Aria blanched. ‘Given what occurred the last time we were together with alcohol, I don’t think it’s the best idea.’
‘That was cheap red. These are Callum Lawson’s finest craft beers. He’s pivoting nicely!’
‘How do you know Cal? I thought you looked friendly at the swim.’
Nic ripped the crisps open with his teeth and offered the pack to her. ‘He’s a mate,’ he said, enjoying the sound of thewords. If he had a friend, and a fiancée, then he belonged here, right? Aria hesitated, before picking out a few. ‘I was watching you out there,’ he told her. ‘Remember how pleased Hetherington was when you finished behind him at the swimming event?’
‘He’s so ridiculously competitive. There was no need to shout out scores or measure everyone else against himself. Did I tell you Fred’s OK? In fact, we had a lovely chat when I went to visit him last night.’
‘Will you have another potato chip, Saint Aria?’ Nic offered her the packet again.
‘I will, Nicolas Castellanos.’ Aria took a few more, casting a glance at the bag. ‘We’re from different worlds, you and me, aren’t we?’ she said, presumably not approving of the expensive potato chips.
He begged to differ. ‘We both spent our teens by the water, brought up by a single parent. We’re both Leo with Capricorn rising.’
‘You made that up,’ she murmured.
‘How did you know?’
‘Because, last time I checked, I was a Virgo.’ Her voice was flat as she swatted the midges congregating around them.
‘I hated being called Nicolas Castellanos. Theo and I shortened our name to Castle at school. We wanted to fit in, but also distance ourselves from Dad. Aren’t you cold?’
She slapped her leg. ‘Actually, yes, and these buggers are out in full force.’ She stood up, dusted down the back of her robe and made her way back to the hut while he opened the bottles with his keyring.
When she returned, she was dressed in a hoodie, shorts and sliders, all in clashing colours. ‘Don’t judge me. Most of my clothes are at yours.’
‘I would never judge,’ he said and was rewarded with two exaggeratedly raised eyebrows. ‘OK, but only when you—’
‘We don’t have to go through my back catalogue of faults and disasters, thank you very much.’
‘I was about to say steal my wellies which is more a liberty than a fault. But then, I’m guilty of taking all kinds of liberties. We could swap examples of our bad behaviour, if you like?’ He nudged her playfully but got nothing back. This was odd.
‘No need for the games now,’ she said, staring out at the lake.
Her coolness took him aback, and he was only a little reassured when she changed her mind about the beer, taking a glug and pushing the base of the bottle into the shingle. He’d done something wrong, and he needed to get to the bottom of it.
‘What did you mean, games?’
‘I heard you, Nic. Loud and clear.’
He stared at her, confused. ‘Heard me?’
‘On the phone, to your brother. You told him you’d achieved what you wanted, and it was all about the business now. So, I’m moving back into the hut, and you can stop the act. I am happy for you and Theo, and I hope you get your permission and build your houses. I’m going to hold you to your promises about the lake, though.’
Nic was stumped as he tried to process her words. He thought back to the morning he’d learned Donna was endorsinghim. Perhaps he’d said some stuff like that to Theo, but only to try and persuade him to stay. ‘I think you overheard half a conversation. I also raved about your part in the deception.’
‘Deception being the word. I bet you and Theo have had a good laugh over how we hoodwinked Donna.’
He couldn’t believe all this was spilling from Aria. ‘On the contrary, we talked about the future of the business. And my feelings for you.’ He dropped his voice at the final sentence, not used to being vulnerable in front of someone.
‘You are a good actor, Nic, but the performance is over, and the audience went home.’
He pulled out his phone, accessed his texts and threw it into her lap. ‘Maybe this exchange with my brother will convince you.’
She frowned as she read it, before confusion washed over her face as though she didn’t know which story to believe.
He gestured to the flower beds. ‘Can you believe I’ve never grown anything? Of course, I’ve had hundreds of trees planted for me, for landscaping purposes, and to mitigate flying, but I’ve never done it myself.’
