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Back The Lucky Eight
Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Prologue
  4. Five Years Later
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-one
  26. Twenty-two
  27. Twenty-three
  28. Twenty-four
  29. Twenty-five
  30. Twenty-six
  31. Twenty-seven
  32. Twenty-eight
  33. Twenty-nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-one
  36. Thirty-two
  37. Thirty-three
  38. Thirty-four
  39. Thirty-five
  40. Thirty-six
  41. Thirty-seven
  42. Thirty-eight
  43. Thirty-nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-one
  46. Forty-two
  47. Forty-three
  48. Forty-four
  49. Forty-five
  50. Forty-six
  51. Forty-seven
  52. Forty-eight
  53. Forty-nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-one
  56. Fifty-two
  57. Fifty-three
  58. Fifty-four
  59. Fifty-five
  60. Epilogue
  61. Acknowledgements
  62. Canelo Crime
  63. About the Author
  64. Also by Sheila Bugler

‘He nearly died.’ Simon ran a hand through his hair. ‘That makes you reassess a lot of stuff. The first year, after the accident, we spent a lot of time together. We agreed to put the past behind us and try to rebuild our relationship.’

‘Seems as if you did a good job of that,’ Ade said.

‘I guess,’ Simon said. ‘Wasn’t always easy.’

‘Why not?’ Rachel asked.

‘His money sometimes put distance between us,’ Simon said. ‘Our lives are very different, as you can imagine. But we did our best to put our differences to one side and find a way of getting on with each other.’ Simon started to smile, but his face crumpled midway through. ‘He was complicated. Half the time I hated him, the rest of the time I loved him. And now he’s gone and I’m absolutely gutted.’

‘How do you think things were between Nick and Tara?’ Rachel said, after a suitable pause to allow him to compose himself.

Simon shook his head, looking miserable.

‘Tara’s a nice enough girl, but she’s messed up. Some of the others, they’ve made a better job of picking themselves up after what happened. Tara hasn’t been able to do that. She’s hard work. Very needy. And I know this is a God-awful thing to say, but I’m convinced Nick’s money is the main reason she was with him.’

‘I’ve been to Tara’s apartment,’ Rachel said. ‘She doesn’t strike me as someone who needs anyone else’s money.’

‘She put every last penny she had towards buying the place,’ Simon said. ‘Her parents give her handouts from time to time, but she spends it all the moment she gets it.’

‘Doesn’t she work?’ Rachel was sure she’d read something online about Tara being employed at a fashion house in Mayfair.

‘She hasn’t really had a job since the crash,’ Simon said. ‘She gets a bit of work from time to time but the jobs never last. Bella says she’s lazy, which feels a bit harsh given what the poor girl’s been through. On the other hand, Bella’s way more switched on about people than I am.’

‘Did things seem okay between them on Saturday?’ Ade asked.

‘I didn’t notice,’ Simon said. ‘Bella said she thought Tara was a bit off with Nick but the truth is, I wasn’t paying that much attention to them. I was too busy making the most of staying in a fancy place.’ He held his hands up. ‘I know that sounds insensitive. We were there for a sad reason, but Bella and I never get the chance to stay somewhere like that. It’s the only reason we agreed to go.’

‘What do you mean?’ Rachel asked.