His smile stretched. ‘I suppose I am. I have grown a little wild out here on my own.’
‘It belongs in this arrangement.’ She reached out carefully, intending to brush her fingertip over the pink petals, but he snatched her hand, drawing it away with a little squeeze that tightened up her lungs again.
She stared at his tough hand swallowing hers, the leathery fingertips sending tingles down her spine with every tiny movement over her skin. The only hand she’d held over the past nine years was a small, vulnerable one. Gabri had said he was prickly, but the pressure of his fingers was tender.
He eased his hold with a tight smile and a swallow. When he spoke, his voice was rough.
‘Best not to touch the thistle.’
8
‘Wow,that’sthe beach?’
After tramping downhill through the dry forest for ten minutes, the trees had finally started to thin, offering glimpses of cliffs and deep blue water. Now the forest gave way to jagged rocks and, far below them, a lonely little cove where the white heads of the water rushed over pebbles.
Toni was destined to be surprised over and over again this trip, it seemed. At least this one was a pleasant surprise. The wild view and the hot sun, the secret beach with turquoise water promised exactly the break she’d hoped for.
Cillian would have loved it. Her mum might have said she should stop thinking about Cilli and enjoy the relaxing rush of the waves, the mysterious basket of refreshments Gabri had packed and the chance to clear her mind and refresh her energy, but she liked the stab of regret that her son wasn’t there. Perhaps she’d be able to bring him back here the following week – although not with Gabri.
‘I promise, you’ll be lounging in a chair under an umbrella soon,’ the man himself replied from four steps ahead of her, where he was negotiating a rocky path – if it could be calledsuch, since Toni could barely make out where she was supposed to step. She understood now why he’d insisted she wear her sneakers. ‘If you’d rather, we can go to one of the main beaches and hire you a lounger and buy drinks, but I thought I’d show you my beach first.’
‘Yourbeach?’
He looked back up at her with a grin. ‘No one else is here, yes?’
No umbrellas adorned the smooth, pale stones; cliffs protected the cove on both ends and even the landside was steep and impassable – unless you knew the hidden path Gabri was following. It was only the two of them and the blue-green sea.
‘I didn’t think this was possible in Italy in July.’
Picking her way after him, she slipped and slid down the final few feet over slanted rock, groping for something to hold on to but finding nothing.
‘Aspetta! Wait, let me help you.’
She would never have expected she’d hold his hand twice in one day, nor that she’d feel so disoriented by an excursion where she hadn’t taken responsibility for anything – not the destination nor the supplies.
As the pebbles moved under her feet with a pleasant clatter, she took a deep breath of the salty air and tried to find that reset everyone thought she needed. Lounging at the beach – that’s what she’d suggested for their first day. She had her e-reader, full of books she’d read half of over the years but never managed to finish. Gabri had carried a lightweight lounger and a padded blanket.
The complete and utter peace of the view was… giving her the willies, actually. Quiet usually meant there was something she was neglecting. Neglect had been her biggest fear since the day she’d had to force Cillian into a world where his father was dead.
Trying to shake off the unhelpful thoughts, she toed off her shoes, tugged her summer dress over her head and made straight for the gentle waves, picking her way gingerly over the large pebbles.
Almost too late, she remembered she hadn’t applied sunscreen and made her way back to her rucksack.
‘Okay?’ he asked, as though her wobbly thoughts were written on her face. That was a frightening prospect.
Holding up the tube in overdone triumph, she smiled artificially brightly. ‘I don’t want to end the day a shrivelled radish.’
‘I like radishes.’
She blinked at him. He wasn’t looking at her, but out to sea. When he turned back, his expression was pinched.
‘Was that a strange thing to say?’ he asked.
‘Yes, but…’
He rubbed a hand over the back of his head, making his hair stand up in a wild tangle. She wanted to say something – anything – to relieve the awkwardness, but when she finally settled on something, he grasped the neck of his T-shirt and whipped it over his head, stealing the words away again.
‘I didn’t mean anything by it. I just like radishes. I mean, I like you, too – at least, when we’ve got to know each other again—’ He swallowed visibly, pressing his lips into a pout. ‘Should have kept my mouth shut?’
