I grin. 'Oh don't! I can't believe I'm actually going to get some time alone with him!'

'Out there in the wilderness, under the stars ...' Sasha teases.

'Hot chocolate spilt on one sleeping bag forced to share the other!'

We giggle at Zo's perfect plan.

'I just hope he sticks it out till I get there.'

'Hey we should have a bet on who's going to drop out first,' Zo enthuses.

'Oh well that's easy,' Sasha a.s.serts as she dabs cologne that smells of fresh linen behind her ears. 'Got to be Elise.'

'Don't underestimate how tight she is,' I caution. 'You saw that look in her eye when she heard how much the Marilyn Monroe Beach House is worth per night. I just know she's thinking up ways to get the cash alternative.'

'Oh don't!' Zoe shudders. 'At least I know you'll go the full week you get to dip into everyone's wishes and experience all these different things: wilderness, kitties, glamour, even all that crazy spiritual stuff!'

She's right. Suddenly I feel the luckiest of all.

'You know I'd swap with Elise in a heartbeat.' Sasha is back to looking misty-eyed. 'To have the chance to be surrounded by all these gurus who can guide you and help you truly find yourself.'

'Well that all sounds great in theory but imagine finding yourself and discovering you don't like yourself.' Zo inadvertently puts a dampener on things.

'That would be a b.u.mmer,' I admit.

For a moment we all look fearful of our futures then Sasha proves the surprise savior: 'Juicy Tubes at the ready?' she rallies the troops as only a model can.

We hold up our trio of glosses lychee, melon and strawberry and then ooze on the goo until our lips are inch-deep in sticky shine. 'Yum!' Zo smacks away the excess.

'Well, that's our appetizer,' Sasha does her darndest to make a joke. 'I'm ready for the main course now!'

Chapter 12.

'Where are the Es?' Zo sets down her leafy Caipirinha c.o.c.ktail to check her watch.

'They're half an hour late.'

'Well, Elise did say that they might stay in and get room service cos this was going to be their last night together in a while.' Helen looks disappointed.

'You're kidding?' Zo scoffs. 'It's not like we're making them sleep apart, they could at least join us for dinner.'

'Shall we go on up to the restaurant?' Sasha suggests.

We're just shuffling off our bar stools when Elliot rushes in looking hara.s.sed.

'Sorry I'm so late. Elise wasn't feeling too bright so she's decided to have an early night. I just ordered her some soup.'

Which roughly translates as: We had a huge argument she was insisting on dinner deux, I explained that I see a lot more of her than I do my friends and it would be rude to miss the farewell meal and then she threw herself sobbing and screeching on to the bed and frankly I couldn't bear to spend another second in her selfish, manipulative company so here I am. I may be slightly exaggerating the last bit but that's the gist, I'm sure.

We take the lift up to the top floor and then spill into the Sky Room with its starlit panorama of the cove. As the matre d' shows us to our plum velvet booth, there's a shuffle to get the seating order right - first Elliot gets nudged into place then it's like the parting of the Red Sea as the girls make sure I end up next to him. My dear, dear friends!

As we mellow to the glow of the candlelight we realize there's a couple at every other table in the place. If you listen closely you can almost hear the proposals. Chez us, however, all breathless rapture is directed at the 'modern French' menu. It's the details in the sauces and sides that get us yes the spicy ahi tuna tower sounds intriguing in itself but the fact that it comes with fresh mango strawberry and is garnished with a mandarin vinaigrette makes it nigh on irresistible. But then we read about the Muscovy duck confit with braised Belgian endive and pink peppercorn brandy sauce and our tastebuds fairly swoon.

'It's like the equivalent of giving a vegetable a double-barreled name,' Elliot decides as he scans down. 'Fire-roasted tomato just sounds so much fancier!'

Giddy from ordering rosemary jus and scarlet orange reductions we opt for a cheeky bottle of Perrier Jouet to toast The California Club and our impending adventures.

'Thanks for bringing us here, Helen,' I beam.

'Well, I thought that seeing as some of you will be spending the next week living off the fruits of the forest ' she winks at Elliot ' we should do it in style!'

As I let the champagne bubbles crackle on my tongue, I realize I have a small window of opportunity before the arrival of the breadbasket to steal the floor...

'Um, remember earlier at the beach I said I had something to tell you?' I venture, nervously.

Nodding.

'Well, my mum's moving to Spain and-'

'Spain? Since when?'

I wanted to get it all out in one go but Helen's tripped me at the first hurdle.

'Since she met this fella who's got a villa complex out there. He wants her to run it for him.'

'What about the B&B?'

'She's giving it to me!'

There's a collective gasp and a sensational whoop from Zo. 'That's fantastic!' she shines. 'You can finally do it up exactly how you want!'

'Oh Lara! Congratulations!' Elliot cheers, pulling me into a lop-sided hug. 'Your own B&B, it's what you've always dreamed of.'

'It's going to be the most original and stylish in town,' Helen decides. 'A whole building showcasing your talents!'

'Well ...' I try and cut in but I can't stop the barrage of excitement.

'We could all come down and help you strip wallpaper!' Sasha laughs, looking as if she's just found her purpose in life.

'Wouldn't it make for a brilliant for reality TV show?' Zo gasps. 'The making of Brighton's newest B&B we'd all be stars and your B&B would be famous!'

For a moment I get caught up in the abundant elation but then reality slaps me in the face and I hear myself blurt, 'I'm selling it!'

'What?' four voices snap.

The expressions on their faces range from stunned to uncomprehending.

'Why?' Elliot takes the next step.

I take a breath and tell them. 'The whole place needs rewiring and revamping and I just don't have the money.'

'I thought you were doing well,' Helen frowns.

'We're doing okay but the rewiring alone would cost $40,000 and that involves ripping up floorboards and drilling through walls so I'd have to redecorate after, which of course is what I'd want, but that's at least another $50,000 on top. $60,000 to do what I really want. And the whole time we're working on the place, we'd have to be closed so we won't have any income.'

Trust me, I've thought this through.

'Can't you just do a few rooms to start with?' Sasha asks, trying to hold on to the dream.

'I thought about that but it puts a limit on the money I can make. If I don't get at least an 80 per cent occupancy over the summer I can't make it through the winter months.'

'You need to find an investor, someone to go into partnership with,' Helen decides.

'I wouldn't know where to begin,' I confess. 'And I haven't got much time.'

'I'd love to help, Lara, but I'm just sc.r.a.ping together every last penny for a mortgage.' Elliot looks regretful.

'Are you buying a house with Elise?' Zo still seems to be struggling with the concept of the fiancee creature as a permanent fixture. As am I.

'We're putting down a deposit when we get back,' Elliot nods.

I wonder who's paying more.

'Sure you don't want to relocate to Brighton?' Helen prompts.

'Actually I'd love to move back but obviously Elise's work-'

'No, no, don't be silly!' I trill. I'd rather squat in an amus.e.m.e.nt arcade than share my home with Elise.

'I haven't got a bean,' Zo sighs. 'This whole trip is on credit.'

'My savings aren't going to last much longer,' Sasha reveals. 'I haven't worked in months.'

'I'm not asking for your money, any of you,' I insist. 'If anything, I'll be able to lend you guys some. The property should go for a million!'

Gloomy faces all round.

'But where would you live?' Zo frets.

'I suppose I'd buy a flat or a small house, one with a nice big guest room.' I force a smile. 'And then invest the rest or whatever you do with spare money.'

I haven't got very far with thinking this version of my future through. Every time I imagine what I'd do with my newfound wealth, instead of feeling flush and fanciful, I just want to cry. I can't shake the feeling that letting go of the B&B is giving up my soul and I'll just end up sitting there counting my money in an empty, echoing sh.e.l.l of a building. But really, what alternative do I have? I simply can't afford to keep the B&B. I have to be practical.

More pressingly, I have to convince the others that it's for the best.

'Honestly, it could be an exciting new start,' I insist. 'Who knows, maybe I'll move to Spain too.'

No one's falling for that.

And so the breadbasket arrives.

A couple of hands reach half-heartedly for a seed-speckled roll while the others wave it away.

'Did we order enough wine?' Zo drains her gla.s.s. 'I think we need more.'

'It's a lot to let go of,' Elliot sighs. 'All those good memories.'

'I thought it would always be there.' Sasha looks particularly sorrowful.

'It felt like a real home.' Zo's eyes well up.

There's got to be a way to get round this,' Helen is determined. Together we can come up with a solution!'

No! I resist. I daren't feel hopeful so I try a new tack, 'Maybe I don't want to.'

Silence.

'Do you mean that?' Helen looks concerned.

'Look, with Mum gone, it'd just be me in a house full of strangers. That's no fun.'

For a second I think they're going to buy it but then Sasha gets an idea. 'Maybe I could move in, rent one of the rooms?' she says, brightening. 'I don't know why I'm still in London, there's no reason any more.'

Zo follows her lead: 'And if I moved back we could be like Charlie's Angels, only landladies!'

'Remember when we used to imagine all of us living there together?' Elliot reminisces. 'I always thought that would be the perfect life: we could come and go as we pleased but there'd always be someone you could talk drunken gibberish to at 3am, someone to challenge at backgammon or make Marmite on toast for. Someone to laugh with ...' he sighs. 'I've never been as happy as when we all used to hang out.'

'Me neither,' Sasha agrees.

'Mmmm,' Zo concurs.

Even Helen, who has moved on to greener pastures, seems misty-eyed.

I force down the lump in my throat with a forkful of potato au gratin and a large gulp of Pinot Noir. All I ever wanted was for us to stay together forever. I'd love to believe that they'd all come back to Brighton and we could go back to the way things were but the reality is that they moved away for a reason and I can't keep hanging on to the past. I have to let go. Not my forte, but here goes: 'My mum's putting the B&B on the market while I'm away,' I inform them, feeling like an executioner. 'She said she'd call if there's a serious buyer. I gave her your number, Helen, hope that's okay?'

'That's fine but you'll have your own mobile tomorrow,' Helen reminds me.

'Oh yes! The Batphone!' I laugh, trying to jolt the conversation back to The California Club. 'Can I count on a few cri de coeurs from Yosemite?'

Elliot looks at me, knowing exactly what I'm trying to do, then does the decent thing and plays along. 'I might need you to arrange an emergency airlift at some point!'