Page 30 of Best Laid Plans
‘That’s the plan,’ he replied, taking another long pull on his beer. ‘Don’t worry, I can take you back to shore in the motorboat any time you want.’
‘I’m not worried,’ she said. And she wasn’t. Not about him getting her safely back to shore, anyway. She felt totally safe in his company; there was something very solid and steady about him – reassuring. But when it came to the way she felt about him, the way her heart leapt and her stomach plunged every time he looked at her… well, that was another matter.
And there was something disconcertingly intimate about the two of them being here, alone together, in the middle of the sea.
They sat back, admiring the view in silence, watching the seagulls wheel above them as the sun’s final rays transformed into the warm glow of dusk.
‘I can’t believe they wouldn’t give me the recipe for that dish,’ she said for the umpteenth time since leaving the restaurant, using her annoyance at not being able to charm the waiter as a way to disguise her twanging nerves. ‘AndI gave him a really big tip,’ she added contritely.
‘Ah, well, you can’t blame them for keeping the secret of their success close to their chests,’ Julien said, employing a full-on Gallic shrug, which made her smile.
‘Yeah. I guess it’s fair enough,’ she grumbled. ‘I could probably guess most of the ingredients anyway. I’m going to have to experiment when I get home.’
The thought of home made her chest contract. She didn’t want to think about leaving here now she was having such a good time. Or the fact that she’d probably never see Julien again once she left Italy.
‘How’s your beer?’ he asked, breaking into her thoughts.
‘Amazing. Best beer I’ve ever tasted,’ she replied truthfully. She didn’t often drink beer, usually opting for a glass of crisp, dry white wine when she went out, but it tasted perfect to her right then. In fact, thinking about it, everything tasted or felt or smelled that much more intensely satisfying when Julien was around. It was as if he made all her senses sit up and pay attention. Whenever she was near him, she experienced this constant prickling frisson, as if she was plugged into a low-level electric socket, which made her heart race and her limbs twitch. It was as if her body was priming itself for something to happen. Something momentous and life-changing.
But she was a fool if she thought it would. The frustration of this awareness only made the restlessness worse. It made her want to leap around or jump off something, just to relieve the tension of her unsatisfied need.
‘I’ve been meaning to ask – why the red hair?’ Julien asked, reaching out and smoothing a piece of it between his fingers.
The tingle of awareness grew more intense. ‘It makes me feel powerful,’ she replied, desperately trying to latch on to some of that power to give her the strength to keep her wits about her.
‘That figures. It suits you.’ He smiled right into her eyes, making her breath hitch in her throat.
She gave a little cough to clear the tension. ‘Thanks. I’ve wanted to do it for a while, but Gavin, my ex, wasn’t keen, so I didn’t until just before I came here.’
His eyebrows nearly hit his hairline. ‘Really? I was under the impression you don’t like to take orders from anyone.’
Huffing out a laugh, she pulled her feet up onto the sofa and hugged her knees to her. ‘I don’t normally. But whenever I brought it up as an idea, he accused me of not taking his feelings into consideration and I felt bad about that.’
She looked away, remembering the frustration she used to feel when Gavin laid on the guilt to get his own way. It nearly always ended up with her giving in to what he wanted when he did that.
That was something she didn’t miss.
Come to think of it, the hurt she’d been carrying around at the beginning of the week seemed to be greatly reduced now. Perhaps it had something to do with having something new and exciting to concentrate on.
Or someone.
Stop!
‘Okay, I’m going for a swim before it gets too dark,’ she said, springing up, unable to sit still next to Julien any longer, making him jerk in surprise.
Before he could say a word, she dashed down the steps to the diving platform, pulled off the towel she’d wrapped around her to cover her bikini and dived into the sea.
The shock of the cold water was a delicious relief against her heated skin and her heartbeat begin to calm as she swam steadily away from the boat, riding the gentle dip and swell of the waves, feeling a corresponding lift in her tummy.
In the distance, the cliffs rose majestically before her, the foliage vividly green against the soft grey of the rock.
It was so peaceful here, on her own in the middle of the sea with the vast sky above her and the undulating water disappearing into the horizon. This withdrawal was exactly what she needed right now to soothe the raging noise in her head.
It had been fine being alone with Julien when they were walking. The constant forward motion and changing scenery had kept her mind distracted from the intensity of his nearness, but now they were stuck in one place together she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to hide how he made her feel when she was around him.
Deep inside her head she knew – sheknew– that Julien wasn’t emotionally available right now and that she should accept that as fact – he’d certainly warned her about it enough times – but it didn’t stop her from wondering – hoping – what if?
When she finally forced herself to look back towards the boat, she saw that Julien was standing on the diving platform, his face turned towards her, shielding his eyes against the last low rays of the sun.
