Waves of Betrayal (The Isabel Marsh Trilogy Book 1) Read Free Page A

squeals Isabel as she jumps up from her slumber on the bed and retrieves her underwear entangled in the sheets. ‘I was actually trying to figure out what to wear when you came in and distracted me,’ she giggles.
    Paul lies back in the bed, his arms behind his head, watching her with a big smile on his face.
    ‘Jeans,’ she says, ‘it’ll have to be jeans.’ She pulls out her old favourite Levi’s and a brown leather belt with a big decorative buckle. She slips them over her slender hips and chooses a flowery baggy gypsy blouse, wedge heeled brown sandals and a long beaded necklace to complete the look.
    ‘Hair!’ she screams, as she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror, ‘oh well, no time to straighten it!’ Paul watches her proudly as she pulls her hair into a loose bun, adds the minimal amount of pink lip gloss and declares herself ‘ready to go!’
    ‘You are so low maintenance Miss Marsh,’ he laughs, ‘and that’s one of the many reasons why I love you so much.’
    ‘You do?!’ she poses provocatively, hands on her hips. He tries to grab her playfully as she leans down to kiss him, but she backs away from him, waving happily. ‘See you later sweetheart. There’s a pizza in the freezer.’
    The Ploughman’s is busier than usual, even for a Friday. Isabel winds her way stealthily through the crowds, glancing at the queue, three rows deep, as she passes the bar searching for her friends. She hopes that Claire and Rachel have already got their orders in. It would take at least half an hour to get through the jostling throng of thirsty punters, especially at five-foot-three, unless she crawled through their legs. Definitely an option!
    She’s relieved to hear her name being shouted above the overly amplified tunes of Bonjovi “Livin’on a Prayer”. She spots them on a picnic bench out in the beer garden and after a few very near misses involving elbows and full pints of lager, she plonks herself gratefully down on a spare seat next to Claire.
    ‘I’m soooo sorry I’m late girls,’ she says, her face flushed and tendrils of loose dark curls framing her face.
    ‘We thought we’d have to come over and drag you out. Thought Paul might have held you hostage or something!’ says Rachel, winking ‘here have a drink.’ She splashes cold white wine from a frosted bottle of Chardonnay into a spare wine glass. ‘You need to catch up! We bought two bottles so we wouldn’t have to queue and lucky for you the kitchen is so busy that there’s a half an hour wait on food! We ordered the usual. Hope that’s ok?’
    ‘Yeah, great, I’ve been dreaming about it since I left work. Have you seen the mob in there tonight? What happened to our quiet local? I had to fight my way through. Bloody tourists I expect; I hardly recognise anyone!’
    Claire, as always, is wearing skinny jeans and a slightly oversized, navy blue t-shirt with a sparkly union jack emblazoned across the front. She has always been slim and athletic, but never likes to draw attention to her boyish figure and small chest. She moved to Cornwall at the age of thirteen from Yorkshire. Claire, Rachel, and Isabel have been best friends ever since.
    ‘Anyone mind?’ she asks as she slips her mobile phone back into her bag and pulls out her pouch of tobacco and starts skilfully rolling a cigarette.
    ‘Go ahead,’ says Rachel, rubbing a perfectly manicured finger around the rim of her glass, ‘just make sure the wind isn’t in my direction. This dress just cost me sixty-five pounds, trade price.’ Rachel is wearing a gorgeous LK Bennett black, box-necked shift dress which flatters all her curves. ‘Check out the bling!’ she adds excitedly, leaning forward. ‘Present from Stephen today. Isn’t he just adorable?!’
    Adorable isn’t the first word that springs to Isabel’s mind as she admires the Swarovski earrings. Rachel had met Stephen six years ago when he started working on the tills in the same shop as her. She was