Summer of Secrets by Rosie Rushton Page A

gorgeous.’
    He smiled and touched Caitlin’s hand.
    ‘Tell you what,’ he said, ‘we’ll go and take her out first thing tomorrow, OK? You’ll love her.’
    I doubt it very much, thought Caitlin miserably.
    ‘So,’ he asked later, as the steward stopped with a trolley of drinks, ‘are you feeling better now? What will you have to drink?’
    ‘Orange juice, please,’ she mumbled, grabbing the latest copy of Prego from the pile of celebrity magazines she’d bought at the airport and pretending to be absorbed in
the fate of the stars of the latest TV reality show. She couldn’t believe it: all her dreams of romance under a Mediterranean sun, of kisses stolen under the light of the moon, of
declarations of future intent pledged with a kiss in an orange grove – all gone. He’d got a girlfriend and she was gorgeous. If only she’d known . . .
    ‘Oh my goodness!’ Ludo stabbed a finger at the magazine, his mouth dropping open. ‘Look at that – Pop star in love triangle with ex-nun and supermodel !’
    ‘I know,’ Caitlin said. ‘It’s unbelievable – he actually got engaged to Tanya Christy while he was living with this woman who got thrown out of a convent. What do
you think of that?’
    ‘Oh my God! That is so amazing! It can’t be true,’ Ludo gasped.
    ‘No, honestly, it must be, because it was in the Sun too, only I didn’t get it because there was this big bit on the front page about Izzy’s dad and I thought it might
upset her.’
    She flicked the page. ‘And look, they’re doing this whole series. Next week it’s about that girl who was in Cry Wolf – did you know she had a sex change eight
years ago? They’re going to do a total exposé of the whole thing . . .’
    ‘How am I going to last until you get the next issue?’ Ludo laughed, wiping his forehead dramatically. ‘Oh, the suspense, the angst . . .’
    Caitlin felt a total fool. He had been sending her up the whole time and she’d fallen for it.
    ‘I suppose you think I’m an idiot, enjoying stuff like this,’ she mumbled. ‘It’s mainly because of the photographs – you know, from an artistic point of
view.’
    She could see he didn’t believe a word of it, which was hardly surprising.
    ‘I do read serious stuff too.’
    ‘Of course you do,’ Ludo teased. ‘What could be more serious than footballers’ wives with breast implants!’
    He picked up his book and began reading, an amused grin spreading across his face. Caitlin noticed that the book was one of those complicated political espionage thrillers that always had her
lost by the third chapter.
    For the next ten minutes Caitlin stared out of the window. No way was he going to be interested in her, other than as a rather silly friend of his sister. She’d been to Summer’s
house twice in the last few days, gossing about holiday plans and stuff, and he’d hardly glanced in her direction. Now, she knew why; this Gina was probably some stunning Italian girl who
read intellectual novels and never, ever watched TV because she was too busy discussing politics. Caitlin knew she’d messed up before they’d even landed; so much for her dreams of
romance. She wanted to cry, but unlike Izzy, she couldn’t do that halfway attractively so she just stared at the clouds and wished that she could wind the clock back.
    Ten minutes later, when Ludo had got up to wander down the aisle and talk to Jamie and Izzy, she decided to challenge Summer.
    ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Caitlin hissed, leaning across the aisle. ‘About Gina?’
    Summer looked up from her book and frowned.
    ‘I didn’t give it a thought – why would you be interested?’
    ‘Oh, come off it – you must have guessed I . . . well, I quite like Ludo and . . .’
    Summer burst out laughing.
    ‘I thought you did! And you’re bothered about Gina? Because you think Ludo’s in love with her?’
    ‘He didn’t stop going on about her – he says she’s gorgeous,’ Caitlin