I sat reading my fan's responses to the fake marriage story, gratified that they'd employed their rather legendary detective skills in discovering that the girl who'd claimed I'd proposed had been out partying at Mahiki a few days afterwards and a snap of her snogging some fella had been posted on Instagram. Not for the first time did I marvel at the skills of my fandom. They'd give the FBI a good run for their money.

Charlie and Iris were sitting on her verandah playing cards, engrossed in their game. I watched as Charlie slapped down a card, obviously a losing one, as Iris broke into laughter as she placed hers down beside it. The two of them were getting along fantastically well. I suspected it was because Charlie was a happily married man and therefore no threat. He had absolutely no idea how to flirt.

I glared at the pair of them. It struck me as deeply unfair that despite being the good-looking brother, I was being sidelined. Not only did Charlie have a wife of his own, he was Iris' favourite too. A pang of jealousy hit, a feeling I was unfamiliar with. My own little brother, who I used to look down at on a regular basis growing up, was now showing me how to relate to the woman I wanted.

I sighed. Since being at San Vinco I'd repeatedly questioned everything I knew. I watched as Iris emerged from her villa with two cups of coffee, placing Charlie's down gently in front of him. Everything Iris did was done with grace, like a ballerina. It made me feel like a great big bull in a china shop, blundering around in my pumped up body, believing that my huge, inflated muscles were attractive, not understanding that they only really appealed to body-builders. Likewise my fame only appealed to those thirsty famewhores that I treated with disdain.

The woman I wanted wouldn't care if I had a soft body or even a small paunch like Charlie. I noted with some satisfaction that his waistline had grown since he'd got married. He was deeply in love with his wife, who was equally in love with him. I'd stayed with them for a few days once and marvelled at the way she appeared not to notice how annoying he was.

My pity party was interrupted by the screech of brakes followed by the arrival of Texan and Rachelle. Iris jumped up to pull Rachelle into a hug, smiling widely at her best friend's return. To my satisfaction, Texan was a little off-hand with Charlie, simply pecking his cheek before twisting around to see where I was. I waved at her and stood to walk over. Texan bounded over the sand to throw herself into my arms. "We had such a great time," she enthused, "totally wild. Glasto is such a blast." She extracted herself from me and plopped down into a chair. "I really need one last beer before Rach starts drying me out," she said, grinning impishly.

I collected two beers from the refrigerator and opened them both before handing one to her. "So have you shagged Iris yet?" She said.

I shook my head. "Janine, Juliet and Ava have succumbed to my charms since you left, but not Iris."

"I've only been gone four days," she said before starting to laugh. "You must be exhausted."

"I am a bit," I confided. "It's more the lack of sleep that's getting to me."

"You'll be ok tonight then," said Texan, "it's Rachelle's turn and she doesn't normally last all night. Likes her sleep too much for that."

"You girls are gonna kill me," I muttered, although I was excited at the prospect of having Rachelle. She was the sort of kind but cool girl I admired. I liked that she devoted her life to helping others while still being fun and sexy at the same time.

I liked HER, the person. The thought hit me like a ton of bricks. I was seeing Rachelle as a person, not a female body to be pleasured and used. I needed some time alone to ruminate on it. "Just going in for a swim," I told Texan. She smiled at me.

"Sure thing pretty boy. I'm gonna go catch up with some shut-eye before I flake."

I stayed in the sea until my fingertips wrinkled. I needed to be alone with my thoughts. My admiration of Rachelle was pale in the face of my huge crush on Iris, but it was still a departure from the way I'd been seeing women for a long time.

That evening, Charlie and I joined the girls for a welcome home barbie. As I sat working my way through a large rib-eye, Iris asked Doc who was next on my list. I stopped chewing as Doc told her it was Rachelle.

The pain on Iris' face was plain to see. Her hand flew up to her mouth. "Please don't," she implored me. The verandah fell silent.