Page 70 of The Castle in the Bay

‘Not far now.’

Finally, they reached the top. Iona stopped and put her hands on her hips. The wind was stronger up here and she braced herself against it.

‘This is amazing.’ Monty pulled out his phone again and snapped around.

The village sprawled below, the water in the bay shimmering under the sun. Kisimul Castle was just a tiny black silhouette now. Iona smiled as she remembered taking Monty out to scatter his dad’s ashes. They’d had their first kiss there. She should have realised then how dangerous this would be. That kiss had been special.

She sat down on a rock, looking out over the view, and tucking her ponytail into the neck of her hoody to stop it from blowing across her face. ‘I like coming up here to clear my head. It’s as if the whole world is laid out before you, but you’re separate from it, you know?’

‘I get it, yeah.’ Monty sat beside her and put his arm around her. ‘Meeting you has been the best thing that’s happened to me this week… Maybe even longer.’ He kissed her forehead.

She rested her hand on his thigh and squeezed it. She, in part, agreed. But then, if she’d never met him, she wouldn’t have to face losing him again.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, the gentle breeze playing in the long grass and the distant cry of seabirds filtering up from the bay.

‘Thank you for everything,’ Monty said. ‘I’ll never forget this. Or you.’

‘Neither will I.’

He pulled out his phone again. ‘Let’s have another selfie.’

As he clicked it, it started buzzing. A picture appeared on the screen with a name as clear as the sky above.Sophie.

His ex was calling him. Iona watched a puzzled expression grow on his face. ‘Why…?’ His word was carried away on the wind.

‘You better take it,’ Iona said. ‘It might be important.’

Maybe his dreams would come true. Had Sophie seen his posts on social media? Maybe she liked him now he’d proved his spirit of adventure. Iona was friends with him on the socials now and she’d seen the most recent pictures he’d posted from the festival. He looked happy and chilled in the water. But she’d noticed he hadn’t tagged anyone in the pictures. There was no mention of her. Which was fine, but it told her that he didn’t want people to have any inkling there was anyone else involved.

He hit the accept call button and put the phone to his ear, still sitting next to her. She’d assumed he’d walk away to take it.

‘Hello.’

Iona sat still, trying to focus on the view instead of Monty, but he was so close, she could hear Sophie’s voice over the wind as loud as if she was here with them, squashed in the middle.

‘Hi, Monty. I’m so sorry.’

‘What about?’

‘I met your mum,’ Sophie said. ‘She told me about your dad. I had no idea.’

‘Thanks,’ he replied.

‘I wish I’d known. I would have come to the funeral. And you had to scatter the ashes alone. It’s awful. If I’d known, I could have flown over and been there for moral support.’

‘It’s fine. I, um. I’ve done it.’

‘I know. After I met your mum, I went on social media and saw all your pictures. You look so… Well, different.’

‘Do I?’

‘Yeah. So confident. The sea air must be doing you good.’

Sea air? Iona raised her eyebrow, but a sharp pain stabbed her in the chest. She kept her gaze fixed on the horizon, playing deaf.

‘Yeah, must be.’

‘Listen, I hope you’re not doing all this because of what I said,’ Sophie said. ‘About you being boring. I was wrong to say that,Monty. I’m so sorry. I really am. I was in a bad place with work and all that. It was wrong for me to take it out on you.’

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