The bike pulled up at a spot at the very tip of the island and they dismounted. Grace knew she’d ache like hell later, but she’d enjoyed it far more than she’d let on to Will. There was a small white building ahead and space for a few cars. Will pointed in the direction of what Grace could now see was a taverna.
‘Fabulous place to go in the winter for people brave enough to make it out here. They have a fireplace with a big roaring fire and the most amazing roast pork.’
A part of her was sad that she’d never get to see that.
Will stowed their helmets and pulled a rucksack onto his back.
‘Ready?’
‘I’m always ready.’
He turned away, but not before Grace saw the smile. What was it about him that made everything she said sound like it came straight from aCarry Onfilm script?
Will strode off towards the headland.
‘We can see the whole way round the island from here. The views are amazing.’
Grace didn’t want a geography lecture, but her thoughts were silenced by the beauty of her surroundings. She turned a full circle where she stood and took in the promontory running down to the sea, the secluded beaches that you could only get to by boat, and the other islands way off in the distance. The morning sun splintered into a million pieces on the sea as she breathed in the smell of wild garlic.
‘We’ll take that path’—Will pointed to his left—‘and walk for a couple of hours before finding somewhere for our elevenses. It’s single file most of the way as the path’s so narrow. Does that sound OK?’
She wasn’t sure anyone under the age of forty would use the word elevenses.
‘Perfectly manageable.’
An hour into the walk, the urgent need to pee made her drop behind a little. Maybe she could just duck out for a moment and then catch up with him. She didn’t want to make it obvious. Just as she prepared to nip off the path, he turned back.
‘Everything OK back there?’
Grace indicated with her head towards the bushes.
‘Just need to…’
‘Why didn’t you say? Thought you’d slackened the pace.’
Slackened the pace? As far as she knew they weren’t on some army manoeuvre. Maybe she’d missed the memo.
Grace pushed back some branches and went as far away from Will as she could. She found a little clearing which seemed ideal. She was just pulling up her pants when the sound of something crashing through the bushes made her leap out of her skin.
She couldn’t stop her enormous scream.
Seconds later Will appeared. Grace’s shorts were still round her ankles. Rushing to pull them up, she managed to overbalance and stagger sideways into a tree.
Will turned his back to let her finish dressing.
‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes, I’m fine. I heard a strange noise.’
Grace stepped back into the light and spotted a wild goat rubbing his horns against the bark of a nearby tree.
‘Look. It must have been him.’
Will took his rucksack off.
‘You look a little hot. Do you want some water?’
If she caught even a hint of a smile from him, she’d lose it. Of course she was bloody hot. He’d missed seeing her with her pants down by a microsecond.
