The Trip by Phoebe Morgan

Author:Phoebe Morgan [Morgan, Phoebe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2024-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-One

Lucas

He’d nearly told her about the money, then. It had been right on the tip of his tongue. To tell her about the pay cut, the text from HSBC, about the overdraft, about how actually, all of it was much worse than she knew. About how much it was playing on his mind. To the extent that they ought to press pause on the idea of buying a flat.

But he hadn’t; he hadn’t wanted to look weak, to upset her. So he’d kept quiet, told her it was nothing. But he couldn’t quite meet her eye.

One thing Lucas does know, is that he wants Caleb to stop hanging around with them. What the hell was that, with Saskia on the rocks? He’s tempted to tell Theo, but the sensible, rational part of him knows that Holly is right, that it will just cause trouble, that they don’t really know what they saw. Saskia does love Theo, he is sure of it – you only had to look at the pair of them at their wedding to know that. He finds it very hard to believe she’d ever be tempted by anyone else, but then you never know, do you? Caleb has a certain charisma – even Holly’s taken in by it.

Down at the bottom of the waterfall, they see the other three ankle-deep in the water, their shoes and socks in a pile on the bank.

‘The water’s lovely,’ Saskia calls out to them, smiling. She’s taken her sunglasses off now, they are perched on the top of her head, and Lucas eyes her suspiciously, trying to work out if there’s anything going on, any hint of guilt lurking in her eyes. But she looks the same as she always does, and besides, Caleb isn’t anywhere near her – he’s waded further in, the water lapping around his calves, which look thick, tanned, sturdy. The water is a startling turquoise close up like this, and he and Holly kick off their shoes and go in. Theo is clearly still pissed off about his watch but has perked up a little bit – he’s gazing up at the waterfall in awe, his hands planted on his hips, his brown, slightly hairy feet visible through the clear water.

‘How was the walk?’ he asks Lucas, and Lucas nods.

‘Yeah, great. Lovely views from up there.’

Theo nods. ‘I bet. Not sure I can be arsed, though. Think my hangover is actually starting to get worse.’

‘Hair of the dog when we get back,’ Lucas tries, and Theo laughs.

‘If we make it back.’

For some reason, the hairs on the back of Lucas’s neck stand up at this comment, and despite the heat of the day, a cold sensation trickles over him, sliding down his spine.

‘What d’you mean? Why wouldn’t we?’

Theo grins. ‘No reason.’

‘What’s the view like from up there?’ Saskia asks, pointing to where he and Holly have just been walking, and Lucas nods.

‘Amazing.’

‘It’s meant to look like an elephant’s head at the top, that’s why it’s called Erawan,’ Saskia says, ‘it’s the name of the three-headed white elephant in Hinduism.

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