And, yes, she was having a rough time, but she sensed Addi’s anxiety had nothing to do with her and her relationship with Cole. ‘Addi...’
Addi’s phone lit up with an incoming call, a number Lex didn’t recognise, and Addi pounced on it, barking a curt greeting after lifting the device to her ear. Then she stood up and walked away from Lex to stand out of earshot, her lovely face taut with tension as she listened to whatever her caller was saying.
Her sister was keeping secrets, Lex decided, something they’d never done. They’d always shared everything, and knowing that Addi was shutting her out added another layer of hurt onto the ones Cole had painted on her soul.
So far, a broken heart hadn’t killed her, but it hadn’t made her stronger either. She felt sad, weak and emotionally helpless, mentally drained. But she had to hold herself together to keep her broken pieces from shattering. To keep moving.
She’d always been strong, always managed to keep going, to move forward. This time would be no different.
On Saturday afternoon, Cole sat on a remote beach close to the Cambodian border, sunglasses over his face. The air was hot and muggy and his thin cotton shirt stuck to his back. Hot and irritated, Cole pulled the fabric away from his skin and looked at his watch.
He caught the eye of the Thai waiter and lifted his beer in a silent request for one more. The ‘restaurant’ where Sam had suggested they meet was no more than a mile from his monastery and comprised nothing more than an outdoor kitchen and two crudely built wooden benches and tables. But Cole was well-travelled enough to know that the best food was to be found in the unlikeliest of places. And, judging by the smell of garlic, chillies and lemongrass coming from somewhere behind him, someone was cooking an amazing fish curry.
Pity he’d lost the urge to eat since leaving Lex in Cape Town.
It was a stunning day, the sea glinting with shades of aqua and tanzanite blue, lazily rolling up the white sand beach. It was hard to believe that just days ago he’d been caught in a snowstorm and had experienced one of the Cape’s wettest and wildest winters in history. The sky was a cobalt blue, practically perfect, yet Cole couldn’t focus on the view, couldn’t think of anything but that Lex should be here.
He’d missed her every second of every day since he’d pushed her away. He thought that he’d be fine, that his heart and soul would reshape themselves into what they’d been before they’d met her but...
No. They were still misshapen and anvil-heavy in his heart. He missed her with every breath he took, with every step he walked. His life no longer made sense without her in it.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the flash of an orange robe and he turned to see a tall, slim monk step onto the beach from the jungle, his bald head glinting white under the fierce sun. Cole watched as Sam walked towards him, noticing that his face was thinner and his cheekbones were pronounced.
The urge to walk away was strong. He didn’t want to face his brother-that-never-was, but Cole couldn’t let this go. He needed to speak to him, find some closure. He needed to repair the wound in his heart and maybe Sam, and his information, would help him do that.
Sam stopped a few metres from him and their eyes collided, so similar. He looked like his brother, like their father, but Cole doubted he’d ever acquire the serenity that he saw in Sam’s eyes, nor the contentment.
Not unless he found a way back to Lex.
‘Cole, you came,’ Sam said, tipping his head to the side, a smile on his face.
Cole stood up and resisted the urge to wipe his damp hands on his thighs. ‘Did you doubt that I would?’
Sam gave him a soft smile and sat down on the opposite side of the table. Right, so they weren’t going to shake hands or hug. Good to know. He nodded at his beer. ‘Want one?’
Sam didn’t rise to the bait. ‘I’ll have a water, thanks.’ Without waiting for Cole, he turned to the old man and greeted him in what sounded like remarkably fluent Thai. The old gent’s face split into a wide smile. He looked beside himself with joy at the presence of a monk in his establishment. They spoke for a few minutes before the old man scuttled away to get his bottle of water.
Sam looked at Cole and raised his eyebrows. ‘So, you found out about Charlie. How?’
‘The ski-lodge in Rhodes. Everything carries the name—the pub, the ski runs, the company that owns it. It’s the one part of Grenville’s business that makes no sense, so I figure that this Charlie must be the reason that he hung on to such a loss-making asset. It’s the only entity in Thorpe Industries that’s raised questions. And the only one I can’t sell.’
Sam looked puzzled. ‘I thought you wanted the company. You spent enough money acquiring that block of Thorpe shares. I didn’t want anything any more, so I thought it right to give it all to you.’
‘I never wanted your damn money or shares, Sam! I wanted your attention, Dad’s attention—Look, forget it!’ Cole gripped the bridge of his nose in frustration. ‘Just tell me who Charlie is, Sam. And, while you’re at it, tell me why Grenville hated me so much.’
Sam took a long time to answer and with every second that ticked past Cole felt the tension rising. He braced himself to hear that their mum had had an affair and that she’d fallen pregnant by some man when she’d visited Rossdale. It was the only thing that made sense, that would explain why his father had hated him so. He didn’t much care. If anything it would be a relief to know that he wasn’t related to Grenville.
Eventually Sam spoke and, when he did, his eyes were dark with emotion. ‘Charlie—Charlotte Jane—was our baby sister, Cole.’
I cannot believe that, after ten days of silence, he’s texted me to collect him from the Vane!
Um...he owns Thorpe, and you’re the company driver.
Sitting in the company SUV in a parking space next to the Vane’s impressive entrance, Lex frowned at Addi’s message and poked her tongue out at the screen. She hated it when her sister was super-logical, and hated it more when she was right.
Scrolling back, she stared down at the brief message from Cole, simply asking her to collect him at ten from the Vane.
When had he returned to Cape Town? How long was he staying? Could she afford to resign?