‘I’m fine, honestly I am.’
Drew let go of her and held her at arm’s length.
‘Where have you been?’
‘I didn’t get injured but I inhaled smoke while I was trying to save some of the books. I was stupid really. I got checked out by the island doctor and stayed at Zander’s place.’
Drew nodded slowly. ‘You’ve been at Zander’s villa?’
‘Yeah, well, last night I was. I pretty much passed out and slept all morning. Then we went back to the bookshop and sorted out what we saved...’ She trailed off, unsure if she wanted to say more about going back to Zander’s villa this evening and having dinner with him. The whole of the last twenty-four hours was in many ways so vivid, but also a blur. ‘He was there at the fire last night. Apart from me and Aaron, Zander was the first one to get there.’
‘I didn’t know Aaron was there.’
‘He wasn’t for long.’ Worry twisted Freya’s insides again. She wasn’t sure if she should say more, not until she’d had the chance to speak to Aaron and hear his side of the story. ‘Is he around, do you know?’
‘Who, Aaron? Not sure. Think he might have taken the earlier flight.’
Freya frowned.
‘He’s got a couple of days off, remember.’
Freya shook her head. ‘I’ve lost track of time.’
‘Not surprised.’ She placed a warm hand on Freya’s arm. ‘You look pale. Have you eaten? Do you want me to make you something? A cup of tea?’
Freya smiled. ‘No, that’s really kind, thanks.’ Her forehead was drenched with sweat. It felt confined and stuffy in their staff apartment after sitting outside on Zander’s deck chatting and watching the waves curl on to the sand. She needed space and fresh air. ‘I do fancy a walk, if you want to join me?’
They left the accommodation block and Freya noticed the looks from staff sitting in the courtyard. There were a few ‘hellos’, someone patted her back as they passed and said, ‘glad you’re okay’. She still felt in a daze. She was probably still in shock. Once the adrenalin had abated, exhaustion had taken over. It had been less than twenty-four hours since the fire and yet so much had happened.
The beach was empty; most staff were either still working or in the courtyard having dinner. They sat with their backs to the bushes screening the staff block. Freya scrunched her toes in the cool sand, letting the grains run over her skin like water.
‘Do you want to talk about what happened?’ Drew asked. Her voice was loud in the darkness, and Freya realised how quiet it was, just the murmur of chatter behind them and the gentle rush of the waves in front. Even the insects, birds and fruit bats seemed to be making less noise than usual. Or maybe it seemed particularly quiet after last night and the roar of flames, of wood splitting, of shouts and the whoosh of spraying water.
‘It happened on my watch,’ Freya eventually said. ‘The bookshop is my job, my responsibility and it’s destroyed.’
‘Freya, you’re being too hard on yourself. You’re not to blame for the fire. Has Zander blamed you?’
‘No.’ Freya shook her head. ‘Quite the opposite. He’s been so good about it, and I know he’s devastated.’
‘There you go then; I’m sure they’ll figure out what happened and how it started. That’ll put your mind at rest.’
Freya wrapped her arms around her legs and fought back tears. She watched the surf bubble on to the beach, the white foam catching the moonlight. She’d felt in a bit of a dream at Zander’s villa, looking out over Driftwood Cove. It hadn’t felt like real life. Somehow, here did. And the worry about how the fire started had returned along with the fear that the truth would come out and she wouldn’t like it. It was only five weeks ago that she’d sat in the same spot with Aaron on the night of her birthday. It was where he’d given her the present, the beautiful bangle that she’d worn every day since. It was where they’d had their first kiss. All she could think about was seeing him last night, his shocked face lit by the moonlight. But was it shock because of the fire or surprise at seeing her? She wiped furiously at her tears and Drew put her arm around her. She hated this feeling of uncertainty. Tomorrow she should be opening the bookshop as usual. She should be chatting to guests about books, recommending something for them to read while on a holiday of a lifetime. Instead, she was invited to a meeting with Zander and his team to discuss the destroyed bookshop. Her nine-month adventure in the Maldives, her barefoot bookshop dream was, right this moment, in tatters and she had no clue what was going to happen next.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Freya almost believed it was a normal day when she woke to the usual sounds of chatter coming from the communal kitchen and the familiar hum of the fan stirring the air above. Then the events of the last couple of days came flooding back and the knot of worry returned. Yesterday morning she’d woken to the sound of waves after a long deep sleep on the most luxurious bed she’d ever slept on. This morning she felt enclosed by the walls of her small room, reality hitting her, unsure what the day would hold.
Freya was usually at the bookshop by nine thirty, but with no bookshop to go to and the meeting at Zander’s not until half ten, she had time to kill. Everyone else had already left, so she took her laptop, grabbed breakfast from
