Now this was what Melissa called relaxation. Reclining in a luxurious bath, a crisp white in her hand, the verdant foothills literally outside her window, she could think of nothing to improve the experience. To one side, her phone nestled between scented candles playing soothing ocean waves. Beside the bath lay a stack of fashion magazines and her favourite romance novel, the cover of which was well worn. For the

‘Oh for fuck’s sake! Can nobody do their fucking job right?’ Slamming a fist on the table, Vernon upset his coffee cup, which jumped off the edge and landed with a thud at his feet. Cheeks flushed and teeth grinding, he barely noticed. Instead he battered his laptop keyboard with furious strokes that set the entire table trembling. Jesus, he hated people. If he could go back to the days

‘Ow, ow, ow,’ Nancy winced. ‘Sorry,’ Darren replied, shifting her weight so he could push the door open. With Nancy leaning heavily on him they hobbled awkwardly into the cabin. ‘You want the lounge or the bedroom?’ ‘The lounge. No way I’m tackling stairs with this foot.’ Nodding, Darren assisted her into the lounge. Easing her down onto the sofa he raised her injured foot onto the large pouffe over

Felicity had spent most of her morning indulging herself in all the things she never could while Andrew and the kids were around. To her delight, her husband had been gone when she woke up. She’d felt the bed rock when he left and heard him grunting as he stuffed his overweight figure into the day’s clothes, but she’d made sure not to stir save he strike up a conversation.

As she busied herself with sorting through her great-aunt’s belongings, Mary sighed. She had only met the woman a handful of times, but she had always had an aura of excitement and mischief about her. They had always got along well whenever they spent time together, and the understanding that she was no longer around was still a blow to the gut even if they hadn’t been that close. Their