Page 56 of Italy and Forever

When her friends and colleagues were almost life-sized below her, her foot slipped and she went swinging hip first into the wall.

‘Ow!’

Will had her rope taut and she safely dangled for a moment until she found her footing once more. Of course, she would screw up the landing, but she was proud of how far she’d come, that she was out here amidst the stumpy pines in the crystal air of autumn, with the motley crew of Great Heart Adventures – as one of them, as bizarre as she’d once thought that prospect. Her little trip only made her laugh harder when she had her feet back on the ground and Kira’s arms cutting off her air supply in a fierce hug.

‘You did it! You sent your first outdoor climb, Ginny!’

Ginny gripped Kira’s shoulders just as hard, both of them bouncing with glee. She could almost believe her instructor and friend was happier than she was, except she was pretty darn happy. ‘I fucking did it!’ she repeated.

‘You fucking did!’

‘Eh-hmm,’ she heard from Andreas, who was pressing his hands over his godson’s ears and scowling at them.

Rhys’s hands itched to fetch his Nikon out of its bag. The previous urge to snap a photo was less than five minutes past, but he’d just noticed the way her hair was caught over her ear and that needed documenting too.

It was unprecedented – and unpleasant – how much of his brain was currently taken up with details of Ginny’s anatomy. He was a nasty cliché: falling for the bright, younger woman who dreamed of more in her future.

He wanted more photos of her – not to keep on a private hard drive, like the ones from before the accident that were only confusing and painful now, but to display in an exhibition. He’d never considered himself a true artist; the beauty in his photos came from the subject. But he imagined this was what it felt like to have a muse.

Last night had been… altering. And again today, watching her, something had changed. He hated change.

The strangest part was the urge to talk. He didn’t do talking. It was uncomfortable and usually pointless anyway.

She was sitting across the table from him, not in his eyeline. He might have thought she was keeping her distance because she was worried about their friends discovering they’d slept together, but she was still buzzing from her climb, laughing and talking with Kira, not thinking about the other high they’d shared within the past twenty-four hours.

It was warm enough in the last glow of the sunny autumn day to sit outside on the terrace of the little restaurant by the lake, but cold enough that the restaurateur had produced a pile of blankets for them. Steam rose from the soup and Rhys’s Kaiserschmarrn, the smashed pancake dish that he always craved when he was in Tyrol.

‘Wow, I can see why you go on about these dumplings, Andreas,’ Ginny said, digging into her food. ‘Although I still think the name is funny.’

‘It’s not funny,’ Andreas muttered next to Rhys. ‘How many times do I have to say, it’s Knödel? “Canoodle” in German is “Knuddeln”, which is entirely different from Knödel. Sophie has told this joke so many times, and it wasn’t even funny the first time.’

‘It’s totally still funny,’ Kira said with a grin.

‘And actually, I think the joke is my fault,’ Ginny said with a grimace that hid a smile. ‘I knew you two weren’t finished that first night at the Admiral. Tita and I were joking that you were looking at Sophie as though she were your favourite food – which is apparently Knödel. And look where we are now – at your wedding!’

‘We’re not quite at the wedding yet,’ he said quietly enough that Ginny probably didn’t hear. ‘You should try the Kaiserschmarrn,’ he said more loudly. ‘It’s a local speciality too. Mountain food.’

Rhys stared into his plate as Andreas gestured to it.

‘You’ll love it,’ Kira agreed. ‘Try it,’ she said with a nudge.

‘Um…’ Ginny sounded as awkward as he felt.

He didn’t dare look at her, but he could tell she hadn’t lifted her fork. He couldn’t dump a morsel into her soup.

‘I don’t think Rhys wants to share,’ Laurie joked, ramping up the self-conscious tension in him.

‘No, er, here,’ he said in a panic, not sure what else to do to get all the eyes off them. He stabbed a chunk of fluffy pancake, dipped it in the tangy cranberry sauce and held it out to Ginny.

He had to look at her, which was torture in company, with everything he had to hide. She was staring at him as though he’d lost his mind – at least, that was how he interpreted her wide-eyed look. He held the loaded fork over the table between them, belatedly worrying about the casual intimacy of the gesture.

‘Trust me, it tastes way better than it looks,’ Kira said with a chuckle, but her perplexed glance between them worried him.

Ginny pressed her palms onto the scarred table and tried to smile as she rose to lean over the table. Shit, she really was going to let him feed her, in front of everyone. Despite his throat closing in concern, he wanted to laugh as she lifted her chin and opened her mouth.

‘Mmm, wow. It’s so light and sweet.’

Rhys’s brain shut down for a moment as he watched her chew with closed lips, replaying the moment he’d fed her in front of everyone over and over in his mind, troubled by the warm suspicion that he wanted them all to know what had happened.