Wanderlust Read Online Free PDF Page B

otherwise you’d have had to ride back in this,’ Penny said, joining her on the porch.
    Selina looked at the rain bouncing up from the ground. ‘It doesn’t bear thinking about. I don’t even like being in a car in the rain, let alone on a moped.’
    Penny placed a glass teapot full of water and fresh mint leaves on the table and they both sat down.
    ‘It’s an inconvenience but it’s needed. There’s already been two forest fires this summer.’ Penny leaned back in her chair and stretched her legs out, crossing them at the ankle. ‘How was your first day?’
    ‘Different to what I’m used to, but it was good.’
    ‘Hm.’ Penny looked at Selina’s bandaged hand. ‘Nothing too difficult, I hope?’
    ‘This?’ Selina shook her head. ‘It’s just a scratch.’
    ‘Good. I know Alex works like a horse but I don’t want him to push you too hard, especially not on your first day. This is pretty different to the office life, I’m sure. The corporate world was never for me.’
    Colinas Verde was a world away from what she was used to, but Selina couldn’t deny that it beat being stuck in an office all day. Yes, she’d had to pick spider covered tomatoes all morning, and yes, she’d sliced her hand open but she’d also woken up to the sound of birdsong floating through the air, and when she’d sat up in bed and looked out of the window, she was greeted by the unbroken view of the meadow. Back home, her alarm would have violently interrupted her sleep and the view outside of her window was of the Aldi supermarket across the road. Colinas Verde wasn’t a classy beach resort with a long cocktail list and beautiful people parading around in bikinis like she was used to, but it was only for a short while. Once she left here, she’d continue her Flashpacking adventure.
    ‘I’ve always preferred being surrounded by nature,’ Penny said. ‘This place is like a little slice of heaven.’
    ‘I always thought of heaven as being somewhere like the Caribbean. White sand, turquoise water…’ Selina sighed wistfully.
    ‘There’s a quote by a French writer, Jules Renard. It says, on earth, there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it .’ Penny smiled. ‘I think its true. If you take the time to look for it, you can find your paradise anywhere.’
    Selina looked at the trees surrounding the clearing. The vibrancy of their leaves had turned a dark, earthy green with the rain and the air was filled with the ever-present lingering scent of pine. It wasn’t her idea of paradise but she had to admit, it was beautiful to look at, even with the rain falling in a thick sheet.
    ‘How long have you been here?’ she asked as Penny poured the tea into two glass cups.
    ‘Oh, almost ten years now, though I spend a few months of every year in India. It’s one of my favourite places in the world. Have you ever been?’
    Selina shook her head and took a cup from Penny. ‘I’ve only been to south Ibiza and Marbella, with friends. We never went on holidays abroad when I was little. Mum and Dad are planning to emigrate to Barbados when they retire and I suppose they think its better to wait instead of globetrotting in the meantime.’
    ‘And how did they feel about you picking up and leaving?’
    ‘It was fine,’ Selina replied. ‘It’s not what they’d do, but they know I’m not like them.’
    It wasn’t a lie. It was fine that she’d announced she’d be leaving for a few months, but it wasn’t fine that she’d had to leave thanks to pictures of her circulating on the Internet. She’d never be able to forget the look on her parents’ faces when they’d found out about that.
    Penny might be old enough to be her mother, but there was something about her carefree attitude and girlish smile that made her appear younger. So far, she seemed easy-going, understanding and even though they were still pretty much strangers, someone Selina could confide in, but she wasn’t ready to share the reason she’d left her