Life's a Beach and Then... (The Liberty Sands Trilogy Book 1) Read Online Free

the moment which is how my wine glass has been all
evening, she thought.
    Holly didn’t usually drink alone. She had seen the
devastating effect that taking a step onto that particular slippery slope could
have. She shuddered and decided there would be no more solo drinking on this
trip, which meant she wouldn’t be tasting the colourful cocktails currently
being delivered by waiters to others who had come to sit by the moonlit beach,
until she began to socialise.
    She looked around at the couples and groups of friends.
Holly was the only person on her own. She decided to head back to her room
before anyone took pity on her and invited her to join them. Normally that was
exactly what she wanted, but not tonight, the drink had made her slightly
lightheaded and it wouldn’t do to be caught off guard and say something that
would blow her cover.
    Holly had fully intended to do some work but as she put her
key in the lock tiredness engulfed her and a mere five minutes later she was
fast asleep.
     
     
    The hum of the air-conditioning unit, churning out freezing
cold air, woke Holly. She shivered and pulled the blanket over her shoulders.
She was used to sleeping in air-conditioned hotel rooms however, when she went
to bed in her slightly inebriated state the previous evening she had forgotten
to adjust the dial and had thrown her blanket to the foot of the bed, sleeping
with only the sheet for cover. No wonder the slight noise of the air-con had
disturbed her. She was too cold so deep sleep had evaded her. She glanced at
the luminous hands of her travel clock. It was only ten past six, which meant
it was just past two in the morning back home. It was a good job she had such a
long sleep on the plane otherwise she wouldn’t be able to think straight today
and she needed her wits about her.
    As a thoroughly honest person, Holly struggled with the
little white lies that were a necessary part of her job, but at least she would
probably make a better poker player now than she had at university. She had
never played the game before she met her then boyfriend Gareth, but he and his
rugby-playing mates used to play late into the evening after their Saturday
matches and if she wanted to spend time with him she had to join in. Although
they were all downing pints of beer like it was lemonade, and she was actually
drinking lemonade, they were still able to read her like a book when she was
bluffing.
    ‘It’s like taking candy from a baby,’ they would joke, as
she watched the pittance she had earned from working long hours behind the
student’s union bar dwindle to nothing. Gareth would always sub her, even though
she would protest that she wouldn’t be able to pay it back.
    ‘You’ll pay it back in kind,’ he would tease, not unkindly,
winking at his mates.
    Holly wasn’t so fond of this side of Gareth, showing off in
front of his friends, but whenever she confronted him about it he would say,
‘It wouldn’t do for them to see my softer side. I’m the captain of the rugby
team. They need to believe I’m hard and ruthless, so that they will trust me on
the field.’
    Lying in his arms Holly would always accept this explanation
because she trusted him completely. It didn’t matter what other people thought,
she knew the real Gareth, at least she had thought she had.
    Holly shivered again, unsure whether it was the overactive
air-conditioning unit or the memory of her first true love that caused this
involuntary action.
    First true love, she thought, only true love would be more
accurate. She felt the familiar weight in the middle of her chest and swallowed
hard, blinking her eyes to stop herself from crying. It amazed her that even
after all these years merely thinking about Gareth could provoke such a strong
reaction.
    Suddenly she kicked off the bed covers, slipped on her robe,
crossed to the French doors and flung open the curtains. She unlocked the door
and stepped outside breathing in huge gulps of warm damp air to calm