“I don’t know. We had such a great time together over the weekend, really getting to know each other. She got under my skin. There was an attraction there. I could feel it, but I didn’t know if it was reciprocated. Until we were in the hot tub together. We nearly kissed then. I thought we’d managed to avoid it. To stay professional. Until the night we left when we kissed. And then the plane… I can’t explain it. It just happened.”

She sounded like a cliché. She didn’t need to see Karen’s face to know that. Jordan had heard enough ‘I just landed in her vagina’ defences to know exactly what they sounded like. Made up. But it really had just spiralled out of control right at the end, and she had no idea how.

“But now we’re back and we have business to attend to. Wedding business. But she says something’s come up, and we can’t meet up. So I don’t know what’s going on.” She shook her head, squinting as she looked up at the sky. “It’s a mess. That’s what I know for sure.”

“Wow.” Karen stretched her arms above her head, giving Jordan a look. “I mean, you’ve really buggered this up good and proper.”

She could always count on Karen to be blunt.

“Kissing the bride is one thing. Not a good thing. Joining the mile-high club with her is quite another.”

Jordan got up. Sitting and talking about this was turning up the noise in her head. She liked it better when she’d been running. Then, she’d just focused on the sun on her skin, and the wind in her hair. Nature could be comforting at times.

“Let’s walk and talk. Or maybe run and talk.”

Karen nodded, as they both began pumping their arms, taking long strides along the promenade. In front of them, a woman was struggling to contain a husky. To their right, a small boy in a red T-shirt was elated with his ice cream, which he proceeded to face plant into.

“Look on the bright side. At least you got laid.”

That made Jordan smile. “You’d think I would be feeling a bit more positive about that, wouldn’t you? I can normally cope with one-night stands. I’m prepared. I control them. Not this one. Plus, when my business and reputation are hanging in the balance, getting a shag isn’t top priority.” She picked up the pace and began to run. There was too much thinking going on. She needed distraction.

“How did you leave it with Abby?” Karen kept up with Jordan this time around.

It was a good question. Images flashed through Jordan’s mind. Stroking Abby in the hot tub. Her own orgasm on the plane, head falling back as she came hard. Abby’s lips pressed to hers.