Free Love...Among The Stars: Book 4 in the Love...Series (Love Series) by Nick Spalding

that will bankrupt me in days?'
     
    In the end, we choose (or rather, Laura chooses) a hotel that comes with both infinity pool and jacuzzi , ensuring that I will be sucking off my bank manager for years to come, to prevent us being turfed out of our house.
    Okay, I'm exaggerating, but I am not a man used to such extravagance. Spending the kind of money on a holiday that I'd usually lay out on a new car does not come easy.
    'You can relax a bit, you know,' Laura tells me on the drive to the Kuoni shop in town. 'We can afford this. We really can.'
    The look of mild anguish I give her says differently.
    'I know things have been tight in recent years,' she continues, 'but they're not anymore. You just need to accept that, sweetheart.'
    Which is my real problem here. I've had so many years of struggle with finances that I just don't know how to cope with the idea of not having to struggle anymore. It's a completely alien concept to me. I say as much to Laura.
    'I know, baby,' she replies, patting my hand where it rests on the gear stick. 'It's okay though.'
    'I hope so.'
    'It really is. Besides... ' Laura tilts the rear view mirror so I can see Poppy in the back. The look of exuberant delight on her face is now so extreme that I swear I can see the steam coming out of both ears. '...look how excited your daughter is.'
    'Excited... or about to have an accident, I can't quite tell which.'
    ' Eww ! Dad!' Poppy says, nose crinkling.
     
    An hour later - and several thousand pounds lighter - I emerge from Kuoni in a daze. We are now booked into the nearly unpronounceable Milwadi Wimbufushi Resort on the even more unpronounceable Miladunmaduru Patkani Atoll. It appears that the more money you spend on a holiday in the Maldives, the less likely you are to be able to say where it is you are going.
    Still, it does look bloody glorious. All waving palm trees, azure seas, and well stocked mini bars. As I've just booked an all inclusive holiday our mini bar will be free for the whole week, so if my wallet is having a hard time with this purchase, then my liver will soon be joining it, and feeling even worse.
    'Thank you baby,' Laura says as we get back into the car. She leans over and gives me a gentle kiss on the cheek. I smile and look in the rear view mirror at Poppy again.
    'You can stop the teapot impression now Pops. The holiday is booked.'
    My daughter relaxes and blows air out of her cheeks with palpable relief. 'Can we get McDonalds now, Mum?' she asks Laura, revealing the method of bribery with which my wife managed to convince her to take part in the Machiavellian Maldivian scheme.
     
    I was somewhat annoyed that I had been so perfectly manipulated by the women in my life. The second I step off the sea plane and onto the Wimbufushi dock though, this annoyance melts away completely.
    Hello , the island seems to say to you with a gentle caress of warm wind. Welcome to the nicest place on Earth. Yes, the sun above your head does stay like that the entire time, and yes, it is as hot as you think it is. The sea really is that blue, and the sand really is that white. There's every chance that after spending a week here, everywhere else on Planet Earth will subsequently look like fried dog shit. And did I mention that the mini bar is stocked with enough Jack Daniels to drown yourself in?
    'Oh my,' Laura says from my side breathlessly. 'Oh my...'
    Poppy is less subdued by the stunning scenery. 'Fish! Look at those big fish!' she screeches, pointing into the clear blue water at a passing shoal of bright pink parrotfish.  
    We are greeted, along with the dozen or so other holiday makers that flew in on the sea plane with us, by a collection of broadly smiling Maldivians, all dressed in pristine white linen. They supply us with cool towels to mop our brows, freshly made iced tea, and an assortment of sweetmeats to munch on. Our bags are whisked away by more of the smartly dressed Maldivians, and we are gently led down the dock and onto the