The Girl From The Sea: A gripping psychological thriller with a heart-pounding twist by Shalini Boland

Author:Shalini Boland [Boland, Shalini]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786819314
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2019-03-19T16:00:00+00:00

I hear him coming up the stairs. I grit my teeth, waiting, sitting on one of the kitchen stools dipping a carrot baton into a tub of hummus. He smiles as he walks over to me, a bouquet of pink roses in his arms. Too late for flowers, I think, shoving the carrot in my mouth and chewing hastily.

‘Hey, babe.’ He leans in to kiss me on the lips, then presses the bouquet into my hands. His aftershave masks their scent.

‘Hi. Thanks, they’re beautiful.’ I lay them on the counter.

‘So are you.’

He’s not making this easy.

‘Piers…’

‘Want a drink? It’s not too early is it?’ He looks at his watch. ‘Four thirty. I think we can crack open a bottle of something cold. Got any white in the fridge?’

‘Rosé.’

‘That’ll do.’

Maybe I will have a glass. It might make this less difficult.

‘You should put those flowers in water,’ he says. ‘They’ll die in this heat.’

‘In a minute.’

As he strides round to the fridge, I watch him. His outfit is immaculate as usual – one of his many pairs of beige shorts and pale blue shirts. It’s one of the things that irritates me about him. I feel bad for what I’m about to do. He’s obviously trying to make things up with me after our crappy weekend, even if he hasn’t actually apologised. I get the feeling he doesn’t realise he’s done anything wrong. He thinks he’s been supportive – coming round here all the time, organising the party. Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I’m the one with the problem. Either way, it’s not working and I have to end it. I need space and time to figure out who I am. I’ll have a glass of wine first. Dutch courage.

Piers locates the wine glasses without any of the problems I had earlier. Opens the right cupboard first time. Well done, Piers. I’m being a bitch in my head. I need to stop it. He fills each glass to the brim, half emptying the bottle.

‘Got anything else to dip in the hummus?’ he asks.

‘Celery? More carrots?’

‘Yeah, okay,’ he says without much enthusiasm.

I go to the fridge and take out a packet of ready-prepared veggies, slide them onto a plate, grab the hummus, and follow him out to the balcony. But then I stop. Things might get heated in a minute, and I don’t want the neighbours to hear.

‘Can we sit inside?’ I say.

‘I’ve been inside all day,’ he says. I hear the scrape of furniture as he repositions the chairs to face the sun.

‘Okay.’ I acquiesce.

He takes a gulp of wine. ‘Ah, that’s better. How was your day? You look good. Been out in the sun? You’ve got a few freckles, babe.’ He touches the tip of my nose with his finger. ‘Cute.’

My nerves return, but I can’t chicken out of this. We’re not right for each other. I know it, even if he doesn’t. I wonder if maybe I’d already realised this before my accident. I take a sip of wine. It’s cold and crisp with a hint of sweetness, but I’m not enjoying it.

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