Next to him, his dad was looking straight down her cleavage. His blatant assessment of her body in a wetsuit clearly brought on a thirst. ‘Is there somewhere we can get a drink, Nicolas?’
Aria shot Nic an imploring look. ‘I could really do with a chat.’
But Nic’s attention had moved to a man outside the group. ‘Roger!’ he exclaimed, quickly introducing his father to his case officer. ‘I was hoping you two would meet. Roger is the man with the plan when it comes to building in the Lakes.’ Nic turned to Aria, retook her hand and squeezed it before making an apologetic face. ‘Talk later?’ he whispered as he kissed her on the cheek.
The men took a few steps to the side to continue their conversation as Belinda rushed up, urging Aria to attend the stall. ‘It’s largely being ignored in the excitement about thisyear’s prize. Some people are starting to leave. Can you perhaps grab them on their way out and give them a lecture?’
‘We’ve more than that to be excited about,’ grinned Sophie. ‘Aria’s wedding!’
‘Engagement first!’ Aria corrected her.
Sophie shrugged. ‘That’s generally the order it happens in.’
‘Really? That’s wonderful!’ Belinda gushed, her volume reflecting her joy. ‘I didn’t even know you had a beau.’
‘Nope, me neither,’ Sophie said dryly.
‘Who is the lucky man?’ Belinda asked. ‘Will you do it here? Or maybe in a field? With a mandolin! We have all manner of literature about wedding venues in the office.’
‘You probably won’t need it,’ Sophie exclaimed. ‘I expect Nic has a huge venue in mind with a whole room of mandolins. Which is quite fitting as she will become Mrs Castle. And if not there’s always the Hetherington HQ hacienda. You could do a double wedding with Lu-Lu and Ju-Ju!’
Aria raised her eyebrows at Sophie’s teasing as a cloud passed Belinda’s face.
‘Nic Castle? But I thought you—’ She stopped abruptly at the sound of Nic’s case officer vomiting onto his dad’s white trainers a few feet away.
26
‘Must have been something in the water,’ Roger mumbled. He grabbed his swim bag from the ground he’d defiled before excusing himself and heading off in a hurry.
As Nic waited outside the portable toilets for Giorgos to clean up his shoes, his head spun with questions about Aria’s U-turn and its potential impact on his planning application. He stared after her as she headed to the exit where her stall was situated, deciding impulsivity was in the air today. Licking mustard from a woman’s bare torso was not something he was in the habit of doing. But when he’d whispered ‘hot,’ and looked into her alluring green eyes, his world seemed to tilt. And that was before she announced their engagement! He noticed everyone had moved over to a stage and he hurriedly joined them, running through the words he’d prepared last night.
***
When an announcer came forward to thank everyone, especially the sponsor, the crowd lapped it up. As he walked tothe stage for his pre-agreed promotional slot, Nic prayed it wasn’t a hostile audience. Launching into a speech telling everyone how delighted he was to be associated with such a prestigious event in such a beautiful town, he felt that familiar pang of being an outsider trying to get in. Imposter syndrome was an uninvited bitch. As he wound up, a woman in an official t-shirt walked onto the stage, whispered in the presenter’s ear and handed him a clipboard.
‘We have our winner! I believe we had a tie for first place but, thanks to technology, we’ve managed to whittle it down to first and second.’ The crowd cheered as the presenter ramped up the excitement before announcing that the winner of this year’s Spring into Summer Swim was a past benefactor. Nic found himself scanning the audience for Aria as Justin made his way up the stairs to shake his hand and take his money.
He thanked the people beside him before leaning towards Nic. ‘There’s some more land coming up near your site I’m excited to bid for. Perhaps I’ll spend today’s winnings.’ When he stepped back, a triumphant smile on his face, Nic noticed his pallor was a bit off, and a sheen of sweat glistened on his brow. Undeterred, Justin grabbed the microphone, announcing he’d donate the money to Inglepets, but as he cynically grabbed their approval, his grin turned to a frown. He pushed past Nic and made for the side of the stage. The announcer took the helm again while the king of caravans barfed all over the steps.
There was definitely something in the water, Nic decided.
‘And now, I’d like to hand over to Aria Wilson who would like a quick word before you all head home,’ the announcersaid, nodding at Nic to leave the stage. Aria walked up the steps with an old man and her dog, swerving to avoid stepping in her ex’s vomit.
‘This is Fred, who lives in the care home here in Inglemere,’ she announced when she reached the microphone. ‘The residential home should by rights be one of the charities we are supporting today, but it’s not, because sometimes people get a bit lost in this busy community. Don’t get me wrong, I love animals, and I adopted this little mutt recently when my dad passed away.’ Nic melted as he watched Aria bend down to stroke her pet, suspecting she was masking a wave of emotion. Rising again, she pursed her lips before grabbing the old man’s hand. ‘But I’ve returned recently after eighteen months away and realised how great this town is. That it’s the people who make it so great. This gentleman matched me stroke for stroke today and put in a marvellous effort,’ she continued. ‘I think we should give him and those who care for him a round of applause.’
A wave of clapping went around the field, but Nic didn’t join in as he was studying Aria. She was fully dressed now in blue and white flowery trousers and a navy-blue top that suited her. With her flame hair, leather flip flops and face unadorned by make-up, she was an advert for the outdoors. When the applause died down, Nic’s attention snapped back to her speech.
‘Sadly, our elders aren’t the only things we ignore in this community. We often adopt a casual attitude to many of the things that give this town its beating heart. Like our beautiful lake. Most of us take it for granted every single day, whileothers wilfully exploit it.’ Nic anxiously glanced at the crowd. He’d just got them onside. Was she about to lay into him and redraw the target that had been on his back for so long? As a general rule, he thought he understood women. But dealing with this one was like trying to grasp a palm full of mercury. When she moved on to access issues, he braced himself for criticism. Her eyes filled with tears as she continued talking.
‘Enjoyment of the lake and fells should be for all not just the few. I know from personal experience how a wild swim can empty your head of anxiety, or even grief. We can’t let farmers or profit-making organisations fence off our beach or let their carelessness with our precious water put our health at risk.’
A few weeks ago, Nic would have been incensed by Aria using the swim he’d funded as a platform to slag off developers, but as he listened to the rest of her passionate appeal about the lack of regulation and the importance of this natural landmark, he found himself being swayed. And when she went on to talk about the rich parachuting in and blasting across the lake in their speed boats, causing noise as well as environmental pollution, his heart skipped a beat. He had done just this without thinking on so many occasions. His stomach churned like he too might need to empty its contents.
‘Dad always said I swim like a fish. With your help, I hope to keep on swimming,’ she concluded, as the sun disappeared behind a cloud.
***
His father caught up with him soon after. ‘She’s a pocket rocket,’ Giorgos said. ‘But I’m surprised she has the gall to lecture about developers destroying the landscape when she’s agreed to marry you.’
