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  In a sense, she wanted to find some way to complain about this guy, but knew it would come across as whining. Solving problems by whining was not something she wanted to embrace—not the kind of girl she was. But saying that, if the opportunity came up to make things worse for said arsehole, she might not pass it up. There was no reason to do him any favours.

  Speaking of arseholes she wished would go away, the biggest one of all was walking across the road. He looked good in a tailored suit. He certainly had changed from the last time she’d been in Marbella—primarily he was sober, but that didn’t really improve his disposition. He was still a spoilt, entitled dick.

  He skipped the counter and veered straight to her, taking the seat opposite her.

  “I actually came here to get away from people like you,” she stated.

  “There is no one like me.”

  “Your delusions are just overwhelming me at this point,” she said tartly. “What do you want, Felix?”

  “I want you to leave Marbella and never come back.”

  She sighed. “Well, we can’t always get what we want. Get over it.” This really was getting tedious. Yeah, Felix, I got loud and clear that you don’t like me. No need to harp on about it. Pitching her head, she stared at him. There was definitely some judgment he was about to lay on her. What now?

  “I hear you’ve been slutting it up at Shine.”

  “So?”

  “So why are you creeping around with my friend’s boyfriend? What exactly is it you’re trying to do?”

  Shania’s mouth opened in astonishment. “What are you talking about?”

  “Why are you sucking off Megan’s boyfriend?”

  “Who the fuck is Megan? I don’t know this girl.” Actually, she hadn’t known there was a girl at all. Ricky had left this out. Fucking Ricky. Forgot to mention that fact.

  “The girl he came to Marbella to be with. They’re more or less living together.”

  Well, that wasn’t true. She’d spent the night at Ricky’s a couple of times and there wasn’t even a hint of a girl. Felix was obviously lying. Pursing her lips, she crossed her arms, staring at him, unimpressed.

  “But then, you don’t give a damn who you trample to get what you want. I thought you had some limits, but apparently not.”

  Ricky really had dropped her in it. Felix wasn’t going to let this go, would use it to lord over her for months. The problem was that Felix would go to any length to be destructive, and if he could find some way of using this to destroy her at Dunbury Industries, he would. What exactly was it he wanted from her? Was she supposed to have married him, run after him like a maid, making sure he was happy? What was it exactly that she had done wrong in his book?

  “I hadn’t taken you for someone who went in to stick it to other girls. Although, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised you flexing your mighty inferiority complex by stealing the boyfriends of other girls—particularly someone like Megan, who is basically everything you won’t ever be.”

  Shania narrowed her eyes at the crap flowing out of his mouth. “What the hell are you talking about? I’ve never heard of this girl.”

  “Now, my friend is devastated because of what you’ve done. Is nothing sacrosanct to you? I thought you girls were supposed to support and watch out for each other. Isn’t that the spiel?”

  “Look, I’m sorry if your friend was hurt. As far as I could see, she wasn’t even in the picture. So don’t come here venting your indignation, because we both know it’s false. You’re only here to have a dig at me—on behalf of this girl, that again, was never seen or mentioned the whole time I lived in your house. How am I supposed to believe anything you say? Let’s face it; you’d find something to be outraged about no matter what I did. If I took fucking holy orders, you’d find something to complain about. How do I know this girl even exists? As far as I know, this is the first I’ve ever heard of this girl. Does Ricky even know her? She could be some delusional girl, some quick lay, who’s now stalking him.

  “So yeah, thanks for coming over and venting your indignant outrage. I don’t give a fuck. If I thought for a minute you were actually concerned for this girl, I might even listen, but this is just some cause you picked up off the floor to have a go at me with.”

  “Maybe people are always having a go at you because you’re shoddy,” he said.

  A grain of uncertainty crept in because there was some truth there. People always ended up having a go at her. Felix certainly knew how to push her buttons, but she wasn’t going to let him. She wasn’t going to let him use her insecurities to take pot shots at her.

  Chapter 29

  “What do you want, Felix?” Aggie said as she answered her phone. It was never anything simple when Felix called her. There was always something contentious and complicated resulting from a purposeful conversation with him.

  “Have you seen Megan lately?”

  “No, she didn’t come yesterday.” The gang had had a lunch and she hadn’t shown. Aggie had hated that she’d looked forward to it, but as much as she tried to deny it, she’d wanted to see Ricky and learn what he would do next.

  “Yeah, well, guess who that American girl has been caught fucking?”

  “You mean your American girl.”

  “Fuck off, Aggie.”

  She couldn’t help sticking it to Felix. He made it so easy, and frankly, he could use some of his own medicine.

  “Ricky’s been doing the dirty with Shania, in full view of Megan too, as it turns out.”

  “Shit,” Aggie said. Implications of this were barrelling through her mind. If she’d been waiting for Ricky’s next move, here it was. A bit more blatant than she’d expected. And Shania? Was that the kind of girl he was into? Aggie was disappointed. Well, she was crushed for Megan too, but in a sense not entirely, because who hadn’t seen this coming. “Is she alright?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t exactly spoken to her.”

  Aggie snorted. Who wanted a call from Felix consoling them on a breakup? “How did you find out?” How was it Felix knew if she didn’t?

  “Trish, that Aussie girl at Shine told me,” he said. Aggie knew of the girl who Cory had ended up dumping her for. As much as Felix riled against the less than acceptable girls, he sure spent a great deal of time with them. In fact, most of the girls Felix ended up sleeping with was the kind of girls he purported to hate. Felix, her fucked up little friend. ‘Friend’ might be strong as a term; they were more like extended family—like Inns, probably not someone she’d had anything to do with if they hadn’t grown up together in some capacity. “And as I hear it, not just Shania, it seems. Others.”

  “I better go see her,” Aggie said and hung up after a quick goodbye. Maybe in some way, Felix was trying to be decent by telling her. That would be a bit of a departure. In no way could she see Felix being gutted that Ricky was being cleavered from their group. Could it be that he was actually concerned about Megan? He wasn’t exactly Megan’s greatest fan, but then Felix didn’t really like girls, Aggie had concluded.

  Changing out of her soft, lounging pants and into a skirt, she grabbed her keys and walked out. Megan lived relatively close by and Aggie drove over there, knocking on the door. Mrs. Flintwell answered.

  “Is Megan here?” Aggie asked.

  “Hello Aggie, how are you?” Megan’s mum said. “She’s in her room—a bit under the weather today. Hasn’t come out of her room all morning.” Mrs. Flintwell always had an airy quality to her voice. No doubt, in her youth, she was even flightier than Megan was.

  “Maybe I’ll go see how she’s doing?” Aggie suggested.

  “Why don’t you two come out and sit for a while? I made a terrine.”

  “Of course,” Aggie said and made her way to Megan’s room. She’d been there enough times over the years to know where it was. Maybe not so much lately.

  Her room was pale yellow and hadn’t changed so much since Megan was young. Her prized jumping ribbons still hung on the wall. In some ways, Meg
an hadn’t really moved on from her girlhood. While Aggie had long since packed away anything related to her teenage or younger years, Megan still had some of it around. But then there were also some of her modelling pictures on the walls.

  The camera loved Megan. She looked extraordinary in pictures, like a stylised version of herself, as if the most creative minds in the world were presenting her in the best possible light—which was what was happened, really. Aggie had never taken a picture like that. Whatever it was that made a pretty girl a model, Megan had it and Aggie didn’t.

  Megan was curled up on the bed, a pillow tucked to her belly.

  “I heard,” Aggie said and sat down on the bed.

  Her eyes were red and her complexion was blotchy. Not even Vogue’s creative director could rescue the look she had going that moment.

  “I’m sorry,” Aggie said.

  “I just don’t get it. I don’t get guys. He says one thing and then turns around and does another. What does he see in her?”

  Aggie bit her lips together. “I’m not sure it’s really you versus her.”

  “Isn’t it? Then what is it? She’s all boobs and curves, and I’m flat as a board.”

  “You know, I don’t think body type has anything to do with it.”

  “Then explain it to me,” Megan said sharply. “It wasn’t like we were fighting. It was really good, and then bam—over. If we weren’t getting on, I’d get it, but that wasn’t the case.”

  Looking around, Aggie tried to hide the discomfort she felt, because this wasn’t exactly out of the blue. Who other than Megan had thought that relationship would last more than five minutes? “I think,” Aggie started carefully, “that Ricky always saw himself as a bit of a player.”

  “That’s not what he said to me.”

  “Well, they don’t, do they?”

  “He came all the way here with me, to be with me.”

  Aggie didn’t know how to say something and not be insensitive. Not just how to word things, she didn’t know where to look, actually.

  “You’re not surprised,” Megan accused.

  Ugh, this was painful. “No, I’m not surprised. He flirted with just about every girl.”

  “Did he flirt with you?”

  Again, really uncomfortable. Had he flirted with her? Well, the fact that she was intensely aware of Ricky and him teasing her, kind of said so. It was in his eyes, that way he saw her. “Yes,” she admitted tightly. “Kind of.”

  “And no one told me.”

  “Well, we didn’t know. It was just flirting; some guys are just natural flirts. We didn’t exactly see him running from bed to bed.”

  Megan groaned and ran her hand down over her face. Maybe that had been the wrong thing to say. “How many?”

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s a player and that’s all there’s to it. Just write it off as a bit of fun and move on.”

  “I thought we were serious.”

  “Well, you weren’t,” Aggie stated. “Now come on, your mother wants to use us as guinea pigs for her new recipe.”

  With a groan, Megan looked like she was about to refuse.

  “Don’t give him more of your emotions than you have. He’s not worth it.” And really, falling for Ricky—what had she been thinking? “No use lying here moping. Besides, if you don’t eat, your mum is going to start worrying again that you’re anorexic.”

  “I’m not,” Megan spat.

  “I know that, so come eat whatever catastrophe your mother is going to assault us with.”

  Mrs. Flintwell was an eager, but not particularly gifted cook. A fact the whole of the Flintwell family, and their acquaintances, had omitted informing her of.

  Chapter 30

  It was late morning and Ricky sat on his couch, watching football. His apartment seemed really quiet as he sat there, having just dragged himself out of bed. He knew full well everyone was livid with him. Everything had come out, like he knew it would, but apparently, Megan had been there to watch him appreciate Shania’s delectable curves.

  It wasn’t how he’d wanted this all to play out, but it had. A part of him wanted to find some way to explain it away, to frame it in a light it wasn't, but he didn't want to lie. Blatant lying wasn’t his thing—omission was enough. Megan had seen exactly what it was, and her eyes hadn’t lied.

  He felt shit about it, felt bad that Megan had been hurt, that she’d rushed out of the club in tears. He’d tried calling her a few times over the last few days, but she wasn't answering the phone.

  Picking up his phone, he tried calling her again, but it went straight to voicemail. He hadn’t left a message yet. When it went to voicemail, he hung up, not quite ready to make his statement.

  Clearly, it was over with Megan; he couldn't see her forgiving him. This was always going to happen; he knew that. It was just uncomfortable. He didn't like people hating him.

  With a sigh, he looked around. Megan had left some scarf or something on the kitchen breakfast bar. It sat there accusingly, abandoned and alone—just like him. That scarf probably didn’t deserve it, but he did. There was no arguing that he was the bad guy in this scenario, and now he was stuck alone in an empty flat.

  Picking up the phone again, he called Shania. She’d be a work now, but he just wanted to hear from her, from someone.

  “Ricky,” she said. There was a sharpness in her voice, like she was disappointed with him.

  “Hey, doll,” he said. “How’ve you been?”

  “Alright. Not so much in love with all the drama that has exploded around me.”

  Ricky didn’t know what to say for a minute. Obviously there had been some fall out for her and she blamed him too for the situation. Fair call, perhaps. He hadn't realised any of it would fall back on her as Megan and her crowd was so removed from a girl like Shania, but apparently she’d found out, too. “I'm sorry,” he said. “There's this girl—” he started.

  “Look,” she cut in. “I don't care. It would've been nice for you to, you know, free yourself from any responsibilities before hooking up with me.”

  “I'm free now,” he said brightly.

  “I think we’re better off just leaving it. It was just a thing, right? It meant nothing and let's just leave it there, okay?”

  Dropping his head back on the backrest of his sofa, Ricky swore silently. He guessed he understood why she was fuming as he had effectively been two-timing her as well, although he hadn't seen it that way at the time. Shania was a cool girl, with an amazing body, but it had just been a bit of fun and that was how he'd seen it. Right now, though, it was the only relationship he had left, and she was dumping him.

  “Shit,” he said, acting more hurt than her really was. It was the decent thing to do. “I get it. Shame though. I will miss you.”

  “I’ve got to go,” Shania said dismissively. “I’ve got a meeting. I'll see you later. Bye.” She hung up before Ricky had a chance to say goodbye. She really was shitty, he surmised. Maybe she’d come around if he gave her a few days. But saying that, he wasn’t that invested that he’d be crying into his beer.

  Dropping the phone down, he crossed his arms and put his feet up on the coffee table. He really was alone now. All his friends were lost in one go. Not good friends—acquaintances more like, but better acquaintances than no one. Granted, he hadn’t been here long, but he didn't like the fact that his entire life here in Marbella had effectively been torn apart. He certainly wouldn't be hanging out with Megan and her friends anymore. It was a loss as he hadn’t managed to develop his own circle of friends yet. But maybe that was his mission now, to set up his new life here.

  Part of the reason he wasn't crushed about Shania was that he wasn't really looking for a girlfriend. There were some things about having a girlfriend that were really nice. The way Megan listened to his problems and was always there when he called. He loved the way she put him first and was concerned that he was content all the time, but that was gone now and he was free.

  Obviously, it was bett
er this way; he hadn't quite managed to be a decent boyfriend. She’d wanted it and he’d played along for a while, but it wasn’t his kind of gig—he’d known that from the start. Megan was a curiosity, though, and he’d been happy to sit back for a while and just let this relationship take him where it wanted to—which had been to Marbella. He hadn’t even considered coming here before, but he felt fate had brought him here. Megan had been fate enacting its plan, but things had gotten over-complicated and now there was pain which couldn't be avoided.

  Getting up, he walked into the kitchen and put two slices of bread into the toaster. The commentary of the football game bounced off the walls, along with the cheering of the crowd, which made his eyes snap back to see what was happening.

  Besides the TV, there was a silence underneath in the flat that he found disturbing. There was a loneliness that was new as well. He’d never been lonely in London, except maybe when he’d first shown up, having hopped off the train in a city where he barely knew anyone. But he’d had a drinking mate before the evening was out and it had only snowballed from there. This was the first time he was actually on his own, with no friends, and he didn't have anyone who really cared about him. He didn't delude himself that Shania did. Megan had, but he’d doused that. In a sense, he didn't entirely understand why, but knew it had been inevitable.

  Why had it seemed inevitable? he asked himself as he watched the wisps of smoke gently rising from the toaster. Because he’d never truly been invested in the relationship. Megan was a sweet girl, but when it came down to it, she was too sweet for him. There were some things she offered that he really liked—the lifestyle, the cars, the friends—but deep down he'd always known they could never gel well.

  When it came down to it, Megan would never get him. Maybe there were girls that would—there was perhaps potential with someone like Shania, but she was just a bit too hard to care. It was strange to think there was some girl out there that would just get him, and vice versa. He’d never really sought that. Back in London, girls had been for pulling—the more the better. His aim had been to sleep with more of them than his friends did. Beyond that, they had just been a hassle—creatures he didn’t entirely understand and didn’t want to. Saying that, his time with Megan had alluded to something—something he’d never given a chance.