He has no idea.
It gets worse when I come downstairs in my emerald-green bikini and hot-pink sarong to find that he’s wearing his swimming trunks.
And nothing else.
God, give me strength!
Sothat’swhat he was hiding under T-shirts all summer: slim hips, toned navel and a broad, leanly muscled chest.
My face warms again, so I busy myself looking for towels while he puts April into a swimming nappy.
‘What are you after?’ Charlie asks me after a moment.
‘Towels?’ I respond.
‘There’s a hut down by the beach.’
I should have guessed that.
He sits April up.
‘Oh! I have something for her,’ I remember, hurrying back upstairs. ‘Don’t put her in a swimming costume!’ I call over my shoulder.
I return with a gift – a navy-blue-and-white-spotted costume, with red trimming and a frill around the middle.
‘That’s cute,’ he says as I help him to put it on.
I hope April is back to herself with me soon, I think with a pang. As if on cue, she looks up at me.
I pull a silly face at her and she smiles.
‘There you go,’ Charlie says kindly. ‘Now you can relax.’
If only he knew the other reason why I’m so tense.
Charlie and I walk April hand in hand down to the beach. The water is unreal – it’s so warm. Charlie zooms April to me and I catch her and give her a cuddle until she wriggles, wanting to be zoomed again. I’ve got to get my hugs in while I can.
‘I can’t believe we’re all here,’ he says later, when I’m floating on my back and staring up at the sky.
‘Me neither,’ I reply with a smile. I’ve been feeling ever so slightly more relaxed with every minute that passes in his company.
‘Where do you want to go for dinner tonight?’ he asks.
‘Is Alain working?’
‘Yes, he’s based at the continental restaurant where the boats come in, near the rock-climbing cliffs. They serve breakfast there, too.’
I was too side-tracked by Charlie and April earlier to pay the rock climbers much attention. Isak could’ve been halfway up the cliff face for all I knew. Maybe I’ll go there tomorrow for a look around, but tonight I just want to settle in.
‘Shall we go to the beach where the infinity pool is?’ I suggest. I think they do a variety of Asian cuisine at the restaurant there.
‘Sure.’
We return to our rooms to shower and get ready. I choose a black, lightweight, floaty dress and take more care with my hair and make-up than I would usually.
‘You look nice,’ Charlie says when I come downstairs. He’s reading a magazine in the armchair.
‘So do you,’ I reply.
