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her head. It was slinky without being clingy with spaghetti straps and it clung in all the right places without being too revealing. Perfect. Now where are the girls? As she padded barefoot into the large open plan sitting room and kitchen she heard a car drive up horn tooting madly. Speak of the devil, she thought, running out of the French doors into the courtyard.
    Screams and yells ensued for the next 30 seconds as they hugged, group hugged, high fived and generally danced around like idiots greeting each other.
    ‘Moons, Slash.’ yelled Cassie. ‘Cassius’ yelled Liz and Kat together.
    *
     

CHAPTER FIVE
    Cassie rolled over in bed and opened one eye slowly and then closed it quickly, squeaking at the onslaught of bright sunlight into her eyes. She had forgotten to close the shutters last night. Oh dear, she groaned inwardly, swallowing, her mouth feeling like a dry pit. What a reunion they had had last night. Starting with the champagne, wine with dinner, which thank goodness Liz had prepared, then finishing off with her, in hindsight, stupid idea of a Limoncello. She lay very still, intending to drift back into languid sleep when all of a sudden she remembered. Oh God I have to go riding this morning. What is the time? She sat up frantically and scrabbled around on the bedside table for her watch. 7:45am. Leaping out of bed with a start, she groaned and grabbed her head with both hands. This is not good she thought stumbling into the bathroom and peering at her reflection in the mirror. Red rimmed eyes and pale skin greeted her with her hair a medusa like tangle falling down around her face and shoulders. She blew experimentally on into her hand and sniffed it. I smell like a brewery and I’ve got ten minutes now to scrub up for bossy boots and his riding expedition. She turned on the shower and quickly brushed her teeth, gargling with water in an attempt to freshen her breath. Winding her hair in a knot she leapt into the shower and stood with her face full on into the jet of water. It might clear her head, but then again a good strong coffee would probably do it better. Five minutes later she stood staring at the contents of her suitcases. No one had told her that there were horses at the estate, and if they had, would she have brought any riding clothes? No, was the answer. Hells bells, what the heck am I going to wear she thought frantically, finally deciding to go with her jeans shorts and a light tee shirt. At least she would be cool. It felt like 30 degrees already and it wasn’t even 8am in the morning. She quickly applied some tinted sun block and slipped on a pair of trainers. I am probably not the right footwear either she mused. She tiptoed down the hall past the other bedrooms. Both doors were closed and she thought enviously of Kat and Liz sleeping in. That is what she should be doing instead of this madness she told herself. At least she had figured out how the coffee machine worked last night as she switched it on impatiently and waited the 20 seconds for it to heat up. She was just savoring her first sip when she saw Marco’s X5 pull up outside the villa. Shit, she murmured, gulping down the rest and burning her mouth. Nerves and an acid stomach did nothing to bolster her flagging confidence as she opened the door grabbing her sunglasses to hide her eyes. She stopped on the doorstep staring as Marco climbed out of the car. He looks amazing she thought.
    His had a white polo shirt over tan colored jodhpurs and long black riding boots. His wavy hair still looked damp and as he drew closer Cassie could smell the most divine aftershave. It was very subtle but combined with the whole package, very seductive. He looks like he has just stepped out of a Polo Ralph Lauren ad she thought and she must be gaping at him like an idiot because he suddenly grinned and winked at her and of course she blushed a brighter shade of scarlet just like the bougainvillea.
    Why does he have the ability to do this to me?