‘We have champagne?’
‘We do!’
‘Then yes, please, I would love a glass. Are we celebrating?’
‘We are celebrating life and the fact you’re finally free to do what you want.’ He grinned as he took the bottle from the cool box and passed a flute to Bea.
‘You’ve thought of everything,’ she said, suitably impressed that Nolan had gone to so much trouble.
Nolan popped the cork from the bottle and it flew through the air and landed by the edge of the water. Bea was up on her feet to retrieve it. ‘A keepsake of our afternoon together,’ she said when he looked at her with curiosity.
After Nolan had poured the champagne into both glasses, he chinked his against hers. ‘Here’s to a great afternoon.’
‘I’m already having such a great time.’
‘Glad to hear it. It sounds to me like you need to be spoilt a little.’ Nolan began taking things out of the cool box, laying in front of her the most delicious-looking food she had ever seen.
‘You really have gone all out, haven’t you?’
‘I’ve always loved a picnic, especially when it’s in a secluded bay with a beautiful girl. Of course I’m going to go all out! We have smoked salmon, ham, pasties, super salad wraps, egg and cress sandwiches, cheesecake, rainbow fruit skewers…’
Bea stared at all the wonderful food, still focusing on the word ‘beautiful’. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been called beautiful or truly felt it. Right at this moment she didn’t have a care in the world. Sipping her champagne she stared out across the water. Everywhere was calm and tranquil. All she could hear was the lapping of the water against the sand.
‘I could stay here for ever,’ she murmured.
‘Why don’t you then? There’s nothing stopping you.’
Bea laughed. ‘Could you imagine if I rang my sister and said, “Hey, I’m not coming home, I’m spending the rest of my life living in a secluded bay”?’
Nolan passed Bea a plate. ‘You don’t have to answer to anyone anymore. There’s no one to put a kibosh on your plans and suggestions.’
They began to tuck into the food and Bea tried a little bit of everything. It all tasted so good. The rainbow fruit skewers were so juicy she had to wipe her chin with the back of her hand. When Nolan finished eating, he lay down on the blanket with his hands behind his head. His T-shirt rose up and Bea risked a glance at his toned, tanned stomach.
‘What do you think your sister would say if she could see you now?’ He took a sideward glance at her.
‘She would think I’ve lost the plot.’ She could hear Emmie’s voice inside her head and mimicked her sister. ‘Are you mad? He could be a mass murderer! No one would know you’re there. What if something happened to you?’
Nolan laughed. ‘She may have a fair point.’
Bea was usually the sensible one, always reliable and putting others first. But not today. Today was the first day of the rest of her life – and what a way to start. This was completely out of character for her. In the past she would never have put herself in this position; she was usually shy around men, didn’t know what to talk about. She looked over at Nolan and gave a tiny chuckle, thinking,What exactly did a mass murderer look like anyway?He had his eyes closed, his face tilted to the sun. She studied him, wondering what it would be like to kiss those lips ... even to sleep with him. She’d never had a one-night stand in her life. In fact, she’d only ever slept with one person and believed in monogamy, but look where that had gotten her.
She glanced back towards the water. It looked inviting. That was something else she’d never done – gone swimming in open water. This was her time now and she had every intention of throwing caution to the wind and having some fun. Looking back towards Nolan, she saw that his eyes were still shut.
‘Are you staring at me?’
‘How do you know that?’
‘I just do.’
Bea was thankful he couldn’t read her mind. She was actually wondering what it would be like to have a two-week fling with him. Surely it couldn’t do any harm? They were both adults, and maybe a holiday romance would be just the thing to boost her confidence and get herself back on track.
‘What are you thinking about?’ Nolan opened one eye and glanced in Bea’s direction.
‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’ she replied, grinning. ‘Tell me, why haven’t you got anyone special in your life?’ She dug her feet into the sand and looked across at him. He had both eyes open now and Bea could have sworn there was a fleeting look of sadness in them.
‘Because that’s the way it is.’
Bea thought he was going to say something else but he didn’t. He sat up, placed the leftover food in the cool box and balanced the champagne flutes against it.
