‘You’ll do no such thing. It’s been stuck in the drawer for over a year and I’m not going away this summer. So be my guest.’
Bea couldn’t thank Julia enough. Racing back to her room she stripped off her clothes and tried on the bikini. She twirled around in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection.
‘Not bad,’ she murmured. ‘Even if I do say so myself.’
There was already some colour to her skin, as in the last few weeks Bea had taken advantage of working nights and snoozed in the garden when the weather had been warm. Pulling on a pair of shorts and throwing a T-shirt over her head, she slipped her feet into her Converses. Placing her sunglasses on top of her head, she picked up her rucksack and took one last look in the mirror.
* * *
Julia was checking out a couple of guests when Bea arrived back in reception.
‘Sorry to interrupt,’ apologised Bea, looking towards her. ‘It’s perfect, thank you.’
‘Oh, I am pleased. And whatever you’re up to, have a lovely afternoon.’
‘I will and thank you again.’
With her hair swishing from side to side, Bea waltzed towards the river oozing confidence yet feeling a little nervous. It was amazing: something as little as knowing you had a sexy bikini on underneath your clothes could make you feel like a new woman. Her face was beaming and her heartbeat racing as she tried to imagine the afternoon ahead. For the first time in ages, she felt good about herself and began to wonder why she hadn’t taken control of her life sooner.
It was only a five-minute walk to The Little Blue Boathouse and she was soon ambling along the river path. Lifting up her sunglasses to admire the view, she saw the river was packed with boats of all shapes and sizes bobbing about on the water, along with people enjoying the use of paddleboards and canoes. Knowing that business was booming at The Little Blue Boathouse, Bea was going to enjoy this afternoon before her work trial tomorrow.
With the gentle rush of the river lapping against the jetty, and the crunch of the shingle beneath her feet, Bea felt a rush of happiness as she walked towards the water’s edge. There was The Hemingway, anchored in front of her, and she immediately spotted Nolan rowing towards the jetty in a red rowing boat. Darting a glance at him before she broke out into a silly grin, Bea cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, ‘Aye aye, captain!’
Nolan looked over in her direction then stood up in the boat and saluted. Instantly, there was a warm, fluttering feeling in Bea’s stomach. She knew she found him attractive but where was that going to get her? She was here to plan the rest of her life and wasn’t sure even what direction she was heading in. She’d always had structure and routine, whereas Nolan was a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants type of guy. He lived for the moment and any time soon he would be sailing off to a new destination.
‘But there’s nothing stopping me from enjoying myself while he’s here,’ she murmured to herself.
‘Wait there,’ shouted Nolan.
‘Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere!’ she bellowed back.
Just at that moment, the rowing boat began to rock from side to side. The smile slid from Nolan’s face as he began to wobble, but Bea couldn’t help but chuckle. She heard him shout ‘Crikey’ as the boat swayed, before losing his balance and toppling into the water.
Splash.
Bea hurried to the end of the jetty. Still grinning, Nolan’s head popped up out of the water. He flicked his hair out of his eyes and swam after his flip-flops, which seemed to be floating off in different directions.
‘No one likes a show-off,’ Bea shouted good-naturedly.
He threw a mischievous look in her direction before retrieving the oar and pulling himself back into the boat. ‘I’m alive,’ he bellowed.
‘That’s good to know!’
He was soon rowing towards the shingle bay then wading through the shallow water of the tiny man-made beach. He pulled the rowing boat out of the water before turning towards her. ‘Remind me never to stand up in a rowing boat again.’ He gave her a lopsided grin before looking down at his clothes. He was soaked from head to toe, his white T-shirt clinging to every muscle. He peeled it from his body and wrung out the excess water.
‘It’s a bit too soon to be falling for me, isn’t it?’ Bea teased, trying to divert her eyes from his tanned torso but failing miserably.
‘I don’t know about that,’ he replied, still grinning, pulling the wet T-shirt back over his body. ‘At least, with this sun, I should dry out quickly. Have you eaten lunch?’ he asked.
Bea shook her head. ‘No, I wasn’t sure what we would be doing.’
‘That’s good because it’s all in hand.’
‘Are we heading towards The Hemingway?’ she asked, noticing there was no food in the boat.
‘I can do better than that. I’m taking you to a special place for lunch.’ Nolan held out his hand to help her into the rowing boat. The touch of his skin sent shockwaves through her body. ‘If you want to sit that end of the boat, I can drag you back into the water.’
Placing her rucksack in the middle of the boat, Bea let go of Nolan’s hand before sitting on the wooden seat and holding on to the sides. He pulled the boat back into the water and it rocked gently as he climbed inside and used the oar to move them away from the shore.
