Son of Secrets Read online

  Ella gave him a tight smile. She’d hated every part of her old life.

  ‘…but now you’re out here in the middle of nowhere, and you’re just Ella. No one cares what you’re doing anymore, which must be nice.’ He sat back and placed his hands behind his head, smiling at the sky. ‘And hey, now you get to be part of one of my films, too. How awesome is that? Bet that’s the most action this old place has had in a while.’

  Yep, he was still a complete and utter idiot. So what if he was more handsome than she remembered? He still thought the world revolved around him. Arsehole.

  He closed his eyes and tilted his face up to the sun. He was clearly used to bathing in a golden glow. In Josh’s world, everybody’s gaze must be warmer and brighter than the sun’s. How could anyone be so sure of themselves and look so at peace? His eyelashes cast long shadows over his cheekbones, and his full lips were frozen in a self-satisfied half smile. His shirt had risen over his stomach again, revealing a thin line of golden hair leading down from his navel to beneath his waistband. Ella gave an impatient sigh through her nose, making Josh’s eyes snap open.

  ‘You’re very quiet, Ella. You never used to be this shy. You OK?’

  She nodded.

  ‘My bad, my bad. You’re probably really busy with beds to make and paperwork to do, and I’ve been here wasting your time prattling on about Hollywood. By the way, if you speak to Billy again, could you not mention that we know each other? It’s just that he’ll be straight on the blower to my agent and then she’ll get hysterical, scared we’ll be photographed together and the media will have a field day. Especially after everything that was written about you a few years ago. No offence, but my PR team is really careful about what girls I’m seen with. You get it, right?’

  ‘Yes. Of course,’ she said, standing up, grateful to be getting away from him. ‘Wouldn’t want to put you in an awkward position. I better go. I’m ever so busy with…stuff. Lots of stuff to do. Beds to make and stuff. Enjoy your stay.’

  ‘Great seeing you again, Ella,’ he called after her, his feet now resting on the edge of the armchair, his dusty shoes making the new cushions brown. ‘Oh, and be a doll and send up a few crates of beer when you can. Thanks.’

  He grinned and stretched again, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes before looking back up at the sun.

  And there it was, exactly why she hadn’t liked him the first time they’d met as teenagers. Charming? Yes. Attractive? Very. Completely full of himself? Abso-fucking-lutely.

  • • • • •

  The day had dragged. Ella had written a few emails, returned a few calls, and had a meeting with her staff about guest privacy. She’d had to tell them that Josh was staying at the hotel, and the ripple of excitement that travelled among the girls in her team irritated her. How did they know who he was? Had his movies even reached southern Spain? No matter how busy she made herself, all she kept thinking about was that Josh de Silva was upstairs in her hotel. And that he was an idiot—an arrogant, handsome, and really sexy idiot. The worst kind.

  All day she’d fought the temptation to find out more about what he’d been up to in the three years since she’d last seen him. By early afternoon, she finally succumbed and searched online for Josh, regretting it instantly. There he was, smouldering eyes and biceps, looming out of every glossy magazine cover she could think of.

  ‘Josh Talks about Sex and Leading Ladies’

  ‘Sexy de Silva Nominated for Golden Globe’

  ‘Naked Josh on the Beach’

  ‘My Three-In-A-Bed Romp with Josh de Silva’

  The fluorescent magazine headlines screamed at her from the computer screen. How on earth had she not seen any of this? He’d dated all of her favourite actresses and singers and had even modelled in Vogue. It bordered on surreal and a little bit ridiculous. No wonder he was so full of himself. Well, he didn’t impress her. Last time she’d seen him, he’d been running after a London bus in the rain with a bleeding face. Not so sexy or glamorous.

  She rushed her lunch and was about to start planning next year’s brochure design when the Skype symbol flashed up on her laptop screen. Shit! She’d forgotten about the call she’d planned with Kerry and Mai Li. Her late start that day, her crappy hangover, and of course Josh’s arrival had completely fried her brain.

  Considering how useless she’d been since Zac’s disappearance, it was a miracle her friends had kept in touch at all. Ella had hardly spoken to a soul the year following his presumed death, even during the times she’d returned to London. Then she’d thrown herself into the hotel project, trying to keep it afloat. She’d never told either of them the truth about Zac, and neither of them had ever visited her in Spain. But that was about to change.

  She clicked on the Skype symbol, and her laptop screen divided in two. Mai Li on the left, with her petite porcelain face and glossy black hair in its sharp bob, and Kerry the human Barbie on the right. Ella smiled at her friends, looking like little dolls in their translucent boxes.

  ‘Hey, girls!’

  ‘Ella! We were just talking about our trip over,’ Mai Li said. She gave her the thumbs up and bobbed up and down on the spot.

  These girls were her only real friends and she’d missed them. With her birthday coming up soon, Ella had vowed to stop moping about Zac, and everything that had happened, and celebrate in style.

  ‘So, you’re both coming out to see me at last?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course! BA all the way, baby! Mai Li and I are going to crack open a big bottle of bubbly and be totally sloshing drunk by the time you pick us up. It’s going to be so, like, amazing to be in Spain for your birthday. I know twenty-three isn’t a biggy, but it’s not like you did anything on your twenty-first. We’re going to make this one epic!’ Kerry sung out the last word, waving her hands above her head.

  Ella thought back to her twenty-first birthday when she’d done nothing but cry. Every birthday, Christmas, New Year, and anniversary of the date Zac had vanished, she’d waited for him. Sometimes she’d visit her father in the Andalucian mountains or wander London’s Hampstead Heath or Waterlow Park in Highgate, all the places that had meant something to her and Zac in their short time together. And there she’d wait and wait in the vain hope he would miraculously appear as quickly as he’d disappeared.

  But he hadn’t.

  ‘Good. I’ve decided twenty-three is going to be my happy number,’ Ella said. ‘I just want to celebrate it with everyone I care about. Which is basically you two and my parents.’

  Kerry shook her head to indicate what a sad, sad world Ella lived in, but Mai Li squealed and clapped her hands.

  ‘I’m so excited! I’ve never been to Tarifa. Apparently, this April is going to be hotter than ever. Is there a beach nearby? Shall I bring a bikini? I promise we’ll make this your best birthday ever.’

  Ella smiled at the image on her computer screen of her friend’s dark bobbed hair swaying with every word she said; her enthusiasm always cheered her up. On the other side of the screen, Kerry had started painting her nails a lurid bright green.

  ‘Mai Li, Tarifa isn’t the Maldives. Chill. And, Ella, I’ve been waiting years for you to finally cheer up. You know what we need on this girl’s trip? A big awesome drinking sesh and a bloody good lay.’ That was her answer to everything. ‘Seriously, Ella—like, when was the last time you had a man?’

  Ella thought back to Paulo, the young and sexy chef she’d been ignoring, and then thought about Josh again. Oh God, should she mention him? Kerry had always had a thing for him. Ella wouldn’t have met Josh at Indigo had it not been for Kerry. If she knew she’d missed seeing him by a few weeks, she’d go crazy. Although, knowing her friend, if Ella said he was at that moment half naked on the roof terrace of her hotel, Kerry would jump on a plane straightaway just to get a glimpse of him. No, there was no point. He’d be gone by the morning.

  ‘I’m fine without a man, thank you very much,’ Ella replied. ‘The only man I’ve
ever really loved…’

  ‘Stop! Stop, stop, stop. Please don’t mention that frigging Zac again or I’m going to drink this nail varnish and put myself out of my misery!’ Kerry shouted. ‘It’s been, like, forever since he left you. We want you to get a boyfriend. A real one. One that lasts more than a few weeks.’

  As far as they were concerned, Ella’d had a falling out with her mother about her stepbrother Sebastian and she’d run off to Spain with Zac. Then he’d left her. They had no idea who he’d really been, what he’d been. Or that there was a strong chance he was dead and never coming back.

  ‘Kerry, be nice. Ella had her heart broken and it takes…’

  Kerry cut Mai Li off.

  ‘I know, but move on, girlfriend. I’m serious. Please, Ella, please tell me you are at least having sex again.’

  ‘Yes, I’ve had a few…encounters. It’s just that it’s too painful because I always choose ones that remind me of Zac.’

  ‘Blah blah blah. This is boring, and I have to go.’ Kerry waved her freshly painted nails in front of her face, reducing the screen to a blur. ‘I’ve got an event in town about the extinct Andamanese language of Bo that I need to get to. Honey, I’ll see you at the airport on the twenty-seventh, OK? And OMG get some decent guys lined up because I want me a matador. Mai Li, I’ll call you about our flight plans.’ She blew a kiss and her side of the screen went blank.

  Ella laughed. Her friend was writing her PhD paper on something-or-other-linguistics-related but still spoke like a dumb extra from an American teen show.

  ‘Thank God Kerry’s gone,’ Mai Li said. ‘She’s been driving me mad lately. She’s been so grumpy because that Brazilian lecturer she liked never called her back. You know how much she likes smart older guys. Actually, she likes thick young ones, too! She’s going to be a handful when we meet up; you better warn the town that a man-eater is coming. So, have you had a nice day?’

  ‘Kinda.’ Ella shrugged. ‘A Hollywood type was here today looking at the hotel as a location for some film.’

  Mai Li grinned and gave her the thumbs up again. ‘Ooooh, that’s so glamorous. You might meet someone famous.’ Then she stopped, remembering who she was talking to, and shook her head like she was trying to erase what she’d just said. ‘Whatever, I know you hate all that. Actually, I’m glad we’re chatting alone now because I wanted to ask you something weird and Kerry always gets all matter-of-fact about stuff. I can’t ask her anything emotional. It’s about that job I’ve been offered.’

  ‘What about it?’

  ‘It doesn’t feel right. I know I’m being ungrateful because it pays well, and I beat loads of other graduates to the position but…it sounds weird…but this strange thing happened where I randomly met a guy at a party the other night. By some strange coincidence, he works at this firm I’ve always been interested in working at, and he said he may be able to get me an interview there. Kerry says I’m mad taking risks and to accept the original job, but it doesn’t feel right. Am I being stupid?’

  Ella thought back to all the conversations she’d had with Zac about fate, destiny, and life paths. He’d told her that coincidences didn’t exist, that life events unfolding in a convenient way were actually signs you were following your preordained life plan. Likewise, when things were a battle or felt wrong, it was a warning you were going in the wrong direction.

  ‘Listen to your gut, Mai Li. Go with what feels right. Sounds to me like you already know what you are meant to do.’

  Ella thought about Josh. Did she know what the right thing to do was? There had to be a greater meaning behind why fate had sent him to her hotel. Her stomach clenched, and she gave a long sigh.

  ‘Mai Li, sorry, but I have to go. I’ll be in touch before you come over.’

  Fate. Destiny. Did they really exist? How many times had she asked herself What if? and imagined every other possible scenario that could have played out had Zac not killed himself?

  He’d said he had to do it so he could return to her. But how? When? None of it made sense at the time, and it still didn’t. With his last breath, he’d promised he’d be back for her; all she had to do was follow her path and get on with her life. She was trying to but failing. Zac didn’t make mistakes. Fate never made mistakes, either. She thought about Josh turning up out of nowhere and the flood in his hotel room forcing him to stay at her hotel.

  Zac had specifically told her that when the universe dropped an opportunity in your lap, you mustn’t shake it off; you had to notice and act on it, or it would keep presenting itself until you had no other options. Was her destiny at that very moment on the top floor of her hotel acting like an arrogant dick? And what would happen now that Zac was no longer there to distract her from what was meant to be?

  There was only one way to find out.

  She checked her hair in the mirror, swallowed down her nerves and made her way up to the penthouse suite.

  ELLA KNOCKED ON the door and cleared her throat. She really should have changed or at least had a shower first. Oh well, she wasn’t going to stay long anyway. It wasn’t as if she even liked Josh; he was still a bit of a creep—during their last chat all he’d done was talk about himself and pose a lot. But oh God, that body. No! She’d promised herself no more men, and she’d meant it. She was about to turn around and go home when the door opened.

  Josh was silhouetted in the doorway, wearing nothing but tight swimming shorts. A puddle was forming at his feet, and his chest sparkled with tiny drops of water. Ella swallowed and cleared her throat again.

  ‘Ella! Come in!’ He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his room. ‘I was just having a beer in the hot tub. You have to check out this view. It’s amazing.’

  She was yanked from the doorway and past his bed, onto the terrace where the coffee table was littered with bags of crisps, bottles of beer, and piles of paperwork. Josh stepped back into the hot tub, stretched out his arms, and gave an exaggerated sigh.

  ‘I fucking love this place. Cool hotel, Ella. Cool hotel.’

  He took a swig of beer and closed his eyes while she stood there, once again motionless and wondering what the hell she was doing. He opened one eye, then the other, and turned his head in her direction.

  ‘Get into the tub. Have a beer.’

  He nodded at the three unopened bottles in the ice bucket beside her. A boozy Jacuzzi with Mr Hot Stuff was something dreams were made of. Well, it was the fantasy of every girl in the world that read glossy magazines and watched cheesy films. But it wasn’t hers. Among her friends, Ella was the reckless one, the one with few morals and very little shame, but she wasn’t one of his pathetic groupies. She was the manager of the hotel in which Josh’s movie was going to be filmed, and it was going to make her a lot of money. Not only that, she did not want to give the jumped-up idiot the satisfaction of falling at his feet.

  ‘No thanks. I was just here to ask what you’re doing for dinner.’

  It was out of her mouth before she’d had a chance to figure out why she was really there and what she wanted. Josh looked at her with an expression she couldn’t quite fathom. Counting silently, she waited for an answer. One…two…three…four…five seconds was a long time to be stared at.

  ‘You’re here to take my food order?’ he asked.

  ‘Well, no. Not exactly. Unless you want me to?’

  ‘I was thinking room service and the sports channel tonight.’

  ‘Oh. Well we have a chef issue right now, as in we don’t have one, but I may be able to rustle up a sandwich for you.’

  ‘Or maybe you could order me a pizza?’

  ‘I could do that.’

  Ella ran her jagged thumbnail across her teeth and gazed at the sun glittering over the ocean like someone had scattered tiny diamonds over the waves. Tarifa was where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean met—two seas colliding, merging, fighting to become one. She thought back to Zac’s last words about following her life path. Fate. Coincidence. What was she doing in Josh’s room? Wa
s today going to be the day she finally took control of her destiny? She had to test it.

  ‘Or I could cook you dinner at mine?’ she said.

  Josh hauled himself backwards out of the hot tub with just his arms and sat on the edge. There wasn’t an inch of fat on him; his rippling stomach folded over in thin tanned strips, and his shorts were so low Ella could make out the top of his hip bones. He ran his hands over his wet hair, took a swig from the bottle of beer beside him, and gave Ella a lopsided smile.

  ‘I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.’

  She explained how to find her apartment and said she’d see him at eight o’clock. Then she asked herself what the fucking fuckety fuck fuck she was doing!

  • • • • •

  Why the hell had she offered to cook for Josh? Her stomach had been aching and twisting all day, but she couldn’t decide if it was from excitement, nerves, complete dread, or her hangover. She opened her front door and any good feelings she’d had about testing fate quickly evaporated.

  Her drunken antics the night before, and her rush to get to work that morning, meant her apartment looked like a cross between a bar and a brothel. Her bed was unmade, her clothes and underwear were scattered all over the floor, and her lamp was hanging off the bedside table.

  ‘No more nights out and no more thinking about men,’ she mumbled to herself as she picked up an empty bottle of tequila from the rug. Scenes of Paulo the chef in her bed the previous week and Josh sitting on the side of the hot tub flashed through her mind. No, she had to get her act together!

  Ella started cleaning her mind and apartment by opening all the windows to get rid of the stench of stale alcohol and sweat, and then she ran around picking up the debris from the night before. She changed her bed sheets, straightened the furniture, washed up, swept the floors, and glanced at the contents of her fridge.