That Birthday in Barbados by Cooper Inglath

Author:Cooper, Inglath [Cooper, Inglath]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Fence Free Entertainment, LLC
Published: 2019-05-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

“How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life.”

― Marcus Aurelius

Catherine

ANDERS HAS GONE into the kitchen to get us another bottle of water when a knock sounds at the door.

“Probably just a delivery,” he calls out. “Would you mind checking?”

“Sure.” I walk through the foyer to the door, pulling it open with the full expectation of seeing a guy in a brown uniform holding a package. But that’s not what I find. Instead, a beautiful young woman stands at the entrance. I stare at her for a moment, taking in her glossy long, dark hair and green eyes. She’s five-ten in flat sandals and short-shorts, her arms and legs lean and toned, her posture that of a runway model.

“Oh,” she says, her hand poised in mid-knock again. “Hello.”

“Hi,” I say.

She peers around me, obviously surprised to find me answering the door. “Is Anders here?”

“Ah, yes, he is,” I say, stepping back.

She stops me with, “That’s okay. I wanted to surprise him. We haven’t seen each other in a while.”

“Oh. Sure. And you are?” I can’t resist adding that, even as I realize it is none of my business who she is.

“Celeste. Antoine. I pop in whenever I’m on the island for a shoot. Are you staying with-”

I don’t let her finish the sentence, “Oh, no. I was just leaving, in fact. If you don’t mind, I’ll grab your taxi.” I wave a hand at the white van that has started to back out of the driveway.

“You don’t have to go-” she calls out behind me, but the driver has stopped, and I’m running across the pavement to slide open the side door, climbing in with a quick, “Can you please take me to the Sandy Lane Hotel?”

He looks at me from the rearview with a question in his eyes, but says politely, “Of course. Not a problem.”

I glance at the front door where Anders is now standing with the beautiful Celeste, watching me go with a look that gives away nothing of what he is thinking. It is impossible not to notice what a magnificent pair the two of them make, young and absurdly gorgeous. Perfect for each other, in fact.

And as the van winds its way back down the drive to the main road, I stare out the window, feeling every bit my age. And then some.

*

BACK AT THE hotel, I really don’t know what to do with myself.

In my room, I stand before the bathroom mirror, studying my reflection under the undeniable realization that I have been acting like someone I am not, a woman I have never been. Had I really thought there could be something between Anders and me?

Heat splashes up my neck, reddens my face. I force myself to note the color in my cheeks because I am fully aware that I have made a fool of myself. What had I been thinking? Had I been that starved for attention? Suffering from a neglect so intense that I had

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