The Summer Flings Travel Club: A Fun, Flirty and Hilarious Beach Read. Aimee Duffy

to see the tequila’s kicked in,’ Gem said, jumping in too.

      Elle didn’t, instead she stayed on the side and pulled her long, blonde hair to the top of her head, twisting it into a bun. What was worrying was the look on her face that said she was a girl with a plan. A plan Ciara wasn’t going to like.

      ‘I have an idea, since we’re just having a pool day…’

      Yup, the wicked glint in her azure eyes definitely meant Ciara was going to hate her friend’s idea.

      Elle dashed back into the house and Ciara threw an anxious glance at Gem who rolled her eyes and started swimming like a pro. Sighing, she floated at the deep end, trying not to worry about what mad thing Elle had come up with now.

      She was in LA with her two best friends, she needed to relax. Or learn how to. She’d always had studying and classes, even during the holidays. It might help a little if she stopped worrying over having no clue about her future career, or much else. But she was determined she wasn’t going to think about that until she had to. No point in making herself miserable and ruining this trip.

      Soon, Elle returned with two huge poles wrapped together by what looked like a net under her arm, clutching a bottle of tequila. After ditching the bottle she came to the pool and started to unravel the two poles.

      ‘Ciara grab this one and stick it in the hole at the other side. Gem, there should be a ball in that shed,’ Elle commanded.

      Ciara did as asked, giving into Elle’s bossy streak because it made life so much easier and she knew Elle didn’t mean anything bad by it. That was who she was, and why her granddad was going to train her to be CEO of their family business. Elle wasn’t all designer and class, she had authority and command too.

      The net that stretched across the middle of the pool reminded her of 90210 volleyball games on the beach. She’d never played and didn’t expect to be very good since she had as much coordination as a faulty compass. Maybe the tequila was the prize rather than the punishment.

      Gem returned from the shed with a massive, blown up ball which made her relax a little. Hitting something that huge should be easy, even for her.

      ‘Okay, tequila volleyball,’ Elle said. She’d found a whistle somewhere and blew it once, then put the string it was on around her neck. ‘One on one, you can only hit the ball with your fists and no bouncing off the water or the sides. If it hits the surface, you lose a point.’

      ‘First to five?’ Gem asked, sliding back into the pool.

      ‘Yes, and I play the winner,’ Elle announced.

      ‘What does the winner get?’ she asked, hoping it was a shot of the tequila.

      Elle smiled. ‘Bragging rights. The looser of each point gets a shot of this.’ She held up the bottle.

      Half an hour of losing and she’d be legless.

      Elle blew the whistle, one sharp, shrill sound. ‘Go!’

      Gem threw the ball in the air and wacked it with her fist. Ciara tried to run forward but the resistance in the water made it feel like she was wading through sludge. Determined she wasn’t going to lose, she dove forward, hands clenched together and hit the ball as hard as she could before she face planted into the pool.

      She righted herself in time to see Gem fall back into the water and watch the ball hit home on the other side of the net. She laughed, relieved not to be the first to hit the shots.

      Elle took the bottle over as Gem coughed up water. ‘Open up and swallow as you go.’

      ‘You said one shot, not half the bottle,’ Gem protested.

      Elle pulled an expression that on anyone else could be mistaken for innocent but on her looked too suspicious. ‘A shot is all you’re getting, honest.’

      ‘Give me the bottle then.’ Gem wasn’t fooled.

      ‘My game, my rules. The ref gets to hold the bottle.’

      Ciara giggled quietly, knowing there was no way Gem was going to win.

      ‘Open up,’ Elle said, tipping the open bottle above Gem’s head.

      ‘Elle, give me the bloody thing. You’ll drown me in tequila.’

      Blue, puppy dog eyes no man could resist followed. ‘Don’t you trust me?’

      ‘No one who knows you does, Elly.’

      The voice did not belong to any of them and the girls all whirled around.

      A man walked into the garden – a very tall, very hot and sweaty man with nothing on but trainers and a pair of shorts. Dark eyes, hair and a slight day old growth on his jaw that made Ciara feel dizzy wondering how it would feel against her face, her neck, her…

      And how could she miss those abs? Better definition than the polo players at uni, no contest, and those little dips disappearing under his shorts at each side made her finger tips itch to reach out and touch…

      For the second time that day she was imitating a fly catcher.

      Elle stormed across the terracotta tiles to get in the man’s face. ‘Don’t you dare think you’re staying here! Granddad said we could have this place for a few days.’

      The hottie didn’t shrivel away from the heat of Elle’s fury like anyone else would have, but his frown and the way his jaw hardened made her wonder if he had a temper of his own.

      ‘I’m not going anywhere except for a shower.’ He shoved by her and headed for the house.

      Ciara had never seen Elle’s temples throb like they were about to burst before, but she guessed there was a first thing for everything. Elle took off after him, shouting ‘Pack up and get out, I mean it!’

      Ciara made her way to the edge of the pool, about to go after them but Gem grabbed her arm.

      ‘Don’t, seriously. You don’t want to end up in the middle of a fight between them.’

      ‘Who is he?’ Elle had never mentioned a brother. Maybe an ex?

      Gem’s eyes got that gooey way they did when she nattered on about Aidan Price, superstar actor extraordinaire. ‘He’s Zack Muir, Elle’s hotter, older cousin.’

      Ciara didn’t want to look at why that made her relax a smidgen. After all, he didn’t spare her a second glance and even if he had, she wouldn’t do anything with him. Tempting as it might be. She wasn’t a stayer, just like her ma. She got bored too easily.

      Sighing, she thought about the way he looked drenched in sweat with all that delicious muscle on display and reckoned it would take a long, long time before she got bored of someone like him.

      The voices upstairs were too muffled to make out the words the Muirs were throwing at each other – Elle’s voice was high pitched, ringing through the patio doors while Zack’s rough and sexy tone didn’t carry. Maybe Elle was giving him a monologue stream of abuse.

      ‘Back to the game, sans tequila?’ Ciara asked.

      Gem glanced up at the French doors lining the upper floor of the mansion. The sound of a door slamming shut was followed by a shriek.

      ‘Good idea. The splashing might drown out the crazy,’ Gem said.

      It didn’t take long for Elle to come back, but it did take a while for her to lose her temper. They made another jug of iced margaritas. By the way Elle sucked down half the jug, she was either cooling down or heating up for round two. It was better for everyone if they could calm Elle down before she went catatonic, and since Gem seemed more interested in drying off with a magazine in hand it looked like it was up to her.

      ‘Elle, this house is huge. We can all squeeze in fine.’ And have rooms and rooms to spare.

      Elle slipped off her Ray Bans again, no doubt to avoid