Inevitable (3 page)

I had been staring out of the window lost in thought, taking in all the wonderful scenery that was “The Hamptons”. So far I had seen some truly breath-taking properties, but we hadn’t passed another house for a few minutes now, so I guessed the Blackmore property was going to be even more stunning, as it was set out on its own. However, nothing could have prepared me for the sight as we rounded the corner and Alex began to slow the car down.

Huge gates automatically opened up and we swept up a long gravel-filled driveway. The house was enormous, it was only two storeys but seemed to fill the whole of the horizon. It was traditional in style but with dove-grey weatherboards and a dark grey slate roof. Upon further study it appeared to be three separate sections linked together. There were two wings, which had integral balconies protruding from all of the upstairs rooms, and they seemed to encase a larger, central structure. It looked like something I had only ever seen before in magazines.

‘Bloody hell, I knew you guys had money… but… I have no words, and ask Frankie, I NEVER have no words!’ I could feel myself bending down slightly in order to see all of the house through the windscreen, as I gawped at the magnificent structure in front of us.

‘Yeah, Frankie was a bit fucking shocked as well.’ Alex offered a deep laugh as he opened up the car door and jumped out. He was moving fast and I saw him stride towards a beautiful figure that had been obviously waiting on our arrival. I stayed put a few minutes, like a voyeur. Alex scooped her up almost as if she weighed nothing and twirled her around before planting a kiss on her forehead, placing her feet on the ground and smacking her arse as he sent her on her way, over to me.

‘Bella, I’ll get your case in a while… just got a bit of business to attend to,’ Alex shouted over his shoulder in our direction. ‘You girls have fun… see you soon.’

The blooming, but still statuesque figure of my bestie made her way over to me, squealing with excitement, and finally we made it into a hug. Never in my life had I been so pleased to see someone.

‘Wow, just look at you, gorgeous,’ still holding her hands, but dropping our arms in front of us, I stood away from her slightly and admired my stunning friend. She was wearing a long maxi-dress in soft green hues, her skin was tanned and she was sporting a neat baby bump. I let go of her hands and placed both of mine against the swell of her stomach.

‘Hello there, beautiful and so obviously going to be a very gorgeous baby, I’m your Aunty Bella… I’m going to be the one who shows you all the things your parents don't want you knowing about, OK?’

Frankie laughed and I became fully conscious of just how much I had missed that sound. My soul became immediately lighter and for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, I felt positive about the future

‘Over Alex’s dead body, Bella. God help us if it’s a girl, you know what he’s like! … The overprotective alpha, I swear I love him, but he’s doing my head in already. Everyone else thinks it’s really hysterical,’ she was smiling and rolling her eyes at the same time. ‘Anyway you have arrived just on time, I have some wedding dresses being brought out here this afternoon… I know you’re probably tired, but I didn’t want to pick one without my bestie's input?’ I watched as her face turned into a questioning grimace.

‘We’re good, I’m buzzing with being here and seeing you again… it’s such a relief to be back…I can’t tell you how bloody much.’ I could hear the sadness seeping back into my voice, and coughed suddenly to clear the atmosphere that had unavoidably surrounded us again. Nevertheless, she knew, and she grabbed my hand as she started leading me towards the house in front of us.

‘Yeah, well I probably do and once the dresses have been delivered we will be having a chat, I need to know what’s happened… then we can put it behind us and move on… yes?’ she questioned.

‘Yes,’ I agreed, and because I knew that’s what she wanted to hear, I made it sound convincing. This was her wedding week and I wasn’t going to be the one to bloody ruin it.

The house was as stunning inside as out. Frankie and Alex had the left wing closest to the beach. Nathan’s twin brother Scott had the right wing with his wife Ruby and their newborn daughter. As Frankie showed me around it became apparent that the centre of the house was used for guests and entertaining, as it had the larger recreational rooms.

Nathan didn’t come here then, it seemed. I was immediately relieved, but crestfallen at the same time. It was stupid really, as I had been longing to see him again… longing to see him, to try convince him that I wanted to be with him, but absolutely terrified at the same time.

‘I know you’re chomping at the bit to ask, Bella,’ Frankie stated, as she poured us some fresh iced tea. We were sitting outside at the back of the house on huge white settees, just staring at the ocean.

‘If you know that, then why as my best friend, are you not putting me out of my bloody misery?’

I leant towards the huge coffee table in front of us and picked up my iced tea, the fingers on my other hand gripped the glass stirrer and I began to stir the ice enthusiastically, watching the mint leaves swirl, grateful to have something else to look at.

‘We haven’t seen that much of him… he calls us occasionally… separately I might add. Alex gets the calls about how his race has gone, and his racing is going really well…’ I didn’t want to tell her that I knew, I had started following Nathan’s career like I was the world Superbike rider’s greatest ever bloody fan.

She continued, ‘You know the boy talk... The places he’s seen and… and the hot women he’s been messing around with.’ I felt her glance my way, but made sure my eyes never left my glass, concentrating really hard on the droplets of condensation running quickly down the side with the heat.

Frankie took my silence as a cue to carry on, ‘I get the unhappier calls… when he’s feeling low. I know he wants to ask about you… it’s there in everything he doesn’t say… it’s present between us, but he only ever actually asked once and that was a while ago. As I haven’t really had any info to give him about you, I haven’t opened up the can of worms either… and with every phone call it just sort of sits, like it’s stuck in both of our throats, so we just make small talk instead. I have missed you! I miss him as well, though… Alex and I would like to have you both properly back in our lives.’

I looked up from my glass now and caught a glimpse of her tear-filled eyes.

‘Don’t mind me… pregnancy hormones,’ Frankie wiped her eyes quickly, sniffed and came back with a smile.

‘Bella… and wife-to-be,’ Alex appeared from the French doors behind us. I watched as he leant his huge frame over the back of the settee to kiss Frankie’s neck. His hands found their way down to caress the bump that sheltered their baby. He looked up at me and smiled, ‘Sorry, Bella are we still grossing you out?’ He laughed as he continued kissing Frankie. He was referring back to comments I had made about the two of them the last time we had all been together, when I had unfortunately overheard every little intimate detail of what he wanted to do to her.

Shaking my head at him and laughing, I looked away and stared back at the ocean.

Was it really only six months since we had all been together, in Manhattan?

It seemed like a lifetime ago. I knew how much I had changed. Nate was back racing and Alex and Frankie were expecting a baby. It was unbelievable.

‘Bella, your case is now up in your room, do you know where to go?’ questioned Alex, giving me my marching orders with a broad grin on his face.

‘Yeah… Frankie showed me earlier. How long do I have until the dresses arrive? Have I got time to shower and freshen up?’ I asked.

‘Oh yeah, Louis just called. They had difficulty getting out of the city. They will probably be at least another hour,’ I watched him wink suggestively at Frankie.

‘You guys don’t change do you?’ It was good to find some things stayed the same. I stood up and made my way to the billowing nets, blowing in the warm ocean breeze through the open French doors. ‘Come and find me when you’re ready, gorgeous girl.’ I didn’t look back at them, but could hear Alex’s deep guttural tones as he spoke softly to Frankie, and in turn her light giggles.

I wanted what they had, but the realisation washed over me that the one person who had ever made me feel like Alex made Frankie feel, was now messing around with other “hot women,” and it was all my fault.

It took us all of two hours to find the perfect dress for her, a simple off-white, Grecian style dress that crossed over her, now much bigger than mine, boobs! It fell like a waterfall over her baby bump and then to the floor. She was going to look stunning.

‘This is it, Bella,’ she said, admiring herself in the full-length mirror. I watched her fingertips follow the crossover of the shimmery fabric against her breasts, ‘I know just the underwear to go with this, Bella, he isn’t going to know what’s hit him.’ She turned to me and we smacked the palm of our hands together in a high five.

‘I’d like you to have the matching dress in blue, Bella, is that OK? I thought it would bring out your baby blues, and it’s my favourite colour.’

The bed in Frankie and Alex’s room was enormous and I flung myself down backwards upon it, moving my arms and legs like a child making snow angels.

‘Whatever you want, gorgeous, I’m happy to go with whatever you want… Wait… is that… OH MY GOD, is that a mooring ring on your headboard?’ My eyes had left Frankie in all her finery and had lifted above me, fixing on a cream ring, centrally placed into the decorative, hand-carved, cream wooden headboard. Frankie’s silence penetrated my ears and I brought my gaze back to meet hers again.

Waggling my eyebrows at her and smiling, I added, ‘I knew Alex played rugby, I didn’t realise that he owned a bloody boat, too.’ I was laughing too much to take in her expression and God it felt so sodding good. Frankie set about tickling me and I pulled up my legs to protect myself, rolling from side to side laughing, ‘Stop it… you’ll ruin your dress… get off me.’

Finally, she stopped and stood at the foot of the bed, hands on her hips, glaring at me but smiling at the same time.

‘The trouble with you, Bella, is you see too much,’ she stated. ‘No one else has even noticed it!’

‘God you are so naive, gorgeous girl… they’ve all noticed it! … But only your best mate would mention it to you,’ I roared with laughter and threw myself down on their bed once again. Frankie removed her chosen wedding dress and slipped her maxi-dress back on, and then she came and lay down next to me on her bed.

I knew the time had come to spill the beans, she wasn’t going to wait any longer. I had been dreading reliving it.

BELLA

L
ying back on Frankie’s bed was probably the most comfortable place to be, especially to start my story. Frankie lay beside me and she held one of my hands in both of hers clasping it to her chest. We both stared up at the ceiling. The warm air blew in through the open windows and over us, calming and soothing in its own way.

‘My newspaper got wind of the immigration crisis that’s hitting Europe at the moment. Several different elements of the on-going problems interested them… but one thing particularly, really caught their attention… you can imagine which one, can’t you? You lived through it with me.’ I felt Frankie grip my hand just a little bit tighter, we had always been there for each other. I had helped her through her life, with a family that didn’t want her, let alone deserve her. I had held her when her cousin JJ had died and the weeks of devastation that followed. I’d always been there when her bitch of a step-mother had stopped her seeing her dad, when he was dying of cancer. She in turn, had supported me when my perfect life fell apart at the age of fifteen.