new account was getting loads of engagement. Of course the fact that Natasha, who had a huge social media following herself, was interacting with it probably accounted for much of that.
Kim had to smile when she realized that some of her actual real-life friends from home were now following The Sweet Life account, and she guessed it had to be because of the content, as during their last interaction, Tash had again been sworn to keep Kim’s location secret.
In the meantime, she had again been in touch with Spencer, calling him from Annie’s mobile phone so as to conceal her location.
“Hey, it’s Kim. I need to talk to you,” she said as her heart began to race in her chest. She couldn’t believe she was doing this, but she was.
She was setting herself free.
“I’m sorry but I need to be honest. I won’t be coming to stay with you guys at all this summer. I’m not interested in this so-called arrangement our parents have,” she blurted out abruptly. “I barely know you. I don’t care how much money your folks have or about your titles. I just want to live my own life. I want to be happy. Do you understand?”
Kim waited for the response. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but what she received surprised her.
“Well, I don’t particularly want this either. I never did.”
“You didn’t?” Her heart lifted.
“Of course not. I already have a girlfriend, and this whole affair was something your parents and mine hatched together. I must say, I’m glad to hear you’re not so keen either. My mother said you were all for it...”
Kim’s eyes widened. To think that he believed she was eager to nab him—because of his status. Ugh.
She was glad now that she’d had the good sense to take off. What kind of women was this guy used to? The kind Kim’s parents thought she was, obviously.
“Well, I hope your folks aren’t too inconvenienced,” she told him.
“And I hope yours come round.”
Unlikely, she thought. “They’ll get over it.”
“Indeed. Well, thanks for ringing, Kim, and best of luck with...whatever you’re doing,” Spencer said, before ending the call.
“Thanks.”
Just what the hell was she doing? Kim wondered now. She stared out at the twinkling water, watching Colette and Annie frolic in the waves.
The three had decided that it was a perfect day for a trip to the beach. They were at Fornillo, the smaller sister to Spiaggia Grande, the bigger and much more touristy beach in the center of Positano.
Up till now, they’d spent their days together wandering through the streets and alleyways of the practically vertical town, and visited some of the other popular tourist sites along the coast, as well as a couple of local art galleries.
Well, she and Colette did; Annie told them right from the beginning that she wasn’t in the least bit interested in culture or sightseeing, and was far more concerned with getting a tan, which was why she in turn spent most of her days at the villa soaking up the sunshine by the pool.
But today, Kim and Colette had dragged Annie out, and down the perilous 400-or-so-step descent to the beach. Unlike the soft underfoot of, say, the Hamptons back home, the “sand” at Fornillo consisted primarily of sharp rock pebbles and was volcanic in origin, making it hot as hell to walk on.
“Are you coming in or what?” Annie chimed in now, as she approached. The brunette was wearing a light pink swimsuit that flattered her hourglass figure.
Kim looked at her own shape. She knew she was model-thin with a pretty decent body, but Annie had the shape that every woman wanted, and by the looks she was getting from guys on the beach, one that men appreciated, too.
“Must be a real page-turner,” Colette commented, nodding at the paperback. Kim flinched a little, thinking she’d spotted the little journal slotted within the pages, but no, Colette was referring to the thriller she was reading.
For some reason, Kim hadn’t let the others know about her accidental find at the villa. She wasn’t sure why, but she wanted to keep the mysterious journal to herself, at least until she’d got through reading it. Then maybe they could ask Valentina, the villa caretaker, who it might belong to. A previous guest, most likely. Or even the villa’s original owner.
In any case, it was an interesting diversion for Kim and she was more than happy to sit on the beach reading motivational quotes and life lessons while she pondered her next move, namely plucking up the courage to call her parents and confess where she was.
But the others seemed determined to get her in the water.
“Maybe later,” she mumbled to Colette. “I’m still pretty beat after the trek down here. And last night.”
The three had hit some of Positano’s hotspots again the night before and it was becoming a bit of a habit. One that Kim would need to nip in the bud if she was to have any cash left to continue funding her great Italian escape.
“I was tired, too, but the salt water really brushes off the cobwebs.” Colette shivered a little as a light breeze hit her drenched skin. “I’m going back in before I freeze. Coming?” she said to Annie, who nodded.
“In a bit. Just getting a drink.” She reached for a bottle of water beneath her things as Colette ran back toward the water.
“I really like her,” Kim chuckled as she watched Colette tumble into the waves. “A real breath of fresh air.”
“So do I. I have to admit, in the beginning, I wasn’t so sure about you, but I was wrong,” Annie admitted.
Kim was surprised, not at her candor—she’d learned very quickly that Annie spoke her mind and called it as she saw it—but at the admission itself. “Really? Why?”
She shrugged. “Dunno. I suppose I thought you were this stuck-up trust-funder who looked down on people.”
Kim sat quietly. She hadn’t expected the bluntness, but she would’ve been lying if she said she hadn’t heard the same before. People always thought they knew who she was—the irony was she barely knew herself.
“Whereas you’re actually all right,” Annie continued jokingly.
“So are you,” Kim replied. “Colette, too. I know we haven’t known each other that long but I feel lucky to have met you both. Feels like fate brought us together at the villa.” She’d come across an apt quote in the book just now about that very same subject.
Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.
The pair lapsed into casual conversation and Kim reluctantly put the book aside. She’d read some more later. Whoever the writer was, the insights penned were well and truly hitting home with her. Stuff about being true to yourself, letting go, and taking risks spoke straight to Kim’s soul.
“What’s that?” Annie frowned then, as some commotion further down the beach got their attention.
Kim sat forward and screwed her eyes up against the sun.
“I don’t know. Looks like something happened.” She jumped to her feet quickly then, when she spotted a guy run back up the beach with a woman in his arms.
It was Colette.
The girls rushed down to the shore to meet him and saw that Colette seemed to be bleeding from her temple.
Then all of a sudden, a lifeguard was speaking rapidly in Italian and neither Kim nor Annie had a clue what was being said.
The man who had apparently pulled Colette from the water was speaking with him and before the others knew what was happening, some paramedics and a stretcher had arrived to take their friend away.
“Wait, what’s going on?” Kim grabbed at the Italian man’s arm.
“It’s OK. We follow in my car. We go to the clinic. They take Colette there,” he replied.
“Who are you? And how do you know our friend’s name?” Annie demanded.
“I am Luca. I explain in the car,” he said as he turned and stalked away toward the steps up to the car park.
“Who?” Annie asked Kim as they gathered up their things and moved to follow the stranger. “Did Colette say anything to you about some Italian guy she knows?”
“Nothing,” she replied. “I can only guess they got talking on the beach.”
“But what the hell happened? And how do we know we can trust this fella?” Annie said.
“How can we not at this point? Do you speak enough Italian to know what’s going on?” Kim pointed out.
“Still, are we really getting in a car with him? He could be a murderer.”
“We’re just going to have to trust that he isn’t. And we have to be sure Colette’s all right.”
“OK, but I’m going to keep my eye on yer man.”
Kim looked balefully at her. “For safety or for other reasons?”
As they began the long trek back up the steps, there was no denying that this Luca was very handsome, with his chiseled abs, broad back, and toned strong arms.
She wasn’t blind; she’d noticed this Italian male paragon, too, but right now Colette was their priority.
Annie just laughed. “Cut it out,” she chided, chuckling at her friend’s openly appreciative gaze as they followed along in the hot sunshine behind Luca. “You can ogle lovely Luca all you want later. Once we know Colette’s OK and we’ve figured out exactly how the hell she knows him.”